Dr. Motoko Reece was a true gem of Cleveland Public Library. The legacy she built in Special Collections was to honor and enlighten the public of the collections established by John G. White back in 1899. Today, the White Collections of chess, Orientalia, and folklore are world-renowned. Dr. Reece worked in the Fine Arts & Special Collections Department for 20…
With the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies returning to Cleveland, it would be an appropriate time to take a look at the zines at the Cleveland Public Library. In case you’re not familiar with what a ZINE is, it’s a short hand term used for a magazine or a fanzine. They are a small-circulated self-published work…
Cleveland Public Library’s Special Collections Department owns the 1954 edition of the novel The Third Generation by Chester B. Himes (1909-1984). This autobiographical story mirrors Himes’s upbringing after his family moved from Missouri to Cleveland in the early 1920s. The novel portrays a Southern black family who constantly had to move as the father searched for teaching jobs. The situation puts a…
Cleveland Public Library houses the largest chess publication library in the world. It includes any type of chess-related document, manuscript, photograph, object, or archive that falls in this category. The Claude F. Bloodgood Collection was donated to the Library in 2003. It contains Bloodgood’s personal papers, including legal documents, medical and other prison records, and chess-related items from the 1970s…
The Cleveland Public Library Special Collections proudly displays its recent donation of a painting created by Cleveland artist Moses Pearl. It is entitled Relaxation on the Mall, which depicts one of the granite carvings that surrounds the sphere in the pool of the fountain on Mall C in downtown Cleveland. Mr. Pearl (1917-2003) was a graduate from the Cleveland School…
The Cleveland Public Library has supported Public Art for over 100 years. Art at the Library has inspired, mesmerized, and created much discussion over its purpose and meaning. Art creates dialogue and makes us realize we all see something different so let’s talk about it. Ed Mieczkowski was one of those artists who saw and painted things differently. Back…