Richard Duffy is no stranger to Robbins Library. As a historian in town, Duffy has combed through the library’s books, photos and atlases while conducting research for his books, articles and lectures.

Laura Willoughby, curator of the Petersburg museums, has used them to tell the story of Petersburg and to show just how the area has changed.

John Charles Anicic Jr. is a firm believer in the importance of preserving Fontana's history. That's why he is glad that two of his projects are coming to fruition -- the publishing of a new book entitled "Kaiser Steel, Fontana" and the creation of the Fontana Heritage Museum Association.

POST-QUAKE MODERNE: You need to be pretty cranky to not love the Art Deco style of architecture. And if you are that sort of cranky person, you’ve got to hate living in Long Beach, especially in the parts of town built before the reckless and headlong post-World War II building rush, because the streamlined style that marked the Art Deco movement will hit you over the head at almost every turn.

The postcard, that lowly remnant of snail mail, is now an artifact, a treasured heirloom. Picture your average post-Victorian gentleman, on a business trip, staying at the grand Valley Forge Hotel on Main Street and wanting to send a greeting to the family back home.

Forget about Madison County¬-New York’s own Central Park has more than its share of beautiful bridges.

When J.R. Sanders first stepped on the grounds of Los Rios Rancho, he fell in love with its natural state and its wilderness that hits like a gust of wind.

John Charles Anicic Jr. is a writer of power and strength, spirit and pride. He melded them all to tell the story of Kaiser Steel. In his latest book, the author/historian tells a compelling tale of ingots and grit, blast-furnaces and sweat – the story of Kaiser Steel and the forging of Fontana.

“Oak Glen and Los Rios Rancho,” a new photo-essay book produced by J.R. Sanders, is inspired by his love affair with Oak Glen and with history.

Chester County author Bruce Mowday is offering to give free lectures to area libraries, historical societies and civic organizations.

Local experts take readers on an architectural journey in Long Beach Art Deco, the newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series. With more than 200 vintage images, the book celebrates a city’s style. Both public and private collections of Long Beach’s art deco treasures are revealed in this remarkable new book.

The old black-and-white photo shows a large group of men and women on a front porch. Some have stern expressions but others are smiling; they are dressed formally but modestly. The photo—which will be on the cover of a new book about the history of Canton Township—shows some of the first people to settle in a village called Sheldon Corners, one of the first communities in Canton.

Author Gerald Van Dusen follows Canton Township during three separate growth spurts in his new book, due to be released Sept. 11. “I think most people who…came to Canton recently think that Canton just sprung up, subdivision after subdivision, and that everybody here are first generation” said Van Dusen, “when in fact there are still residents here in Canton that are fifth-generation.”

Building on the success of their first book on local history now in its second printing, Debra J. Williams and Kimberly Barr Byrd are making plans for Smyth County Revisited. The volume will be their second book for Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series that makes local folks citizen-authors of an extensive and growing line of books telling hometown history through photos and captions.

If he had to do it again, Kern Kuipers would have given himself a little more time to research his new book, “Tecumseh: The First Century.” But he and co-author Amanda Payeur finished the book within the eight months Kuipers told his publisher, Arcadia Publishing of Mount Pleasant, S.C., it would take to complete the work. It was released on Aug. 7.

The saga of Bristol Motor Speedway is jammed with compelling chapters. There have been visionary owners, daring racers, classic events and passionate fans. David McGee has enjoyed a front row seat, and loves to spread the news of this small-town success story.

I wish this didn't make me sound so ancient, but I'm more than a third as old as the Inland Empire itself. San Bernardino and Riverside counties are both only a few years older than 150. I'm 57. Do the math.

You figure Al knows the parking lot kid, the way he shakes his hand and leans close to drop a few encouraging words.

Often, when Christine Talbot is arranging a display of Arcadia Publishing's books at a trade show, somebody will ankle by and fish-eye the sepia-toned collection.

Last winter, Maxine Kruse wanted to make sure she could keep busy if she became snowed in. So she started compiling a book.

