The University of Kansas

Inside Spencer: The KSRL Blog

Books on a shelf

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.

That’s Distinctive!: National Quilting Day

March 17th, 2023

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 honor National Quilting Day. National Quilting Day is this Saturday, March 18th, and it always falls on the third Saturday of March. Quilting refers to the technique of joining at least two fabric layers by stitches or ties. The quilting practice dates back as far as 3400 B.C.E. It was mainly a practical technique that provided physical protection and insulation. However, decorative elements were often also present, and many quilts are now primarily art pieces. According to National Today, the word ‘quilt’ comes from the Latin word ‘culcita,’ which means stuffed sack; it became adapted to the English language from the French word ‘cuilte.’ The National Quilting Association started National Quilting Day in 1991, and since then it has grown into a global celebration for all quilt lovers and makers. According to Quilt Alliance, one way individuals celebrate National Quilting Day is by hanging their quilts on display outside to educate and inspire their neighbors.

In honor of National Quilting Day, we share Quilting by former Kansas Poet Laureate Denise Low. The artists book shares six poems on quilting and was released in 1984. The poems are printed on folded leaves that are decorated accordingly. There were 183 copies that were numbered and signed by the author Denise Low and artist/printer Linda Samson Talleur. The copy at Spencer is signed copy number 29. The library also houses Denise Low’s papers.

Square divided into nine square blocks of different muted colors. The author's name is in the center block. Each letter of the word "Quilting" is in a different block, starting in the upper left corner and going clockwise.
The box cover of Quilting by Denise Low, 1984. Call Number: B7357. Click image to enlarge.
Black text on long, narrow white paper. A needle with thread is near the top.
The poem “The Quilt Again” in Quilting by Denise Low, 1984. Call Number: B7357. Click image to enlarge.
Green text on long, narrow light brown paper.
The poem “Wedding Ring Quilt” in Quilting by Denise Low, 1984. Call Number: B7357. Click image to enlarge.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

That’s Distinctive!: Women’s History Month

March 10th, 2023

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 celebrate Women’s History Month. As described on the Library of Congress’s website on the topic,

“Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982, as ‘Women’s History Week’…Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as ‘Women’s History Month.’ These proclamations celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields.”

The National Women’s History Alliance designates a yearly theme for Women’s History Month. The 2023 theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.”

The item I chose to highlight this week is the Constitution of the Woman Suffrage Association of New Jersey. The constitution is believed to have been released around 1898. It belongs to the Gerritsen Women’s History Collection of Aletta H. Jacobs, a diverse collection of women’s archival materials and feminist records covering fifteen languages and over 4,700 volumes. Acquired by the John Crerar Library of Chicago in 1903, the Gerritsen Collection was subsequently sold to the University of Kansas in 1954. It has been digitized and is now widely available through libraries’ database subscriptions. The Gerritsen Collection is part of the Howey Collection within Special Collections at Spencer.

Black text on a light tan background.
Black text on a light tan background.
Black text on a light tan background.
Constitution of New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association, 1898?. Call Number: Howey A134. Click images to enlarge.

According to History, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded a group called the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869. They began to fight for a universal-suffrage amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The women’s suffrage movement was a “decades-long fight to win the right to vote for women in the United States. It took activists and reformers nearly 100 years to win that right, and the campaign was not easy: Disagreements over strategy threatened to cripple the movement more than once. But on August 18, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was finally ratified, enfranchising all American women and declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.” Spencer Research Library houses many other items that document women’s history and their fight for liberation and equality. Items can be found through our finding aids and the KU Libraries online catalog.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

That’s Distinctive!: Dinosaur

March 3rd, 2023

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 are highlighting some animation stills from the John C. Tibbetts collection housed here at the library. The collection – which spans 18 boxes and two oversize folders – contains Hollywood press kits from various movies released between 1978 and 2004. The kits generally consist of production information, biographical information on the actors, story information, and press release information. Most kits contain some form of visual materials, such as stills, slides, or digital press kits; the digital files are on CD-ROM and contain a variety of items including images, video clips, and production information. The collection includes movies like Back to the Future, A Bug’s Life, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and Jeepers Creepers.

Dr. Tibbets, a now retired professor with KU’s Department of Film and Media Studies, donated the collection to Spencer in 2010. Tibbetts worked as a full-time broadcaster from 1980 to 1996. He hosted his own television show in Kansas City, Missouri, and worked as an Arts and Entertainment Editor and Producer for a variety of radio and television outlets, including KCTV (Kansas City’s CBS affiliate), KMBC Radio, and KXTR-FM Radio. During that time, he also contributed many broadcast stories about musicians, painters, writers, and filmmakers to CBS Television, the Christian Science Monitor Radio Network, Voice of America, and National Public Radio. He has produced two radio series about music, The World of Robert Schumann and Piano Portraits.

