Meet Cooper, a library therapy dog. I keep telling people we need library therapy dogs or cats here, but it never goes over well.

The Library of Congress has added a bunch of search options, and it’s also launched its own Pinterest account. Take that, luddites!

Fact checkers of the world, unite!

Against the Grain works to keep librarians in harmony with publishers and vendors, and they now have a news section.

Unexpected day off today -- back tomorrow with more links!

Spooky stuff today. Sort of.

 Behold, a Swedish Spring-Heeled Jack! 

There are now Lovecraft-themed bars on both coasts – the original in Portland, and a new (unrelated) one opening in New York City.

The military now has x-ray weapons. It’s true. Yikes.

Here’s some happy news on a Monday: new (to us) poems by Pablo Neruda have been discovered! 

Louise Bourgeois’s home in New York City is kept the way it was on the day she died, and it’s fascinating. 

I wish I’d had the chance to see “Andy Warhol’s DRELLA“ – it looks pretty amazing.

Happily, I might have the chance to see the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition going on at the Met – the Smart Set goes into some detail on the group and what they wanted to achieve.

Happy Friday!

 From Julie: the first book ever printed in English just sold at Sotheby’s.

From Cassandra: The cultural history of pain is fascinating (and heartbreaking).

From Zazoo: a tearjerker of an interview with Kylie Minogue.

Ending on a brighter note, David Malki is exploring the strange and wonderful world of the Restoration Hardware catalog, with help from readers, and Catalog Living is a weblog entirely devoted to such oddness.

Have a spiffy weekend, everyone! See you next week.

I’m on a mailing list which discusses library technology, and a conversation about drones led to some great links. Look, a delivery drone! And a book bot! And an underground robot library!

(Spoiler: we will not be using drones to deliver books anytime soon. But it would be pretty fun, especially in a law firm.)

One of Buzzfeed’s latest listicles: 17 Bookstores That Will Literally Change Your Life. I have my doubts about the “literally” part of the title. Since I haven’t been to any of the seventeen on the list, I propose that someone fund my trip to all of them in order to determine whether my life literally changes.

The Tour de France is not just about bikes and hills and drugs. It’s also about murder! And sacrifice! And nihilism!

Today, I have a wonky back and a new respect for those who live with chronic back issues. How do you do it without resorting to violence?

Anyway. If you’re the athletic sort (as opposed to me, obviously), consider the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race, taking place in Istanbul this weekend!

The Pandora Society looks at the life of Mary Todd Lincoln in their “this day in history” series.

Here’s a detailed tutorial on how to make a lovely spooky book!