Patrick Olson inspecting packages

Patrick Olson joined us at the beginning of last semester as a new Special Collections Librarian in charge of collections analysis and acquisitions.  Patrick was most recently a rare book cataloger at M.I.T and came to Special Collections librarianship via the rare book trade.  Stop by and ask him about rare books or climbing mountains!

With Patrick in place, Special Collections has seen a flurry of activity this semester with boxes arriving almost daily with new donations and purchases.  The items are in various stages of being catalogued and processed so what follows here is an overview of new arrivals, with more announcements to follow soon.

Books:

Most recently we announced an extremely important purchase of twelve incunables (books from ~1450-1501).  Read our blog post and stay tuned, we’ll have updates as they are cataloged and ready for research.

W.Morris proof (left)

Morris, William, Poems by the Way [corrected proof pages], 1891, X – PR5078.P4 1891a  Infohawk record  Blog post

Huxley, Aldous,  After Many a Summer [inscribed to H.G. Wells], 1939, X – PR6015.U9 A68 1939, Infohawk record

Asturias, Miguel Angel,  Leyendas de Guatemala, 1930.  Infohawk record

Hunt, Leigh, A Day by the Fire [Luther Brewer's copy], 1870.

Baskerville title page

Von Siebold, Philipp Franz, Manners and Customs of the Japanese, 1841.  X – DS809.M28 1841 Infohawk record

Byron, Lord, English Bards and Scotch Reviewers [extra-illustrated], 1818.

Virgil, Bucolica, Georgica, et Aneis [Baskerville Virgil], 1757. X Folio – AC4.E28 1757. Infohawk record

West, Wallace, Alice in Wonderland [novelization of the 1933 film], 1934. X – PR4611.A73 W47 1934 Infohawk record

Gifford, Thomas, Praetorian, 1993. Iowa Authors Collection. Infohawk record

Rogers, Bruce (OUP), [Prospectus for the 1935 Oxford Lectern Bible], 1935.  Infohawk record

Wilcox, Daniel, Ernie the Cave King, 1975. X – PZ5.W698 1975 Infohawk record

Miniature books:

Carroll, Lewis, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [miniature book with Rackham illustrations], 2011.  Smith – PR4611.A73 2011  Infohawk record

Pit and the Pendulum

Poe, Edgar Allan, [J. & J. Sobota Press] The Pit and the Pendulum [miniature book], 2005. Mab – PS2618.P5 2005a Infohawk record (Tumblr post)

Dante Alighieri, La Divina Commedia [miniature book], 1878. (Blog post)

Sweet, Pat, The Dragon Gallery [miniature book], 2010, Smith – GR830.D7 S944 2010, Infohawk record (Tumblr post)

Amato, Christina,  Tale of Herville [miniature book], 2010.  Smith – PS3551.M183 T354 2010 Infohawk record

The Dragon Gallery

Amato, Christina, Swells & Spines, or, The Man Who Bound at Sea [miniature book], 2011.  Smith – PS3551.M183 S94 2011 Infohawk record

Artist’s books:

Sara Langworthy book and broadsides:

New Patterns Primer [artist's book], 2013.  Infohawk record

Solid Phases, [artist's book], 2013. Infohawk record

Solid Fragments, [artist's book], 2013. Infohawk record

Atlantis, [broadside], 2009.

2013. Invisible Ink

Healong, [broadside].

In the Trance , [broadside], 2009.

A Field Guide to Getting Lost, [broadside], 2010.

Practice, [broadside], 2009.

Small Study [broadside], 2009.

Pi

Szymborska, Wislawa and Susan Angebranndt of GreenChairPress, Pi, 2003.  [artist's book] X – PG7178.Z9 A222 2003 Infohawk record (Facebook post)

Reed, Justin James, 2013 [invisible ink], 2012.  [artist's book] X Folio – N7433.4.R424 T8 2012 Infohawk record  This text can only be viewed using a black light [included].

