More in Rhode Island...

If you read my previous post, you'll know about the Providence Public Library and what its special collections librarian has been up to these days. What might a bookish tourist do while vacationing in Rhode Island this summer? Eric Boutin, a grad student in the MLIS program at the University of RI, alerted me to an exhibit of Civil War ballads he has curated for the University of RI-Kingston, running in August and September. It highlights the PPL's collection of Caleb Fiske Harris. An extensive online exhibit with tons of great images and explanation is available at the link above.

About 30 miles south, there is much to see in Newport, Rhode Island. Something to put on your list is the Redwood Library's new exhibit, In Pursuit of Natural History: An Exhibition of Works on Natural History from the Redwood Library Collections, curated by Dr. Philip Weimerskirch. Running now through November 18, it includes the first book on the natural history of the New World, an unrecorded pamphlet by a noted Philadelphia engraver, an elephant folio edition of Audubon's book on quadrupeds, and more. The Redwood Library is named for its founder, Abraham Redwood, a botanist.