While there are a wide range of films in the collection, this week we are sharing stills from the 2000 animated movie Dinosaur. The movie, which was released May 19, 2000, follows Aladar, an iguanodon, and his family of prehistoric lemurs as they join a herd of dinosaurs heading to the safety of the nesting grounds after a meteor strike. The movie portrays the hardship and happiness that comes along through Aladar’s life and teaches that perseverance can go a long way. The collection includes both stills and a press kit with production notes on the film.

Two black-and-white photographs. Above, four dinosaurs on an overlook above a mountain valley. Below, four dinosaurs interacting with each other.
Movie stills from the film Dinosaur, 2000. John C. Tibbetts’ Collection of Hollywood Press Kits. Call Number: MS 292, Box 15. Click image to enlarge.
Film title, black text on a white background.
The cover of the press kit for the film Dinosaur, 2000. John C. Tibbetts’ Collection of Hollywood Press Kits. Call Number: MS 292, Box 15. Click image to enlarge.
Section of black text on a white background with the heading "Animating the Characters: Creating Cretaceous Creatures."
A page of the press kit for the film Dinosaur, 2000. John C. Tibbetts’ Collection of Hollywood Press Kits. Call Number: MS 292, Box 15. Click image to enlarge.

The John C. Tibbetts collection, along with all items in the library, can be viewed in the Reading Room from 10am to 4pm Monday through Friday. The library is open to the public and welcomes researchers of all types.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

That’s Distinctive!: Trading Cards

February 24th, 2023

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 we celebrate National Trading Card Day! It happens to be today, February 24th. According to National Today, trading cards (which are commonly made of cardboard or thick paper) originated in the late nineteenth century. Trading cards have a rich history and come with a variety of images depicting people, places, and things (real and fictional). Debuting in the 1860s, baseball cards have become the most popular among sports cards. Even today, baseball cards hold a high resale value and remain popular among people of all ages.

Coming from the Herd Family Papers, Spencer has trading cards that date to around 1962. The collection spans 1817-2013 and offers a wide array of items that members of the Herd family passed down over the years. An inventory of the collection – which includes 34 boxes – can be found in our finding aids.

The trading cards included highlight players from a range of popular teams along with batting records for the previous year. The cards, which were printed by Post, were printed on the backs of cereal boxes to help consumers limit costs of having to buy additional packs of cards. The cards themselves had information on the fronts with the backs being plain grey cardboard. Though they changed in format over the years, Post trading cards were included with cereal boxes from 1960 to 2003. More information on Post trading cards can be found on the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) website and the Love to Know website.

Seven baseball cards in two columns: Ken Boyer, Dick Stuart, Ed Bouchee, Pancho Herrera, Cletis Boyer, Steve Boros, and Brooks Robinson.
Baseball trading cards from the Post Cereal Company, circa 1962. Herd Family Papers. Call Number: RH MS 1374. Click image to enlarge.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

That’s Distinctive!: Campus Aerials

February 17th, 2023

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 will be highlighting photos from University Archives that show views of campus throughout the years. The University Archives houses over a million photographs along with departmental records, personal papers, university publications, and much more. Over 35,000 photos within University Archives have been digitized and can be browsed online. Many more photos of campus over the years can be found by using the search term “campus.”

Black-and-white photograph of large buildings on both sides of a wide street.
Jayhawk Boulevard looking east, circa 1927. On the left (from left to right) is Strong Hall, Bailey Hall, Old Fraser Hall, Old Snow Hall. On the right (from right to left) is Hoch Auditorium and Old Haworth Hall, with the roofs of Robinson Gymnasium and Watson Library visible in the background. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/24/P 1925 Prints: Campus: Panoramas (Photos). Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
Black-and-white photograph of streets and buildings lit by bright lights.
Aerial of campus at night, 1987. The photo appears to have been taken from Iowa Street just south of Fifteenth/Bob Billings; the Daisy Hill residence halls are in the foreground. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/24/A 1987 Prints: University General: Campus: Campus Aerials (Photos). Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
Color photograph of the KU campus with fall foliage.
Campus aerial, 1994. From left to right are Lippincott (Old Green) Hall, Fraser Hall, Blake Hall, and Watson Library. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/24/A 1994 Prints: University General: Campus: Campus Aerials (Photos). Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).

If you are following the holidays we have correlated with previously and are still in the Valentine’s Day mood, check out our 2013 “Civil War Valentine” post by Whitney Baker, Head of Conservation Services at KU Libraries. It focuses on a handwritten poem titled “A Valentine” from one of Spencer’s regional history collections.

These items are meant to show that the library houses many things that many people may not realize. From books, to manuscripts, to maps and ephemera, if you can think of a topic, we likely have something related. Have a topic in mind? I have three unplanned weeks between March and April so please feel free to leave ideas/interests in the comment box below and I will see what items we may hold.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services