Do you have a favorite professor? Do you know what he/she did before coming to AU? Did he/she have any hobbies? Come and see Esther Ballou’s compositions and programs, Jack Child’s photographs and stamp collection, and Al Mott’s personal diaries which illustrate aspects of the private lives of three former faculty members. The exhibit is on the third floor of the library and will run through the end of the semester.
On Display: Once an Eagle, Always and Eagle: The Campus Scene 1925-2000
Did you know that AU students participated in campus clean-up activities as far back as the 1930s? Are you curious about AU history? Check out the library’s newest exhibit, Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle: The Campus Scene 1925-2000. Through photographs and publications from the University Archives, you can get a taste of undergraduate life at AU over the years. You will discover AU’s artistic and literary accomplishments as well as learn about freshman rules and other traditions including homecoming and orientation. The exhibit will be on display on the first floor of the Library through the end of the semester.
On Display: Civil War Retrospective
In honor of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, American University Library is pleased to highlight books and scrapbooks from its Special Collections Department. This small exhibit features biographical, historical and fictional accounts including the memoirs of U.S. Grant and a book on the role of African American troops. The earliest work on display was published in 1875. The section on modern fiction dates from the 1970s through 2005. The exhibit will be on display on the third floor of Bender Library through August 2012.
Three New Exhibits for the Spring Semester
Basketball: An AU Tradition
AU’s men’s basketball team is the oldest on campus. The first intercollegiate game was played in 1926. The women’s team debuted in 1966. Both AU’s men’s and women’s teams have been to the NIT. The media guides, photographs, and programs on display showcase some of the milestones in both teams’ histories. The exhibit is on the first floor of the library and will run through the end of the semester.
Ukioy-e Landscape Prints from the Charles Nelson Spinks Collection
To celebrate the 2012 Centennial National Cherry Blossom Festival, American University Library is featuring its Charles Nelson Spinks Collection. The Ukiyo-e prints in the collection depict actors, famous places, geisha, landscapes, and nature scenes. On display are landscapes by Hiroshige, Hokusai, and other artists. The exhibit is on the third floor of the library and will run through the end of the semester.
Highlights of the William F. Causey Collection
In honor of the bicentennial of the birth of Charles Dickens on February 7, 2012, American University Library has installed a display of works by and about Dickens from the William F. Causey Collection. Also on view from the Causey Collection are examples of award winning American fiction. This is the first installment of a series of exhibits featuring titles from the Causey Collection. The exhibit is on the second floor of the library and will run through the end of the semester.
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.
Currently on display: Early Printed Texts
American University Library is pleased to announce the opening of Special Collections’ exhibit of early printed texts. The works of history, mathematics, religion, and rhetoric on display date from 1468 through 1500 and show the nature of incunabula, books printed before 1501. They feature hand-colored initials, unique bindings made of wood and leather, and wood cut illustrations. This exhibit will be on display on the third floor of the Library through the end of the fall semester.
Currently on Display: AU in the 1970s: A Snapshot
Were you a student at AU in the 1970s? Are you curious at what campus was like back then? Check out the library’s newest exhibit, AU in the 1970s: A Snapshot. Newspaper articles, photographs and publications from the University Archives depict the student scene at AU. Highlights of the exhibit include information on football at AU, examples of student activities ranging from charity fundraisers to political protests, and dramatic moments such as a plane hitting the radio tower. The exhibit will be on display on the first floor of the Library through the end of the semester.
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.
Special Collections acquires missing book from the Artemas Martin Collection
Special Collections recently acquired The Dawn of Sensuality, Lutetia, 1900 [Limited edition copy 82 of 200; Bound by W. Launder]. Inside the front cover is an American University Library bookplate. We know very little about the provenance of this book other than it was officially accessioned into the American University Library at one time. Intrigued by this puzzle,we began exploring our records relating to the Artemas Martin Collection to which this book originally belonged.
Here is what we have discovered so far: Artemas Martin agreed to donate his personal library to American University in 1918. None of the contemporary descriptions of the donation specify the total number of volumes in the library just that it was stored in a separate residence. As of 1952, the collection consisted of 5,000 volumes which were housed in the Math Department’s Library and the main library. We found several letters in the Library’s files which discuss the possibility of selling duplicates and transferring some of the more technical works to the Naval Observatory Library. Unfortunately, we were unable to confirm whether any volumes were given away or sold at that time. There are over 4500 Martin volumes listed in American University’s library catalog so it is possible that some items were deaccessioned or sold. We just don’t have enough information at present to determine what happened to The Dawn of Sensuality but we will keep looking.
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.”