BINDINGS BINDINGS
ACADEMIC YEAR 2023-24
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES MAGAZINE
50 YEARSof the HARDIN LIBRARY FOR THE HEALTH SCIENCES
RECOLLECTION AND RENEWAL
At the University of Iowa Libraries, our work is often to facilitate a meeting between past and future.
After all, it’s in our spaces—physical and digital—that students, professors, and researchers gather to share resources and generate ideas. Across all seven of our libraries, we value responsiveness and foresight alongside expertise. This issue of Bindings is all about that winning combination throughout the 2023–24 academic year.
In “Hardin Library for the Health Sciences celebrates 50 years with major fourth-floor renovations” (page 26), join us as we mark 50 years of the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences and unveil the brandnew renovations that reflect how 21st–century students learn. In “Crafting the future of conservation and collections care ” (page 32), you’ll learn how the team in our Conservation Lab preserves the past and, with the help of a groundbreaking fellowship, trains the conservators of tomorrow.
Our incredible staff and student employees have given us a great deal to celebrate. This issue includes a Q&A with Jade E. Davis, the new associate university librarian for teaching, learning, and research (page 14); a spotlight on the staff recipients of campuswide and national awards and honors (page 16); and coverage of the scholarships and recognition given to our student employees (page 4).
Throughout the academic year, we drew energy from our community, from hosting a viewing of April’s partial solar eclipse on the Sciences Library lawn to participating in Hawkeye Caucus at the Iowa State Capitol. With the Main Library Gallery’s spring 2024 exhibit, Making the Book, Past and Present, we explored the history of the book by showcasing materials and makers dating from the Middle Ages to the present day.
I look forward to sharing these milestones with you in this issue of Bindings. I hope that what you find in these pages deepens your understanding of our work, and of your own essential role within it. Thank you for being part of the Libraries’ story: past, present, and future.
John Culshaw
Jack B. King University Librarian
IN THIS ISSUE
13 student library workers receive scholarships for 2023–24
Two graduate student employees receive academic enrichment awards from the Libraries
M Clark and Emily Weider receive fellowships for international study
Student employee spotlights: Cassandra Parsons and Ramin Roshandel
Q&A: Meet Jade E. Davis, associate university librarian for teaching, learning, and research
Staff spotlights: Patricia Baird and Brad Ferrier
The Studio’s Matthew Butler selected to receive 2023 Benton Award
Staff news
Karen Shemanski selected for university honor for human resources professionals
Our Libraries, by the numbers
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences celebrates 50 years with major fourth-floor renovations
A modernized study space and a new reading room for the John Martin Rare Book Room begin the next chapter in Hardin’s history
Crafting the future of conservation and collections care
A groundbreaking internship trains the next generation of book and paper conservators
The Libraries’ Book Model Collection binds the book’s past to its present
Making the Book, Past and Present places the centuries in conversation
Library highlights
Each of our libraries brought its own personality and programming to the 2023–24 academic year
Jane Roth reflects on serving as chair of the Libraries Advancement Council
LAC member Virginia Eichacker considers her aunt’s impact captured in a historic photo
Together Hawkeyes: Well on our way, with your help
Quick hits
Offering a glimpse of the Libraries’ achievements throughout the year
A chance encounter at the Main Library sparks one couple’s lifelong love story
13 STUDENT LIBRARY WORKERS
RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2023–24
Student library employees are a crucial part of what makes the University of Iowa Libraries such a valuable, accessible resource for the community on campus and beyond. We’re grateful that these dedicated students make time alongside their classes to work with us, directing users to needed resources, caring for materials, and contributing their ideas to guide the Libraries into tomorrow.
For the 2023–24 academic year, 13 undergraduate student employees were awarded Libraries scholarships in recognition of their work. As part of the application process, student employees offered a look at how their time with us influenced their interests, well-being, and approaches to the future. The snapshots below represent the Libraries’ part in this stage of their lives.
LUKE AYERS
Luke Ayers is pursuing an English and creative writing major and an undergraduate-to-graduate track at the School of Library and Information Science. He’s from Iowa City and says his time working in Conservation and Collections Care solidified his resolve to study library and information science, and he appreciates his team’s receptiveness to his ideas. He received a UI Libraries Student Employee Scholarship.
OLIVIA COMER
Olivia Comer is a communications major pursuing certificates in event management and leadership studies. Comer, who comes from Indianola, Iowa, has been awarded a Bentz Family Student Employee Scholarship, and enjoys helping users at the Main Library’s circulation desk feel comfortable and confident in the space.
COURTNEY DAGE
Courtney Dage of Bloomington, Illinois, is pursuing a major in global health studies and will begin a master’s program in public health at the university in the fall. She was selected to receive a UI Libraries Student Employee Scholarship. Her serendipitous interactions with library users at the Main Library have been a source of connection and community.
ADAM HOLMES
Adam Holmes has been awarded a UI Libraries Student Employee Scholarship for his contributions to the Lichtenberger Engineering Library. Originally from Iowa City, Holmes is a mechanical engineering major who recently added an art minor, a choice he attributes in part to the architectural materials he’s encountered in his job.
CASSIDY HIBBERT
Cassidy Hibbert has been awarded the Judy and Mike Greer Scholarship in Memory of Mary E. Greer. Originally from Perry, Iowa, Hibbert is passionate about her work at the Main Library, particularly because it has helped her feel a sense of belonging as a first-generation student.
LEAH KAMINSKY
Leah Kaminsky of North Liberty, Iowa, is a vocal performance major and recipient of the Benton Music Library Student Employee Scholarship for her work at the Rita Benton Music Library. Kaminsky says she looks forward to her shifts because of the library’s wealth of resources and its friendly team.
ANA KOCH
Ana Koch of the Pomerantz Business Library was awarded a Bentz Family Student Employee Scholarship. Originally from Iowa City, Koch is in her third year at the College of Nursing. She appreciates the lively atmosphere of the Business Library, which is located in the Biz Hub at the Tippie College of Business, and the congeniality of its visitors, which creates a sense of community.
RUBY MILLER
Ruby Miller, a criminology and creative writing student from Iowa City, finds inspiration in her work at the Art Library. She’s been chosen to receive a Bentz Family Student Employee Scholarship. She admires the commitment and creativity of the students and faculty who spend time in the Art Library.
ALYSSA LEMAY
Alyssa Lemay, a statistics and mathematics major from Sussex, Wisconsin, has been awarded a Judy and Mike Greer Scholarship in Memory of Mary E. Greer. At her job at the Main Library’s circulation desk, Lemay enjoys applying her problem-solving skills to tracking down the right resources for library users.
JULIANN PAWLOWSKI
Juliann Pawlowski comes to the university from Plainfield, Illinois, and is pursuing a biomedical engineering major and an informatics minor. She received a UI Libraries Student Employee Scholarship for her work at the Sciences Library, where she says her coworkers and manager have fostered a welcoming and friendly environment.
ANGELES PINEDA
Angeles Pineda is an informatics major with a minor in dance from Chicago. Pineda was selected to receive a UI Libraries Student Employee Scholarship for her work at the Lichtenberger Engineering Library. She says the experience helped her adjust to life in a new place, as well as build her confidence as a firstgeneration student.
MAYA ST. CLAIR
Maya St. Clair, a music therapy student from Ankeny, Iowa, was selected to receive a Benton Music Library Student Employee Scholarship. St. Clair is a fan of her early-morning shifts at the Rita Benton Music Library, when she has the chance to practice her organizational and communication skills.
KENNA PROTTSMAN
Kenna Prottsman is majoring in English and creative writing and was awarded a Bentz Family Student Employee Scholarship for her work at the Art Library. From Iowa City, she finds peace and contemplation in her job, and is moved by the kindness of the library’s users and the serenity of the space.
The Libraries’ scholarships are central to our mission to recognize and support the student employees who enable our institution’s success—and they’re funded through the generosity of our Hawkeye community. If you’d like to make a gift to expand the reach of our scholarship program, please contact Paula Wiley at paula.wiley@foriowa.org
TWO GRADUATE STUDENT EMPLOYEES RECEIVE ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT AWARDS FROM THE LIBRARIES
Each year, the University of Iowa Libraries recognizes two graduate student employees for their contributions to the institution and the library or department in which they work. Recipients of an Academic Enrichment Award (AEA) are selected by a committee based on their application essays and the feedback of their supervisors, and winners receive an award of $2,500. The winners for 2023–24 were Jennifer Miller and Ramin Roshandel.
