It's insane that Eurocentric beauty standards have made people of the African diaspora think that their natural hair and skin color are unpresentable. --Me

Since most of this year has seemed like an episode out of a sci-fi novel, and it's not lost on anyone that we're living through a major historical event, here are some suggestions of important things you might consider keeping for posterity's sake. 

Award-winning Artist, Author, and Illustrator

While September is normally my month for educational posts, I'm bypassing that this year for something different - new images and footage! As a continuation from a previous post with old photos, this post includes a slideshow of a collection I've been processing the past few weeks, plus some new footage from our Audiovisual Heritage Center. 

Studio NPL Teams with Southern Word to Engage City’s Youth with Creative Workshops

This is part 1 in a series of blog posts about the projects Metro Archives' staff have been working on during quarantine and the important finds we've made, such as a Criminal Court case involving Rep. John Lewis, and unscanned Metro Photographer negatives. 

Part III in the Dury Business and Family blog posts: Christine has translated more pages from Katharina Dury's diary. 

This month's Nashville history post is letting photography do the talking, with a variety of slideshows for all to enjoy. Starting with a tribute to all medical workers for their dedicated service during these trying times, to finishing with a little more of "Some Good News - Archives Edition." 

How does a vacation to a far-off destination sound to you? Maybe with a beautiful, sandy beach or a picturesque french countryside; amazing right? And also not physically feasible for most people right now. But that doesn't mean you can't still go to these places, just check out one of these books. 

Soooo this year has started off rather interestingly...and by interesting I mean NOT GREAT, so far. So instead of writing a whole bunch of historic info, I'm just giving you all photos this month. These are some of my favorites from our collection that I hope may bring a smile to some of your faces. 

Periods of self-distancing and isolation can make us feel anxious and BORED. Here are some recommendations for ebooks that help you fill the time with activity or stillness.

To celebrate Artober, let's look at one of my favorite mediums: thread.

Right now, in the basement of the library, in the puppet workshop, a story is being brought to life. It is the story of Lorraine: the Girl Who Sang the Storm Away. Let’s take a behind-the-scenes look at this brand new show by Wishing Chair Productions in collaboration with Old Crow Medicine Show front man Ketch Secor.

New exhibit of Gary Layda's photography at Main showcases change in Nashville from the 1980s to the 2010s. 

If you read May's blog post about the Dury family, here is part II of the series that takes a sharp look at Katharina Dury's 19th-century diary. 

In addition to being a groundbreaking, trendsetting partnership between the public library and public school systems, Limitless Libraries also sponsors an annual bookmark and poster contest in celebration of School Library Month. Check out the 2019 winners!

As part 1 of a 2-part series about the local photography institution that is Dury's, and also in honor of National Photography Month, read about how one of Nashville's oldest businesses got its start and has remained a successful and beloved business in Nashville all of these years. 

Nashville's history with theatre and the performing arts is long and storied. You can find treasure after treasure documenting this history in NPL Special Collections. On May 25, Special Collections is playing its own role in the story.

The Jack Gunter Civil Rights Photography Collection is now open to researchers!

The announcement of the Caldecott, Newbery, and other recipients of the American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Awards is a cause for celebration! Did your favorites win? Or what books will now be on your reading list? Check out our round-up (with links to our collection) below

One of the most marvelous writers and illustrators of children's literature today, Yuyi Morales mines her Mexican childhood for the magical words and riotous colors that inform her beautiful books. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the prestigious Pura Belpré Medal.

In celebration of the Library's Summer Challenge theme of "Being a Reading Rockstar," this month's Nashville history post takes a look back at the arts' festival that used to entertain the streets of Nashville long before Lightning 100's "Live on the Green" was around...

Ah, here is something to be savored and enjoyed!  I make no bones about Flamenco’s being my favorite art form, but biases aside, this is a magnificent, gorgeous, jaw-dropping film by a master director, Carlos Saura.

Lately I’ve been thinking about Superman. This is not all that unusual, as there are three different’ representations of the character sitting on my desk as I write this, but I’ve been thinking about what he means to the world.

A TV series that intersects at one of the few points where art and fine dining meet.

A new picture book biography of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, whose enormous book collection formed the basis of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, is an artistic and literary achievement.

Winsor McCay looms so large over the world of cartooning and animation that no ordinary book can contain the majesty of his work. This is no ordinary book.

The one thing that I love to tell people about when they visit Metro Archives, is that we're more than simply a repository for city-wide governmental records. Yes, the records we have are archaic in nature and therefore highly informative and fascinating. But it's the photographs we also have from around the city that are most-telling about the city's past. In honor of National Photography month, check out some of the best photos from around our beloved city.

Remember the 1994 Keanu Reeves/Sandra Bullock joint Speed? It was an action film pitched to film executives and the public alike as “Die Hard on a bus.” 

Let me start out by saying that I usually have a harder time focusing on essay books, which may or may not be attributed to some mild attention problems. However, I loved every moment of Alan Cumming’s essays in You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams. 

The Bad Boy of Ballet! Wait...is that even a thing?

Metro Archives recently received a small donation of documents/photographs/clippings for a couple of local Nashville families' vertical files. The families that are related by marriage are the McClanahans and the Weakley - 2 families that I found after a little research, have prominent roots in Nashville. The photographs donated date to around the early 20th century and are without doubt, very remarkable. However, many came without a caption or any identifiers at all, and they're not all in Nashville. The families appeared to have traveled a lot. Can you help us out and help identify a few of these locations?  

Mike Schacht's iconic baseball player portraits come to Nashville Public Library.

Your read with your eyes first, right? Obviously, you do, but how important is cover art and design when choosing a book?

Celebrating Women's History Month by rediscovering one of Nashville's pioneering managers.

The main library is alive with the bright colors of local artists, but it isn’t your average show. 

The Queen of Eat, Pray, Love is back - this time with great ideas on how to conquer fear and get creative!

Check out these art-inspired books to help celebrate this month of the arts!

There’s no better way to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month than by discussing some of the amazing books by Latin American authors in the Wilson Limited Editions Collection.

3 nights at a 4 star hotel in a warm climate: approximately $1000

Car rental to get you to the beach: $100

Reading a good book at said beach while you dig your toes into the warm sand: Priceless. Oh wait. No, I’m sorry. The name of the book is Priceless. You don’t have to read it at the beach. You can read it anywhere you want.