Contents: (Volume 21, number 2 -- Fall 2005)
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The Language Police: A Talk with Author Diane Ravitch by Julia Hanna Brown '88
- Friends, Past and Present: A Rich Legacy by Ruth R. Rogers, Special Collections Librarian, and Dorothea Widmayer '52
- Farewell and Thanks to Seniors
- Honor with Books
- Claire van Vliet
- Planning for our Future, Remembering our Past by Micheline Jedrey, Vice President for Information Services and College Librarian
- Authors on Stage: Twenty-Five Years of Enriching the Library by Diane Speare Triant '68
- Norma Mandel
- Digital Library Access, Learning and Teaching by MacKenzie Stewart, Digital Library Specialist
- ABC Catalog
- Time to renew ?
- Friends of the Library Steering Committee 2004-2005
Some two hundred book artists, collectors, dealers, and curators converged on the Wellesley campus June 15-18 for ABC: The Artists' Books Conference. Participants traveled from across the country and abroad for a full menu of panel discussions, keynote addresses, and an open book fair where artists and dealers could display and sell their work. An exhibition, "Resonance and Response," displayed a selection of the unique and limited edition artists' books from Special Collections, which was accompanied by a full color illustrated catalog funded by Friends of the Library. The conference was the result of two years of planning on the part of Special Collections Librarian Ruth R. Rogers and her program committee. Judging from the enthusiastic post-conference response of attendees, their hard work paid off. "The conference was a success because it offered a forum for frank dialogue on issues that are not often discussed openly," said Rogers. "There was a need for collectors to ask artists how they price their work, for librarians to explain how they make acquisition decisions, for booksellers to talk about representing new artists and building relationships with collectors, both private and academic. Not only were attendees hungry for this information, they loved being at Wellesley, with its beautiful campus and Library facilities. One very prominent librarian even commented that he was envious of our president, Diana Chapman Walsh, whose warm and informed welcome on Friday was a special treat." "It was a wonderfully symbiotic, mutually supportive group," said Chuck Hobson, an artist and instructor at the San Francisco Art Institute. "Artists' books are the poetry of the art world-the people who make them do so because they have no choice; they can't not do them." Like poets, however, book artists don't always receive the support-financial or otherwise -- that they need to thrive. |
Hobson observed that the conference experience was important because it created a "storm anchor" that gave participants a sense of security and direction in what can be rough seas. "We were all given first-class treatment," Hobson said."Ruth and the Wellesley staff created a real sense of warmth, graciousness, and hospitality." Dr. Robert Ruben was a panelist on the topic of private collecting. A longtime fan of book artists Julie Chen and Claire Van Vliet, Ruben, who lives in New York, said it was " tremendously additive" to meet two women whose work he has collected for years. "I'm fascinated by the question of why an artist chooses to work in a particular medium, and what her goals may be, whether conscious or unconscious," he said. By all accounts, the social events and "down time" at the conference were every bit as productive and instructive as the prepared presentations." I've gone to many of these conferences over the past twenty-five years," said Ken Botnick, an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis and director of the Kranzberg Book Studio." The ABC was extremely useful because the attendees included both curators and artists-the first time I've experienced this mix at a conference. I don't think there have ever been so many profitable exchanges over coffee." To order Resonance and Response:Artists' Books from Special Collections, call (781) 283-2129, or visit the Friends of the Library web site at http://www.wellesley.edu/Library/friends.html
Above: Mingling ABC Participants Middle: Julie Chen describes her work Below: Conference participants view artists' books in the exhibition "Resonance and Response"
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The Language Police: A Talk with Author Diane Ravitch by Julia Hanna Brown '88
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Friends, Past and Present: A Rich Legacy
by Ruth R. Rogers, Special Collections Librarian, and Dorothea Widmayer '52
Above: Ruth Rogers, book artist Claire van Vliet, and Dorothea Widmayer '52