JENNIFER MILLER
Jennifer Miller is an MA student in the School of Library and Information Science and an MFA candidate at the Center for the Book. She was selected for her work in preservation and collections care. Originally from Iowa City, the committee expressed appreciation for Miller’s sense of wonder and enthusiasm toward the materials in her care.
RAMIN ROSHANDEL
Ramin Roshandel, a PhD candidate in music composition from Iran, received an AEA for his work at the Rita Benton Music Library. The committee were impressed by his dedication to his work and his attention to detail, as well as his thoughtful engagement with library users who called on him for assistance.
M CLARK AND EMILY WEIDER RECEIVE FELLOWSHIPS FOR
INTERNATIONAL STUDY
Special Collections and Archives
student employee M Clark, who received an MA in Library and Information Science in May 2024, was awarded a Fulbright Study/Research grant in interdisciplinary studies to New Zealand for 2024–25. They will pursue a master’s degree in indigenous studies with a Pacific Islands focus at the Victoria University of Wellington. As part of their degree, they will also be pursuing an internship with one of the major galleries, libraries, archives, or museums of Wellington, New Zealand.
Emily Weider, a student worker in Special Collections and Archives and assistant to Tim Shipe on the International Dada Archive , has won a Stanley Award for International Research to conduct archival research in Paris in October 2024. She will be researching the surrealist women artists who remained in France during World War II to join the Resistance, spending time in museums devoted to their efforts and in the French National Library.
student employee SPOTLIGHT
Cassandra Parsons
When Hawkeye senior Cassandra Parsons arrived at the University of Iowa from her hometown of Williamsburg, Iowa, she knew that a student job would be a key part of her time as an undergraduate. And when Parsons, an English and creative writing major and anthropology minor, started work as a student assistant at the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, she immediately felt that she’d ended up somewhere special.
“Being a student assistant at Hardin has honestly been my favorite job that I’ve ever had, and I’ve had many jobs,” says Parsons. “I’m so glad I’ve been able to learn from and work with such caring staff.”
Parsons’ time at Hardin has been so positive that it eventually cemented her decision to apply to graduate school and pursue a career in librarianship. In fall 2024, she began a master’s program in library and information science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a particular focus on archives and special
collections. Her role at Hardin has not only been a core part of her experience as a Hawkeye; it’s also given her clarity.
“A student job can be the first spark of inspiration for figuring out how exactly you want to apply your degree to a career,” says Parsons. “[Student jobs] offer the opportunity to build connections with your peers and staff, and those who work in our libraries care about their work…they want to make a difference by helping patrons gain access to the knowledge the university facilitates.”
Though she’s not a medical student herself, Parsons enjoys working in an environment with such driven students and a unique area of focus. In her opinion, one of Hardin’s most outstanding resources is the Anatomage Table, a long worktable covered with a tablet-like screen that can be used to view thousands of threedimensional images of the human body. It’s particularly useful for students of medicine who
are looking to memorize and review anatomy outside of a lab setting.
Parsons, who has her sights set on working with archival material, has a special fondness for the John Martin Rare Book Room (JMRBR). She encourages visitors to explore the JMRBR’s new space on the renovated fourth floor.
According to Janna Lawrence, director of Hardin Library, Parsons’ coworkers and supervisors have noted her consistent dedication to her work, calling her a “natural” in the field. “Cassandra enthusiastically takes on new tasks and works well with both patrons and staff,” says Lawrence. “She helps out in Interlibrary Loan most mornings and has provided invaluable assistance in the JMRBR, keeping books and shelves clean, installing new displays, and setting up for classes.”
Lawrence and the rest of Parsons’ colleagues have no doubt that her future in librarianship is bright.
For her part, Parsons credits Hardin with much of the knowledge that will serve her in the fall.
“Working at Hardin Library has taught me many invaluable lessons about the function of academic libraries,” Parsons says. “I’ve had the chance to not only learn in the classroom at Iowa but also through practical experience, and that has enhanced my appreciation of the resources available here.”
student employee SPOTLIGHT
Ramin Roshandel
Ramin Roshandel will never forget the first time he stepped into the University of Iowa Rita Benton Music Library. From the beginning, the PhD candidate knew that the library would become a crucial part of his time as a student of music composition pedagogy. Roshandel describes being immediately “overjoyed with the beauty of the space,” and with the friendliness of the staff who work within.
In no time, Roshandel found a source of collegiality and support in the Music Library. After his initial visits, he remembers being pleasantly surprised by spontaneous emails from library assistants Amy McBeth and Christine Burke, who had continued the search for resources that might interest him even after he had left the building. In a library with a vast repository of materials, the staff soon became a welcome source of support. And on occasions when the items Roshandel and his cohort were seeking were unavailable, the Music Library’s director, Katie Buehner, was “extremely
cooperative and enthusiastic” about fulfilling requests for acquisitions.
The appreciation is mutual; Buehner has high praise for Roshandel’s contributions to the Music Library. “Ramin requests many excellent scores and other materials for library purchase, and recently, he advised me on the purchase of several monopods/tripods that would pair well with our circulating video recorders,” she says. “He is creative, collaborative, and incredibly kind. It’s been an immense privilege to have him work and study here at the Music Library.”
Eventually, Roshandel joined the team at the Music Library himself, bringing the same enthusiasm to his own role. His familiarity with the world of music and the students, faculty, and researchers who frequent the Voxman Music Building have made him particularly adept at helping library users unearth resources that enrich their work. These qualities also recently
earned him a Libraries Academic Enrichment Award for 2023-24.
Roshandel, who came to Iowa from Iran, earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree at institutions in Tehran. He found that political constraints sometimes limited his research, forcing him to rely heavily on online or electronic resources. The availability of physical media at the university was a welcome change, and the Interlibrary Loan system meant that nothing was out of reach.
“I have been thinking a lot about the importance of physical resources lately,” said Roshandel.
“This is because of the ubiquity of ‘online-ness’ in our lives these days, especially social media, and our detachment from the tangible things we can learn from.”
Roshandel expects that the skills and knowledge base he’s developed as a student library employee will continue to serve him in his chosen career.
After receiving his doctorate, Roshandel plans to continue to work in academia as an instructor, and his work at the Music Library has helped him to recognize academic libraries’ “significant impact on the teaching and learning process.”
After his time as an employee and a patron of the Music Library, he feels well-prepared to guide his students towards library resources.
MEET JADE E. DAVIS, ASSOCIATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN FOR TEACHING, LEARNING, AND RESEARCH
Jade E. Davis joined the University of Iowa Libraries in October 2023 to take on the role of associate university librarian for teaching, learning, and research. Before her move to Iowa City, Davis served as the director of educational technology and learning management at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Davis has extensive experience in higher education and holds a PhD in communication studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also the author of The Other Side of Empathy, published in August 2023 by Duke University Press.
We spoke to Davis about her first academic year at the university, what she loves about academic libraries, and what makes the Libraries so special.
Q:
How has your time at the Libraries been so far?
My experience at the Libraries has been wonderful so far. When I interviewed last summer, I was excited by the strong sense of community and care that everyone spoke about. The organization is truly built on the belief in each colleague’s potential and expertise.
I am very glad to be here and hope that my work will highlight the essential role the Libraries plays in supporting teaching, learning, and research excellence at the university. This is due to the skills, knowledge, and care that extend not just to the staff but to everyone in the community.
Q:Tell us about a few of the goals you’ve set for yourself and the areas you supervise.
Overall, the area I supervise is dedicated to enhancing the Libraries’ role as a dynamic hub for teaching, learning, and research. We focus on promoting collaborative innovation, facilitating the dissemination of knowledge, and creating inclusive spaces where all users feel supported and valued.
We are excited to be defining the TLR (Teaching, Learning, and Research) portfolio in alignment with the goals of the portfolio, the university, and the Libraries. Additionally, we are actively enhancing our support systems, particularly for undergraduate research. This will enable us to grow and evolve existing programs in alignment with our theoretical focus.
Personally, my main goal is to continue to get to know the Libraries and the university so I can better cultivate those things that allow for the type of teaching, learning, and research that could only come from Iowa.
Q: What do you enjoy about academic librarianship?
