Read the Fact Sheet.
Chicago (February 11, 2008) - The creation of a great research library, like the fabrication of a fine mosaic, is dependent upon the precious gems that go into it. Since 2003, numerous items have come to the Newberry Library's collection, and several will be on public display in a Recent Acquisitions exhibition from March 15 - May 3, 2008. This is the first year that the Library has held a Recent Acquisitions exhibition since the 1990s and marks what will become an annual event.
Every year the Newberry adds to its holdings, with the pieces on display during this exhibition spanning 800 years - the earliest items being from the thirteenth century, and most recent from the twenty-first century. It includes precious materials such as medieval liturgical manuscripts, printed books of the Renaissance, colonial Americana, and contemporary calligraphic pieces.
"The exhibition will give people the opportunity to see first-hand the vast range of items we acquire, and learn the blocks to building a collection," says Riva Feshbach, Newberry's Exhibits Manager.
Some of the other items featured in the exhibition include diaries from the Hiram Scofield Papers, a personal archive of the Iowa lawyer's Civil War years in command of the African American regiment of the 47th US Colored Troops; material from the Polish Women's Alliance of America Papers, an extensive archive composed of insurance records and other documentation of Polish-American communities in Chicago and across the United States; examples from the Klaus Stopp Collection of printed German American birth and baptismal certificates, dating from the 1780s to the early twentieth century; and the Arte de la guarani, a grammar and dictionary of the Guarani language of the indigenous cultures of Paraguay.
Each potential acquisition is intensely scrutinized with the goal of selecting those books and manuscripts most likely to kindle the imagination and stimulate original research. The Newberry has a staff of sixteen book selectors, each one of whom has exceptional expertise, either in subject matter or bibliography. The goal is not simply to acquire items that scholars think they need, but to obtain those materials that challenge conventional opinion and therefore make scholarship more stimulating and productive.
The Newberry is fortunate to have sufficient resources so that each year it can add "new" old books. Paramount among these resources are generous donors and organizations who support the collection by endowing book funds, contributing funds for specific purchases, giving collections, or giving individual books. In 2006, a group of devoted Newberry friends founded the Society of Collectors, the membership dues of this new society are used exclusively for enriching and expanding the collection.
A unique Newberry mode of collecting is the Joint Acquisitions Program formed with seven midwestern institutions of higher learning. For each purchase, one-third of the funds are provided by the co-owning institution and two-thirds by the Newberry. These joint acquisitions "live" at the Newberry, but they can be borrowed by their owners for research, classroom use and exhibition.
Paul Saenger, Newberry's Curator of Rare Books and Collection Development Librarian, is particularly pleased with the success of the Joint Acquisitions Program. "It's a wonderful way for the Newberry to create lasting partnerships with other institutions," he shares. "By pooling resources, the Newberry and its partners are able to acquire items that none could afford alone, but from which all can benefit."
Saturday, March 15, 1:30 pm
Speaker: Paul Saenger, The Newberry Library
Why was the Union Army's 7th Iowa called the "Grey Beard Regiment"? How can you recreate a dance from the Court of Louis XIV? Why would the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies partner with the Newberry Library to acquire a book written by a Franciscan friar in the Middle Ages? How did a collection of colorful Pennsylvania baptismal records end up in Germany? The George A. Poole III Curator of Rare Books and Collection Development Librarian answers these and other questions in an illustrated overview of the Newberry Library's acquisitions since 2001.
At 2:00 pm on the following Saturdays, tours of the Newberry Recent Acquisitions exhibit will be presented by the curators, librarians, and archivists who build the collections:
About the Newberry Library
The Newberry Library, a preeminent humanities research and reference institution, is home to a world-class collection of books, manuscripts, maps, music, and other printed materials related to the history and culture of Western Europe and the Americas. The collections span many centuries. The Newberry offers research fellowships for scholars, exhibits based on its collections, and a broad array of programs and activities. The Newberry has been free and open to the public since 1887. Visit us online at www.newberry.org, and in person at 60 W. Walton Street, Chicago, Ill. 60610.