Behind the Stacks
News from the Reference Library
by Zoe
Greetings from the Reference Library! Maybe some libraries don't allow animals inside, but Pan's Library welcomes animals of all sorts!
The ancient Egyptians had a particular reverence for animals. Their deities took on attributes of various animals and many animals had their own religious significance. Cats were held in high esteem as can be seen from the Epithets of Bast.
The folklore of many cultures features animals. There is an old Celtic romance called Four White Swans which tells the fate of the children of Lyr and the Scots have a tale about Witches as Hares. You can read African animal stories in Traditional Tales in the Africa section of the library, or learn about Mythical Creatures in the Realms of Fantasy and Sci-Fi section.
We have real animals running around in the Library too! Consider the Persian Lamb, or The Saluki. Perhaps you are looking for a cat. The Purr-fectly Persian may be just the right new member of your household.
On a more serious note, scientists are continually making discoveries about the animal world. Learn about Water Monsters of the 50th Parallel or an 8 foot millipede. For you dinosaur fans, there's T. Rex.
Bestiaries
Lavishly illustrated bestiaries were among the most popular and widely read books of the early Middle Ages. Though ostensibly a book of nature, its main function was as a book of Christian allegory. Animals both real and fantastic could be found in the pages of a bestiary. The physical characteristics of each were described before a moral lesson was drawn. Read More About Bestiaries
Now you know.
Featured Section
Since
Americans will be celebrating the birthday of their country
in July, what better time to explore the early days of colonization
and the
American Revolution through our Library.
Explore the Earliest Settlements in the New World and the Original Thirteen Colonies. Imagine yourself living in Colonial America - reading the Newspapers, building a house, or going to the doctor.
Meet some of the Founding Fathers and learn about the battles of the American Revolution.
You can find all this and more in Pan's Reference Library!
Pan's Library is Your Library!
Take some time today to explore Pan's Reference Library. Our library has many articles which may serve as background for your novel writing. If you would like to add something of your own, jump right in! Every member of Panhistoria automatically belongs to our Library, and is encouraged to post.
Be sure to check by the main Reference Library page, accessed from your jump menu, each week for the spotlight, the featured post and news of current discussions. You can keep up with all the latest posts by using the Reference Library Daily Index, found on the main Daily Index page.
As always, your Librarians are here to help and encourage you. Please feel free to direct your questions or ideas to any of them. Just look for the purple icon on your IM Panel.
The Last Word
If it is noticed that much of my outside work concerns itself with libraries, there is an extremely good reason for this. I think that the better part of my education, almost as important as that secured in the schools and the universities, came from libraries.
Irving Stone, novelist (1903-1989)
