If you’re fascinated by local history, you'll be excited about the library's new Community History Archive. Debuting this month at archive.dbrl.org, this site offers a searchable archive of local historical images and documents.
News
Have Memorial Day plans? Mark your calendar to spend time with us as some old faces of Columbia come to life at the Columbia Cemetery. On Monday, May 28, the Friends of the Historic Columbia Cemetery will be hosting their second annual History Comes Alive tour of notable people buried in the cemetery. This free…
Continue reading "History Comes Alive: Victor Barth & John Lange, Sr." Adults
When the first Kentucky Derby ran in May of 1875, 13 of the 15 jockeys were Black Americans. Oliver Lewis, a 19-year-old Black man rode the winning horse. The horse’s trainer Ansel Williamson had been born into slavery in the mid-19th century. In 1864, Williamson had been purchased by Robert Alexander, owner of Woodburn Stud…
Continue reading "Black History Month: Equestrian Edition" Adults
As a chronic overthinker, I spend a lot of time and mental energy asking, “What if?” Therefore, it is surprising that I haven’t really ventured into what is basically a What If genre. That’s the point of Read Harder though – branching out. Alternate history novels describe a re-imagined world in which an element of…
Continue reading "Read Harder 2019: An Alternate History Novel" Adults
March is Women’s History Month, but here at the Know Your Dystopias underground bunker I am always looking to the future — the depressing, bleak future. So I will recognize this occasion with a roundup of (mostly) recent contributions to dystopian lit written by women that specifically envision what the future might hold for women…
Continue reading "Know Your Dystopias: Women’s History Month Edition" Adults
On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers made their first successful airplane flight on a beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It lasted a mere 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. There would be three more flights that day, the longest totaling 59 seconds and covering 852 feet. But Wilbur and Orville Wright were certainly…
Continue reading "Literary Links: A Brief History of Human Flight" Adults
If you enjoy some of the wonderful trails that Columbia has to offer, the letters “MKT” might sound a bit familiar. Long before it was a recreational trail, the MKT was actually a railroad line that spanned the states of Missouri, Kansas, and Texas – hence the name MKT. On Wednesday, May 22 at 7:00 pm…
Continue reading "The History of the MKT Railroad" Adults
If you’re a music fan and want to dig further behind the music, there are always a lot of great books to read. But if you want to hear the people behind the music and see their process, nothing can beat a documentary. Check out these documentary series that explore different aspects of music history…
Continue reading "Sounds Of Our Past: Doc Series’ Featuring Music History" Adults
Have you ever wanted to know a lot more about a specific topic or increase your knowledge of a broad area of study? The Great Courses allows you to do that by listening to lectures, presented by college professors and experts, in a very diverse range of fields. Now, before you stop reading from fear…
Continue reading "Learn World History from the Experts With The Great Courses" Adults