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Category: Rare Book and Special Collections

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

That Magical, Mystical Book On Witchcraft from 1584

Posted by: Neely Tucker

  We first ran this piece last year at Halloween. It proved so popular year-round that we reprint it this Halloween season. It was co-researched and co-written by digital library specialist Elizabeth Gettins, who also had the brilliant idea for the piece. An ancient tome delving into the dark arts of witchcraft and magic…a book …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Johannes Kepler and COVID-19: 400 Years of Mathematical Modeling

Posted by: Neely Tucker

In 1619, German astronomer Johannes Kepler wrote “Harmonices Mundi” (“Harmony of the Worlds”), a book that tried to understand the mystery of the polyhedral designs of viruses. Four centuries later, the same designs are seen in the building blocks of COVID-19. The Library has copies of Kepler's work in the Rare Books and Special Collections Division.