University Libraries

Sarah Keen recently completed her first academic year serving as university archivist in Special Collections and Archives in the University of Iowa Libraries She came to Iowa in August 2022 from upstate New York, where she served as Colgate University Libraries’ university archivist and head of […]

It’s no secret that the UI Libraries boast some of the best librarians in the field. Willow Fuchs and Donna Brooks are two such standouts, bringing an impressive variety of skills—creativity, adaptability, and integrity—to their work. In this issue of BINDINGS, we’re taking an opportunity […]

In March 2023, Conservation and Collections Care at the University of Iowa Libraries welcomed Yasmeen Khan as the featured speaker for its William Anthony Conservation Lecture for Book and Paper Conservators and Bookbinders, a celebrated event for the UI book arts community and beyond. During the […]

From the deep connections he’s forged as a student at the University of Iowa and working in the local community to his family’s longstanding ties to the Amana Colonies, Aaron Schaefer knows that having a strong foundation is crucial to being successful both personally and professionally. It’s […]

A UI team uses medical technology to reveal secrets along the spine “It was a goose bumps moment,” says Eric Ensley, curator of rare books and maps in Special Collections and Archives at the University of Iowa Libraries.  An interdisciplinary group of UI researchers had just found new layers […]

This remarkable facility boasts towering shelves, millions of volumes, and a satellite—and that’s just the beginning. The University of Iowa Libraries Annex sits on the outskirts of Iowa City, tucked between warehouses and against train tracks. Inside the 60,000-square-foot facility, long […]

Heather Healy, MA, MLS, AHIP was appointed a distinguished member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP) in May. The Academy of Health Information Professionals is a professional development and career recognition program of the Medical Library Association (MLA). The AHIP […]

We are pleased to welcome Rachel Poppen as our new collections archivist in Special Collections and Archives.  Rachel joined the department in mid-July. Raised in Sibley, Iowa, Rachel received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Spanish from the University of Iowa. She then went on to receive her […]

Edna Griffin, known as the Rosa Parks of Iowa, has gained deserved attention over the years for her civil rights activism, especially for her role in the effort to desegregate the lunch counter at Katz Drug Store in Des Moines. Her actions resulted in a successful suit against the store under […]

When I was setting goals at the beginning of the summer, I thought processing and uploading the entirety of the Lowell Offering’s 5-year run would be reasonable. I was so wrong. I underestimated exactly how time-consuming the data entry would be and, around the halfway point, I realized I had to […]

Coming into the Summer Fellowship, the aspect of my project that I was most worried about was the coding. While I am fairly functional, if not precisely fluent, with most technologies, delving beneath the surface level into the murky chasms of coding was a scary step to take. As I sit here […]

Integrating sculpture and multi-digital processes has been my primary research this summer and I began with sketching out designs for my chandeliers. These chandeliers are inspired by sun patterns throughout the day as the final sculpture will emulate sun rays through a light installation with […]

As I write this I have about a week left in the Digital Scholarship Fellowship. I am grateful for this time and space to work on my podcast Workshop: Writing in Progress. It has been a great learning experience to go from an idea to an actual thing that exists. Since this project involves […]

I used to love NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Her smooth calming voice paired with her insightful questions motivated me on multiple occasions to purchase the book of her guest, be it Ocean Vuong’s poetry collection about grief after his mother’s death or Michael Pollan’s tome on […]

When I first began this fellowship I had hoped that this post would be one of celebration, one that highlighted the fact that I was finished with my Omeka project. Unfortunately that is not the case. I’m not finished, and I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t reach my initial goal. I […]

This summer I have been working on a project that will test the validity of a social psychological theory in measuring human moral judgment. To facilitate my research project, I began by constructing a survey that was posted on Amazon Mechanical Turk to pilot the test. My survey presented […]

The university librarians of the Big Ten Academic Alliance have launched the Big Ten Open Books project, a collaboration between the university presses and libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance. The first 100-title collection centered on gender and sexuality studies is now published. The works […]

The following is written by Rich Dana, Sackner Archive Project Coordinator Librarian On June 3, 98-year-old Kirby Congdon passed away in Key West, Florida, a town that had recognized him as its first poet laureate. Although the arts community of Key West understood the importance of Congdon and his […]