Category Archives: Featured Collections

Northwest Washington, DC Real Estate Brochures

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Here are a couple of new items that we acquired at last month’s Washington Antiquarian Book Fair:
When AU’s founder, Bishop John Fletcher Hurst, purchased the land for American University, northwest Washington, DC was the country.  Over the intervening years, a number of communities were built in the neighborhood. We have had a photocopy of a brochure produced by the developers of American University Park in the archives so we were excited to see the real brochure and purchased a copy. The brochure is titled “The American University Park, Washington, D.C.” and was distributed by the developers, J.D. Croissant and David D. Stone Trustees, around 1897.  The brochure includes photographs of the area, existing houses, and a map.  The developers were selling lots and included information on lot prices and restrictions. We also picked up a copy of W.C. and A.N. Miller’s 1927 promotional brochure for Wesley Heights –  “Wesley Heights: The Garden Spot of Washington – A Miller-Built Community.”  Unlike with AU Park, W.C.& A.N. Miller were selling houses.  The illustrated brochure includes information on lot sizes, house types, landscaping, community features, and prices.

Peace Corps Community Archive

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On Thursday March 21st, University Librarian, Nancy Davenport, announced a new initiative, the Peace Corps Community Archive, to collect, preserve and make available materials that were created and acquired by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) during their service such as correspondence, diaries, film, photographs, reports, scrapbooks, and sound recordings. The archive will also collect organizational records of member groups of the National Peace Corps Association and oral histories and memoirs of RPCVs and host country nationals.  This initiative builds on materials held in American University Library Special Collections such as the records of the National Peace Corps Association and the archives of the Friends of Colombia and Friends of Nigeria which include information on and materials from RPCVs.  The purpose in developing the Peace Corps Community Archive is to support student and scholarly research, create exhibits, and provide educational and public programs that document the experiences and impact of individuals who served in the Peace Corps and illuminate peace diplomacy.

The William F. Causey Collection

American University Library is pleased to present a “sneak peek” of its newest acquisition, the William F. Causey Collection.  A small display of books from this important donation is featured in an exhibit case in the first floor lobby. The William F. Causey Collection contains over 1900 titles dating from the 1790s to the present.  The bulk of the collection (around fifty-five percent) was published in 1990 or after.  Three percent of the titles were published prior to 1960.  The collection consists of works of fiction and non-fiction many of which are first editions, signed by the author, or inscribed to William F. Causey.   Featured authors in the collection include Louis Auchincloss, Charles Dickens, Dick Francis, Sue Grafton, Graham Greene, John Grisham, Tony Hillerman , John LeCarré , Norman Mailer, Larry McMurtry,  Patrick O’Brian, Joyce Carol Oates, Philip Roth, William Shakespeare, and John Updike. Topics covered include the Civil War and major figures such as Winston Churchill, Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Edward M. Kennedy, and Abraham Lincoln.

Hidden Treasures in Special Collections: Souvenirs of the Grand Tour

Liberotti, Giovanni. Liberotti Impronte. [Rome: Incisore di Camei Roma], circa 1820.

American University Library Special Collections recently rediscovered a set of miniature plaster medallions in relief by master carver Giovanni Liberotti, depicting famous buildings, paintings, and sculptures covering the classical period through the Renaissance including the works of neoclassicists Antonio Canova, Bertel Thorvaldsen and John Gibson. Works of art such as da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” Bernini’s “Apollo and Daphne,” Titian’s “Flora” and the famous Etruscan statue “She-Wolf Nursing Romulus and Remus” and architectural treasures such as St. Peter’s Square, the Parthenon, and the Colosseum are included.

The medallions are mounted in twenty-five double-sided clamshell boxes which open as books. [Octavo, contemporary three-quarter vellum, elaborately gilt-decorated spines, red morocco spine labels, marbled sides and speckled edges.]  The medallions measure between ¾ and 2½ inches across.  On the front and rear pastedowns are numbered keys in contemporary Italian identifying each of the works.   Accompanying the boxes is a handwritten English translation of the keys.  The medallions were sold as travel souvenirs to individuals making the Grand Tour.  It is likely that AU’s founder, Bishop John Fletcher Hurst, acquired the medallions while he was studying in Germany.

Streaming video of American University events and programs are now available via our online catalog

Among the recently digitized videos are a historic film featuring images of American University (AU) from the 1930s, the investitures and presentations of AU Presidents Richard E. Berendzen, Joseph Duffy and Benjamin Ladner, AU commencement ceremonies (1988-1994) and opening and honors convocations (1990-1997), and the programs featuring Coretta Scott King, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Jehan Al Sadat, and Barbara Walters from AU’s Women Changing the World Series.

A complete list of digitized videos will be provided upon request.  You can access the videos from our online catalog by searching for the title and clicking on the link that says: “Click here to access the full program.”

Currently on Display – The18th and 19th Century Botanical Illustrations from the Artemas Martin Collection

The American University Library is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit featuring illustrations from botanical publications in the Artemas Martin Collection.

The primary goal of botanical illustration is scientific accuracy.  Plants are presented so they can be recognized and distinguished from other species.  Botanical illustrations became more accurate in color and detail with the major advances in printing during the 18th century.  The most talented botanical artists such as Isaac Sprague created illustrations that went beyond their scientific requirements to become works of art. Though amateur botanists, gardeners, and natural historians were the main market for botanical publications such as those in this exhibit, the illustrations increased their allure and accessibility to the general reader.

