Stop by and walk the front lawn sidewalk while learning the history of the Cowan Pottery Studio and the Cowan Pottery Museum.
From August 3-17, 2020, patrons are invited to Walk Through History with Our Cowan Pottery Timeline. Important dates in the history of Cowan Pottery Studio and Cowan Pottery Museum will be displayed on individual signs, spanning the past 100 years, on the Library’s front lawn.
Come learn more about our area’s rich artistic history!
During this virtual presentation Leslie Cade, Director of Museum Archives at the Cleveland Museum of Art, will present:
Artists in Residence: Researching Local Artists at the Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
Register and you will be emailed an invitation to join this virtual event. Registration required.
Audiobooks are a great way to enjoy a story. Their portable format allows for them to be enjoyed while on the move.Whether you are exercising, gardening, or working on your newest creative project, audiobooks can make for a great addition.
If you are new to audiobooks why not try our pick for our upcoming:
Imagine Your Story Virtual Book Discussion
Listen to this family memoir about how 81-year-old Jay Mendelsohn, who had been a professor of mathematics, enrolls in his son Daniel’s class on The Odyssey. Later, the two men take Mediterranean cruise, retracing the mythical journeys of Odysseus.
Or checkout the selection of biographical audiobooks over at Overdrive!
This week we are providing links to resources might find helpful in your hunt when looking up the history of your home. These resources were assembled for a program that the library partnered in Virtual 4th Annual Living in the Digital World Senior Expo.
Cleveland Memory Project- Rocky River
In partnership with the Cleveland Memory Project, a digital history collection at Cleveland State University, we are digitizing our photograph collection. We are also adding photographs of Rocky River from the Cleveland Press Collection at CSU.– rrpl.org
http://www.clevelandmemory.org/rockyriver/index.html
Cleveland State Research Guides
This is the Library Guide for information on the history of greater Cleveland and NE Ohio. Notice the tabs across the top of this page, detailing specific types of resources and other information topics designed to help you. Note too that many of these pages give you room to comment and rate this information for usefulness. -csuohio.edu
http://researchguides.csuohio.edu/localhistory
Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer- Real Property
The Real Property department maintains a complete historical record of all property transactions, maintains records of property ownership, valuation, and taxation, and collects special assessments for public improvements. In addition, the Real Property department prepares the first and second half property tax duplicate, computes tax refunds, gives credits based on decisions by the Board of Revision, Board of Tax Appeals, the Appraisal department and the Courts.-fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us
https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/real-property.aspx
Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer- The Cuyahoga Recording Division
This site is provided to allow the citizens of Cuyahoga County, and the world, access to information housed at our office. Here you will find data on all the documents filed at the Recorder’s office from 1810 until present day. -fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/RecordedDocumentsServices.aspx
Sanborn Fire Maps
Fire insurance maps of Ohio from 1867 to 1970 for history and genealogy research. Library Card Required. -rrpl.org
http://www.oplin.org/sanborn
This week we are profiling the online resources of The Henry Ford.
Located in Dearborn, Michigan, a short drive from Detroit, this institution boasts a collection of objects from 300 years of American history. The museum was dedicated on October 21, 1929 and opened to the public in 1933. For the first 10 years visitors dealt with construction as the exhibits weren’t fully complete until the early 1940s. You can learn more about the history of the campus here on their History & Mission page.
While the museum and campus are closed, the website features many digital resources.
Their Virtual Visit page is a great place to start your exploration. Here you will find a list of objects with links to the Ford’s Google Maps project from 2015. The photos give you a better sense of scale of these artifacts and allow for 360 degree experience. A great example is the museum’s towering Allegheny Steam Locomotive. There are also links to the object’s record in the Digital Collections.
The Digital Collections can be explored much like the other institutions we have highlighted in these posts. Additionally there are the Expert Sets. These curated groupings are a great resource for educators building lesson plans as well as individuals looking for a more structured way of exploring the vast collection.
For researchers there is the Digital Resources page. There are Research Databases which include oral histories, the library’s catalog, photographs, and historic films.