Hanmer, Karen, Letter Home, 2004. [artist's book] X – N7433.4.H35 L48 2004 Infohawk record

Hanmer, Karen, Nevermore, Again, 2010, [artist's book] Mab – PS2633.K372 2010 Infohawk record

Szathmary Collection:

Rowley Cook Book and Sunshine Cook Book [early 20^th century community cookbooks]

64 community cookbooks

64 community cookbooks [mostly Iowa] (Facebook post)

Hayward, A., The Art of Dining [railroad edition], 1852.  Infohawk record

Locke, John and Henry, Commercial Cookery Archive (English Catering Company), [Mid 1800s bulk dates], Szathmary Culinary Manuscripts, Collection Guide

Chicago Sun Times, Three original photos of Chef Louis Szathmary, 1970s (Facebook post)

Obama, Michelle, American Grown, 2012.   Infohawk record

Manuscripts and Archives:

Arthur Asa Burger notebooks

Arthur Asa Berger Papers  [University of Iowa alum and professor emeritus of Broadcast and Electronic
Communication Arts at San Francisco State University, where he taught between 1965 and 2003 and author of more than 60 books.].  More than 90 journals with a mix of drawings, photographs, personal life, and plans for books.

Mike Applestein Collection, [Zine maker and writer who worked for VH1].  1990s zines, particularly music zines. This will especially complement the Sarah and Jen Wolfe Collection of Riot Grrrl and Underground Music Zines.

Joshua Glenn’s zines

Joshua Glenn Collection, 1980s-1990s music fanzines, letters from zine publishers, and zine ephemera. (Joshua Glenn’s Blog). (Tumblr).

Peter Thomas collection of papermaking and paper sample books.

Continuing fanzine acquisitions from the Organization for Transformative Works from many donors including a large donation of early Star Trek fanzines.

Morgan Dawn Collection addendum. [Zines for many TV shows and movies – Dr. Who, Harry Patter, Lord of the Rings, The Professionals, Quantum Leap, Star Trek & more].

George Ludwig papers. [Graduate Student under James Van Allen] (Two blog posts here and here)

George Ludwig Papers

Dave Morice Collection [1970s Actualist movement.  Poet, illustrator, and performance artist.]  Large addendum including personal papers and lesser known comic books such as Cosmic Boy
and Power of the Atom.  Spanish language comic books, including Condorito.

Iowa Library Association, 20 feet of records.

Hancher Auditorium, 1970s posters. (Blog post)

Gary Frost, administrative and teaching files.

Hancher Auditorium Posters

Janine Canan papers [Publications, CDs and DVDs of the feminist poet].

Cloe Mayes Yocum, [Hollywood scripts].

Marquis Childs [Iowa Author]. Manuscript for Cabin.

Sam Becker, [Emeritus faculty], we received a copy of a Saroyan lay Western Awakening.  This was Sam’s copy from a production at the University of Wyoming and is signed by Saroyan.

Adam Boyce.  Collections relating to Charles Taggart, a Chautauqua performer, for our Redpath Chautauqua collection.

Beatrice Abrahamson’s WWII diary

Letter from Marion, Iowa [Regarding settling in to a new life in 19^th c Iowa]

Glowgramme, [1933 glow in the dark theater program] X - FOLIO PN2093 .G59 1933  Infohawk record

Stein Collection

2 photo albums:

Trip to India c. 1900 [professional souvenir in lacquered Japanese binding]

Trip to Fiji & area c. 1920s [amateur photos]

Stein Collection, Muscatine Business owner’s diverse “gentleman’s library.”  This collection will be kept together.

Brian Harvey Collection of 2000+ 19th and early 20th century dog books.

Dog books

Records of the Progressive Party, and we got an addendum of Pennsylvania Progressive Party papers.  [Papers and press releases].

Other:

Reading room overhead scanner.

If you have been following any of our social media feeds over the past few days, you may have noticed photos popping up of newly-acquired incunables. So, what’s going on here? First, some background:

Incunables are books printed in Europe during the fifteenth century, between 1450 and 1501, examples of the earliest printed books. The incunabula period is the focus of a great deal of study—the development of printing, and how it affected the design, distribution, and reception of books, remains central to our understanding of book history.

Here at Iowa, we have long held a respectable collection of incunabula, and these books are frequently called for in classes and exhibitions. In recent years, these books have been examined extensively by Tim Barrett for his study of early papermaking, and Iowa is also home to the Atlas of Early Printing, an interactive overview of the spread and development of printing in Europe. The UI Center for the Book continues to pass along the art and craft of letterpress printmaking that first flourished in the incunabula period.

Our recent acquisitions are an attempt to add examples of books and subjects in the incunabula period that we have not had previously. This collection development has been made possible due to the support of the University Libraries acquisitions fund and the Libraries’ Collection Management Committee.