As the “L” in GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums), what I love most about academic libraries is the meaningful interactions they foster. Unlike other institutions, academic libraries encourage people to engage with both the items and the staff. This “play” can involve exploring ideas, handling unique items, or using our spaces in creative and unexpected ways.
Academic libraries are spaces of exploration and creation, and I love the energy that this generates. I am always inspired by the incredible things we help bring into being through our resources and expertise.
Q:
How do you spend your free time?
Reality TV, video games (I am on my annual virtual reality kick, given all the new experiences that are being released), knitting, and theory books.
Currently I’m reading a book titled La langue anglaise n’existe pas. C’est du français mal prononcé, which translates to “The English language does not exist. It is badly pronounced French.” It came out this year and there were only three copies available in the United States. When I put in an Interlibrary Loan request, it was canceled. Instead, our wonderful acquisitions team ordered the book. It is a fun read and almost makes me want to go back through this interview and see how many of the words are badly pronounced French. If the book’s analysis is correct, it will be a bit over 50%. At the very least, “library” ( librarie) is 100% a French word, but it means “bookstore.” As we know, libraries (in English), house free-to-use resources for our community. And we are so much more than books.
staff spotlights
PATRICIA BAIRD
SUPERVISOR Interlibrary Loan and Delivery Services
In spring 2024, Pat Baird was selected to receive the Richard R. Gibson Merit Staff Award for Innovation and Excellence in Customer Service. This award recognizes “outstanding creativity and innovation in process improvement or exceptional achievement in providing customer service.”
It’s not a shock, given Baird’s reputation for friendliness and humility, that she describes the award as a “surprise.” But Baird has a particular knack for customer service, probably because she draws energy from the opportunity to help library users locate the resources they need. “I enjoy the challenge of untangling difficult citations and tracking down hard-tolocate items,” says Baird.
Baird also recognizes the benefits of technology in the workplace, which makes her a valuable contributor when it comes to streamlining processes. By working alongside members of the Library Information Technology Department, Baird has been able to implement new automations to increase the efficiency of Interlibrary Loan (ILL) processes.
When she’s not at work, Baird spends her time rehabilitating neglected properties in the local community. She also enjoys exploring the outdoors with her husband in their RV camper, where she can usually be found relaxing in the shade with a book.
FYI
ILL services give borrowers access to materials from collections worldwide through reciprocal agreements with peer institutions. Items requested via ILL can usually be received within 7–10 days of the request, and ILL is fully streamlined with InfoHawk+
Every member of the Libraries staff brings something unique to our institution. And in every issue of Bindings, we take a closer look at the accomplishments of two staff members whose work makes a difference. This academic year, we caught up with Patricia Baird and Brad Ferrier, who were both selected to receive awards from the UI Staff Council .
BRAD FERRIER
DIGITAL PROJECTS LIBRARIAN Special Collections and Archives
Brad Ferrier received the Staff Award for Distinguished Leadership in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in recognition of his work with the Libraries. This award is given to a staff member who “[embraces] the value of diversity and [recognizes] how it helps set the University of Iowa apart.”
Much of Ferrier’s work directly or indirectly furthers diversity of all kinds within the institution, which is one of his core values. Part of what makes this award so important to Ferrier is its personal resonance. “It means a great deal to me on a personal level, because it gives validation to my disability and efforts to make this a more equitable and accessible place to study, to work, and to live.”
In his role at the Libraries, Ferrier’s favorite tasks involve transcribing and captioning audiovisual material—often this entails watching or listening to archival materials, including those in the Live from Prairie Lights collection and the Darwin Turner Afro-American Institute collection. His work in Special Collections and Archives and his stewardship of these collections meshes well with Ferrier’s interests outside of work. Ferrier enjoys photography and book arts, and occasionally travels to see live musical performances by artists including Nick Cave and The Cure.
FYI
Brad Ferrier was one of the co-curators of the Main Library Gallery’s fall 2023 exhibit, Hey Buddy, I’m Bill , about the life and legacy of Iowa City local Bill Sackter, whose story reflected and influenced the history of disability rights in the state of Iowa. The exhibit may be over, but a virtual tour can be found at lib.uiowa.edu/gallery.
THE STUDIO’S MATTHEW BUTLER SELECTED TO RECEIVE 2023 BENTON AWARD
Matthew Butler of the Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio was named the 2023 recipient of the Arthur Benton University Librarian’s Award for Excellence in recognition of his far-reaching contributions to digital librarianship. In his role as senior developer and research manager at the Studio, Butler has personally developed custom code to be used as a research tool by institutions worldwide.
Butler has served the Studio and the Libraries as a whole for the past 12 years, during which he has worked closely with the university community to develop and disseminate well over 100 scholarly research and digital humanities projects. His work is both creative and highly technical, embodying an interdisciplinary ethos.
“Matthew’s work has transformed the relationship between software development and the humanities, creating a necessary bridge from one discipline to
another,” says Jack B. King University Librarian John Culshaw. “In doing so, he has furthered the University of Iowa’s reputation for cutting-edge digital scholarship on the world stage—and we can only guess at the vast potential his work will unlock in years to come.”
Peer institutions have taken notice of Butler’s innovative work, and his open-source code has already been implemented at Yale University, the University of Oxford, and the Library of Virginia. In his letter of support,
Studio Director Tom Keegan calls Butler “a polymath whose technical expertise and research creativity have helped bring a number of faculty, staff, and graduate student projects into being.” He also emphasized Matthew’s integral role in “some of the most exciting and groundbreaking digital scholarly work at Iowa.”
Butler’s creativity is a reflection of his training in intermedia and video art, for which he earned an MFA from Iowa. Each of his recommenders cited the breadth and variety of Butler’s work, which spans multiple areas of study. In partnership with recommender Bryce Dietrich of Purdue University’s Department of Political Science, Butler developed an application which was later used by the National Institute of Health to comb through audio data and predict depression in elderly populations with an accuracy rate of almost 90%. He’s also currently working with Iowa sociology professor Louise Seamster on a project to address the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, by mining data from emails.
One of his earliest achievements at the Libraries was developing the platform DIY History, which enlists members of the public for help in transcribing handwritten documents, including letters dating back to the Civil War. Since the platform’s launch in 2011, over 100,000 pages of archival material have been transcribed and are now searchable in the Iowa Digital Library. Donna Brooks, Butler’s nominator and program manager at the Studio, calls him “a rare talent, tirelessly dedicated to the development of original work
Butler is senior developer and research manager at the Libraries’ Digital Scholarship and Publishing Studio.
product and custom solutions that enable scholars to work with data in their domain of expertise.”
Each letter in support of Butler’s nomination made mention of his collaborative spirit, which makes him a valuable partner in guiding faculty and graduate students in the pursuit of their goals. Dietrich said his professional relationship with Butler has been key to his success in research. “I have never been more enthusiastic about a nomination,” Dietrich says. “I miss many things about the University of Iowa, but working with Matt at the Studio is near the top of that list.”
The Arthur Benton University Librarian’s Award for Excellence is awarded each year to a member of the Libraries’ professional staff who has demonstrated outstanding commitment and leadership in furthering its mission to serve the university community. In addition to formal recognition, the award includes a grant of $2,000 for professional development that will support Butler’s research projects or publications related to library services.
The late Dr. Arthur Benton, professor of psychology and neurology at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center, established the endowment to make this annual award possible.
Matthew
Staff NEWS
BRADSHAW NAMED CO-EDITOR OF RARE MATERIALS CATALOGING VOCABULARY
Jenny Bradshaw, metadata production coordinator and rare materials cataloger in the Cataloging-Metadata-Digitization Department, has been co-editing the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section Controlled Vocabulary for Rare Materials Cataloging, a genre/form thesaurus, and the Rare Books and Manuscripts Relationship Designators vocabulary. These two vocabularies comprise terms specific to the needs of the rare materials community.
FUCHS COLLABORATES WITH DISTANCE AND ONLINE EDUCATION (DOE)
Willow Fuchs, business reference and instruction librarian at the Pomerantz Business Library, worked with DOE to create a course titled “Online Course Presence: Do Students Know You’re on the Other End?” The course offers best practices for instructors who are teaching online and wish to support the success of their students in an asynchronous online course.
