Newberry Staff Expert Guide

Following is a select list of Newberry Library staff members and their areas of expertise. For more information, or to contact one of these individuals for a media inquiry, please contact Heather Malec, director of public relations and communications, at (312) 255-3625.

- Link to James Grossman's bio, vice president for research and education

Chicago History

• Encyclopedia of Chicago History, James Grossman, (Ph.D., History, University of California, Berkeley), Editor; Vice President for Research and Education
• Encyclopedia of Chicago History, U.S. social history, Douglas Knox, (A.B.D. , History, University of Chicago ), Managing Editor
• History of dance in Chicago, Martha Briggs, (M.S.L.S., Columbia University), Lloyd Lewis Curator of Midwest Manuscripts

American History

• American Indian collection (Ayer) manuscripts, Martha Briggs, (M.S.L.S., Columbia University), Lloyd Lewis Curator of Midwest Manuscripts
• American legal writing, Thomas Jefferson, Chief Justice John Marshall, historical editing, Charles T. Cullen, (Ph.D., History, University of Virginia), President Emeritus
• Genealogy, African American family history, local Chicago history, Jack Simpson, (M.A., History, Wayne State University; M.S.I., University of Michigan), Curator of Local and Family History
• U.S. automobile tourism, James Akerman, (Ph.D., Geography, Pennsylvania State University), Director, Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography
• U.S. counties, historical cartography, John Long, Project Director, Atlas of Historical Country Boundaries
• U.S. social, urban, African-American, and labor history, James Grossman, (Ph.D., History, University of California, Berkeley), Vice President, Research and Education

European History

• Eighteenth-Century Britain, David Spadafora (Ph.D., History, Yale University), President and Librarian
• History of printing and education; Renaissance and Early Modern Italy, Paul F. Gehl, (Ph.D., History, University of Chicago), Custodian, John M. Wing Collection on the History of Printing
• Medieval manuscripts, 15th-century France, Paul Saenger, (Ph.D., History, University of Chicago), George A. Poole III Curator of Rare Books
• Late medieval to early baroque music and performance, David Douglass, Musician-in-Residence; Director, Newberry Consort
• Renaissance and Baroque music, musical instrument history, early music performance, comparative musical history, U.S. symphony orchestras, Ken Perlow, General Manager, Newberry Consort

History of Cartography

• Cartography, bibliography, Robert Karrow, (Ph.D., History, Loyola University of Chicago), Curator of Special Collections and Curator of Maps
• Cartography, historical geography, James Akerman, (Ph.D., Geography, Pennsylvania State University), Director, Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography
• U.S. counties, historical cartography, John Long, Project Director, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

Literature

• Sixteenth-century French literature and music, Carla Zecher, (Ph.D., French, Duke University), Director, Center for Renaissance Studies

Libraries

• Newberry archives, Martha Briggs, (M.S.L.S., Columbia University), Lloyd Lewis Curator of Midwest Manuscripts
• Humanities research, Hjordis Halvorson, (M.L.S., University of California, Berkeley),Vice President for Library Services

Conservation

• Book and paper conservation, bookbinding, printing, Giselle Simon, (B.F.A., Kansas City Art Institute, Printmaking), Director of Conservation Services