Friday, August 26, 2016

Gateway to Well-being

Conf info
St. Louis Public Library is excited to take part in Yoga Buzz's Gateway to Well-being festival on Saturday, September 3 on the downtown St. Louis riverfront from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. In anticipation we in the Social Sciences room have gathered some titles on well-being for some one-stop wellness shopping - come by if you want to do some advance reading for the festival. In addition to our books, which you can check out with your St. Louis Public Library card, we have some great periodicals, including those pictured here. Perhaps you are a boddhisatva (one on the path to awakening/enlightenment) - or want to be? Come in and curl up with the Fall 2016 Buddhadharma for some tips. Or pick up the Lion's Roar for some mindfulness guidance. Or just come to the riverfront on the first Saturday in September and learn what we have to offer.

Namaste!

 
 

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Who doesn't love wisdom? Philosophy 101 at St. Louis Public Library



Philosophy books make up a fair portion of the collection in the Social Sciences Room at Central Library, so we thought we would pull a few titles from the Dewey Decimal System 100s to let our patrons do a little philosophical exploration.

Grab a book and dip your toe in - if you decide you want to do a deep dive, we'd be happy to show you to the 110s (metaphysics), 120s (epistemology), 140s (philosophical schools of thought), 160s (philosophical logic), 170s (ethics), 180s (ancient, medieval & eastern philosophy), & 190s (modern western philosophy). And if the Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy has already been checked out, the good news is it is also available in e-book form - just check the slpl.org catalog. Enjoy!




Friday, August 5, 2016

Celebrate the Vote & Save the Date for A Centennial Celebration of the Golden Lane


In 1916, over 3000 suffragists converged on Saint Louis, Missouri in the sweltering heat for the Democratic National Convention to demand that a plank be included in the party platform in support of women's suffrage. The women wore white dresses and golden sashes that said “Votes for Women” and lined Locust Street where the delegates would walk from the Jefferson Hotel to the convention center. Their “walkless talkless parade” would become known as “The Golden Lane” and they accomplished their objective, as this was included in the 1916 Democratic platform (from p. 21 of the National Democratic Party's Democratic Text Book - 1916):

“We recommend the extension of the franchise
to the women of the country
by the States upon the same terms as to men.”

The League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis is hosting a centennial celebration at Central Library on Saturday, September 3:


10:00         Music
10:30         Join the parade! Wear white like the 1916 suffragists. Or, just be yourself - which is part of what the suffragists were fighting for.
11:00         Speakers
11:30-2      Food, Shopping, Voter Registration, Music, Movies, and More


In anticipation of the celebration, we have gathered some books from our shelves about the struggle for the vote and the accomplishments women have achieved since the 19th Amendment passed. One treasure we found in the stacks is Women are People! by Alice Duer Miller, a slim 1917 volume of verse and essays, many of which were published in the New York Tribune.


Here is one of the poems, from the section "Our Friend the Enemy" - and some pictures of our book display. Hope you come visit us if you come to the celebration - or any time you are downtown.


Her Representative

"I represent my wife," he said;
"I really cannot see
How she would profit by the vote;
I vote for her and me.
And men consider - Time has shown -
Their wives' opinions like their own.


"If my wife voted she would vote
For many silly measures,
Which do not add in any way
To profits or to pleasures;
Like Widows' Pensions, Equal Pay,
More schools, and an eight-hour day.


"On Woman Suffrage I vote no;
Perhaps you had not heard
My wife believes in that as well;
How wicked and absurd!
Oh let us save domestic strife,
And let me represent my wife!"