Recently, as the Steering Committee explored ideas for projects the Friends might undertake, we became interested in the group's history. When and how had the tradition begun of loyal friends and alumnae contributing to meet the special needs of the library? What was our legacy? Who were the special friends of the past? We decided we would share a taste of this past with you. Henry Fowle Durant was the first great friend of the library. In 1875, he donated 8,000 selected volumes from his private collection to found the Wellesley College Library. Until his death in 1881, he combed the world's book markets in the interest of his college. Early on, the "friends" of the library were not an organized group, but rather Mr. Durant's friends. Many were wealthy collectors who were very supportive of the College during his lifetime and, importantly, after his death. Some donated books, while others made monetary gifts. Prominent among them was Harvard Professor Eben N. Horsford, an engineer and analytical chemist who invented baking powder. Professor Horsford provided valuable books and also founded the Library Permanent Fund for the purchase of texts needed to support the curriculum. The fund still exists, providing income for a wide selection of purchases each year. The donation of personal collections also contributed to the richness of the library. In 1904, Mr. George A. Plimpton donated 1,200 volumes of Italian manuscripts and books from the 14th through 18th centuries. In 1920, Charles Eliot Goodspeed, the legendary Boston bookseller, donated his personal Ruskin collection. Perhaps the most avid early patron and advocate for the library, however, was Harvard Professor George Herbert Palmer, husband of Wellesley's second president, Alice Freeman Palmer. His generosity is epitomized by his gift, in 1924, of more than 3,000 volumes of the English poets. Professor Palmer continued to add to the collection, inspiring others to do likewise. Caroline Hazard, Wellesley's fifth President, funded the purchase of the complete set of the Brownings' love letters and Katharine Lee Bates donated her personal library. |
When Professor Palmer died in 1933, the Friends of the Wellesley College Library was organized to carry on the work he had championed. This group undertook the task of identifying benefactors to donate money and/or notable collections and to help purchase items identified by the College Librarian. They supported exhibits, held programs, and produced a newsletter. This group added many notable volumes until it disbanded in 1954, when the College requested that all donations to Wellesley be channeled toward general purposes. Annis Van Nuys Schweppe, Class of 1903, provided funds to establish the Book Arts Laboratory in 1944 for the practice of printing and bookmaking and in 1948, she donated a large collection of fine press books and ephemera produced by Edwin and Robert Grabhorn, printers considered by many to be among the best of the 20th century. In the Spring of 1982, Eleanor Gustafson, College Librarian, recommended to President Keohane that the FOL be reestablished. Since its rebirth in 1984, the FOL has followed the lead of their predecessors, raising money through membership and special contributions to support the Library in ways not provided for by the college budget. We plan programs, support exhibitions, and through our newsletter, inform our membership of new developments as the library rises to meet the challenges of the digital age and information accessibility. The business of the FOL is conducted under the aegis of its Steering Committee and its projects have taken many forms. Recent examples include donations totalling $500,000 to support the creation of the Conservation Facility and the restoration of the Sanger Room; funds for the purchase of limited edition books for the Art and Music Libraries, an oversize printer to allow special graphic presentations for student research, books for newly developing areas of the curriculum; and, in conjunction with this year's Artists' Books Conference, underwriting the cost of a catalog that exhibits some of Wellesley's remarkable collection. The legacy of FOL is rich, originating with the founding of Wellesley College. We are still motivated by the same goals set by Durant 130 years ago-to maintain the Library as the dynamic center of the College by preserving the past and supporting its growth. Many thanks for all you do to support this vision. |
Friends of the Library feted 41 graduating seniors who had worked in the Clapp, Science, Art, and Music Libraries during their years at Wellesley. At the open house attended by students and their families, the soon-to-be alumnae received a certificate of appreciation, a Friends' totebag, and free membership for 2005-06 in the Friends of the Library.
