Learning from Medieval Manuscripts

On exhibit in the Hodges Reading room in Jackson Library

“Learning from Medieval Manuscripts”

The University Libraries is fortunate to have in its collections, “Fifty Original Leaves from Medieval Manuscripts.  Western Europe: XII-XVI Century”, a portfolio collection created by Otto F. Ege in the 1940’s, a professor of art history and dean of the Cleveland Institute of Art.  His intent through these portfolios was to provide opportunity for many to view and learn from these individual leaves. 

The selected leaves span through several centuries and across countries, taken from imperfect volumes from Otto Ege’s personal collection.  These manuscripts have provided the university community rare and special opportunities to view first hand historical documents that illustrate a time before mechanical printing was introduced. 

Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives  has made available these medieval manuscripts to university faculty and students through teaching opportunities and research.  Through the years the original storage has become less than perfect.  The preservation division was able to design and create new protective enclosures for these portfolio items to ensure their conservation for the future. 

The exhibit documents the construction of the new enclosures and provides a view of several of the leaves from the collections, presenting some interesting historical facts regarding the creation of medieval manuscripts.

Come to visit us Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm. 

-Audrey Sage

Preservation Services 

Wondrous Works: Illuminated Manuscripts from Three Continents February 2016 - May 2016

Special Collections and University Archives at UNCG’s University Libraries has mounted an exhibit highlighting the rich tradition of illuminated manuscripts in Europe, India, Persia, Ethiopia, and Armenia.  By presenting these works within a global perspective, the exhibit, Wondrous Works: Illuminated Manuscripts From Three Continents, strives to broaden our understanding of the history of the book, the influence of artistic trends on illuminated works, and the cultural contact and cultural exchange amongst peoples. 

Working with local bookman Norman Smith and his collection of rare works, the exhibit features manuscripts that were created during or shortly after the invention of movable type in 1454.  Despite the wide spread adoption of print technology, the exhibit reveals a continued interest and market for illuminated works well into the 1600s.

The term manuscript comes from the Latin word for “handwritten.”  Before the invention of movable type, all books had to be written out by hand.  It was a time-consuming and labor-intensive process that could take months or years to complete.  Some manuscripts were made even more special by the process of “illumination.”  This term comes from the Latin word for “lit up” or “enlightened” and refers to the use of bright colors and precious metals to embellish initial letters or to portray whole scenes.

The Hodges Reading Room is open to the public from 9 AM - 5 PM, Monday - Friday.

The exhibit closes on May 20, 2016.

- Keith Gorman

A New Exhibit Featuring Lois Lenski

The Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to host a new exhibit on Lois Lenski.  "Lois Lenski: Art, Illustration, Literature, Research" is an exhibit designed around four themes utilizing materials from the Lois Lenski Papers and collections housed in SCUA. The exhibit attempts to show some aspects of Lois Lenski's work that are familiar to many readers of her children's books, but also highlight other aspects of her work that are not so well known. Lois Lenksi was a very talented (and prolific!) children's author but she was also much more than that. She was a well-published illustrator of many types of books for other authors.  She was an accomplished artist, producing quality work in pencil, watercolor, oils, and engraving. She also did very intensive research for both her historical and regional children's books. This exhibit hopes to expand the knowledge of Lenski's accomplishments and provide context to her life's work. The exhibit, located in the Hodges Reading Room, will be up through May 31, 2014.
                                                                                                                                                                          

What's New in SCUA Exhibit

The Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives is excited to announce the launching of a new, rotating exhibit in the first floor reading room of Jackson Library titled "What's New in SCUA."  The rotating exhibit will feature recently acquired artifacts, books, documents, and photographs from the Special Collections and University Archives.

Currently on display is a scrapbook from Anne Mae Swain, a student at the school from 1944-1948, an item from the George Darden Piano and Opera Music Collection, and a 1955 Women Marines recruiting publication titled Jobs For You.

Transitions in Special Collections & University Archives

Dr. Bill Finley

With mixed emotions, we would like to report on several staffing changes within the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA).  On August 1, 2012, Dr. William “Bill” Finley stepped down as Head of Special Collections and University Archives to begin his phased retirement at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG).  Stepping in to assist with this transition, Dr. Keith Gorman has been appointed interim head of the department.  During the coming year, Bill Finley will work as the Special Collections Librarian on a part-time basis as well as teach several courses for the Department of Library & Information Studies at UNCG.

 Upon his arrival at UNCG in 1998, Bill Finley became Head of the Special Collections and University Archives Department where he has not only served as head of the department, but also as the Special Collections Librarian.  In his fourteen years at the University, Dr. Finley has overseen the expansion of the department’s instructional services and collections.  Bill has noted on more than one occasion that one of his greatest joys is finding just the right rare book to enhance one of the many collections housed in SCUA.

Dr. Finley received his BA from the College of William and Mary, MA in English from The University of Kentucky, PhD in English from Duke University, and MLS from The University of South Carolina.  He began his academic career as an English professor at Old Dominion University in 1970 and held similar positions at Duke University from 1973 to 1976 and Concord College from 1976 to 1987.  From 1988 to 1992, he was an archivist at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.  Bill also served as Head of Special Collections at the College of Charleston from 1992 to 1998. 

Dr. Keith Gorman

Dr. Keith Gorman takes the helm of SCUA with a rich and varied experience in history, teaching, and archival and museum management.  Prior to joining SCUA as assistant head in April 2010, he served as the executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum in Edgartown, Massachusetts.  Along with his museum work, Dr. Gorman has worked in a number of archives from private repositories to the Smithsonian Institution Archives in Washington, DC.  During his teaching career, he taught European history at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts.  Gorman has a BA in history from Loyola University in Chicago, MA and PhD in European history from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and a MLS from Simmons College.  He also taught courses in archival theory and research methods at Simmons’ Graduate School of Library and Information Science. 

During his time at UNCG, Gorman has helped oversee an eighteen month construction project and the relocation of staff and collections.  Keith also directed his energy to enhancing the department’s reference and instructional services, the processing of hidden collections, and expanding of the number of digital projects.  Asked about his new position, he expressed great excitement about the department’s plans and admiration for its staff.  For the coming year, he noted that SCUA established a robust set of objectives that include reviewing collection development policies,  broadening community outreach, employing MPLP processing, as well as adopting tools and policies to collect and preserve born digital records.  Gorman’s research interests range from the role archives play in a community’s collective memory to the growth of digital humanities and its impact on research.