The Showgirl Collection and Other Archives that Will Surprise You
Five collections that showcase how expansive the idea of a library can be
When someone says the word library, what pops into your head? Books and computers, sure, but libraries have expanded. Maybe you included movies and music, a sewing machine and 3D printers, toys, and garden supplies. The odds are good that your local library has most of these, but what about puppets, medical supplies, or antique valentines? All of these and other sorts of special collections exist in large public libraries, college campuses, and corporate headquarters. These unique additions showcase librarianship’s ability to expand the definition of literacy to include cultural artifacts and other items of historical importance. Below are five collections that showcase how expansive the idea of a collection can be.
The Grolier Club
The oldest on this list, this New York institution was founded in 1884 when Robert Hoe invited eight fellow bibliophiles to his house. The group, who wanted to advance the state of printing in America, organized, leading to the creation of The Grolier Club. They named it in honor of Jean Grolier (1498/90–1565), a Renaissance lover and collector of books who amassed a famous library he shared with fellow enthusiasts. Their mission, “the study, collecting and appreciation of books and works on paper,” remains intact. Their library, a growing collection of 100,000+ volumes, requires permission to use, as it’s geared toward researchers. Still, for the general public, they put on four free exhibitions a year, host lectures, and have a publishing arm.
The Peace Collection
The Peace Collection, held at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, was donated to them by Jane Addams, the famous activist and founder of Hull House. She presented her books, letters, photographs, and Nobel Peace Prizes to the college in the 1930s. The collection includes any “non-governmental efforts for non-violent social change, disarmament and conflict resolution.” As the initial group came from a woman, over half the primary documents focus on their contributions to any cause for peace starting around 1815 to the present. In addition, it includes exciting ephemera, including buttons and pins, posters and signs, scrapbooks, and t-shirts.
The Showgirl and Menu Collection
Taking the idea of local history to fun heights, The University of Nevada at Las Vegas has collections focusing on the unique aspects of their community. One, titled The Showgirl, digs into this combination of parody, Broadway, cancan dance halls, nightclubs, and movies to showcase the spectacle and allure of Las Vegas. The library’s collection includes drawings, costumes, and production notes that show the evolution of these staged extravaganzas. Vegas has a long history of great menus as well. From the famous buffets to the haute cuisine offerings available today, the menu collection showcases the changes in graphic design and the variety of eating options of this tourist destination. Both give a snapshot into this one-of-a-kind city.
The Harry Ransom Center
This humanities research library at the University of Texas, Austin, the Harry Ransom Center, opened in 1957, contains books, photographs, manuscripts, and paintings. Still, for the aspiring writer, they have made it a mission to collect the works of living writers, both their final printed books and, a significant focus, manuscript versions of those works, showing how these authors rethought about their jobs, how each novel shifted and changed between drafts. They also believe in offering their treasures with exhibitions, lectures, and a magazine you can subscribe to.
The Frank W. Tober Collection on Literary Forgery
The newest collection, bequeathed in 1995 to the University of Delaware library by Frank Tober, focuses on famous literary forgeries. They contain 4,000 books and periodicals highlighting primarily American and British instances of fraud as well as forgery detection, counterfeiting, and literary hoaxes. British forgers Thomas J. Wise and H. Buxton Forman were of particular interest to him, and he even covered the more modern episode, Clifford Irving’s ‘biography’ of Howard Hughes. This is a fun reminder that even the stuffy publishing world has a wild side.
Libraries are not only buildings and books but gathering places for ideas. As those can inspire any number of things, many beyond books, it seems fitting that many deep, passionate collections that reflect the variety, creativity, and quirks of their subjects find homes there as well. So, whatever you want to discover, some libraries can provide you with the necessary knowledge.
Help protect essential artifacts and stories. Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn about how you can have an impact.
