Kenneth Spencer Research Library

Spencer’s current exhibit is free and open to the public in the Exhibit Space through December 22nd. An online version of the exhibit is also available.

I’ve had the joy of working very closely with David Bergeron, Emeritus Professor of English, for several months as we prepare To the Great Variety of Readers: Celebrating the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio, the first exhibit piloting the David M. Bergeron and Geraldo Sousa Exhibit initiative.

David and I had already been in conversation about exhibits as he and Geraldo developed their generous gift to support faculty research grounded in our collections. This project is very exciting to me, because I believe that exhibits are one of the best ways we can tell the stories of why libraries like this are important for a research university. We had bold ambitions to launch a call for proposals and a timeline, and then, as things happen, we encountered staff departures and a dean departure and all manner of other “reasons” progress was not made.

Luckily for all of us, David is a patient man. He approached me one morning and asked if the library had considered that this fall marked the 400th anniversary of the Shakespeare first folio. To be honest, I was unaware. We were still figuring out when we would have large scale exhibits, coming back from lockdown. The only fixed point on our exhibit schedule at that point was Fall of 2024, when we planned around the exciting centennial of the OTHER gorgeous library on campus, Watson. With David’s inspiration, we had the opportunity not only to work on an exhibit about this important milestone anniversary, but to test-drive collaborative exhibit processes prior to our launch of this program.

It has been a long time since I worked on a large-scale exhibit in Spencer’s exhibit space: 2018 to be exact, the magnificently fun 50 for 50. In the meantime, my colleagues have done a tremendous job of improving our exhibit processes. For those who don’t know, exhibit design is not as easy as picking which of our marvelous collections to put in a case. That’s the fun part. But it’s not all glamour, and I’d be happy to talk with anyone who wants to nerd out about digital file naming conventions and permissions to use images from other libraries and the perfect balance between font size for readability and size in the cases.

David and Geraldo’s gift is designed to encourage KU faculty to research in, and create exhibits from, the collections at Spencer Library. David isn’t the typical KU faculty member. For one thing, he’s a prolific author who uses our collections, and those of similar libraries, intensively in his research. For another, he’s continued this level of scholarly productivity into his retirement. So he has a lot of great ideas, and a lot of time on his hands, which is an exciting and terrifying combination. As I laid out the basic timeline of exhibit preparation from our end, he did not bat an eye.

We met roughly every other week to talk about the exhibit. He came up with a list of items very quickly, and not surprisingly, we couldn’t include it all. Spencer holds copies of thousands of significant literary works, but despite what you may hear from student guides on campus, KU Libraries does NOT hold a complete copy of the First Folio. While our friends at the Folger Shakespeare Library were open to lending us one of their many copies, they are closed for renovation.

But David has been gracious about our limitations, and very patient with me as I encouraged him to keep a lay reader in mind. We believe Shakespeare should be accessible to everyone, and so should Spencer Library’s exhibits.

We also had fun planning an event, complete with the excuse I never knew I wanted to order cardboard Shakespeare standees. And finally, stay tuned as we develop more collaborative exhibits with KU faculty. The lessons we learned working with David on this project will make future exhibits easier for the recipients of David and Geraldo’s generosity.

Beth M. Whittaker
Associate Dean for Distinctive Collections
Director of Spencer Research Library

I was first introduced to Kenneth Spencer Research Library through my First-Year Seminar. While I thought it was a cool place, and certainly had a unique variety of materials that could keep me entertained for days, I didn’t think I would ever use it.

I started working at the library a little less than a year later, and I began to see even more of the vast selection of intriguing materials that the library hosts. One day I was working on boxing up some recycling when I came across a little souvenir booklet that had illustrations of various buildings on campus. Since it was in the recycling pile, I was allowed to keep it, and the pictures fascinated me. [Spencer librarians sometimes weed duplicates from the collection. That was the case here; the library’s copy of Miniatures of Lawrence, Kan. can be found in University Archives. The call number is RG 0/24/G 1904 photographs.]

Fast forward four months when my Theory of Urban Design class assigned a project titled “Now and Then.” As you might expect, the project wanted us to look at how one place had changed over the past 20 years. It was relatively simple; we just had to find an old photograph of a building/urbanized area of Lawrence, recreate it, and write a description of the differences between the photographs.

A few days before this had been assigned, I was walking behind Spooner Hall and found the remains of an old fountain. Thinking it looked cool, I snapped a photo. That fountain got me wondering about the history of the building, and this project gave me the perfect opportunity to explore it.

In my little book of miniatures there were two images depicting Spooner Hall.

Originally, I was just going to recreate one of those, but just in case I went online to see what other old pictures I could find. One of the first images I came across was from a Spencer blog post that depicted children sledding down the hill behind Spooner. From there I discovered dozens of other images in the University Archives Photographs digital archives that I wanted to incorporate into my project. It quickly turned from a two-page assignment into a ten-page booklet about the history of Spooner Hall.