A really interesting resource is their collection of historic Cookbooks. You can see what the people in the past ate and get some ideas for your own culinary efforts.
The Henry Ford has many education resources on their Online Learning Resources and Activities page. The available programs are arranged by grade level for easy navigation and their Innovation Program is currently free for public.
I thought this week I would highlight some of the craft and ceramic research resources across the state and the nation. These are a great place to explore the history of ceramics and see how our museum’s Cowan Pottery collection are part of a long legacy of craft and art.
First off we have The American Craft Council headquarters in Minneapolis, MN. They have put together a resource page for artists and makers. Their library has some great digital resources including an archive of:
Ohio Craft Museum, located just a few hours drive away, currently has their exhibitions online for people to enjoy. You will find high resolution photos of the objects from the artists and an exhibition catalog. Their Facebook page has interviews with artists who are included in their shows.
Just outside Los Angeles in Pomona, CA we have The American Museum of Ceramic Art. There are a variety of resources here. They have highlights from their permanent collection and their current exhibitions are now virtual. They also offer a resource page with information for artists, parents, and researchers.
The Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY is an institution with a Cowan Pottery connection. R. Guy Cowan moved to Syracuse after the studio closed its doors and worked as the chief designer for the Syracuse China Company. Their permanent collection holds works from many Cowan Pottery Studio artists. Many of these acquisitions were from the museum’s long running Ceramic National Exhibition. You can explore their archives, virtual exhibitions, and downloadable activities for kids and families. You can also enjoy lectures from with their Curator of Ceramics Garth Johnson.
Today we are highlighting an institution with collections and archives about state history. There are some great tools and resources below for educators and parents as well as researchers and genealogists.
The Ohio History Collection, formally the Ohio Historical Society, is a non-profit that has been around since 1885. They provide Ohio history services, house the state archive, and manage over 50 historical sites all across Ohio.
Their Learn at Home page from the museum’s education department breaks down their lessons into different levels of learning:
Each section has different topics for you to choose from along with recommend grade level. When you select a topic you will see links to lesson plans, activities/prompts, and videos. Have questions about one of the topics or resources? During this closure you are able to Ask the Museum Educator.
Their Youtube Channel offers videos on a wide range of topics. You will find videos of historical reenactors, exhibition highlights, behind the scene looks, and curators using the collection to discuss different moments in the state’s history.
Their Digital Resource page features all their digital collections and can be a great place to start if you are beginning your search into what they have available. Here you will finds links to:
If you are looking for historical images or interactive Digital Collections page offers even more resources.
This week we are featuring the virtual resources of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Founded in 1879 this art museum is one of the nation’s oldest and largest. Their virtual resource page, Visit us Virtually, has a curated collection of what they offer while the building itself is closed. Though all of there resources are available at any time.
Their temporary exhibition El Greco: Ambition and Defiance has a page with ways the viewer can see and experience the work while the museum is closed.
Their Collection Page showcases their impressive holdings, including this famous piece.
If you scroll down on each of the object’s individual pages you will see a link to Multimedia, which offers video and audio resources, and Educational Resources, which offers teacher guides about the work.
For parents and educators there is a wealth of resources when creating lesson plans. Their Educator Resource page has packets on select objects that include background on the object, maker information, vocabulary, and history on the time it was made.
Their interactive Journey Maker uses themes to create a custom map of different objects in the museum. A great tool for when you are exploring the museum in person, it is still an engaging way for learners to explore the collection digitally.
You can also check out the Get Creative at Home webpage for creative activity prompts, writing prompts, and even coloring book pages based on some of the most well known pieces in the collection.
Their Youtube Channel features their virtual tours, past recorded lectures, educational videos about objects and artists, and past promotional videos.
Additionally, the museum offers Audio Tours, Interactive Articles, Digital Publications, and a Blog. The Blog features articles about the collection, conservation efforts, artist profiles and dispatches from their staff at home.
In the artcile It Broke: Dispatch from a Homeschooling Conservator, Rachel Sabino writes about how she is using toy repair as an opportunity teach her 5 year old about materials and the day to day of her job.
Read it or Weep 