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Music Library staff and student workers: clockwise from lower left: Gina Kim, Julie Pollock,TracyAhlquist, Rae Adams, Music Librarian Pamela Bristah, Meredith Smith, Caroline Poon. |
| Interlibrary Loan staff and students, from left: Kyung Lee, Susan Goodman, Karen Stein, Nancy Karis, Sarah Kim, Karen Jensen, Stepahanie Ma. |
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Vice President for Information Services and College Librarian Micheline Jedrey serves double duty at the refreshments table, where she had the opportunity to meet some of the student workers' parents. |
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An enthusiastic crowd gathered in Clapp Library on April 6 to hear a talk by book artist ClaireVanVliet. As founder of the Janus Press,VanVliet has been honored over the years with numerous exhibitions and awards, including the prestigious John D. and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. While showing slides of some of her remarkably intricate creations,VanVliet commented, "All of these structures were created to solve a problem found in the text-my work is done in response to the literature:" A project can take six to ten years to complete,Van Vliet added, although she often has many works in progress at the same time. Most are printed in an edition of 100 to 150 copies or "as many as I can afford to make," she said. In addition to hearingVan Wet speak about her work, many audience members took advantage of a pre-talk reception to view some of her books firsthand (see photo at left)."One of the reasons to make these books is to slow the reader down-but not interrupt the meaning of the content," she said."It actually is a lot of fun." |
Planning for our Future, Remembering our Past
by Micheline Jedrey, Vice President for Information Services and College Librarian
| As we plan for the next phase of renovation of the
Margaret Clapp Library (the lower level, beginning in early 2006),
we are confronting a complex set of questions. What services and
resources will the library need to offer to meet the information
needs of students and faculty in the next decade? What is the right
blend of collections space and people space? Will students browse
the stacks in the age of Googlezon? For centuries, a defining element
of a library has been to provide access to printed resources. But,
as an ever-increasing array of library resources are born digital,
what will be the role of the physical collections in the future?
As a first step in the planning process we have been calculating the capacity of our stacks. It is easy to get lost in the numbers ...2,954 sections of shelving ...50,326 linear feet ...10 volumes per linear foot... 12,500 volumes added annually. Stack units laid out in tidy grids-rows of rectangles on floor plans-do not fully capture the experience of standing among thousands of books, neatly arranged on the shelves waiting to be discovered, opened and used. I decided to go to the stacks to see if the books could provide more information. I picked a random shelf containing 30 books in the "general knowledge" section of the collection and began gathering data. This is a collection that has been shaped over the decades by Wellesley's academic program, the interests of Wellesley's students, and the research of Wellesley's faculty. The books reflect a wide range of intellectual perspectives, selected to offer students an opportunity to form their own ideas rather than being narrowly confined to one viewpoint. Titles have publication dates ranging from the 1860s to the 1990s, demonstrating the College's continuing commitment to provide funds to acquire contemporary scholarly works. And, this is a collection built for use, as shown by the numerous date stamps inside the back covers. Bookplates reveal another part of the story of the books on this shelf. Several of the books, with publication dates ranging from 1861 to 1997, were purchased from the fund established by Professor Eben N. Horsford (see page two for more information about this important benefactor of the Library). Caroline Hazard, Wellesley College President from 1899-1910 (and under whose watch the Library was constructed), donated a book she had edited that contained essays written by her grandfather. Another book was given as part of the bequest of George Herbert Palmer, husband of Alice Freeman Palmer, Wellesley's second president. Vida Scudder, Professor of English Literature from 1888 to 1928 and a noted social reformer, presented one of the books to the Library in 1904 (Ruskin in Oxford, by G. W Kitchin). Elizabeth W Manwaring, class of 1902 and a member of the English department faculty until 1947, donated a book; other titles were purchased with funds from the Manwaring endowment. Another title was purchased from the Alumnae Memorial Book Fund in memory of a graduate of the class of 1941. And, perhaps my favorite was a 1997 publication, purchased from the bequest of Mabel Elizabeth Hodder in memory of Antoinette B.P. Metcalf, a librarian at Wellesley from 1910-1939. What I found by browsing one shelf is that this collection is uniquely Wellesley, not because of the property stamp or the College barcode in each book, but because so many of the books contain evidence of our community and our history. Generations of students, alumnae, faculty, and friends have contributed to this collection and have read these books. As we take up the challenging questions for the future of Wellesley's Library, we will remember that the answers will not be found by simply calculating the number of shelving sections needed. |
Authors on Stage: Twenty-Five Years of Enriching the Library
Authors on Stage moderator Lia Hunt Zylstra '80
(left)
with Sue Miller, whose novels include The Good Mother and Family Pictures.