HALTERMAN-DESS ELECTED TO IOWA LIBRARIES ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE BOARD
Maggie Halterman-Dess, library annex coordinator, was elected to the Iowa Library Association (ILA) Executive Board , serving as a director-at-large. The ILA fosters a community of innovation and advocacy, supporting and strengthening our members to promote libraries as an essential resource for all Iowans.
COX AND KOZAK AWARDED AT NATIONAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION CONFERENCE
In June 2024, James Cox, public services and emerging technologies librarian, and Kari Kozak, director of the Lichtenberger Engineering Library, were selected to receive “best poster” in the Engineering Library Division at this year’s annual conference of the American Society of Engineering Education in Portland, Oregon. Their poster was titled “Developing a User Experience Study,” and focused on their efforts to tailor library spaces to respond to feedback from users.
WEBB RECEIVES TWO SCHOLARSHIPS TO SUMMER PROGRAMS
Zoë Webb, collections care technician, was awarded two competitive scholarships to collections care programs for summer 2024: the Paper and Book Intensive in Ox-Bow, Michigan, and the summer program at the Center for Collections Care at Beloit College in Wisconsin.
DOUGHERTY FEATURED IN LIBRARY JOURNAL’S MOVERS & SHAKERS LIST
Jenay Dougherty, undergraduate engagement librarian, builds community at the Libraries every day, particularly through her work with the Asian Pacific American Cultural Center and 1stGen@Iowa. In April 2024, the Library Journal listed Dougherty in the “Community Builder” category on its annual list of “Movers & Shakers” in the field of librarianship.
YOUNG SELECTED FOR MINNESOTA INSTITUTE
Matrice Young, student life archivist, was selected to participate in the Minnesota Institute during summer 2024. The Institute focuses on developing leadership skills for earlycareer librarians from diverse backgrounds, with the goal of transforming institutions to be more equitable and just places.
KAREN SHEMANSKI SELECTED FOR UNIVERSITY HONOR FOR HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONALS
Karen Shemanski, senior human resources director and advisor to the Jack B. King University Librarian, was the 2024 recipient of the University of Iowa Outstanding Strategic HR Business Partner of the Year award presented during the University of Iowa HR (UHR) and Business Conference held in April 2024. In nomination materials, colleagues called Shemanski’s work “truly instrumental in the overall success of the Libraries.”
The Outstanding Strategic HR Business Partner of the Year award is given to an HR professional with a minimum of five years of experience functioning as an organizational leader, with responsibilities for designing, developing, and leading HR strategy; analyzing business information; and demonstrating competency in the following areas: leadership and navigation, business acumen, global and cultural effectiveness, relationship management, communicating for effective relationships, critical evaluation, and change management.
When presenting the award, the committee shared words from letters of support for Shemanski’s nomination: “Karen’s leadership continually exemplifies the criteria for the award, specifically with her recent work guiding a suite of critical organization-wide
HR changes in the Libraries, including the implementation of new library professional job family, changes to the librarian promotion process, and a new program for recognizing and rewarding advanced contributions to academic librarianship.” One of these strategic changes was the creation of a new job family, the Library Professional designation, which fills a need for a category between the roles of Merit and Professional and Scientific (P&S) Staff.
Shemanski has worked for the University of Iowa in an HR capacity since 1996, when she began as an administrator for what was then called Information Technology Services. From 2008–2011, she led a campus-wide project to redesign the compensation and classification system, an effort that reshaped the classification and pay structure for
approximately 5,000 of the university’s nonorganized P&S Staff. After a decade as director of UHR administrative services, Shemanski came to the Libraries in early 2019.
“Having Karen as a leader in our administration has been transformative for the Libraries,” said John Culshaw, Jack B. King university librarian. “She understands that our staff are our most valuable resource, and she not only offers her support on a day-today basis, but also guides us as we plan ahead to ensure the best possible future for the libraries and this institution.”
HAVING KAREN AS A LEADER IN OUR ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN TRANSFORMATIVE FOR THE LIBRARIES.
John Culshaw Jack B. King university librarian
Karen Shemanski (right), senior human resources director and advisor to the Jack B. King university librarian, receives her award from Jan Waterhouse (left), assistant vice president of employee relations and inclusion in University Human Resources.
Our libraries, by the numbers
1.4M ENTRIES
into the Libraries
27,930
PARTICIPANTS in instruction sessions
2,300
4,150
PAIRS OF GLASSES given out for the 2024 partial solar eclipse
TOOLS LOANED from the Lichtenberger Engineering Library most popular items: calculators, graphing calculators, 12-inch rulers, and calipers.
533
LIBGUIDES PUBLISHED in 2024
$1.58 MILLION saved by Iowa students via Open Educational Resources since the launch of OpenHawks
533,553
TOTAL LIBGUIDE VIEWS
Out of all of the published LibGuides,
MANGA FOR JAPANESE LANGUAGE LEARNERS
is most frequently accessed, having been viewed more than 48,000 times. The next most frequently viewed is EVALUATING ONLINE INFORMATION, with nearly 36,000 views.
$168,715 IN UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS awarded since 2016
HARDIN LIBRARY FOR THE HEALTH SCIENCES CELEBRATES
50 years
WITH MAJOR FOURTH-FLOOR RENOVATIONS
On the rainy afternoon of May 2, 2024, guests gathered on the fourth floor of the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences to celebrate its first 50 years and to observe the sleek renovations that signal its future. It was also an unofficial reunion; for the first time, all four of the library’s living directors—current director Janna Lawrence, retired directors Linda Walton and David Curry, and retired interim director Ed Holtum—were in one room.
“Thousands of people have been impacted by the service offered by the Hardin Library and its great staff,” says Lawrence. “It was amazing to be able to share this moment with my colleagues who have also helped steward Hardin from strength to strength over the last half-century.”
The look and function of the fourth floor have undergone many shifts over the past 50 years but perhaps none as seismic as the renovation unveiled in the spring.
THIS RENOVATION WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY A GENEROUS GRANT FROM THE ROY J. CARVER CHARITABLE TRUST, AND WE ARE EXTREMELY GRATEFUL FOR ITS CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP IN SUPPORTING THE WORK OF THE LIBRARIES.
John Culshaw, Jack B. King university librarian
“These transformational changes allow us to continue helping students thrive, graduate, and launch their careers, as well as support the success of our faculty,” says John Culshaw, Jack B. King university librarian. “This renovation was made possible by a generous grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, and we are extremely grateful for its continued partnership in supporting the work of the Libraries.”
The new design is responsive to student needs, given the changing nature of study and the environments that support it. A half-century of technological advancement means that library users now work more collaboratively than they once did, and students spend less time browsing the physical stacks for relevant materials, opting to pinpoint their research needs with the help of librarians and through a sophisticated online catalog, InfoHawk+. The 50th anniversary year provided an opportunity to recalibrate the physical space to match.
“Visitors can now choose among a variety of seating options and group study rooms that cover the spectrum between individual and
collaborative work,” says Lawrence. “The space is bright and versatile, illuminated by skylights in the vaulted ceiling. It creates a sense of openness and possibility.”
Those who value solitude and quiet still have many options on the fourth floor, including comfortable “pods” with retractable footrests and built-in privacy screens. For students and researchers looking to discuss ideas, the bright and sound-dampened study rooms along the perimeter of the space ensure that their conversations are contained.
Amid all this change, there’s been one constant: Hardin’s users, past and present, express a distinct sense of gratitude for the library and its staff. Those users include Dr. Vijay Kamalumpundi, who received an MD in May and is headed to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to begin his residency in internal medicine.
“When I think back to my eight years at Iowa, there’s always been one point of continuity for me, and that’s been the library services offered at the Hardin Library,” says Kamalumpundi. “Having a space for students to be able to gather and have a sense of community is really the basis behind every strong academic institution.”
The renovations also included creating a new reading room for the John Martin Rare Book Room (JMRBR), which houses more than 6,500 volumes of medical texts from the 15th through the 21st centuries. The new space is designed to provide an optimal environment for delicate materials, as well as enough space for classes and visiting researchers from the university and all over the world to interact with rare items from the collection. These updates were made possible through support from the Friends of the Libraries and other sources.
The new JMRBR reading room includes new seating to accomodate larger groups of visitors.
The newly renovated fourth floor offers updated workspaces for library users.
The current and retired directors of the Hardin Library congregated at the celebration on May 2, 2024. From left to right: Janna Lawrence, current director; David Curry and Linda Walton, former directors; and Ed Holtum, former curator of the JMRBR and interim director.
