Medieval helpdesk, some things never change.

You have to realize the guy has been using scrolls his whole life and not books (codex)! Books are the "new" technology.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Rolling Stones...

The library has a display on The Rolling Stones, the band, that along with The Beatles, brought the British rock to the USA in the 1960s. The display includes books, DVDs, and CDs from the libraryʻs extensive music and media collection.


Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! or Happy Lupercalia!

On February 14, the Lupercalia fertility (and love) festival dedicated to Faunus was celebrated. Fannus  is the the Roman god of agriculture.

"To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage."

And if you are wondering about Sweetheart candies, per Wikipedia:

"Oliver R. Chase invented a machine in 1847 to cut lozenges from wafer candy, similar to Necco Wafers, and started a candy factory.

Daniel Chase, Oliver's brother, began printing sayings on the candy in 1866. He designed a machine that was able to press on the candy similar to a stamp. The candy was often used for weddings since the candies had witty saying such as: "Married in pink, he will take a drink", "Married in White, you have chosen right", and "Married in Satin, Love will not be lasting".

The heart-shaped conversation candies to be called Sweethearts got their start in 1901."

The candy is still made in the USA.