The18th and 19th Century Botanical Illustrations from the Artemas Martin Collection will be on display on the third floor of the Library through the end of the summer.

Currently on Display – Learning through Dictation: Elementary Mathematics Problems in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Archives and Special Collections is pleased to announce the opening of its spring 2011 exhibit, “Learning through Dictation: Elementary Mathematics Problems in the 18th and 19th Centuries.”

In the late seventeenth and early nineteenth centuries, arithmetic was taught through a set of rules that could be used in solving problems.  Commercial topics and vocational applications were predominant.  Instructors taught by dictation.  They presented the rules along with examples and practice problems.

This exhibit features copy books and text books for both instructors and students from the Artemas Martin and Karen D. Michalowicz Collections.  The copy books on display span over eighty years and illustrate the method of teaching over this period.

Currently on Display – Special Collections Newest Acquisitions

Stop by the Third Floor of Bender Library to see our exhibit featuring Special Collections two newest acquisitions – the Barlett & Steele Archives and the Sally L. Smith Papers.

The Barlett and Steele Archive (1971-2010) consists of materials created and collected by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele in connection with their research for published and unpublished newspaper and magazine articles and books.  It contains raw research on unfinished and unpublished projects, as well as leads on potential stories.  The archive includes audiovisual materials, books, corporate and government reports, correspondence, Freedom of Information Act filings, interview notes and transcriptions, manuscripts, statistical analyses, tax returns, and numerous letters from readers expressing their views on a wide range of issues or suggesting future stories. The files relate to a variety of topics including criminal justice, energy, federal housing programs, foreign aid, Howard Hughes, Indian gaming, litigation, nuclear waste, Olympics, Nelson A. Rockefeller, and taxes.  On display are materials created and collected as part of their award winning series for The Philadelphia Inquirer on the operations of the Philadelphia criminal courts including data sheets and transcripts for three aggravated robbery indictments, notes on courtroom activities, punch cards and a computer tape.

Sally L. Smith Papers (1950s-2000s) document her work as an educator at American University and the Lab School of Washington through correspondence, notes from meetings with students and parents, and syllabi.  Also covered is her work for the World Health Organization and the World Federation of Mental Health. Her expertise in learning disabilities is illustrated through manuscripts of published and unpublished monographs and speeches.   Also included are materials she compiled on learning disabilities.  On display are materials related to the Lab School and its innovative curriculum and Sally Smith’s work as author and educator.

The exhibit will be on display through the end of the semester.

Currently on Display – Japanese Illustrated Books from the Charles Nelson Spinks Collection

Charles Nelson Spinks began collecting books when he lived in Japan.  He donated over 1,000 books to American University Library in the 1970s.  The books cover a variety of subjects including art, history, philosophy, recreation, and travel during the Edo Period of Japan (1603-1868).

Japanese printed books on secular themes date from about 1600.  Some of the earliest books were produced using moveable type but by the middle of the 17th century all commercially produced books were printed from woodblocks.  Many of the schools and styles of Japanese art are represented in illustrated books.  There are a number of different types of books such as gafu ‘drawing books’ which were usually produced by a single artist to give didactic examples of his style.  Artists could also combine with poets, novelists, and travelers to produce illustrated poetry collections, comic illustrated novels, travel guides and erotic books.  Popular titles were probably printed in ‘editions’ of thousands, and were regularly reprinted if there was demand.  Most Japanese books were printed on kozo, paper made from mulberry bark.  Rare Japanese books are defined as those predating 1867.  Numerous earthquakes and fires over the years and the allied bombing of World War II destroyed many old Japanese libraries.

On display are three examples of illustrated books including a gafu and two examples of albums of woodblock prints.  To limit exposure to light, the pages are turned every two months.   The exhibit will be on display through the end of April 2010.

American University’s Web Harvesting Project: A Work in Progress

As we recently completed our first year of web harvesting, it seems a fitting time to make a progress report. The original scope of this project was to document the online presence of student organizations and to collect web only publications. We presented our proposal in the fall of 2008 just as AU was finalizing plans to launch its new website the following spring. In light of this, we expanded our scope to cover the University’s entire website.  American University selected the Internet Archive’s Archive-It service for this project. Archive-It has a user friendly web interface through which you can set up and schedule crawls. The Internet Archive stores the web sites collected, generates reports, and offers technical support. Because of the evanescent nature of the web, it is important to review the reports generated by Archive-Its crawler. These reports document the success/failures of the crawl. By reviewing this data, we can identify crawler traps and write code to prevent future problems. Over the course of the last year, we have conducted four major crawls and several smaller ones. We reaped the benefits of this project within several months of starting. We have already received inquiries from students seeking copies of articles they had written for an online publication. The publication’s web site was temporarily down and the harvested version was the only source of their work. The archived version of AU’s website is available through the Archive-It site. I invite you to browse the archives. Start at the following site: http://www.archive-it.org/public/all_collections and select one of AU’s Collections. For those of you familiar with the Wayback Machine, it only has data for http://www.american.edu/ from 1996-2008.