University Times

Special doesn’t mean inaccessible. That’s the message from Pitt’s Special Collections Department librarians as they reach out to new users from the University community and beyond.

“We’re not a museum here. We are a teaching, active collection,” said department head Jeanann Haas, who is stepping up efforts to familiarize more people with what the collections have to offer through open houses and other events, in hopes of expanding use of the wealth of materials contained in University Library System (ULS) special collections.

The Special Collections Department encompasses more than 52,000 books and 13,000 photographs plus manuscripts, archives and other materials ranging from old textbooks to woodcut prints, housed in Hillman Library and at the Library Resource Facility in Point Breeze, with some available online in digital form.

University Library System librarian Jeanann Haas gives graduate students a close-up look at some of the University’s 18th- and 19th-century books while explaining how books of that time were made. English faculty member Thora Brylowe scheduled a recent class meeting in the special collections reading room to better familiarize her students with the resources available there.

In addition to numerous small collections, major collections include the Darlington Memorial Library, donated in the early 20th century by the family of Pittsburgh attorney William M. Darlington, whose collection focused largely on colonial American history and local history; the Archives of Scientific Philosophy, rich in archival materials that document the history of the field, and the Walter and Martha Leuba collection of 11,000 books and 400 art prints that includes reference works on printing, wood-block art and English literature as well as examples of fine press books and first editions.

The department also houses the Nietz Old Textbook Collection, which contains 19th-century schoolbooks collected by the late professor emeritus of education John Nietz, and the Ford E. and Harriet R. Curtis Theatre Collection, which includes scripts, photos, theatre programs and related ephemera dating back to the 1860s, theatre periodicals, and records from local theatre companies and the personal papers of theatre figures.

The availability of some of the special collections online hasn’t reduced the numbers of people who come to the reading rooms to use the materials. Actually, making materials more accessible and easy to find calls attention to the ULS collections, Haas said.

The special collections reading room on the 3rd floor of Hillman Library is open weekdays 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Some materials are on display, but the holdings are kept in closed stacks, meaning that librarians must retrieve items for users.

The items may not be removed from the reading rooms, but guests are welcome to take digital photos, Haas said.

Visitors who have something specific they’d like to see can request materials in advance or make an appointment, but walk-ins are welcome as well, she said.

Although University users take priority, the materials are not solely for researchers at Pitt, Haas said. Among scholars, the Curtis Theatre Collection, rich in Pittsburgh theatre history, is heavily used by regional researchers. The Archives of Scientific Philosophy is a highly regarded resource among scholars in its field, drawing researchers to Pittsburgh from around the world for weeks or months of study.

In public circles, probably the best known of the library treasures is the complete set of Audubon “Birds of America” prints, part of the Darlington collection. Special guests often are brought to view the prints, Haas said, adding that the creation of a web page (http://digital.library.pitt.edu/a/audubon/) has further popularized the works of art.

The library is planning an Audubon Day on Nov. 18 during which several prints will be on display in the special collections reading room.

Small groups with interest in some aspect of the collections have visited the library in the past, but Haas and colleague Charles Aston recently welcomed their first bus tour group.

Piqued by a program Pitt social work professor emeritus Edward Sites presented at a club meeting earlier this year, last weekend an Audubon group from central Pennsylvania chartered a bus to bring about 40 people to see the Audubon prints at Hillman Library, before visiting the National Aviary. Haas and Aston, curator of rare books, prints and exhibits, were happy to oblige them, preparing a display and brief talk about the Audubons.

The department periodically hosts open house events with special exhibits showcasing selected items. As part of the most recent open house, visitors were treated to a closer look at first editions by authors W.E.B. DuBois, Toni Morrison, Virginia Woolf, Isak Dinesen, Upton Sinclair, John Steinbeck and others; early works by environmentalists including Rachel Carson and Henry David Thoreau, and books describing the discoveries of Ernest Shackleton, Henry Stanley, David Livingston and other explorers.

An upcoming open house, geared toward teaching faculty, is set for 1-3 p.m. Nov. 3 in the special collections reading room in 363 Hillman Library. It will focus on primary sources manuscript materials and select manuscripts that have evidence of evolving thought, Haas said.

In fiscal year 2010, the most recent figures available, 393 people visited the special collections reading room. The vast majority of users — 43 percent  — were undergraduates, followed by visitors (25 percent), graduate students (22 percent), faculty and staff (10 percent) and one alumni guest.

