The Great Library and the Loud Library

First off…
The Bad News:
Amid the conflicts in Mali, the New Yorker reports: Has the Great Library of Timbuktu Been Lost? –
Since the fifteenth century, Timbuktu had been … an oasis of learning and literacy. Founded between the eleventh and twelfth centuries by Tuareg tribes, the city soon housed scholars and scribes within its walls.These scribes copied countless works on topics ranging from political science, history, and theology to astronomy, botany, and poetry. Read more…

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And then…
News to ponder:Bring back shushing librarians – Library users plead for quiet places to read, write and study — but is anybody listening? (from Salon…) Are louder-libraries the new-normal? Like, literary community centers?

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And then the morbid news:
HuffPoBooks: – Perfumes Inspired by Dead Writers
Like:

Edgar Allan Poe: Poppies, absinthe, sandalwood, and mold

Flannery O’Connor: Church incense, soap, vanilla, ginger

Jack Kerouac: Cigarettes, cheap beer, unwashed youth, patchouli, car leather

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And finally, in straight-up awesome news:

Lines from Shakespeare Mistaken for 1990s Hip Hop Lyrics

“Look, when I serve him so, he takes it ill.” (The Comedy of Errors)

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Looking for new reads? New York Times has a top-5 rundown: