In the Hellenistic Era—that's 323 BC to 31 BC, for all you numbers fans—the Library of Alexandria, Egypt was a research hub of high prestige.  But while certainly the largest of its time and the most famous, the Library of Alexandria wasn’t the only institution of its kind.  Libraries throughout the ancient world competed to be the best Greek library, in rivalries that proved as dangerous and unscrupulous as actual wars.  Perhaps the most vicious rivalry of all was between the libraries of Alexandria and Pergamum in the city of Pergamon—present-day Bergama, Turkey.  In this conflict, the ego-driven kings of both cities enforced various sneaky maneuvers to stunt the growth of the opposing collections. “The library was a means [for the kings] to show off their wealth, their power, and mostly to show that they were the rightful heirs of Alexander the Great,” says Gaëlle Coqueugniot, an ancient history research associate at the University of Exeter.  In the third and second centuries BC, there was a boom in the number of institutions that kept books.  The Library of Alexandria, which ultimately consisted of approximately 500,000 scrolls and boasted early texts by Euripides, Sophocles, and Homer, was first conceptualized by King Ptolemy I.  The Ptolemaic dynasty was able to spend big on the institution thanks to the riches of Egypt’s fertile land and resources from the Nile, including papyrus, the ancient world’s main writing material.  As a result, the library had an edge in development over others.  The Ptolemaic kings were determined to collect any and all books that existed—from the epics, tragedies, to cookbooks.  One of the Ptolemies’ most drastic schemes to strike down the Library of Pergamum was the sudden cut of its trade of papyrus with the city of Pergamon.  The Ptolemies hoped that if the main component of books was limited and hard to obtain, it would prevent the Library of Pergamum’s collection from growing.  However, Pergamon came up with an alternative.  Roman writer and scholar Marcus Terrentius Varro documented the event:  “the rivalry about libraries between king Ptolemy and king Eumenes, Ptolemy stopped the export of papyrus … and so the Pergamenes invented parchment.”  While it’s not possible for Pergamon to have invented parchment since scriptures on stretched leather have been found earlier in the east, the lack of papyrus may have pushed the king to expand the use and development of leather as a writing material, Coqueugniot says.  The word for parchment in Latin, “pergamīnum” literally translates to “the sheets of Pergamum,” she says.  Lauren Young  Read more and see pictures at http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-fierce-forgotten-library-wars-of-the-ancient-world

Most people are familiar with the word racism.  It means, in a nutshell, the belief that one race is superior or inferior to another.  You’ll find more elaborate definitions, but that’s always the core.  Most people are NOT familiar with the word racialist, and I’ll wager that when most people hear it they either think the speaker made a mistake by adding the extra syllable, or they assume it’s just a fancy word for racist.  But it is a separate word, and it’s meant—according to many—to embrace a separate concept.  While racism posits that racial distinctions place races into a hierarchy of superiority and inferiority, racialism claims to simply be a recognition that racial differences exist.  It purports to take the high ground, remaining neutral and non-judgemental: racial differences are real, but they don’t indicate superiority or inferiority, only difference.  It might be important, in a technical sense, to show that these two words have different meanings, but it’s increasingly clear that in practice they are equivalent.  At least one major dictionary (the Oxford English Dictionary) has reached this conclusion and collapsed the definitions:  racism and racialism are the same word for them, with racialism simply being older (although they’ve retained separate entries and citations for each).   American Heritage differs from the OED by giving racism and racialism separate entries, and citing the racism/racialism equivalence as “Chiefly British.” Merriam-Webster gives the words separate entries, too, but tellingly cross-references racialism  back to racism.  Many readers might be surprised to learn that all of these terms are relatively new.  Racialism  is slightly older (first citation: 1901), and in those citations there’s an impression of trying to be more academic or intellectual in the way the word is used.  By the way:  if you’ve looked up this word in other online sources, you might have encountered the much-repeated assertion (even in Wikipedia’s entry for racialism) that W.E.B. Du Bois used racialism  in his 1903 work, The Souls of Black Folk.  I’ve done a full text search through it, however, and while he may have described the idea, he didn’t use the specific term.  For that matter, he also didn’t use the word racist in that volume.  We have a living language, and actual use can overtake documented meaning.  If racialism ever deserved a clear distinction from racism, that’s no longer true:  in practice the words are the same.  But even if you disagree with that conclusion, you should take note of another concept that I’ve mentioned frequently here:  the skunked term.  Skunking is the practice of avoiding a word because its meaning is in flux—some readers will think it means one thing, while others will think it means another.  The user of such a word invites confusion.  Christopher Daly  Read more at https://thebettereditor.wordpress.com/2016/08/29/racialism-its-not-the-same-as-racism-or-is-it/