While some Pitt faculty use the collections for their own research or as part of classroom activities and assignments, many more “don’t know we’re here,” Haas said.

She’s hoping to see more professors bring students through the doors. To make it easier, a link to a request form for classes or visits has been added to the special collections home page.

“We are making a dedicated effort to recruit classes,” Haas said.

Special collections librarians are willing to consult with faculty to put materials on hold for students to use on their own, or to tailor a class session in the library to familiarize students with relevant materials and how to find and use them.

One long-time proponent of the special collections is theatre arts faculty member Bruce McConachie. For the past decade or so, he has assigned graduate students in the required Materials and Methods of Research course to write a research paper using at least some materials from the library’s Curtis Theatre Collection.

The Curtis collection is full of resources on New York theatre and Pittsburgh theatre history. It includes scripts, programs, posters, periodicals, photos and scrapbooks, records from local companies and the personal papers of show people.

“There are many research possibilities within that,” McConachie said. “They may or may not write a dissertation on New York theatre or Pittsburgh theatre, but they can get their feet wet with a small research project.”

Each time the course is offered, McConachie arranges for Curtis collection curator Bill Daw to introduce the students to the holdings during a class meeting scheduled in the special collections room. “I want them to get their hands dirty in the archives,” McConachie said. “And I want them to see what the Curtis collection has and how they might be able to ask relevant questions about it and pursue research on it.”

He said students typically respond enthusiastically to the experience. “A lot of the work in theatre history is vitally dependent on good archives and students get to know that firsthand,” he said. “The people at the Curtis do a fine job.”

A new faculty user is Thora Brylowe, of English, who scheduled class sessions for her graduate and undergraduate students for the first time this term.

Brylowe has used the ULS special collections materials in her own research centered on British 18th- and early 19th-century books. She commended the librarians for their help. “They’re very generous with your research needs,” she said. “It’s an easy place to work, a friendly place to work.”

Brylowe isn’t requiring students to use special collections materials this term, but plans to work with Haas to reserve materials for a future class assignment.

Earlier this month, Haas introduced Brylowe’s students to the collections and how to find and use materials there. Haas’s practical information was interspersed with encouragement. “We want you to come in and use our materials,” she told students, urging them not to be shy about stopping by the reading room, or emailing or instant messaging the library staff for help.

“You’re not bothering us; we love answering reference questions,” she told them. “Come in and ask.”

In advance of the class sessions, Haas met with Brylowe to discuss her specific needs, finalizing details via email.

Brylowe said she wanted her students to get a better sense of the material form of early books to aid their understanding of books as an important medium among an array of media. “Authorship is one way of telling the story of how literature came to be what it is today,” she said. “But bibliography — collections and the structure of the books themselves — is another way to think about it as well.”

Brylowe said her students were pleased with the opportunity to visit the special collections room. “It’s evident that they’re excited about what’s there,” she said.

Brylowe requested Haas include some materials from the Ripon England documents collection. The 15th- and 16th-century manuscripts, handwritten on parchment and stamped with wax seals, include deeds and other legal transactions. Based on her discussions with Brylowe, Haas also selected a variety of books dating back to the origins of Western printing.

Prior to the class meeting, Haas spent several hours gathering the materials and refamiliarizing herself with their content to prepare for her presentation.

When students arrived, she gently directed them to dispose of drinks and to set purses and backpacks off to the side before finding seats at the library tables — all part of the reading room rules.

Haas began with an overview on the history of paper — complete with samples — then moved quickly to showing students some archival materials and the old books she’d chosen. Using multiple examples, she pointed out details — such as the book’s size, watermarks and bindings — that give clues not only about where and when they were made, but also the publisher’s intent. Then, to some students’ surprise, she passed them around for closer examination.

Many of the old books could be handed from student to student, although some were set on thin boards to be circulated by sliding them from person to person. Clean, bare hands usually are just fine for handling old books — which, despite their age, typically are sturdier than those made of today’s mass-produced wood-pulp paper, Haas explained.

However, some items do require special care. For example, the library provides gloves that must be worn when handling photographs. And, some of George Washington’s manuscripts were set out under protective covers for students to view, but not touch.

The undergraduates in particular were filled with questions, not just about the items themselves, but how they came to be part of Pitt’s collection.

“It was really fun,” Haas said, confident that she’ll be seeing at least some of them again.

Information on the Special Collections Department and its holdings is available at www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/special/special.html.

—Kimberly K. Barlow