“We have one of the premier history of medicine collections of printed books in the United States and are grateful to Dr. John Martin , whose gift more than 50 years ago constitutes its core,” says Damien Ihrig, curator for the JMRBR. “We’re now able to increase the engagement outreach on campus and to the larger community. This, in addition to our growing digital presence, continues to make the collection accessible to even more people in Iowa and around the world.”
Among the first visitors to experience the JMRBR’s new space was the celebration’s featured speaker, Dr. Andrew Lam, author of The Masters of Medicine: Our Greatest Triumphs in the Race to Cure Humanity’s Deadliest Diseases. As a retinal surgeon and medical historian, Lam feels a particular connection with the materials housed in the JMRBR.
“I’ve done a lot of research on medical history, but it’s not that common that I actually get to see books like this,” Lam told the crowd. “I was blown away.”
The four directors who reconnected at the event in May have witnessed a whirlwind of growth in the field of medical librarianship. Each of them has done their part to carve the path from 1974 to 2024, and often the curve has been steep. But the goal of Hardin’s librarians and leaders has never wavered: their dedication to providing the best services and resources for those who seek them. Whatever the next 50 years bring, that polestar remains.
“It’s difficult to quantify the true impact of the Hardin Library’s services,” says Lawrence. “We can try to count the users who have passed through our gates, the number of publications for which our librarians are listed as co-authors, or the resources visitors use. But ultimately, what this place has accomplished reaches so much further than that. Our users go on to become health care providers, researchers, and leaders in their fields. Every life they touch is part of Hardin’s legacy, too.”
A new book was added to the John Martin Rare Book Room to celebrate the area’s renovation. This item was among those on Dr. Martin’s list of desired items.
Trois traitez de la philosophie naturelle non encore imprimez
A rare and important first edition (1612) of this collection of three foundational alchemical texts, illustrated with eight beautiful emblematic woodcut figures; it contains the first edition of the hierogliphiques figures by Nicolas Flamel, The Secret Book of the unknown alchemist Artephius, and the True Book on the Philosopher’s Stone ascribed to the Greek Abbot Synesios.
Purchase of this item was made possible by the John Martin Rare Book Fund and the Richard M. and Fredda Ellen Caplan Library Fund.
The Health Sciences Library, now called the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, was constructed to address overcrowding in the medical library within the Medical Laboratories building.
HISTORY OF HARDIN LIBRARY
Prior to the opening of the Health Sciences Library (renamed the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences in 1988), the books and materials belonging to the medical library were overflowing their allotted space in the Medical Laboratories building. With a user base from across the university’s health sciences programs, the College of Medicine (renamed the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine in 2002), and UI Hospitals & Clinics (renamed UI Health Care Medical Center in 2024), a dedicated health sciences library emerged as a clear priority during the 1960s.
This concept art from 1968 depicts the planned Health Sciences Library, designed by famed architect Walter Netsch.
Health Sciences Library, 1974.
The era-defining architect Walter Netsch was selected to design the new space. By the time Netsch began work on the Hardin Library, he had already achieved renown for his work on the Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy, which opened in 1962 and remains a standardbearer for brutalist design. Hardin’s unconventional blueprint is an example of Netsch’s signature design philosophy, called Field Theory, in which geometric elements are rotated and overlaid to create structures that are often described—with a mixture of admiration and puzzlement—as “kaleidoscopic.”
The west side of the newly constructed
The interior of the Health Sciences Library shortly after construction in 1974.
Dr. John Martin speaking in the John Martin Rare Book Room.
CRAFTING THE FUTURE OF CONSERVATION AND COLLECTIONS CARE
The Library and Archives Conservation Education (LACE) fellowship preserves the past while training the conservators of tomorrow.
Johann Remmelin’s Catoptrum microcosmicum
With impressive collections and a legacy of excellence and innovation, the University of Iowa Libraries have long been known as a leader in the field of book conservation. Now, the reach of that reputation has extended further than ever, thanks to the establishment of the Library and Archives Conservation Education (LACE) internship.
The LACE internship at the Libraries is a rare opportunity for graduate students in conservation programs to combine the daily work of book conservation with the mentorship and guidance of seasoned professionals. Each year, skilled interns receive advanced experience in the practice of book conservation.
These interns come to the university from programs in the LACE Consortium, which is made up of SUNY Buffalo State University, University of Delaware, and New York University. Conservation and Collections Care (CCC) at the Libraries is one of a handful of outside programs that LACE schools entrust with training their students. LACE interns receive funding arranged by their home institutions, and this often includes contributions from philanthropic sources, including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Students placed at the UI receive additional support through enhanced training, funding to attend conferences, and other staff development opportunities.
Stiller completed her LACE fellowship in August 2024.
In November 2023, Katarina Stiller shared her work with visitng members of the Libraries Advancement Council.
The consortium forwards applications to CCC with the knowledge that the recipient will develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between a book’s structure and its function. But LACE interns also bring their own considerable knowledge to the worktable, creating a lasting dialogue between institutions.
“I want to make sure interns and our staff have what they need to be successful, whether it be a tool or a piece of equipment, specific training, or the space and time to research a technique, or to make a book model of a historical structure,” says Giselle Simón, university conservator and the administrator of the LACE internship. “In addition, the advanced interns coming from the LACE programs bring so much: new information, new techniques, and new technologies. It’s an opportunity for us to embrace that, for everyone to learn and grow.”
The LACE intern for the 2023-24 academic year was Katarina Stiller, who was enrolled in the graduate program in art conservation at Winterthur Museum/ University of Delaware. Stiller’s program requires students to receive practical training at a partner institution in their third year, the final step before receiving their degree. Stiller was the Libraries’
I’M ABLE TO GET PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE AND FORM LIFELONG BONDS IN MY FIELD.
second-ever LACE intern, and when the time came to apply for internships, she says, the organization’s reputation made it her first choice.
“Iowa was always on my radar as a really good place to learn about bookbinding, book arts, and book conservation,” says Stiller. “This is such a good opportunity for an emerging professional like me. I’m able to get practical experience and form lifelong bonds in my field. I really hope to come back after I graduate, no matter where I end up.”
Katarina Stiller 2023–24 LACE intern
Johann Remmelin’s Catoptrum microcosmicum
According to Simón, the LACE internship is something of a new frontier for the conservation field. Now that programs in conservation make it possible for students to train in an academic setting, internships like LACE create a clearer path for students pursuing these careers. For Simón, providing mentorship to LACE interns such as Stiller is a way of paying it forward, creating hands-on learning opportunities while incorporating elements of classroom training.
In Stiller’s case, this meant requesting access to movable books, which Simón was happy to provide.
“I had a lot of say in what sort of projects I’m interested in working on,” says Stiller. “[Simón] actively sought materials I could learn from and challenge myself with.”
One book she repaired during her time in CCC is Johann Remmelin’s Catoptrum microcosmicum, an anatomy book from the 17th century, with movable flaps that peel back to reveal different systems of the body. It’s a teaching copy in its original binding, and generations of medical students would have learned from this exact item, which now lives in the John Martin Rare Book Room at the Hardin Library for the
Health Sciences. In Stiller’s hands, it’s a teaching tool once again, an object lesson in paper conservation.
Stiller handles the book with reverence and extreme care, meticulously logging each treatment it receives; in 50 years, another conservator might need to know what chemicals it was exposed to and what procedures were used to extend its shelf life. The Conservation Lab is full of these types of silent conversations, with conservators acting as conduits between past and future. So much learning takes place here—fitting for a discipline that’s all about ensuring that knowledge passes safely from one generation of learners to the next.
Simón hopes to strengthen the LACE internship’s presence at the Libraries in the years ahead, further cementing the institution’s reputation as a training ground for tomorrow’s top conservators. That includes Stiller, who graduated in August 2024 and is now undertaking an advanced post-graduate conservation residency at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
THE LIBRARIES’ BOOK MODEL COLLECTION BINDS THE BOOK’S PAST TO ITS PRESENT
The University of Iowa Libraries’ Book Model Collection (BMC) is one of the only places in the world where a visitor can hold a facsimile of a Mesopotamian clay tablet in one hand and its electronic successor, the e-reader, in the other. This collection, which comprises more than 300 items housed in an alcove in the Conservation Lab, is among the Libraries’ rarest assets—and a valuable teaching resource for preserving the cultural heritage of the book.
