Library Blogs

In the third of Steven Saylor's series of novels set in the ancient world, Roman detective Gordianus the Finder receives a message saying his former tutor, now living in Ephesus, is in great danger. He travels to Ephesus and discovers a plot by King Mithridates to kill all the Romans in the kingdom. Will Gordianus prevent the massacre from taking place?

Murder in Passy is part of a long-running mystery series set in Paris in the 1990s, featuring private detective Aimée Leduc. When Aimée's mentor becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his Basque girlfriend, her investigation leads her into the world of Basque terrorists and a kidnapped Spanish princess.

“Beauty and the Beast” is one of the most popular and frequently republished fairy tales. While it has roots and antecedents in animal groom folklore and classical mythology, such as the tale of Cupid and Psyche, the specific characters and narrative elements that compose the tale we know as “Beauty and the Beast” have their origin in the literary fairy tale “La Belle et la Běte” written in 1740 by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve.

26 Songs in 30 Days: Woody Guthrie's Columbia River Songs and the Planned Promised Land in the Pacific Northwest provides a history of folksinger/songwriter Woody Guthrie's month-long position with the Bonneville Power Administration creating songs about the Columbia River, Grand Coulee Dam and other topics related to the electrification of the Pacific Northwest.

Before the 21st century marriage equality campaign, how did LGBT individuals frame their own relationships against the backdrop of a hostile society? Delving into the Joseph A. Labadie Collection, a pioneering record of American social and political protest movements, uncovers some surprising answers.

We now have several new Atari 7800 games available! They all come with boxes in near mint condition which feature the box art of the era, so we thought we'd share a few examples with you. Enjoy!

The University of Michigan Library replaces roughly 1/4 of our computers every year. It is a long and complicated process when one considers the number of library staff and the number of computers (both in office and public areas where staff machines are used) involved.

This year we use a locally developed tool to streamline the process.

This Wednesday's watermark feature: scissors motifs in watermarked papers from our Islamic Manuscripts Collection.

Here Be Dragons is an epic historical novel set in thirteenth-century England and Wales. Llewelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of North Wales, is married off in a political alliance to Joanna, illegitimate daughter of King John of England. Against all expectations, and in spite of an almost twenty-year difference in their ages, they fall in love. But when Joanna's father decides he wants to make Wales part of his kingdom, Joanna's loyalties are torn between the two men she loves most, her father and her husband. Penman paints a complex picture of both societies, the English (or, rather, the Norman-French) and the Welsh, and she draws you so deeply into her world that you don't want to leave.

The first Friday in June is National Doughnut Day! We have items across our collections that feature this delectable treat...