Some people consider libraries to be a relic of the past. With smartphones, e-readers and tablets serving as something like an appendage on the human body these days, it's almost shocking to see someone holding and reading a real-live, physical book on the subway or in a coffee shop. But don't count libraries out of the digital game just yet.
The Smithsonian Libraries has joined the ranks of photos of "The Worst Room," "Things Fitting Perfectly Into Other Things" and crying sons to create a truly amazing Tumblr. Not only does the Tumblr feature items from the libraries' archives and information about their exhibits, but it also has what we all really come to the Internet for: GIFs.
And these aren't just any GIFs. They are some of the most creative and beautiful GIFs you'll ever see. The subtle (and sometimes surprising) movements of the drawings or some of the items added into a scene will surely brighten your day. Here are some of our favorites.
Illustrations of beetles in the family Lampyridae from the "Biologia Centrali Americana v. 3 pt. 2"
Illustration from "Hints to Young Yacht Skippers"
Original image from Upcott's "Scrapbook of early aeronautica"
Friendly skeleton from "Natural History for the use of schools and families" (1864)
Illustration from the book "Locupletissimi rerum laturalium thesauri accurata descriptio"
Original image from "The Bearings, v.10 Aug 1894 - Jan 1895"
"To me, it really recaptures some of that creativity of discovery when you're a child and you're looking through things for the first time, and seeing them and your imagination runs wild," Richard Naples, the Smithsonian Libraries' technical information specialist who creates the GIFs for the Tumblr, told The Washington Post.
Stumbling upon a praxinoscope, a 19th century animation tool, in the libraries' digital archives inspired Naples to create GIFs using the images found in the libraries' collection. Sometimes, Naples only uses the contents of the image to create the GIF. Other times, as you could probably tell in the above GIF of a sloth with sunglasses, he incorporates images found elsewhere.
Of course, there's also lots of cat content on the Smithsonian Libraries Tumblr, because this is the Internet. Images include paintings, comic strips and a book dedicated to the "critical study" of posters, on which many a cat is featured.
This Tumblr is not only entertaining, it's educational too, as one would expect from the Smithsonian Libraries. If you actually spend time reading the posts, you'll learn such fascinating tidbits as Conrad Gesner's work "Historae animalium" might be the seminal work of zoology, William Moulton Marston modeled Wonder Woman after his wife and a homemaker and sloth hair might be able to treat cancer. There are definitely worse ways you could spend your time online.