These bookbinding models exemplify book structures, demonstrating to students how a book operates. They range from practical to experimental and may reproduce traditional bookbinding techniques of various eras and cultures.
All bookbinding illustrations by Gary Frost
According to Suzanne Glémot, collections care specialist, something important happens when students interact with a model. What a collection like this exists to do, she says, is “shift the focus from books only being valuable for their text to books being valuable for their craft histories and their structural inheritances.”
The BMC began with Bill Anthony, the Libraries’ first university conservator, who came to the institution in 1984. He and his apprentice, Mark Esser, established the formalized version of the BMC in connection with an exhibit, The Art and Craft of Bookbinding, which traveled to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in fall 1987. In curating the exhibit, Anthony established a professional correspondence with Gary Frost, then an early-career bookbinder.
Frost became crucial in guiding the BMC after he officially joined the conservation department in 1999, retiring in 2011. Now conservator emeritus, Frost continues to be actively involved in the BMC’s evolution; it was Frost’s idea to sort models chronologically and to include e-readers in the collection.
Decades after its founding, the BMC is a cornerstone—not just of Libraries but also the curricula of the Center for the Book and the School of Library and Information Science.
The BMC serves a dynamic community of conservators, scholars, librarians, artists, and bookbinders at Iowa and beyond. While some universities’ book model collections are narrower in focus, the expansiveness of the BMC makes it singularly valuable to those studying bookbinding, including students from the Center for the Book.
As Frost puts it, the history of the BMC is a kind of family tree, with modern students carrying on its legacy. “We’re looking across the fluidity of time, the fluidity of invention and development.”
For now, the next step is fully digitizing the BMC so that it can be accessed by researchers worldwide through the Iowa Digital Library.
Three types of binding techniques Components of
MAKING THE BOOK, PAST AND places the centuries in conversation
Books have the extraordinary power to turn their stewards into time travelers .
A roughly sewn leather cover on a medieval book or a centuries-old doodle can reveal a lot about a book’s owner and its use. Minuscule notes scribbled in the margins of a plague-year calendar can hold weightier sway over today’s post-pandemic imaginations. A delicate handwritten book of recipes for everything from medical tinctures and elixirs to inks and imitation port wine lends some insight into 19thcentury conventional wisdom.
AND PRESENT
By Sara Pinkham
FALL 2024 EXHIBIT
From January through June 2024, the Main Library Gallery ’s spring 2024 exhibit, Making the Book, Past and Present, showcased a global selection of rare historic books and modern book art. Using items from Special Collections and Archives at the University of Iowa Libraries, the exhibit explored the intersections of history, art, and practicality. From medieval manuscripts and early modern works to recent book sculptures, pop-ups, and movable books, these carefully curated materials comprised a visual feast representing the strong connection between books and makers past and present.
The exhibition was curated by Eric Ensley, curator of rare books and maps in the Special Collections and Archives, and Emily Martin, adjunct assistant professor of bookbinding and book arts at the University of Iowa Center for the Book
While the exhibit is now closed, it lives on virtually. An interactive online tour is available to explore at lib.uiowa.edu/gallery
Be sure to visit the Main Library Gallery to experience our fall 2024 exhibit, Hawkeye Histories | Sporting Stories, which is open to the public until Dec. 19. The exhibit examines the role of sports in shaping life at Iowa, and catalogs how sports at the university have been influenced by broader national organizations and movements. From the early establishment of men’s and women’s sports at the turn of the 20th century to burgeoning big-time men’s sports of the mid-1900s, the elevation of women’s sports post-1970s, and the tumultuous and triumphant 2000s, the exhibit invites you to revisit familiar and explore unfamiliar Hawkeye sports histories.
IN THE CASE
PSALTERIUM CUM ANTIPHONIS, LATE 15TH CENTURY
Rebound and treated in the University of Iowa Libraries Conservation Lab by William Anthony in 1985. Medieval Manuscripts [xMMs.Ps3]. Special Collections & Archives, University of Iowa Libraries. Photo: Sara Pinkham.
DETAIL FROM THE CITY IS MY RELIGION: A TYPOGRAPHIC MEMOIR
Jennifer Farrell. Chicago: Starshaped Press, 2020. x-Collection Oblong [FOLIO N7433.4.F3677 C58 2020]. Special Collections & Archives, University of Iowa Libraries. Photo: Sara Pinkham.
SENTINELLA
Daniel Essig. Asheville, North Carolina: Daniel Essig, 2013. x-Collection Oblong [N7433.4.E88 S45 2013]. Special Collections & Archives, University of Iowa Libraries. Photo: Sara Pinkham.
STARAKNIHA(OLDBOOK)
Jan Sobota. Dallas: Jan Sobota, 1980-1998. x-Collection. Special Collections & Archives, University of Iowa Libraries. Photo: Sara Pinkham.
TOUGH CALLS
NARROWING DOWN THE SELECTION FOR MAKINGTHEBOOK,PASTANDPRESENT
As co-curators, one of Martin and Ensley’s greatest challenges was narrowing down which objects should be selected for display. The abundance of stunning and noteworthy material available in Special Collections and Archives left the curators with a long list of items to share with the public for the exhibition, and an even longer list of books to reshelve.
Ensley reflected about the thought process that finalized the exhibition’s focus in time for the ink to dry.
Lingvarvm duodecim characteribyus [...] Guillaume Postel. Parisiis: Prostant Apud Dionysium Lescuier, 1538. x-Collection [VAULT P213 .P6].
In this 1538 printing, Guillaume Postel became one of the first people to experiment with printing in nonwestern typefaces. Printing in languages like Arabic was a challenge for early printers due to its being written in a cursive script in which letterforms must connect. As a polyglot with a keen interest in representing language, Postel worked with printers to try to tackle this problem— this ‘printing in 12 characters’ is the product of that attempt. Our copy in Special Collections and Archives is notable, as it was heavily annotated by a person, possibly a 16th-century scholar, eager to learn these languages.
The Star Gazer. Monica Ong. Trumbull, Connecticut: Proxima Vera, 2021. Letterpress printing: Boxcar Press, Syracuse, NY. x-Collection [N7433.4 O546 S73 2021].
Monica Ong is a talented book artist who works with unusual forms. Here she uses the planisphere, an object used to find constellations in the night sky, to showcase a poem she wrote. One can turn the dial and slowly move through her poetry as the stars travel through the night sky as seen from China.
03 02 04
Asian and Indo-Islamic Collection; A Portfolio of Leaves Taken from Rare and Notable Books and Manuscripts. New York: Society of Foliophiles, 1928. Typography Lab [FLAT FOLIO Z6605.O7 B7].
Special Collections and Archives has a rich collection of early manuscripts, including those from beyond Western Europe. While today it would be considered unethical, decades ago large portfolios of manuscripts were cut up into individual pages and were sold to universities and private collectors. Though these portfolios are testament to longtime interest in early manuscripts—even if misguided—today we are still able to use these portfolios to instruct in the history of books and manuscripts across many locations and cultures.
Deep Time. Radha Pandey. Iowa City: Radha Pandey, 2017. x-Collection [N7433.4.P2544 D44 2017].
University of Iowa Center for the Book MFA graduate
Radha Pandey is a talented book artist who moves from the serious to wryly funny in her works. In this, one of her more serious works, Pandey considers ‘deep time,’ or the accreted layers of history as told through her hand-carved and layered pages that resemble the layered landscapes on which humans dwell.
Library HIGHLIGHTS
MEDIEVAL MINIATURE BOOK JOINS SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES
Special Collections and Archives recently acquired its first luxury Book of Hours. This diminutive medieval prayer book is notable for its lavish decoration, including numerous fantastical creatures known as grotesques and its elaborate use of goldleaf. This particular manuscript was likely made for a wealthy noblewoman in the French village of Thérouanne. We are happy to welcome this book to this collection and grateful to the legacy of Charlotte M. Smith, whose Miniature Book Fund made this purchase possible.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS OF THE ART LIBRARY’S 2023 BOOKMARK CONTEST
Each year, the Art Library holds a contest in which students are invited to design bookmarks. The first-place design is then printed and offered to library users. The 2023 winners and their designs are showcased here.