This project gave me a unique opportunity to explore campus’s past through what I now consider one of the coolest places on campus. If you ever find yourself feeling stuck on a project, come to the library; there is a lot to explore!

Corrie Bolton
Public Services student assistant

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing the tastiest collection I have ever found. It houses 62 recipes from central and southern Mexico dating to the early nineteenth century. Most of the recipes are undated, though one is dated 1817. The recipes are written in Spanish and Castilian with no authors indicated, though a few – like the recipe for “marmones” – include a name that appears to be a recipient (in this case Doña Maria Rafaela Vazquez). The recipes (both loose leaf and bound) were housed in a leather wrapper when they arrived at the library. For their preservation, the recipes have been re-housed in folders, and the leather wrapper kept with the collection. Just a little fun fact: the collection was processed by our former Spanish and Portuguese Preservation and Processing student, Indira Garcia Varela, back in 2019.

Examples of recipes within the collection include directions for making “enpanadas” (as it is spelled in the manuscript), tamales, tortas, and buñuelos. I am sharing three recipes below with a translation for bodin provided by Whitney Baker, Head of Conversation Services at KU Libraries, and Dr. Milton Machuca-Galvez, Assistant Librarian for Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. The recipes shown below are titled Bodin, Reseta de las Enpanadas, and Leche de Piña.

So why this collection? Having Mexican heritage myself, stumbling upon this collection in the finding aid really tugged at my heartstrings. The more I learned about the collection, the more fascinated I became. Sifting through the recipes, there were many items and words I recognized, and it can be interesting to see how the spelling of words has changed with time. The recipes are handwritten, which helps call to mind the person who wrote down the recipe roughly two hundred years ago. I was hesitant to share items in a language other than English given much of our audience is English speaking, but the collection is too fun to not to highlight.

The recipe for reseta de las enpanadas. Call Number: MS 346. Click images to enlarge.

The recipe for leche de piña, undated. Call Number: MS 346. Click image to enlarge.

Bodin = a 1 taza de leche 2/1 de pan frances, 6 huebos, una mantequilla, pasas y almendras. Todo esto se revuelbe muy bien, y se unta el sartén con mantequilla para que no se pegue hasta que esté de punto de Xericaya

Pudding = Add to 1 cup of milk, (half a?) French bread, six eggs, butter, raisins and almonds. Mix all of this well, and rub a frying pan with butter so that it doesn’t stick until it’s at the point of [consistency of] a jericalla [a Mexican custard dessert].

The gist of the last sentence, better worded, might be, “rub a frying pan with butter so it doesn’t stick, and mix all of this well until it’s at the consistency of a jericalla [Mexican custard dessert].”

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

As summer begins to fade into the sunset and fall quickly approaches, harvest time will soon be in full swing. Agricultural practices were developed about 12,000 years ago with the domestication of crops and animals as humans shifted away from hunting and gathering practices to sedentary lifestyles. Agriculture in Kansas predates the state’s inception. Today, family-owned farms are the backbone of Kansas agriculture, making up about 64% of total farms. Kansas is a leading state in wheat, grain sorghum, and beef production. In addition to those crops, corn and soybeans are some of the most abundant crops grown in the state. Douglas County alone holds over 230,000 acres of farmland. Need more information on Kansas agriculture? The Kansas Department of Agriculture provides many statistics on the state’s involvement. There is even an interactive map to learn about each county’s agricultural contribution to the economy. Not quite sure what harvest time entails? The Iowa Farm Bureau offers great information on the great lengths farmers go to in order to ensure their crops are well cared for.

In honor of harvest time and our hard-working farmers, this week I am sharing a Kansas farmer’s diary. The 160-page diary tracks the anonymous farmer’s daily activities around their property in Winfield, Kansas, and offers insight into the complex processes of owning a farmstead between 1884 and 1899. A transcription of the pages shown here is provided below the photos. The numbers at the beginning of each line are dates; the quotation marks stand for “ditto,” or a repeat of the line above.

The library houses many personal libraries from everyday individuals in all stages of life. Items like this are irreplaceable and offer just a peak into what life was like in the past. You can find a previous That’s Distinctive! post covering the diary of Maude Egbert.

Sept 1896

5. Bred Blood red Heifer
6. Alen Williams came
7. “ “ went home
7. Homer [Started] to school
7. Began cutting clover

12. Sowed Rye for chicks
14. School began John started
15. Steven A. Douglas [son of Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas] Spoke in Olatha (1)

22. Making clover Hay
23. Bred Pale Red Heifer
23. Thrashed 350 Bush Oats
24. Making Hay

28. Uncle [Jonts] & Jim Bain hear
30. Finished making C: Hay
30. Anna [Conn] marriade

Oct 1896

5. Picked Aples
6. Rachel John & I went to Priest Pal
ace parade in K.C.

9. finished Picking Aples. 85. B.

