Cleveland

Are You Bored Yet?

LinneaLeave a comment

We’re entering those lazy days of summer, where it becomes all too easy to binge every episode of Love Island, lounging on the couch in air conditioning. But July is National Anti-Boredom Month and each week I’ll showcase some books that will (hopefully) get you out of the boredom cycle! 

A great way to keep boredom at bay is to be a tourist in your own city. It’s easy to take for granted what you can experience everyday but there’s a whole world just a walk, bike ride, car trip, or bus journey away! If you’re looking to escape into the great outdoors, you’ve come to the right city. Best Hikes Cleveland will get you out and about, exploring all the wonderful parks and hikes within an hour drive. Not so interested in nature? Check out all the spooky happenings in Haunted Ohio, if you dare. Rather explore Cleveland by food? There are plenty of restaurants to taste test in Unique Eats and Eateries of Cleveland. And if you’re up for the ultimate Cleveland challenge, why not start working on 100 Things to Do in Cleveland Before You Die?  

If you’re farther afield from Cleveland, check out another book in the 100 Things to Do in… series for your city or a city nearby. If you’re eager to explore, Lonely Planet has tons of road trip guides, whether you’re in the United States or France or Australia, even!  

But if you just feel like relaxing as we all deserve to do, honestly, that’s a pretty good way to spend the summer too! 

-Linnea

5 Days for Democracy: Day 2 – What’s on my ballot?

ShannonLeave a comment

For Day 2 of Five Days for Democracy, we’re looking at how to find out what’s on your ballot!

If you haven’t heard of Five Days for Democracy, the annual challenge run by the City Club of Cleveland, here’s the info: it’s a weeklong deep dive into democracy and what it means to participate in it, and you can sign up here. Each day for a week, you will get an email with videos, articles to read, and other things that will make you think. This year’s theme is how engaging in local politics is as impactful in voting every four years for president.

Voting down the ballot is more important now than ever, but it can be a daunting process to figure out what issues and candidates are actually on your ballot, especially for local elections. Luckily, there is an easy way to find out: Vote 411! Vote 411 is run by the League of Women Voters, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has been educating voters for over a century.

On the Vote 411 website, click on “Find What’s On Your Ballot” to start, and then enter your street address.

Now you can look at each issue or race, and even click on each candidate to find out more information.* You can look at demographic information and even their stance on particular issues. Plus, you can compare two candidates side by side.

You can also choose to have your ballot summary texted to you, so you remember who to vote for at the polls!

Or if you want to go straight to the source, you can find a PDF of the actual ballot on the Secretary of State’s sample ballot page by selecting your county.

*Note: These sites only work if your area has an election coming up.

For information on past elections, check out Ballotpedia, a nonprofit that is a digital encyclopedia of United States elections and politics.

Check back later this week for more on 5 Days for Democracy!

Your Library Staff at Home- Arts and Culture Online

GregLeave a comment

Hello All! Greg here, Cowan Pottery Museum Curator and Local History Librarian. During this time many museums and cultural institutions have expanded their already substantial online presence to give patrons remote access to their resources. Each week we will be highlighting a different institution and all of the free resources they offer. Whether you are looking for new educational opportunities, entertainment, inspiration for your own creative practice, or research resources for remote academic resources.

The first institution we will be highlighting is a local one:

The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Home

The Cleveland Museum of Art will be be coming to RRPL with the new speaker series:

History TALKS

Wednesday June 24, 7:00 -8:00 pm, Auditorium

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.

Exploring the Collections

Celebrating over a hundred years (founded in 1916) this museum already offered many online and remote resources. Recently they have made it very easy to find all they offer by creating their Home Is Where the Art Is resource page.

On this page you will find links to search and explore their vast collections online. You can choose different stylistic periods, limit results by medium, artists, and culture. Some objects have video that allow for a more dynamic appreciation of sculptural pieces and information on the history of the piece.

Learn about their 30,000 public domain artworks and how they are being used in commercial and non-commercial ways. This resource also has 3D models that can be downloaded via Sketchfab.

Looking for some direction? You can hear from their staff with their Blog and new Video Series. A great resource when you are looking where to start.

Parents and Educators

Additional they offer some amazing resource for learners at any age with their:

Lesson Plans

And

Interpretive Resources

Patrons can search these resources by grade level and topics to create engaging lessons about the history of art as well as connecting them to STEM.