NISO Work Item:  Flexible API Framework for E-Content in Libraries  Submitted by:  Kelvin Watson, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer (kelvin.watson@queenslibrary.org) and Christopher Carvey, Director of Interactive Customer Experience (christopher.carvey@queenslibrary.org), Queens Library Proposal last modified:  June 21, 2016  Approved by NISO Discovery to Delivery Topic Committee:  July 18, 2016   Library patrons struggle with hard to use, old technology when interacting with library resources; they are used to very modern tools and technologies, especially the adoption of mobile technologies, in almost every other area of their lives.  For public service and back office operations, libraries use varied technologies to accomplish all the tasks associated with providing services to users.  By establishing standards on RESTful2 Web services APIs3 as well as standard Mobile Application Intent calls4 , the library industry will leave archaic, difficult-to-use tool sets behind, and level the playing field for libraries,allowing more flexibility in meeting patrons’ needs with customized solutions unique to their communities.  This initiative will deliver a foundational framework to communicate an understanding on how libraries expect to provide and receive data, as outlined in the first proposed draft(s) of the Queens Library API 2 Requirements.  Find 3-page paper and links to draft documents at http://www.niso.org/apps/group_public/download.php/16796/Library%20Services%20API-for%20VM%20Approval.pdf

NISO, the National Information Standards Organization, a non-profit association accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), identifies, develops, maintains, and publishes technical standards to manage information in today's continually changing digital environment.  NISO standards apply to both traditional and new technologies and to information across it's whole lifecycle, from creation through documentation, use, repurposing, storage, metadata, and preservation.  Founded in 1939, incorporated as a not-for-profit education association in 1983, and assuming its current name the following year, NISO draws its support from the communities it serves.  The leaders of over 70 organizations in the fields of publishing, libraries, IT, and media serve as its voting members.   http://www.niso.org/about/

Borscht is a tart soup popular in several Eastern European cuisines, including Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Romanian, and Ashkenazi Jewish cuisines.  The variety most commonly associated with the name in English is of Ukrainian origin and includes beetroots as one of the main ingredients, which gives the dish a distinctive red color.  It shares the name, however, with a wide selection of sour-tasting soups without beetroots, such as sorrel-based green borscht, rye-based white borscht and cabbage borscht.  Borscht derives from an ancient soup originally cooked from pickled stems, leaves and umbels of common hogweed, a herbaceous plant growing in damp meadows, which lent the dish its Slavic name.  With time, it evolved into a diverse array of tart soups, among which the beet-based red borscht has become the most popular.  It is typically made by combining meat or bone stock with sautéed vegetables, which--as well as beetroots--usually include cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes and tomatoes.  Depending on the recipe, borscht may include meat or fish, or be purely vegetarian; it may be served either hot or cold; and it may range from a hearty one-pot meal to a clear broth or a smooth drink.  It is often served with smetana or sour cream, hard-boiled eggs or potatoes, but there exists an ample choice of more involved garnishes and side dishes, such as uszka or pampushky, that can be served with the soup.  Read much more and see beautiful pictures at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borscht

Q:  When is Chocolate Day Celebrated?  A:  One site declares that July 7th is Chocolate Day, but another asserts that one day isn’t sufficient and that February is National Chocolate Lovers’ Month (it makes sense to me that chocolate would need more than one day to be celebrated and that the celebration period occur during winter).  A third site insists that International Chocolate Day is September 13th, and another insists that National Chocolate Day is October 28th!  As if all of that wasn’t enough, particular chocolate goodies have their own days.  For instance, National Bittersweet Chocolate Day is on January 10th, while Chocolate Soufflé Day is February 28th.  May 2nd is National Chocolate Mousse Day; National Chocolate Chip Day is almost two weeks later on May 15th.  June 22nd is National Chocolate Eclair Day.  If you can’t get enough chocolate cupcakes, their National Day is October 18th.  And the list goes on and on . . .  James Ford  http://www.amanochocolate.com/faqs/when-is-chocolate-day-celebrated/  Read more and link to Lucy and Ethel wrap chocolates! video (3:03) at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/2016/09/eat-your-chocolate-proudly-a-smallest-meditation-on-international-chocolate-day.html

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1526  September 14, 2016  On this date in 1741, George Frideric Handel completed his oratorio Messiah.  On this date in 1752, the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days (the previous day was September 2).  On this date in 1814, the poem Defence of Fort McHenry was written by Francis Scott Key. The poem was later used as the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner.