Behind the Stacks

News from the Reference Library

by Zoe

Where has the summer gone? It's hard to believe it's autumn already. Back to school, back to work, back to the Library!

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.

There is a new Resources at Panhistoria topic in the Kiosk of each section of our Library. The idea is to post a link and a short description to any novels or reference books that have anything to do with the focus of each particular section of the Library. Someone who is especially interested in a subject may not know about your book!

Be sure to check by the main Reference Library page, accessed from your jump menu, each week for 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.

Tragedy in the Library

Tragedy is defined as a conflict between the human will and fate or necessity. Some of the earliest tragic literature was in the form of drama and there have been some interesting discussions of the Greek Plays.

There are many tragic figures in history, which is the major focus of our Library. The story of the Byzantine ruler Nicephoras Phocas and the young Empress Theophano contains tragic elements as does the life of Marie Antoinette of France. Another tragic life was that of Korean Empress Myongsongwanghu. The murder of the Russian Imperial Family in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution is another example. A tragic episode in American history was the Long Walk of the Navaho.

Palimpsests

Manuscripts on which an earlier text has been erased so that the parchment or vellum could be reused are known as palimpsests. Medieval copiers would wash or scrape the the ink off the original manuscript but faint traces of the earlier writing are often visible, especially in the margins. By using ultraviolet light, or infra-red and digital technologies, modern historians have been able to reconstruct some of these ancient texts.

The reasons for making palimpsests were primarily economic, though in ecclesiastical circles, converting so called pagan writings to the holy word was another motivation. Now you know.

Featured Section

Cowboys and settlers, lawmen and outlaws - explore the fascinating story of the taming of the wild west in The American West section!

Discover the the truth behind some of the Legends or meet some of the Exceptional Women of the American West. Debate the real identity of Billy the Kid or take a look at some eloquent Epitaphs.

It's all here in the American West section of our Library!

Featured Librarians

August: Jeanne de Noailles
Jeanne is most active in the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era section of the Library and recently came up with the wonderful Resources idea.

September: Niniane Ui Maine
Niniane is interested in archaeology and regularly adds information on interesting sites and finds to many sections of our Library.

Featured Novel

The Reference Library is a proud sponsor of Pan's own library novel. Enter your favorite books - Through the Pages!

The Last Word

To those with ears to hear, libraries are really very noisy places. On their shelves we hear the captured voices of the centuries-old conversation that makes up our civilization.

Timothy Healy, Irish Statesman (1855-1931)

What's your favorite subject? Come tell us about it or start a discussion in the Reference Library. Any member of Panhistoria can post in our Library. We're looking forward to your contributions!

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