Welcome to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library blog! As the special collections and archives library at the University of Kansas, Spencer is home to remarkable and diverse collections of rare and unique items. Explore the blog to learn about the work we do and the materials we collect.
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! we share a book from Spencer’s Children’s Book Collection, which is housed within Special Collections. The book, East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North, was published in 1914. The book shares folklore from Norway and is illustrated by Kay Nielsen. Nielsen contributed twenty-five color and monotone plates to the book along with other printed images.
According to Wikipedia, Kay Nielsen (1886-1957) was a popular Danish illustrator in the early twentieth century. Nielsen illustrated works such as Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, Other Stories by the Brothers Grimm, and Red Magic. In addition to these works, Nielsen contributed his artwork to Disney in works such as Fantasia. Unfortunately, Nielsen spent his final years in poverty. His last works were for local schools and churches in Los Angeles, California.
Why this item? It gives a unique look into a children’s book with more than simple illustrations. The detail in the artwork alone is enough to draw a reader in. I recently brought my family in to Spencer for a tour and to show them several items from the collections. This book was one of those items and it really drew their attention.
The front cover of East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North, illustrated by Kay Nielsen, 1914. Call Number: Children D230. Click image to enlarge.
An endpaper in East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Call Number: Children D230. Click image to enlarge.
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Selected illustrations from the folktale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” the first one in the book of the same name. Call Number: Children D230. Click images to enlarge.
Have you figured out how call numbers at the Spencer Research Library work yet?
Here are a couple of clues for manuscript collections; see if you can apply them when you review this listing of the front half of 2023’s new finding aids!
PP = Personal Papers, which are typically collected by the University Archives
MS = manuscript (can be found in call numbers for textual materials in both the Kansas Collection and Special Collections)
PH = photograph (you will only see this call number designation in the Kansas Collection)
WL = Wilcox (historically, the Wilcox Collection has been associated with the Kansas Collection, so you’ll typically see “RH WL” together)
It’s a bit like a mathematical formula, if you combine parts of these call numbers. For example, “RH WL MS” means it’s a Wilcox manuscript collection.
Spencer Research Library also typically houses material by size, most often by height for volume call numbers. “A” volumes will be some of the smallest (typically measuring between ten and 15 cm tall), while “H” volumes are frequently stored flat because they are so large (usually over 45 cm tall).
Spencer also uses letters to designate other sizes of materials. A “P” in a call number means that it’s so thin and/or such a small amount of material it’s stored in a single folder or small number of folders, not enough to fill a box or stand upright on a shelf by itself.
So, for another call number formula example: “MS P” means it’s a Special Collections manuscript collection in a single or small number of folders.
Armed with this information, do you think you can figure out which collections belong to which collecting areas and what kind of housing they might have from our listing of newly processed collections?
The cover of (above) and two pages in (below) a Pinckney School Parent Teacher Association (PTA) scrapbook, 1947-1948. School librarian Janet Reeder re-compiled the scrapbook at a later point, adding to it with reminiscences and other documents sent in from students who had attended Pinckney that year. Pinckney School Scrapbooks. Call Number: RH MS Q500. Click images to enlarge.
One of several binding fragments removed from some of Spencer’s earliest published volumes, in this case Giovanni Sfortunati’s sixteenth-century Nuovo lume libro de arithmetica at Summerfield C990. Call Number: MS Q103. Click image to enlarge.
One of a small number of illustrations signed “Nicky Nichols.” They were presumably sketched and painted by Mary Evelyn Nichols Lee, a former University of Kansas student who later operated the Savoy Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. Personal Papers of Mary Evelyn Nichols Lee. Call Number: PP 645. Click image to enlarge.
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.
Coming up next week is Independence Day (July 4th). Many Fourth of July celebrations involve family get-togethers for quality time, food, and fireworks. In honor of this family time, we are sharing a cookbook out of our collections: 100 Years (1861-1961): Kansas Official Centennial Cook Book, to be exact. The book, published by the American Association of University Women in Manhattan, Kansas, shares favorite recipes of families throughout Kansas in commemoration of the state’s 100th anniversary. While we are just sharing a small portion of the recipes in the book, there are many more in its 101 pages. No matter how you celebrate the upcoming holiday, we hope it involves some good food and quality time.
