Identifying antique glass isn’t always easy. If you’re lucky, a piece may be marked, like this Phanomen vase, which is signed “Loetz Austria” on its pontil (the spot on the base where the blown molten glass was attached to a pontil for shaping). Proof of its maker, not to mention its ...

My heart goes out to people experiencing weather-related disasters. I can try to imagine but do not know how such devastation feels. Research suggests that fictional books may be empathy-building tools. (https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/reading-fiction-empathy-better-person) Climate fiction, or ...

Whatever you have planned — the beach, pool, campground, your own backyard, or pretty much staying indoors — these summer tips, tricks, hacks, and DIYs are sure to offer a sigh of relief to help you do anytime-of-year heat waves like a champ! Run cold water over your wrists Here’s a ...

Before the use of electric lights, lamps were designed to cast as much light as possible. With the introduction of electric light bulbs, invented in 1879, lamps took on new forms and functions. In some cases, lampshades had to soften the light instead of amplifying or directing it. In the ...

You may have noticed that your magazine subscriptions are changing. Some are no longer being published in print form and are only available digitally and others have changed their subscription schedules by publishing fewer issues per year. This has, of course, affected the library’s ...

Enamel has been used in decorative arts since at least the Middle Ages. It was especially popular in Europe and Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries. With this in mind, it may sound like an unlikely medium for the 20th century. But modern art embraces the unexpected. Karl Drerup, an artist who ...