First place: Ellie Anderson, art major
Second place: Morgan Lueck, drawing and painting major
Third place: Leila Arnaut, graphic design major
DIGITAL SCHOLARSHIP & PUBLISHING STUDIO BUILDS FIRST-EVER DIGITAL MAP OF PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA
With a $281,104 Scholarly Editions and Translations grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), researchers at the University of Iowa and Western Kentucky University collaborated to build the first-ever digital map and data table for all three volumes and 1,992 pages of Principia Mathematica—a monumental work in the philosophies of mathematics and logic.
This new digital resource, the Principia Mathematica Map and Table Site (PM-MATS), is the result of a three-year NEH grant awarded in 2023 and ongoing collaboration between the University of Iowa’s Matthew Butler, senior developer in the Digital Scholarship and Publishing Studio, Western Kentucky University’s Dr. Landon Elkind, assistant professor of philosophy in the Department of Political Science (and alumnus of the University of Iowa philosophy program, 2018), and the University of Iowa’s Dr. Gregory Landini, professor of philosophy.
LICHTENBERGER ENGINEERING LIBRARY HOSTS SECOND ANNUAL FAIRWAY DESIGN CONTEST
In February 2024, the Lichtenberger Engineering Library joined the College of Engineering NEXUS and the Engineering Technology Center to host the second iteration of its Engineering Open, a minigolf fairway design competition featuring entries from 12 teams from across campus. The annual competition encourages participants to combine engineering skills and artistic expression as they work together to create a course with characteristic Hawkeye flair.
The result was a well-attended, spirited gathering of academic departments, student groups, and university-affiliated clubs. Winners took home 3D-printed trophies, and all participating fairways made encore appearances for incoming students during the OnIowa! welcome event in August 2024.
RITA BENTON MUSIC LIBRARY RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS GRAMMY MUSEUM GRANT
A generous grant from the GRAMMY Museum® Grant Program will help the Rita Benton Music Library at the University of Iowa to digitize and preserve some of the earliest recordings of Czech music made on American soil.
The $11K award will assist with a project involving 173 wax and gold-moulded cylinder recordings of Czech music and recitations dating from 1903 to 1908. Cylinders were one of the earliest forms of sound technology and the first to allow for mass production and distribution of sound in recorded form. Katie Buehner, director of the Rita Benton Music Library, and Daniel Johnson, digital preservation librarian, are the project coordinators.
“We’re thrilled to receive this grant because it is very likely that many of the recordings have not been played or listened to in over 100 years and are at great risk of degradation and complete loss,” says Buehner, who submitted the grant proposal. “It will allow everyone to experience a slice of Czech Americans’ cultural life, and researchers will have the opportunity to study Bohemian transplantation in the actual voice of those who made the journey.”
SCIENCES LIBRARY CO-HOSTS SUCCESSFUL SOLAR ECLIPSE VIEWING EVENT
The Libraries and members of the Iowa City community gathered on the lawn of the Sciences Library to witness the partial solar eclipse that took place on April 8, 2024. The eclipse-viewing event, hosted jointly by the Sciences Library and the Department of Physics and Astronomy, was a huge success, with thousands of people gathering in the library’s courtyard and on the Pentacrest lawn to collect free eclipse glasses, view the sun and moon’s alignment through solar telescopes, make pinhole cameras, and have their faces painted with eclipse-themed motifs. About 2,300 glasses were handed out before the peak obscuration (89%) of the sun by the moon, which occurred at 2:01 p.m.
Jane Roth reflects on serving as chair of the LIBRARIES ADVANCEMENT COUNCIL
For Jane Roth, the connection to the University of Iowa started with her mother and father—and it’s continued to grow thanks to her commitment to helping students be as successful as possible during their time on campus and beyond.
COUNCIL
In spring 2024, Roth completed her one-year term as chair of the Libraries Advancement Council (LAC), which actively champions the Libraries and provides guidance and feedback to help the UI Center for Advancement’s (UICA) effort to increase support through fundraising, advocacy, and engagement. She’s been a member of the group since it started near the end of 2020.
“I’m proud of serving on the Council from its inception and also having the chance to serve as chair,” says Roth, from Leesburg, Virginia. “From preservation to providing the latest in online resources, fostering excellence and student success is at the forefront of everything the Libraries does. It makes a real impact because it touches all areas of campus, and I believe I’ve made a difference too, which is important to me.”
Roth’s mother, Bernice “Bunny” Havlicek, earned a GN degree from the College of Nursing in 1940 and her father, Frank, earned a BS in physical education in 1948. Frank also served as the as the business manager of Athletics and held a contest for a new university mascot in 1948. In fact, it was drawings of the winner—the beloved Herky the Hawk—that first connected Roth to the Libraries. She and her mother donated the Dick Spencer III Collection of Herky Pen and Ink
Drawings to Special Collections and Archives at the Libraries in Frank’s memory in 2016.
A gift from Roth to the Libraries also provides funding to employ graduate students who are dedicated to special projects. Some of their work includes curating an exhibit showcasing the evolution of Herky and collecting student life archival materials. Currently, Anastasia ScholzeWang is processing photos, drill charts, and video recordings from the Hawkeye Marching Band records so they can be digitized.
“Providing opportunities for students is very important to me,” says Roth. “Anastasia’s work is also an example of how the Libraries has ties across the university and lifts up other areas on campus.”
And one of those areas is the College of Nursing. Roth also serves on its Campaign Advisory
continued on page 48
More than 50 original drawings by Dick Spencer III of Herky that were donated by Roth and her mother are available to view online through the Iowa Digital Library.
The LAC recognized Roth’s service as chair during its spring 2024 meeting.
In her honor, the Libraries added to Special Collections a copy of Lippincott’s Hand-book of Nursing for Family and General Use, one of the first manuals of nursing printed as the career was codified in the late 19th century. A poster encouraging young women to join the United States Cadet Nurses Corp, a WWII entity that saw over 100,000 women join the profession and war effort, was also added. Roth’s mother, Bunny, was working on Dec. 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, and the impact was felt even in Iowa.
The book and poster were purchased in honor of Roth’s service by the Friends of the University of Iowa Libraries.
Board and the Bernice Weede Havlicek Scholarship has supported more than 15 students since it was established in in 2014.
Now as Roth reflects on her time serving as the LAC chair, she says she’s looking forward to continuing to serve as a champion for the Libraries.
“It all comes back to the Libraries because everything is connected,” says Roth. “It’s about meeting students’ needs while never losing sight of the past and traditions that brought us here.”
LAC members gathered for a photo during the group’s fall 2023 meeting. (From left to right, starting at lower left) Row 1: LeAnn Lemberger; Amy Sullivan; Linda “Lin” Phillips; and Virginia Eichacker. Row 2: Aaron Schaefer; Tom Rocklin; Jane Roth; and Barbara McFadden. Row 3: Christie Krugler; John Culshaw, Jack B. King university librarian; and Paula Wiley, UICA associate director of development, Libraries.
Christie Krugler of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is now serving as chair of the LAC and Linda “Lin” Phillips of Norwalk, Iowa, is vice chair. The Council’s next meeting is scheduled for October 2024.
LAC member Virginia Eichacker considers her aunt 's impact captured in a historic photo
This photo features the five undergraduate women who integrated Currier Residence Hall in 1946: Virginia Harper, Esther Walls, Nancy Henry, Gwen Davis, Leanne Howard, and Pat Smith. Their story lives on in the Iowa Women’s Archives and in Currier, where a mural commemorates their achievements at the university and beyond.
We are especially fortunate to have Harper’s (furthest right) niece and namesake, Virginia Eichacker, as a member of our Libraries Advancement Council (LAC). We asked Eichacker about what this image and her aunt’s legacy mean to her.
As I look at the picture of the young women who integrated Currier Hall in 1946, the first thing that strikes me was that they were not looking into the camera but at something that appeared to be in the distance. In that same vein, I also noticed their smiles. It seemed they were smiling almost knowingly, aware that this was a significant moment in time. I know that, whatever my aunt was thinking and smiling about when the photographer took this picture, she did not imagine that 75 years later (2021), it would be part of a mural in a room in Currier Residence Hall, which she had been excluded from the year before.
Following her time at the University of Iowa, my aunt spent the next 50 years working to fight racial prejudice as a member of the Fort Madison branch of the NAACP. She was the first Black woman on the State Board of Public Instruction, where she championed the move for multicultural, nonsexist requirements in Iowa’s education.