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The cover of, and selected pages from, 100 years (1861-1961): Kansas Official Centennial Cook Book, 1961. Call Number: RH AK63. Click image to enlarge.
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 in honor of Pride Month we share the Pride Guide from the 1990 Kansas Pride celebrations in Wichita. The guide is a part of the Bruce McKinney papers here at the library. Bruce McKinney began his journey as an LGBT activist during the 1960s. The collection reflects his involvement in the community as an activist and an archivist. He began collecting items related to the LGBT community in his youth and continued through the 1980s. Donated in 2008, the collection holds 142 boxes, 147 oversize boxes, 21 card files, and 13 oversize folders. For those who have never been to the library, that is a massive collection!
Selected pages from the 1990 Wichita, Kansas, Pride Guide: the cover, an event schedule, and a parade map. Papers of Bruce McKinney. Call Number: RH MS 1164, Box 28, Folder 41. Click images to enlarge.
Inspired by the American Library Association’s “Libraries and Sustainability Virtual Book Club,” hosted during the Fall of 2022, the idea for an exhibit focused on environmental activism was born. We wanted to investigate which local conservation organizations’ materials are held at Spencer Research Library. We combed through boxes of materials from national conservation groups, Kansas chapters, and KU student chapters. Documents from organizations including the Jayhawk and Burroughs Audubon Societies, the Sierra Club of Kansas, and the Kansas Wildlife Federation showcase long-standing conservation efforts in the Lawrence, Kansas, area through task forces related to riparian conservation, water reclamation, the Clean Air Act, bird and buttery fly counts, and more. We also discovered that, within the central theme of local activism, calling community members to action on behalf of local and regional environmental concerns is woven throughout every aspect of the work that these organizations do. From bumper stickers to congressional papers, newsletters to posted fliers, the urgency of action is evident through the various channels of communication these organizations utilize. Not only do these materials document a network of local community efforts, but they also make for a visually appealing display of these important efforts.
Consulting and organizing collection materials for the exhibit. Click image to enlarge.
Exhibit curator Gwen Geiger Wolfe taking notes about materials. Click image to enlarge.
Challenges faced during the development of the exhibit were numerous and varied. For example, KU collections reflect that conservation engagement was heightened during the 1970s to the 1990s. This might be an accurate depiction of the context of the environmental movement, or it might reflect the need for further collection development in this area. Other examples were more logistic in nature and required flexibility to pivot around timelines, research processes, and themes of inquiry. The original theme focused specifically on Kansas Audubon Societies, of which there are several, but concerns regarding Audubon himself encouraged us to shift to the broader context of conservation, with the desire to highlight the important work accomplished through environmentally focused organizations and their members. Taken together, the resulting outcomes of facing these challenges have extended the timeline of the exhibition and motivated our desire to showcase the vital work of local environmentalists in Kansas.
Selecting specific materials for inclusion in the exhibition. Click image to enlarge.
The exhibition opened in June and will be on display in Spencer’s North Gallery through July 2023. The selected materials are meant to inspire action and visitors can leave with a postcard they can send to friends and family to urge their participation in local environmental activism by joining a conservation group. Kansas-based organizations featured in the exhibit are invited to attend and share this experience with their members.
Installing the exhibit. Click image to enlarge.
We would like to especially thank Pam Chaffee for allowing us to reproduce her photograph “Monarch Tagging with the Jayhawk Audubon Society” (Call Number: RH MS 691, Box 2, Folder 28), which adorns the postcard take-away for the exhibit. We also extend our thanks to Spencer and KU Libraries colleagues who were instrumental in supporting this exhibition: Angela Andres, Phil Cunningham, Molly Herring, Caitlin Klepper, Melissa Mayhew, Meredith Phares, and Nikki Pirch.
Jaime Groetsema Saifi Special Collections Cataloging Coordinator, Spencer Research Library
Gwen Geiger Wolfe Science and Engineering Librarian, KU Libraries