As soon as patrons of the Authors on Stage program spot the familiar logo of the medieval female reader in their mailboxes, they rush to reserve. Held twice-yearly at the College Club for a town-gown audience, the popular benefit, now celebrating its silver anniversary, has showcased 150 authors of quality and note, ranging from late evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould to suspense queen Mary Higgins Clark. David Macaulay, Stephen King, Arthur Golden, Tracy Kidder, Francine Prose, Robert Parker, Dennis Lehane, Julia Glass: chances are your favorite writer has taken the Authors on Stage podium. " My thought was books for more books," says the founder of the program, Janice Lane Hunt '52, also a member emerita of the FOL Steering Committee. In 1980, Hunt assembled a small group of Wellesley College Alumnae of Boston volunteers to organize an event in the tradition of the recently discontinued Hathaway House Bookshop series. Book-sale profits would benefit the library. Twenty- five years later, Authors on Stage is thriving, with Hunt's daughter, Lia Hunt Zylstra '80, serving as moderator. During the program's anniversary year kick-off, College Librarian Micheline Jedrey expressed her appreciation to the audience of bibliophiles. "The first check we received was for $1,500," she recalled. "Today, the Authors on Stage fund is just shy of $100,000 and has made possible a remarkable variety of acquisitions." Each Authors on Stage program, under the able co-chairmanship of Kathleen Thompson DS '80 and Jean Speare Canellos '57, features three current writers unveiling their first edition books and filling the College Club's Wall Room with all manner of literary talk. Some have spoken of their search for inspiration. Matthew Pearl, whose The Dante Club brings together 15th and 19th century history in a literary whodunit, found his by moving to Boston." I grew up in Florida," he said," so I was in shock at Boston's rich history. It was my source of motivation for writing the novel."Memoirist Da Chen, on the other hand, credited his parents with inspiring his charming Sounds of the River, a coming-of-age story in post-Cultural Revolution China. "I wrote in order to be a good son,"he said. "My parents gave me love, and I, by writing about them, gave them immortality." Others have examined the writing craft itself. National Book Award finalist Adam Haslett explained his partiality to the short story form. (Haslett penned a draft of his short story collection, You Are Not a Stranger Here, in Clapp library.) And Megan Marshall, author of The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism, addressed the challenges of the biographer. "It was extremely time-consuming," she said of tracking down hundreds of primary-source letters and journals. "Many of the sisters' letters were cross-written, to save on postage. They filled up an entire sheet, then turned it 90 degrees and wrote back across it!" It is just the sort of literary tidbit that has kept Authors on Stage audiences returning for a quarter century -- much to the library's benefit. |
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On May 15th, Norma Mandel '55 spoke in Collins Cinema on the topic of her book Beyond the Garden Gate: The Life of Celia Laighton Thaxter. Widely regarded as New Hampshire's best-known poet of the 19th century Thaxter also broke conventional gender roles of the day and cultivated a popular literary salon at her family's resort on Appledore Island. Beyond the Garden Gate is the first biography on Thaxter to be published in twenty years. At a reception before the talk, Mandel (right) posed with Vice President for Information Services and College Librarian Micheline Jedrey (left) and outgoing FOL co-chair Polly Slavet '67. |
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Digital Library Access, Learning and Teaching by MacKenzie Stewart, Digital Library Specialist We live in a world of cell phones, iPods, eBay, and Amazon.com, where instant gratification is the norm. For the new generation of students raised in this digital world, information is available everywhere-in any form, at any time. In response to these changes, the Wellesley College Library provides access to the information that best meets student needs regardless of format. Digital information resources are constantly being added to complement thousands of physical books, journals, scores, newspapers, and maps already available from the Library. The increase of these digital information resources has meant the redefinition of high-quality information services and library collections. Library services aren't limited to a specific location or time, and collections can no longer be defined as "things owned." |