Growing up in Presidio Heights, Tricia O'Brien's second home was her grandparents' place in the Bayview, which was about as far away as you could go geographically, economically, culturally, meteorologically, and still be in the city limits. Thirty years later, O'Brien, 42, went back there to compile, write and design "San Francisco's Bayview Hunter's Point" for the Images of America series published by Arcadia.

With black and white postcards, a new book takes one on a trip down the Ohio River from Cincinnati to Louisville. Rabbit Hash residents Robert Schrage and Don Clare have written "Along the Ohio River: Cincinnati to Louisville" ($19.99, Arcadia Publishing).

This city's rich history is filled with extraordinary tales of ordinary people. Richenda Fairhurst is sharing them with her neighbors in a new book.

From Moffett Field to Alviso, two new books illuminate the byways of local history.

In "Images of America: Mountain View" (Arcadia, 2006), fourth-generation Mountain View resident Nicholas Perry tells the story of his community primarily through pictures with narrative captions. Newcomers to the area are likely to appreciate this quirky, colorful spin through the town's 150-year history, while longtime residents can savor Perry's scrupulous record of buildings, schools and businesses long gone but still remembered in anecdote.

‘‘Write what you know” is the time-tested advice Michael Dwyer heeded. He has excellent credentials for ‘‘Montgomery County,” his recently published pictorial history of the county nicknamed ‘‘The Gateway to the Nation’s Capital.” The 58-year-old author is a native, a seemingly rare commodity in this county, and also continues to live here.

Exactly how well do we know the neighborhood? A new book offers a close-up look at a community that is more than a tourist attraction.

With the steady disappearance of the American family farm, a way of life is fading from the scene, not least in northwestern Lehigh County.

Fort Lauderdale author Susan Gillis has received an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History Leadership in History Awards for her book Fort Lauderdale: The Venice of America.

A bustle of people gathers near the massive white flagpole in the intersection at First Street and Livermore Avenue. Dust flies up from the streets as horses pulling buggies trot into the town center. A few people sit with their feet dangling off nearby rooftops to catch a better view. The giant flag is hoisted up the tall pole as the citizens get their first glimpse of downtown Livermore's landmark flagpole. Such was the scene on Sept. 9, 1905, according to the new book, "Early Livermore."

A story in pictures: Local historians Charles R. Mitchell and Kirk W. House will be celebrating the publication of their newest book, "Around Watkins Glen," at Storylines Bookstore & Café, 211 N. Franklin St. in Watkins Glen on Monday.

Among his collection of some 5,000 postcards, Thomas Dilley has one from 1910 showing the Hill Domestic Bakery at Division Avenue and Wealthy Street.

Jeffrey Maulhardt's newest historical book, "Camarillo," breathes life into the past of the once sleepy farming valley that is now home to one of Ventura County's fastest growing cities.

Del Mar, where the surf meets the turf, is the premier summer race meet in California. This gorgeous Spanish Mission style facility is steeped in history and has hosted the best of California racing since 1937. Founded by Bing Crosby, Pat O'Brien, and Bill Quigley, it was a playground for many California celebrities as well the home of racing elites like Johnny Longden and Bill Shoemaker, even the great Seabiscuit raced there. The latest in the "Images of Sports" series takes you on a photographic tour of the history of beautiful Del Mar with over 200 vintage photographs. Written by Kenneth M. Holtzclaw with the assistance of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, this beautiful and entertaining book is a great overview of the history of the track.

For retired Bayard Taylor Library Director Joseph Lordi, the love of postcards began early in life.

We prattle in these pages about all manner of media, but too rarely do we get around to discussing the noblest means of imparting intellectual pleasure, which, contrary to xBox devotees’ assumptions, involves taking a look at books.

Since the days when the Santa Monica area was under the rule of the Mexican Republic, local history has been filled with milestone events and cultural phenomena that make the city the anomaly it is today. Santa Monica Historical Society Museum founder Louise B. Gabriel has documented these historical milestones in her new photo book, Early Santa Monica, part of the Images of America series, released by Arcadia Publishing

A new book, “The Shaker Communities of Kentucky: Pleasant Hill and South Union” by James W. Hooper, tells the story of Shakers in Kentucky from the beginning to the end.