| BY MIKE UNGER Ever wish there was a place where you could engross yourself in some of the world’s greatest works of literature? Maybe leaf through a first edition of a novel by a legendary author like William Faulkner, listen to a radio broadcast from D-Day, or learn about mid-twentieth-century collegiate dating rituals? Such a place does exist—and you don’t have to travel far to find it. The American University Library has played a vital role in AU’s development since receiving its first donation—a Bible—in 1892. The library’s special collections, now 10,000 items strong, are its literary and historical jewels, offering information on topics ranging from the Peace Corps to seventeenth-century Japanese art. Its gems include first editions by such literary giants as William Butler Yeats, Tennessee Williams, and William Faulkner, works as renowned for their rarity as for their content. “[Our] special collections make our library different from any other library out there,” says Susan McElrath, team leader for special collections and university archives. “You are building a research base for your students to do master’s level and doctoral research.” Described by McElrath in part as research materials related to a specific topic, document, individual, or institution, special collections, which do not circulate, are not, however, reserved for master’s and PhD students. Undergraduates, even the general public, are welcome to view them, says McElrath. The majority of special collections, which feature 3,500 linear feet of shelved material located both on the third floor of Bender Library and in a warehouse in Bowie, Maryland, were gifts to the university, and many of the donors had no relationship with AU aside from their enjoyment of the library. “We’ve gotten several major donations just because people said they liked the quality of our service,” says George Arnold, the former head of special collections. “It’s a tribute to those very often nameless people . . . who gave good service to someone in the neighborhood who came into the library.” McElrath invites you, the next time you are on campus, to visit Bender Library’s special collections and lose yourself in centuries of wonder. Radio days John Hickman was an AU alum who once worked at WAMU and harbored a stirring passion for radio. Beginning in his teenage years, Hickman recorded what are now vintage radio programs, including coverage of D-Day and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s funeral. In 1994, he donated his collection of more than 10,000 broadcast-quality audio recordings of news and entertainment programming from the 1920s through the 1960s to the library. —John R. Hickman Collection American folklore An AU professor of folklore from 1969 to 1977, Duncan Emerich was a sociological sponge. During his lifetime he avidly collected legendary tales, song lyrics, and general social practices. What’s more, he often wrote down what he heard, and in 1989, he donated his extensive collection of papers to the library. “Folklore can range from recipes to rituals,” McElrath says. “[Emerich] transcribed much of what people told him over the years. He had a lot of songs and stories, riddles and jokes. He even collected folk recipes with beans as the main ingredient.” —Duncan Emerich Collection Faulkner firsts Christopher Johnson also had no official connection to AU. Like Heine, Johnson admired the university’s library and thought it would be the ideal place to house his impressive personal literary collection. In 1999, he gave AU his William Faulkner first editions, including autographed copies of Faulkner’s novels, short stories, and one play the author gave to his grandfather, Paul Johnson. —Christopher Johnson Collection Williams to Yeats First editions of plays, poetry, and short stories by William Butler Yeats and Tennessee Williams are among the most treasured items in nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature. Irwin Heine, an upper Northwest Washington resident, decided in 1996 that he wanted his neighbor, AU, to have his collection. “He was a user of the library, and the thing that made his collection so special to me was that almost every item was associated with his wife, who had passed away a few years before,” Arnold says. The collection includes works of Irish fiction along with quite a few first editions of American fiction writers. “It adds unique works of literature; it adds physical examples of printing from various ages, various centuries,” Arnold says, and “it adds very unusual, very rare items to the scholarly base of our collection in literature, fiction, poetry. Many of his books were signed by the authors.” —Irwin M. Heine Collection Peace at its core In 2002, the National Peace Corps Association gave all its major documents, including newsletters and minutes from key meetings, to AU. The association is a nonprofit organization of returned Peace Corps volunteers, former staff, and friends committed to fostering peace through service, education, and advocacy. “Because of SIS and our interest in peace and democracy, this is a good fit for the university,” McElrath says. —National Peace Corps Association East Asian treasures Charles Spinks was a foreign service officer stationed in East Asia. In the 1930s, he began acquiring books of Japanese prints. His collection includes volumes on Japanese art history from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, including works of Ukiyo-e artists Hiroshige and Hokusai as well as examples of Sogoruku board games. —Charles Nelson Spinks Collection top |
