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Printer-friendly versionCURRENT AND UPCOMING EXHIBITS
PAST EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE HOOLE LIBRARY
CURRENT EXHIBITS IN THE LOBBY OF THE W.S. HOOLE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY, MARY HARMON BRYANT HALL 2ND FLOOR
1968: The Year that Changed the World
A new exhibit from the collections of the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library is now available -- 1968: The Year that Changed the World is an opportunity to reflect on this important time through the lens of the materials in the Hoole Library. Forty years after 1968, we still look upon that year as a pivotal one in the worlds of politics, culture, art, music, literature, and life.
Through our print collections, sound recordings, and more, this exhibit offers some insight into life both on the UA campus and in the world during 1968.1968 brought Robert Kennedy to campus as part of the Emphasis program in March of 1968, just three months before he was assassinated. 1968 was the year the first African-American student association was established on campus, and this year marks the 40th anniversary.
The exhibit is far-reaching, looking at art, music, literature, campus life, culture, war, and many of the things that were on the minds of students and others 40 years ago.
The exhibit also features some materials currently on loan and donated by UA alum Janet Stevenson, who was a student at The University of Alabama in the late 1960s and early 1970s. We even have her Fall 1968 calendar on display! This exhibit also features a few of the many, many LPs from the collection of UA History professor John Beeler, who was quick to loan some of the most important albums of 1968 to include in the exhibit.
To get a sense of campus life in 1968, come to see the exhibit! And if you want a real blast from the past, be sure to visit our digital collections which feature the 1968 Corolla as well as a full array of the talks and the program from Emphasis '68.
A Blank Space for Every Day of the Year: 19th Century Pocket Diaries and their Diarists explores the content, technology and anatomy of selected diaries housed in the W.S. Hoole Library's Manuscript Collections. The impetus for the exhibit began with the work of Larry Lou Foster, a graduate of The University of Alabama's internationally known MFA Program in the Book Arts.
As a book artist and fine binder, Larry Lou, working with current MFA graduate student Bridget Elmer and Jessica Lacher-Feldman from the Hoole Library, along with beautiful and detailed photographs by UA photographer Laura Shill, brought together images, ephemera, along with the diaries themselves and other materials that give a true sense of several aspects of these very personal artifacts. The exhibit also includes some of Larry Lou's models and work she has done to replicate these unique structures and to better understand their construction.
The exhibit will be on display in the lobby of the Hoole Library from August 26-December 19, 2008. There will be an opening and short lecture on Tuesday, October 7th at 6 pm. This event and exhibit also marks the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library's contribution to Archives Month in Alabama.
To view some of Laura's incredible photographs of the diaries which will be in the exhibit, visit the brand new cool@hoole flickr page! More images from the exhibit will be added soon. And be sure to stop by Hoole to see the exhibit!
Audubon meets T.P. Thompson meets the Elusive Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, the second in what we're calling an "exhibit mashup" -- bringing together a few things in an interesting way. This exhibit focuses on J.J. Audubon, the ornithologist and artist; T.P. Thompson, a book collector; and the ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird that was documented by Audubon and has recently been spotted and made international news.
The exhibit is inspired by the upcoming lecture and book signing on Thursday April 24th with UA professor, Dr. Michael Steinberg. Steinberg will discuss his new book, Stalking the Ghost Bird: The Elusive Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in Louisiana (LSU Press, 2008).
T.P. Thompson's books make up the foundation for the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library's Rare Books Collection. The library of over 10,000 items was purchased by The University of Alabama in 1938. Over four decades later, in the 1970s, the Hoole Library acquired the papers of T.P. Thompson. Thompson's papers provide great insight into his passionate hobby as a collector of books and other materials.
This exhibit includes maps and books from his collections as well as images and information that create an interesting portrait of the convergence of these two men and one very big and mysterious bird (Fact: Did you know that the ivory billed woodpecker stands about two feet tall and is the largest woodpecker in the United States!?).
One highlight of the exhibit is a portrait of Audubon, which has been purported to be the only self-portrait the artist ever did. This painting has been on display in the Hoole reading room for many years and has been moved to the lobby for this exhibit.
Another highlight of Thompson's collection and of the exhibit is an important association copy (a seven volume set) of the first octavo edition of Birds of America, published in 1839-1844 by the author & by J.B. Chevailier, Philadelphia. It is inscribed by Audubon and presented to his sister-in-law, Eliza Berthoud. (Image of Audubon's signature and inscription shown here).
T.P. Thompson's passion for collecting and his broad commitment to civic and charitable endeavors in New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th century are very evident in his manuscript collection, and are touched upon in this exhibit as well. He gave freely of his time and his funds for a great many causes, but even more remarkably, he readily opened his home to researchers so that they may use his library.
PAST EXHIBITIONS PAGE
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