Special Collections Librarian Pat Olson took charge of this opportunity and identified an outstanding mix of possibilities that enhance our collection in many ways. Among these dozen new titles is the first illustrated edition of Dante printed in Venice. Until now, our incunables largely represented just a single language: Latin. The occasional ancient Greek was the only exception. Our new Dante, however, is in Italian, and so it’s one of our first incunables printed in a vernacular language. The other, also just acquired, is Monte dell’orazione, a private devotional text intended specifically for women. The copy we just acquired is particularly notable for retaining the very rare illustrated wrapper—or to risk oversimplification, the original illustrated paperback binding.

We filled one of our more significant gaps with the acquisition of our first 15th-century Bible, and in an early pigskin binding to boot. Another first for us is our first Spanish incunable, a book of music printed in red and black at Seville in 1494. We purchased our first 15^th-century edition of Ovid, too, here in its original leather-covered wooden boards and retaining its original brass furniture. Early science has been another sparsely covered subject for us, so we acquired a lavishly illustrated astrological text. (NB: What passed for science in the 1400s may not pass for science today.) We also acquired a rather crude dialogue intended for children and the less sophisticated—a rare survival, insofar as such texts were less commonly printed and more commonly read to pieces.

In all cases, we sought books in early (if not original) bindings. Given the serious interest in early papermaking here at Iowa, we made it a point to pursue books with untrimmed leaves, which serve as uncommon witnesses to original paper sizes. We searched for books with valuable marginalia, interesting provenance, and varying degrees of decoration by hand. Most of these books do have early marginalia, an invaluable resource to support the growing scholarship on the history of reading. Perhaps the most remarkable in terms of provenance is a sammelband (multiple books bound together) printed by the famous scholar-printer Johann Amerbach. Our copy is not just a well preserved example of a 15^th-century sammelband, but it contains an inscription noting its donation to a local monastery by the printer himself. As far as textual decoration is concerned, these new acquisitions run the gamut from crude DIY initials to professionally executed penwork and illumination.

There really is something for everyone, and we can’t wait to share them. Once they have been catalogued and properly housed, these books may be viewed by request in our reading room during regular hours. And keep an eye out for an announcement coming at a later date of an opportunity to view these new acquisitions in person, while learning about how incunables are being studied today.

Following up from our earlier announcement about the donation and digitization of the earliest known Simon Estes recording, the clip is now streaming!

Read about the original donation and the March 17th concert where Simon Estes was presented with a copy of the recording.

Soloist: Simon Estes , Corrine Semler

Performance by the Old Gold Singers

Hi-Tran Recording Co., Cedar Rapids, IA in 1959 or 1960

I Got Plenty o’Nuttin’ from the musical Porgy and Bess. Music by George Gershwin, lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin.

via I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’.  <– Click this link to hear the recording!

John P. Culshaw, senior associate dean of libraries at the University of Colorado, Boulder, has been named university librarian for the University of Iowa, effective Aug. 1.

Culshaw joined the university libraries at CU-Boulder in 1991 as central reference librarian. From 1996 to 2008, he oversaw the libraries’ Systems Department, providing leadership and direction for information technology, media, and web services. In 2008 he was appointed associate director for administrative services. His position was renamed senior associate dean of libraries in 2011.

As senior associate dean, Culshaw provides administrative and budgetary leadership for libraries that have an annual budget of $20.9 million and staff in six physical locations. Responsible for all aspects of library facilities planning, he played a key role in the design and construction of a 16,000 square foot learning commons that opened in CU-Boulder’s Norlin Library in 2009.

Over the last year, he collaboratively led efforts to develop and implement a new organizational framework designed to help the university libraries move forward effectively while embracing the changing role of the research library nationally. He was a member of the 2011-12 cohort of the Association of Research Libraries’ Research Libraries Leadership Fellows program.

“I am excited about the future for research libraries,” Culshaw says. “The library must maintain its prominent place as the academic heart of the campus. Research libraries face multiple challenges in the coming years, particularly related to changing scholarly communication patterns, data management, and evolving instructional models. Libraries can turn these into opportunities by becoming more flexible service organizations. I am delighted that I will have the opportunity to contribute to that important, ongoing work at the University of Iowa.”

“John will be an excellent advocate for the university libraries at Iowa,” says UI Executive Vice President and Provost P. Barry Butler. “His collaborative leadership style, a strong vision for the future of the libraries, and a deep appreciation for and commitment to maintaining our unique, exceptional strengths make him a great fit for the position.”

Culshaw will succeed Nancy Baker, who has served as university librarian since 2000. Between July 5 and August 1, Paul Soderdahl, associate university librarian for information technology, will act as interim university librarian.