Librarians are now more important than ever before to guide and act as intermediaries between content and users. Because remote access to digital resources allows students to do research anytime, from anyplace, librarians are presented with an even greater challenge in their role as mediators between the content and a remote and unseen audience of users. An experienced user isn't always an advanced user. For example, the library provides access to digital forms of reference materials, books, and journals as well as the information that is available via the Internet. While it's common for information seekers to independently find information through Google and other search engines, the quality of the information they find is sometimes questionable. In addition to offering more common, commercial products such as JStor, LexisNexis, and ScienceDirect, libraries are digitizing materials themselves from their own collections to provide access to the rare, valuable, or fragile materials they hold. These locally digitized collections are created according to rigorous standards for scanning, encoding, access, and archiving. Copyright laws limit presentation of most 20th and 21st century materials to the public; however, pre-1923 materials are eligible because they are in the public domain. Currently, Wellesley offers access to locally developed resources created from unique pre-1923 Library and Archives materials. Some of their resources are catalogs to describe the collections, some are digital reproductions of the items themselves, and others are a representative sample simply for display. Chief among these are a Special Collections database of pre-1600 manuscripts prepared with funds generously provided by the Friends of the Library. This database consists mainly of descriptions, however it also includes color images of nine rare Petrarch manuscripts in this collection. A collection of piano sheet music by American composer Edward MacDowell from the Music Library provides access to sheet music for the majority of MacDowell's character pieces for piano, most of which are not available in print anthologies of his piano music. Also, there are two monographs on Boston history in addition to several Web exhibits illustrating a range of topics: Wellesley College dorm life, campus maps, the Book Arts, and unique library materials. Other digitization projects are currently in the planning stages. Take a look at http://aurora.wellesley.edu Another valuable digital resource available to the Wellesley community is Element K, an online learning vendor which provides software and technical training via the Web. All Wellesley students, faculty, and staff who are interested in developing their technical expertise can set up an individual account to learn about topics such as database design, digital imaging, and network administration. Whatever new technological developments occur, the fact remains that libraries provide access to information that allows users to create new knowledge-one of the leading aims of any institution of higher learning. More importantly for the Library, local access to global collections also means global access to local collections, so libraries creating locally digitized collections add to the growth of the Internet and the greater availability of information resources anytime, anywhere. Due to the continued integration of computer and telecommunication technologies, the Web is available through many networked devices, including Palm Pilots and cell phones. As technology continues to advance and more digital resources are made available, the only constant is likely to be ongoing changes in learning and teaching-and that Wellesley's libraries will continue to focus on meeting and exceeding user expectations in this challenging new environment. |
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A page from Anansi Company, a collection of thirteen hand-made wire and card rod- puppets animated in color and verse by Ronald King and Roy Fisher. To learn more about this and other unique and limited edition
artists' books from Special Collections, purchase Resonance and
Response, an 88-page, full-color catalog published in conjunction
with the Artists' Book Conference. Call 781-283-2129 for further
information; to view more catalog images visit the Friends of the
Library Web site at Cost of the catalog is $30.00 plus shipping and handling. |
Time to Renew?
Please use the form below and make your check payable to: Wellesley College.
Mail to:
Friends of the Library, Margaret Clapp Library, Wellesley College,
106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481
or use our new secure
online Membership form
| Our membership levels are: | ||
| Benefactor* $2,500 | Donor $250 | Endowment Fund |
| Patron * $1,000 | Sponsor $100 | Contributing Life Member |
| Supporter $500 | Contributor $50 | Young Alum $15 (graduated in last 5 yrs.) |
|
* Entitles Life Membership
|
Friends of the Library
Steering Committee 2004-2005
Honorary Chairperson
Diana Chapman Walsh ’66
Founding Member
Mary E. Jackson ’24
Co-Chairs
Ruth R. Rogers
Dorothea Widmayer ’52
Newsletter Editor
Julia H. Brown ’88
Production Editor
Debra Carbarnes
Steering Committee
Georgia Brady Barnhill ’66
Molly S. Campbell ’60
Barbara F. Coburn ’52
Carol Cross DS ’02
Beverly M. Dillaway ’78
Kerin D. Fenster ’64
Kathryn K. Flynn, ex-officio
Julia H. Brown ’88
Margaret D. Hadzima ’73
Deborah Holman ’89
Micheline E. Jedrey
Janet Si-Ming Lee ’98
Wanda L. MacDonald ’72
Katherine H. Page ’69
Elizabeth Pierre ’97
Alice B. Robinson ’46
Susan F. Saul ’65
Polly G.Slavet’67
Diane S. Triant ’68
Pamela W. Turner ’65
Virginia B. Wickwire DS ’81
Pamela Worden ’66
Emeritae
Claire M. Broder ’61
Janice L. Hunt ’52
Lia Gelin Poorvu ’56
June M. Stobaugh '66
Elinor Bunn Thompson ’37
Sigrid R. Terman ’47
This web
version was prepared by MacKenzie Stewart, Digital Library Specialist,
Wellesley College Library.
All images were reproduced directly from the newsletter, image reproduction
quality varies greatly.
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- Date created: October 25, 2005
- Last modified: October 26, 2005
- Expires: permanent