Wednesday April 22, 2009 3:00-5:00pm

Don’t miss the opportunity to come to Olin Library and step into Special Collections & Archives between 3:00-5:00pm on Wednesday April 22 to see some of our materials selected specifically for our Earth Day exhibit. Our newly acquired atlas “EARTH” will be on display. Sure, we’ve all seen an atlas before but Wesleyan University owns the mother of all atlases in “EARTH,” which takes cartography and publishing to a new stratosphere. More than 100 international cartographers, oceanographers, and geographers have produced an astounding 355 maps covering 194 countries. Adding to this cartographic feat, the massive 580 pages contain extensive country text, covering all the nations of the world. EARTH also presents four stunning gatefolds measuring 1.8 meters across, including one titled “Earth from the Sky at Night”, a stunning image taken by NASA. More than 800 exquisite images were sourced from prestigious picture libraries, including a large number of images taken by National Geographic photographers. Only 3,000 copies of this highly prized volume have been printed. Highly detailed maps, produced by a team of international cartographers, are the foundation of this book. Each of the countries of the world is also described and illustrated in detail, with focus on the geography, history, culture, and unique features. I guarantee seeing this atlas will be worth your walk over or we will give you a free pencil. Just the fact that you read this much of this blog post means we will give you a free pencil. All you have to do is ask when you get here.

Are you wondering what ever happened to those old cards people use to have to look through one-by-one to find a book location? Since we no longer use a physical card catalog we will have on display a few ways the staff has found to repurpose, recycle, and reuse them as part of our Earth Day exhibit.

This celebration is being held in conjunction with the opening of an exhibit of the same name in Olin Library, and coincides with the completion of the processing of the Manchester Papers. A finding aid will be available soon.

The Friends of the Wesleyan Library are sponsoring this event. Hope to see you there!

After the presentation, we’ll give our audience a fun “Presidents Quiz” to test their mastery of the history of Wesleyan presidents! This presentation will take place on Thursday, May 22 at 3pm in the Kerr Lecture Hall (Shanklin 107).

The second WESeminar is “The Guardians of the ‘92: The History of Second Stage.” Suzy Taraba and Jackie Chapman, class of 2008, will talk about the history of this unusual theatre group, now celebrating its 35th year. Jackie based her senior thesis on the Second Stage Records in the University Archives, and will talk about some of the fascinating information she uncovered. The talk will take place on Friday, May 23 at 1:30pm in the Patricelli ‘92 Theatre.

The whole weekend’s itinerary is available here. Hope to see you!

In the morning on November 3, staff members Suzy Taraba and Valerie Gillispie will be presenting a WESeminar called “A History of Wesleyan Presidents.” Find out who they were, what they believed, and what they did for fun! The presentation will be followed by a light-hearted “quiz,” and all participants will get a special treat!

Special Collections & Archives has an extensive collection of Kennedy’s books, posters, and postcards, and offered an “open house” with these items before and after the lecture.

Deborah Muirhead examines materials at the open house.
(Photo by Janet L. Pritchard)

Dozens of visitors browsed the collection and spoke with Kennedy. Special Collections & Archives also received additional donations from the author during the evening.