Tag Archives: #research

Answering Michael Rosenblum: What IS a Library?

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

A fellow named Michael Rosenblum, whom I have never encountered before, has written a Huffington Post essay on libraries and meanders about on the idea that Google has made them obsolete. Mind you, this is not a direct point — … Continue reading →

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Posted in History, Libraries | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Wikipedia: Murder and Myth — A Note on Sources

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

In case you just tuned in, I am using the Wikipedia entry on Wallace Beery — alleging that he was involved in the death of Ted Healy — as a way to explore Wikipedia’s fundamental problems with accuracy and delve … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, History, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wikipedia Watch: Yuri Gadyukin Hoax

Posted on April 28, 2013 by

An elaborate Wikipedia hoax involves a purported Soviet film director — who never existed. Among his alleged works is “Where the Tractors Roam.”

Posted in Film, History, Wikipedia | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Coming Attractions: Los Angeles Archives Bazaar

Posted on October 17, 2012 by

The annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar will be held Oct. 27 at USC’s Doheny Memorial Library. The bazaar is an excellent way to become acquainted with the astounding number of libraries and historical societies across the city and their amazingly … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Coming Attractions, History, Libraries | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A World Without Wikipedia: Not Such a Bad Idea

Posted on January 18, 2012 by

Wikipedia can stay dark permanently as far as I’m concerned. It’s a sinkhole of rumors and errors run by coding tweakers, factoid zealots and folks with tinfoil hats — and yes, Wikipedia has an entry on tinfoil hats. I don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, History | Tagged , , | 21 Comments

Google Strikes Again

Posted on August 25, 2011 by

Google has a bad habit of introducing a wonderful feature and then breaking it a few years later, as quietly as possible. The latest victim is Google’s online newspaper archives. Researchers may have noticed that the interface changed recently. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy, Libraries | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A Kindred Spirit: The New York Wanderer

Posted on July 3, 2011 by

Retired real estate investor Benjamin P. Feldman picked up an old change purse at a flea market and was intrigued by the name stamped on it: Compliments of Sol Goldberg’s Cafe. So he began to investigate. Feldman told the New … Continue reading →

Posted in From the Reference Desk, Libraries | Tagged , , | 2 Comments