The Cleveland Public Library Main Library has unparalleled research collections available for students participating in National History Day 2009. The Library holds a variety of material that documents the history of Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, Ohio, the United States and the World.
Did you know the History and Geography Department has an extensive collection of travel guides and pamphlets?
Travel Encounters! The new webpage of the History and Geography Department is dedicated to providing travel tips, trips and tales to all those who seek adventure. The new webpage includes useful information for the most experienced business traveler, for a family planning a vacation, and for a student studying abroad: Suggested destinations, helpful travel resources, timely news for the traveler and event information from across the globe is presented.
See featured selections from the Library’s extensive and up-to-date collection of maps, pamphlets, and travel guides from all of the major publishers, and from some of the lesser-known publishers. Travel series included are: Lonely Planet, Michelin, Insiders’ Guide, Moon Handbooks, Access Guides, Rick Steves’, Rough Guides, Off the Beaten Path, Eyewitness Travel, Insight Guides, and more. Before you travel visit Travel Encounters!
 |
|
Click image for large view |
Generation after generation, the Cleveland Public Library has been one of best places to view the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. We welcome you to come in and get warm, watch from our windows, and take a good look around at our books and displays while you’re here.
Image: 1960 St. Patrick's Day Parade, Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland Public Library Photograph Collection.
 |
|
Click on image for large view
|
When viewing images from our past we are often overcome with a desire to experience historical events firsthand. A thorough study of history using primary and secondary sources can help us “experience” past events that have long since passed us by.
A primary source is typically created by the historical group or person we are interested in. These are sources that require some analysis on our part; they free us to form our own opinions. A secondary source is a source that contains analysis by another person based on the primary source. The benefit of secondary sources is that they illuminate the documents we are interested in by exposing us to different viewpoints.
 |
|
Click on image for large view
|
Historians, genealogists and anyone curious about Cleveland history can now search the full text of all issues of the Call and Post (1934 to the present) instantly. The research possibilities are endless and amazing: newspaper research that would have formerly been extremely time-consuming, if not totally impossible, is now done in a matter of seconds! Do you remember reading about a family member or an old neighbor in the Call & Post? Now you can find the article instantly, as long as you remember the name. Search features allow you narrow your search by date and document type (article, obituary, marriage, editorial, etc.) To search 1934-1991, use the Call and Post database. To search 1992 to the present, use the Ethnic Newswatch database. Remote access available to CPL cardholders.
Cleveland's branch libraries built prior to 1930 typically included fire places in both the adult and children's reading rooms as a design feature to create a feeling of homelike comfort. Decorative ceramic art tile, popularized by the Arts and Crafts movement, were utilized around the fireplace openings. Library architects chose tile from important American potteries: the Grueby Pottery in Boston, the Pewabic Pottery in Detroit, and the Moravian Tile and Pottery works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Rice Branch, built in 1927 by architects Walker and Weeks, originally had two fireplaces that were covered over as part of a modernization and renovation of the building in 1981. Prior to 2008, Library staff believed that both fireplaces had been totally removed, and that any art tiles were lost or destroyed.
Visit the History and Geography Department and take advantage of the Library’s extensive collection of travel guides to help you plan your adventure. The up-to-date collection includes guides by all of the major publishers and includes lesser-known publications such as Lonely Planet, Michelin, Insiders’ Guide, Moon Handbooks, Access Guides, Rick Steves’, Rough Guides, Off the Beaten Path, Eyewitness Travel, Insight Guides, and many more.
Thinking about running with the bulls in Spain? Want to try your luck in Las Vegas or celebrate the New Year in Hong Kong? Planning a family trip to see Niagara Falls, or a meeting with a friend in a sidewalk café in Europe?
The worst school fire in U.S. history occurred on March 4, 1908, when Collinwood’s Lake View School was destroyed in an uncontrollable inferno. Known as the Collinwood School Fire, this disaster shocked the world with its death toll of 172 children and three adults. In preparing an exhibit to commemorate the centennial of the disaster, Cleveland Public Library uncovered a rare silent film of the fire scene and public funeral. These short films are being shown here for the first time in a century. Also included is a short film of the Cleveland Fire Department displaying its equipment in 1900. Cleveland Fire Department provided back-up assistance to the Collinwood Fire Department at the time of the fire and would have used equipment similar to what is seen in this film.