Culshaw’s appointment is subject to approval by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. His salary will be $225,000.

Culshaw was one of four finalists interviewed on campus in April by a search committee co-chaired by Steve Fleagle, associate vice president and chief information officer, and Richard Fumerton, professor of philosophy and past president of the UI Faculty Senate.

“The search committee worked hard to identify candidates with a demonstrated commitment to scholarship and research, and to serving students and faculty,” says Fleagle. “Mr. Culshaw’s on-campus interviews confirmed how strongly he holds those commitments, and also showed his ability to connect well with a wide range of internal and external constituents.”

As university librarian, Culshaw will provide leadership for University Libraries, one of the largest libraries in the United States. Its Main Library, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, five branch libraries, and off-site storage facilities offer access to more than five million volumes, extensive rare books and archives, time-based media collections, and digital content.

In fall 2013, a 37,000-square-foot Learning Commons—a unique partnership among Information Technology Services, University Libraries, and the Office of the Provost—will transform the first floor of the Main Library to provide flexible study spaces, a new TILE classroom, services and support, and more.

Remembering Iowa City’s tornado of 2006 and floods of 2008, via Iowa Digital Library. Here’s hoping for a less extreme 2013…

Alpha Chi Omega house, University of Iowa, April 2006 | University Communication and Marketing Photographs

Tornado damage, Iowa City, April 2006 | University Communication and Marketing Photographs

The Daily Iowan, April 17, 2006 | The Daily Iowan Historic Newspapers

Art Building West, University of Iowa, June 2008 | Iowa City Flood

Volunteers help with sandbagging, University of Iowa, June 2008 | Iowa City Flood

The Daily Iowan, June 11, 2008 | The Daily Iowan Historic Newspapers

As the University of Iowa prepares for anticipated flooding of the Iowa River, some efforts have begun in the Main Library to remove books from lower level basement storage. These are lesser used books from our general circulating collection. Library staff are handling the book evacuation: no volunteers are needed at this time.

In 2012, the rare book, manuscript, and archival material from Special Collections & University Archives were moved from their previous location in the Main Library basement to permanent secure space on the third floor of the building.

During the flood of 2008, the Main Library building only took on 2″ of water in the lowest levels of the basement through floor drains. No materials in the building were damaged. The lowest shelf on the storage bookstacks is higher than 2″. The only materials damaged were books checked out to a student whose Coralville apartment flooded.

With the closure of Art Building West (ABW) due to possible flooding, the Art Library will be closing sometime today (Thursday, May 30) until further notice.

• Art Reserve will be placed at Main Library Reserve
• Materials currently on hold at the Art Library will be at the North Circ Desk of the Main Library
• Materials may be returned to the Main Library.
• Please use Interlibrary Loan for all needed materials (library staff will not have access to ABW)

The Art Library staff will be relocated to the Main Library (details will be forthcoming). In the meantime if you have questions, please contact Art Library staff at lib-art@uiowa.edu .

Medical practice announcement, Victor, Iowa, 1864 | UI College of Medicine Historical Photographs

New at Iowa Digital Library:
University of Iowa College of Medicine Historical Photographs
digital.lib.uiowa.edu/com
featuring dozens of images documenting the study and practice of medicine at the UI and its surrounding area

Dissection class, University of Iowa, circa 1898 | UI College of Medicine Historical Photographs

Do you need some extra time to study for finals? 

Can’t get anything done at home?

Come to the Hardin Library on Friday or Saturday night.  The library will be open until Midnight both nights.

We can offer you:

• 72 public computers-all connected to black and white & a color printer
• group and quiet study spaces
• 24 hour quiet study area
• free coffee beginning Friday at 6pm

Don’t like to study in complete quiet?

Come to Room 401 to  enjoy music selected by our student DJs.

Big dogs, small dogs and everything in between from the Therapy Dogs of Johnson County will be in the Main Library for a finals study break on Tuesday, May 7 and Monday, May 13 from 4-7 p.m. in the Main Library rm 2032 (conference room adjacent to large computer lab).

Therapy Dogs of Johnson County is a volunteer therapy dog group comprised of Delta Society registered Pet Partner teams. Their purpose is to bring the benefits of the human-animal bond to members of our community.

The last time the dogs visited the library, more than 80 people came to see them. One student commented, “this is one of the best study breaks I’ve ever had! It’s so relaxing to pet a dog and forget about the stress.”