15. Went to K.C. got 60 Barls
23. cts. 6 for Hauling (29.)
15 R.R. 3 cars & Engine Recked
16. Johns 15th Birthday
“ working at reck
17. “ “ “
18. “ “ “
19. “ “ “
20. “ “ “

23. Barled 24 Barls of Aples

30. Dehorned 3. red Heifers
30. White Sow crop in Ear Bred
31. Bred white Sow
31. Hauled 72. B. Coal

(1) The September 17, 1896, issue of the Olathe News reported extensively on this event under the headline “A Rousing Rip-Roaring Republican Rally! All of Johnson County Out on Parade Arrayed in the Royal Color of the Sunflower and the Goldenrod!”

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

Using a finding aid might not always be the most intuitive process. I know when I started working at Spencer, the finding aids were quite confusing to navigate. Even today, I am still learning new ways to utilize them in my research. Preliminarily, I would just say to dive right in. Things are not always going to make the most sense, but you won’t learn unless you try!

While this post isn’t meant to be a be-all, tell-all to using Spencer’s finding aids, I hope it can help provide some insights to make things easier. We want our collections to be easily and readily available to all our patrons.

So, first, you might ask: What is a finding aid? Well, it’s a document created by archivists that consolidates information about and describes the contents and context of an archival collection. Some information in a finding aid can also be found in the catalog record for an archival collection. A finding aid is typically longer than a catalog record because it includes additional information about a collection.

You might also be wondering: What materials are described in – and can be found by searching – Spencer’s finding aids? It tends to be things like manuscripts, scrapbooks, diaries, etc. Mostly, it is the things we house that are not printed books. However, just as some books are not cataloged, not all materials have a finding aid. Additionally, things can get tricky because no two finding aids are the same. Some collections are processed in greater detail than others, which can make searches easier yet also more complicated.

For the purpose of this blog post I am using the Diaries of Anna Johnson (Call Number: RH MS 1421) as my example collection. The collection is a standard, processed small collection. And, as I said, processing happens on many levels, and collections come in all sizes. This post is a small example of how to navigate the finding aids. So, let’s dive in!

Searches

To begin your search, you need to identify some search terms. You can start out as vague or specific as you like, depending on your topic. For some collections, you might have to get a little creative. To find my example collection I typed “diaries” into the search bar. As you can see in the screenshot below, that search returned 1024 results, and my collection is not one of the top few choices. A short scroll later and the Diaries of Anna Johnson are listed.

Example aside, looking at the search screen, you can see that in the top right, you can sort the search results by title and year if desired. You can also filter results by an assortment of criteria to the right. Additionally, you can do a further search by using more search terms (and sometimes a year) in the box to the right. This is kind of like a search within a search. You can see in the following screenshot that I searched “Anna” within my original search for “diaries.”

Collection Pages

Now looking at the main or home page for a collection’s finding aid (see below), there is a lot of information given. The most notable information is the collection’s title, call number, and container inventories. How in-depth the collection has been processed determines the amount of other information provided. Some examples of information given on the collection’s main screen include an overview of the collection – a brief description of what the collection contains – as well the date range of the collection, information about the collection’s creator (including a biography, if available), and conditions governing access and use of the collection, which will note any restrictions. Keep in mind, this is not a complete list of all the information that may be provided on a collection page.

If you look to the right on the collection’s main page, you will once again see that you can search within the collection by search term or year. You will also see the collection organization sidebar, which gives general information on what materials are in the collection. Items of interest can be clicked on and will link you to that item’s page. Depending on the level of processing, there will be different information available. For my example, I clicked “1922-1923,” which took me to that diary’s own page. This is where researchers can find what box within the collection the item is housed, as well as which folder within the box. You can see that the diary from 1922-1923 is housed in Box 1, Folder 3. This information is crucial when researchers are creating Aeon requests for specific materials.

It is worth noting that – while it can be important for researchers to know what folder number they are looking for – when items are pulled from the stacks, they are pulled at the box level. This means that the researcher will receive the entire box when visiting the Reading Room, even if they just want to view one folder within that box.

Container Inventories

If we go back to the collections main page, there is a tab at the top titled “Container Inventory.” This is another way to see what is within each box in the collection. If a collection has multiple call numbers, this page is also useful in determining which box and call number a researcher truly wants. For this example, I selected Box 3. At the top of the screen in the second image below, you will see the call number and box number. Then below, you will see what materials are included in that box and what folders they are in.  I find this screen especially helpful with the more complex collections that house many different types of materials.

As I said previously, these tips and tricks are not an in-depth look on how to use Spencer’s finding aids; they are simply to help you get started. Using finding aids for the first time can be a bit overwhelming, but the more you interact with them, the more neat features you will find. If you have any questions on navigating the finding aids, you are welcome to visit us in person or reach out to us at ksrlref@ku.edu. You can also check out our 2014 blog post “Finding Aids 101,” although it shows Spencer’s previous finding aid interface. Happy researching!

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services