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The
University of Iowa Main Library
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Library:
collection of books used for reading or
study, or the
building or room in
which such a collection is kept. The word
derives from the Latin liber, "a book,"
whereas a Latinized Greek
word, bibliotheca,
is the origin of the word for library in
German, Russian, and the Romance
languages. Today's libraries frequently
contain periodicals, microfilms, tapes,
videos, compact discs, online services,
and other materials, as well as books. ...
"library" Britannica Online *
The University of Iowa
Libraries is the largest library system in Iowa
and has the 17th-largest holdings among the
nation's public research universities. The
University's Main Library, its 11 branch
libraries, and the Law Library contain more than
3 million volumes. About two-thirds of this
collection resides in the Main
Library.
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The University
Libraries
play a major role in
serving those with interests in books
by providing access to information in a
rapidly changing range of print and
electronic formats. In addition,
however, a number of library facilities
and staff are particularly supportive
of the UI Book Studies
Community.
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The
SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS
department is located on the 3rd Floor
of the Main Library. It is here that
you will find Rare Books, the Iowa
Authors' Collection, the University of
Iowa Archives. The holdings are
particularly strong in the areas of
19th and 20th century American &
English literature, 19th and 20th
century American history, children's
literature, the histories of printing,
of hydraulics, and of
gastronomy.
The University
of Iowa's rare books, manuscripts, and
historically valuable archives are
housed in the Libraries' Department of
Special Collections. 1760,000 rare
books range in age from the 15th
century to newly created artist's
books; more than 500 manuscript
collections, requiring 6,000 feet of
shelving, range from medieval to
modern.
Exceptional
literary collections include the work
of writers from Walt Whitman to Iris
Murdoch and some 2000 writers
associated with the state of Iowa;
historical collections document not
only the French Revolution, Westward
Expansion, and Abraham Lincoln but
Chautauqua and vaudeville performers,
the culinary arts, political
cartooning, and film and television
screenwriting and production. The
collections include pamphlets,
photographs, posters, and other
formats.
IOWA
AUTHORS
COLLECTION
"In 1945 the
University of Iowa Library entrusted to
one of its long-time librarians, Grace
Wormer, the task of forming a special
collection of books written by Iowa
authors," wrote Frank Paluka in Iowa
Authors: A Bio-bibliography of Sixty
Native Writers (Iowa City: Friends of
the University of Iowa Libraries,
1967). "An Iowa author, for the purpose
of this collection, was considered to
be any writer born in the state or
definitely associated with Iowa who had
written at least one published
book."
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ORAL
HISTORY PROJECT
The current Oral
History Project is the second series of
interviews conducted by the University
Archives. Oral histories of key University
faculty and staff, many of them emeritus,
as well as other members of the University
community, preserve perceptions about as
well as the facts surrounding events and
changes in the life of the University. The
"sound of the time," they add dimension to
the substantial collection of individual
and departmental papers in the Archives.
For a report on what the project
accomplished in the first six months, see
our report.
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The Louise
Noun-Mary Louise Smith
IOWA
WOMEN'S
ARCHIVES
is located on the 3rd Floor of the Main
Library. This Women's Archives collects
the personal papers of women in Iowa (or
Iowa women elsewhere) from all walks of
life, as well as the records of women's
organizations in the state. Farmers,
legislators, writers, teachers, artists,
homemakers, athletes, broadcasters,
journalists, and volunteers are among
those represented in the
archives.
The
CONSERVATION
LAB
specializes in the
care of non-circulating items such as rare
books and manuscripts which are cleaned,
stabilized, mended and provided with many
forms of reconstruction and/or protective
enclosure. The Conservation Lab also acts
as a resource center for those interested
in information on conservation methods or
those with interests in the arts, crafts
and research fields of the book. The
Conservation Lab houses an important study
collection of models and historical
bookbindings and provides a Practicum in
the structure of the hand-made
book.
The
INTERNATIONAL
DADA ARCHIVE
was founded in 1979 as part of the Dada
Archive and Research Center, the
International Dada Archive is a scholarly
resource for the study of the historic
Dada movement. The Archive has compiled a
comprehensive collection of textual
documentation relating to Dada. Its
partner institution, the Fine Arts Dada
Archive, emphasizes the visual
documentation of Dada.
The
SCHOLARLY
DIGITAL RESOURCES CENTER /
(SDRC) at
the University of Iowa Libraries is a
Libraries-wide initiative and many of its
projects are in partnership with faculty
from a wide range of disciplines. The
INFORMATION
ARCADE
was founded in 1993 with a commitment to
provide a space facilitating the
integration of new technology into
teaching, learning, and research. In
recent years, the FRIENDS
of the UNIVERSITY of IOWA
LIBRARIES
have sponsored a variety of innovative
programs and collections in support of the
book arts at Iowa.
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