Social Responsibility and Libraries

Trigger Warning: This post contains slurs and epithets used against the LGBTQ+ community. The American Library Association describes its values as the following: Access Confidentiality/Privacy Democracy Diversity Education and Lifelong Learning Intellectual Freedom The Public Good Preservation Professionalism Service Social Responsibility Sustainability Social responsibility was the one that caught my attention immediately. To me, it

Korean Movable Type: A Mini-History

Most scholars credit China with the conception of printing. The oldest surviving printed book, The Diamond Sutra, dates back to 868 AD. For reference, Gutenberg’s bible was printed in 1455. Fast forward a century from the Diamond Sutra and we meet Bi Sheng who was the first person to create movable type between 1039 and

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

This is a crosspost, click here to see the original by Kyung Kim. We are celebrating Asian and Pacific American Heritage this month. Congress proclaimed a week of May in 1979 as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week, and in 1992, it designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the first

Their Stories: Why Oral History Matters.

LGBTQ+ history has traditionally been passed down orally. Through stories, shared experiences, and even gossip, queer people have kept alive their art, colloquialisms, and their truth. Oral history is a huge component to understanding the queer experience (as for other cultures). However, it is a more modern development for institutions to note the value of

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

This is a guest post to Illuminations for the Great Rare Books Bake Off, by Denise Wetzel, STEM Research & Learning Librarian. “Ye Olde Baking Adventure” began by looking through various cookbooks from my family’s home in Schuylkill (pronounced SKOOL-kill) County, Pennsylvania. Even though I now live in Florida, and have been pretty much in

Tasting History: A Modernized Recipe for Bizcochos de Chocolate

This is a guest post to Illuminations for the Great Rare Books Bake Off, by Dr. Tanya M. Peres, Associate Professor of Anthropology. Do you put together a cookie tray for the holidays? The first time I did was in 2003 with my good friend Kristin when I lived in Lexington, Kentucky. I’ve been making

Les Poissons & Louisiana Lagniappe

This is a guest contribution to Illuminations for The Great Rare Books Bake Off by Adam Beauchamp, Humanities Librarian at FSU Libraries.  I love seafood. If it lives beneath the waves, I’m willing to fry it and try it. I grew up on the Great Lakes and then spent most of my adult life in

To Bake a Neates-Tongue, To Be Eaten Hot

A Neates Tongue is a beef tongue. Beef tongue is not a regular dish in my home, and a little more expensive than I thought, but it compared nicely to a pot-roast. Although the recipe is over 350 years old, the ingredients were easy to find and resulted in a delicious meal.

A Short Cut for (stewed) Mushrooms

The Compleat Cook was produced as a separate volume of culinary recipes alongside a larger collection of medicinal and confectionary recipes in 1655 entitled The Queens Closet Opened: Incomparable Secrets in Physic, Chirurgery, Preserving, Candying, and Cookery.

Pick a Gourd, any Gourd: Winter Squash Soup

This is a guest contribution to Illuminations for The Great Rare Books Bake Off by Christianne Beekman. Winter Squash (or pick any gourd) soup I initially wanted to call this recipe “Pick Your Favorite Gourd” Soup. After some research it became clear to me that pumpkin (or butternut squash, which I ended up using) is