Research

11 paintings Artist: Frederic Clay Bartlett
11 paintings Artist: Frederic Clay Bartlett, 1918, Negative 00057, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives

The Museum’s library, Ingalls Library, has some amazing remote resources for researchers. I have personally used these resources when researching the artists of the Cowan Pottery Studio. Specifically their May Show Archive has been especially valuable to my research of Cowan Artists’ careers. When researching my talk for last year’s Cowan Pottery Symposium I was able to use their Entry Card Database to find the handwritten entry cards from artists like R. Guy Cowan, Edris Eckhardt, Thelma Frazier-Winters, and many more!

Cowan, Reginald Guy–1919 May Show, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives

To get familiar with these resources a great place to start is their Digital Collections. This page highlights their digitized resources and allows users to become comfortable with the interface.

The Editorial Photography collection gives you the opportunity to see exhibition’s from the museum’s past. You get the chance to see previous exhibits as well as how the museum’s appearance has changed over the years.

Gallery 27 - Year in Review

Gallery 27 – Year in Review, 1961, Negative
32720J, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives

-The African American History Archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society- African-American History Month

GregLeave a comment

Our next featured local resource is the African American Archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Western Reserve Historical Society

Established in 1970, the archives mission is to “collect, preserve and make accessible historic documents, photographs, memorabilia, art, and artifacts pertaining to African American life, history and culture in Northeast Ohio.” Online you can browse through their catalog to see the archive’s holdings and its location within the Historical Society. Additionally they offer an useful subjects tab that lets you narrow your search results. It should be noted that there are materials that cover national history as well.

For information on the African American Archives Auxiliary or to find out how to support its work, contact:

Sherlynn Allen-Harris
African American Archives Auxiliary, Acting President
Western Reserve Historical Society, Board of Directors, Ex-Officio Member
sallenharris@ameritech.net

Additional programs at the Western Reserve Historical Society:

 

-Cleveland Historical- African-American History Month

GregLeave a comment

Our first featured local resource is Cleveland Historical: “Developed by the Center for Public History + Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University, Cleveland Historical lets you explore the people, places, and moments that have shaped the city’s history.”

There is an amazing wealth of information on landmarks and events telling the story of life in Cleveland. This site offers pictures, recorded oral history, news clippings, and cited sources to continue your own research. They organize topics by “Tours” which is centered around a single topic and the different  Below is a link to African Americans in Cleveland, a Tour spanning over a 100 years of  public and personal accounts.

African Americans in Cleveland

Curated by The Cleveland Historical Team

Cleveland Historical
Euclid-East 105th Area, 1946 ID: 6240
Adonees Sarrouh and J. Mark Souther, “Cleveland’s Second Downtown,” Cleveland Historical, accessed February 5, 2018, https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/49.

Lastest Additions

MeganLeave a comment

Oh, what a difference a year makes! Last year at this time we where digging out of a late fall blizzard and bracing ourselves for more snow and record cold. It was weather that demanded we hunker down and read. A year later it’s nothing but clear skies and temperatures in the 60’s. It’s perfect weather for an outdoor project or a walk on the beach. I managed to squeeze both of those into my day yesterday; an audiobook and my dog my constant companions. My amazing and handy brother built me a bench from our grandmother’s old bed frame. Look at all that sun! Note the T-shirt! Later, Kevin (the dog) and I explored a new stretch of beach down at Edgewater and discovered this unusual structure. All the while, I was riveted by Career of Evil, by Robert Galbraith. This third book in the Cormoran Strike series is definitely my favorite. One of my awesome colleagues already entered this title into the Reading Room.

image image

Whether you are looking to hunker down and read or trying to soak up every last bit of warmth and sunshine, the Reading Room will help you find the perfect book. Check out some of these Latest Additions or explore the extensive back list of titles.

career of evil

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith.

furiously

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson.

ana

Ana of California by Andi Teran.

this is your life

This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! by Jonathan Evison.

And finally, here is a sneak peek at a book coming in 2016:

salt to the sea

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, February 2, 2016 (put yourself on hold now!)

Happy Reading!

~Megan

Cleveland’s Department Stores

AnnLeave a comment

I didn’t grow up in Cleveland so I don’t remember the big department stores such as Bailey’s and Sterling-Lindner, but I do remember Halle’s, Higbee’s, and the May Company. The stores downtown at Christmas were wonderful and exciting to visit. Did you know that Lucille Ball visited Halle’s in 1956? Or that the giant cash register installed at the new May Company store at Parmatown in 1960 was considered cutting-edge? Check it all out in the book, Cleveland’s Department Stores by Christopher Faircloth.                                                                                  ~ Ann