TOGETHER HAWKEYES: Well on our way, with your help
By Paula Wiley
It’s hard to believe that we’re already halfway through the Together Hawkeyes campaign launched by the UI Center for Advancement (UICA) in October 2023. From the beginning, this university-wide comprehensive campaign has been poised to make UI history, driven by a fundamental belief in Iowa’s people and programs.
The goals of Together Hawkeyes have always been ambitious, but thanks to our supporters, we’re well on our way. Across the university, we set out to reach 300,000 alumni and friends, establish three million points of connection, and raise $3 billion for Iowa’s boldest aspirations.
For the Libraries, that means investing in our people and resources. Our Together Hawkeyes efforts focus on gifts to help students achieve new heights, enhance collections, preserve materials, and keep pace with cutting-edge information technologies. And thanks to all of you, the Libraries are on track to finish strong, meeting our own goals for both dollars raised
and engagement. The next three years will be critical for campaign success, and we are thankful to everyone who has stepped forward to support us.
Philanthropic support is critical to ensuring the continued growth and success of the Libraries. Gifts make it possible for the Libraries to continue its commitment to supporting student, faculty, and staff success; high-impact research; and increased engagement with people in Iowa and beyond. Philanthropy is the driving force behind each scholarship we offer to our student library employees, each new resource we make available to researchers, and each piece of the Iowa story we preserve.
Each spring, the UICA also holds One Day for Iowa, a 24-hour fundraising effort with a dedicated area of focus. On March 27, 2024, our Libraries community supported the University Librarian’s Student Employee Fund, which creates opportunities for student library
If you’d like to know more about how you can support the Libraries, please feel free to reach out to Paula Wiley at paula.wiley@foriowa.org
employees to undertake more advanced roles designed to help them enhance skills, bolster their career-development goals, or pursue special interests. I’m proud to report that One Day for Iowa 2024 was another resounding success, and I can’t wait to see what our student employees will be able to accomplish with the help of this fund.
We’ve also been fortunate to be joined by a new advancement coordinator, Ali Sauer, whose
expertise has enabled us to increase our focus on annual donors and past and present student employees. Below, you’ll have a chance to meet Ali and learn more about her approach to working with the Libraries.
Once again, I’d like to thank you for helping us ensure that the Libraries continue to provide students, faculty, staff, and the community with access to the information resources and services they need.
Introducing Ali Sauer, advancement program coordinator
I’m the new advancement program coordinator with the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, and since February it’s been my privilege to work with the wonderful team at the University of Iowa Libraries.
I was born and raised in Eastern Iowa and graduated from Wartburg College with a BA in journalism and mass communication in 2015. I’ve spent most of my career since in the nonprofit world, including in a similar role for the University of Missouri Libraries. It makes perfect sense that I found my way here—to a campus I love, advocating for the Libraries at its center.
I look forward to working with our annual donors, a base that will only expand as we intensify our efforts to connect with our current and past student library employees. I am truly honored to be cultivating support for such a worthy institution, and to do it side-by-side with brilliant, creative, and compassionate people.
It’s a gift to become part of the Libraries community, and I’d like to thank all our supporters for extending such a generous welcome. There are so many opportunities ahead, and there’s so much we can accomplish together for the generations of Hawkeyes who will benefit from what the Libraries offer.
QUICK HITS library
CARVER CHARITABLE TRUST GRANT SUPPORTS MODERNIZATION OF MAPS COLLECTION
The Libraries was awarded a grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust to modernize the Special Collections and Archives maps collection. The nearly $400,000 grant over three years will allow Special Collections and Archives to hire a librarian dedicated to collection assessment and analysis of the map collection, with the goal of improving discoverability and accessibility through revitalized collection management.
The successful grant proposal was the work of Margaret Gamm, director of Special Collections and Archives, and Eric Ensley, curator of rare books and maps, who will also be overseeing implementation plans.
We’re grateful for the Trust’s continued partnership in supporting the work of the Libraries.
A VISIT TO DES MOINES FOR HAWKEYE CAUCUS
We were happy to join our partners in the University of Iowa community at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines for Hawkeye Caucus on April 3, 2024. The annual event gives lawmakers from across the state a chance to learn more about the university’s wide range of departmental and institutional resources.
The Libraries brought something special to the rotunda: a few all-stars from our Book Model Collection (p. 34), one of the most extensive and varied collections of its kind in the world. Giselle Simón, university conservator, and Suzanne Glémot, collections care specialist, came along to show off their work—and Herky even made a special stop to check things out.
AFTER DECADES AWAY, A VINTAGE PHONE BOOTH RETURNS HOME TO THE MAIN LIBRARY
In the early 1970s, the Main Library’s phone booths were retired to make way for new technologies. One of the wood-paneled booths found its way to the childhood home of Kara Logsden, an assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Science, thanks to her father, Merle Krummel, who worked for Northwestern Bell and other phone companies.
Now, about 50 years later, the Krummel-Logsden family has gifted the phone booth back to the Main Library. The vintage piece currently sits on the second floor of the building, where it will serve as an object lesson in technological advancement. (It’s still a great place for a phone call, though a lack of wiring means students will be left to their own devices.)
POMERANTZ LIBRARIAN WILLOW FUCHS OFFERS AN ASSIST
Hawkeyes achieved greatness during the 2023-24 season on and off the basketball court, and we at the Libraries were proud to play our part in highlighting their accomplishments.
Willow Fuchs, a business reference and instruction librarian at the Pomerantz Business Library, worked with Jeffrey Ohlmann, associate professor of business analytics at the Tippie College of Business to provide leads for some of the data behind “Clarkonomics 101.”
CHANCE ENCOUNTER AT THE MAIN LIBRARY sparks one couple’s lifelong love story
For one Hawkeye couple, the journey of a thousand miles started at a wobbly table in the Main Library.
Georgia and Harry Mihm of Bettendorf have been happily married for over 50 years.
In the late 1960s, Dr. Harold “Harry” Mihm was pursuing his MD at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, and Georgia Benda was an undergraduate studying special education. They began as strangers seated at a communal table on the Main Library’s second floor, both intensely focused on their coursework. In fact, one afternoon Harry was so absorbed in the task of annotating his anatomy textbook that he didn’t realize his scribbling was sending a tremor down the table, irritating the young woman a few seats away.
“It was distracting, so I asked him to please quit shaking the table,” says Georgia. They got to talking, and Harry offered her a ride home to keep out of the rain. So begins their origin story, a playful back-and-forth that has lasted a lifetime.
53 anniversaries and four children later, they’re both glad Georgia spoke up. They were married in 1970, at the beginning of Georgia’s senior year and Harry’s third year of medical school. After graduating from the College of Medicine in 1972 and completing an internship, residency, and fellowship, Harry went on to work as an OB/GYN for 36 years in the Quad Cities area, where the couple made their home. Georgia became an active member of the community and was soon elected to the school board in Bettendorf. She served six terms on the board of the Bettendorf Public Library and was a charter member of the Bettendorf Community Schools Foundation.
Georgia and Harry have maintained a strong connection to the university, and especially its Libraries. Next time they visit Iowa City, they’re planning a visit to the building where it all began.
“It’s pretty amazing to think about. So much changes in 50 years, but the character and the culture of the place are the same,” says Georgia. “That’s how it is with us, too. We’ve grown together.”
then and now:
The Mihms’ wedding (left) took place in the fall of 1970. Today (right), the couple looks back fondly on their meeting in the Main Library.
Bindings has been the official magazine of the University of Iowa Libraries since its first issue in fall 1997. This edition represents a significant redesign led by Lauren Coghlan, art director and creative coordinator. Bindings Academic Year 2023–24 is designed to reflect the personality and dynamism of the Libraries in the current moment.
administration
John Culshaw
Jack B. King University Librarian john-culshaw@uiowa.edu
Paul Soderdahl
Associate University Librarian paul-soderdahl@uiowa.edu
Jade E. Davis
Associate University Librarian jade-davis@uiowa.edu
Anne Bassett
Senior Director of Strategic Communications and External Relations anne-bassett@uiowa.edu
managing editor
Natalee Dawson
Communications Coordinator
art director
Lauren Coghlan
Creative Coordinator
contributors
Anne Bassett
Eric Ensley
Krista Hershberger
Sara Pinkham
Elizabeth Riordan
Kelly Taylor advancement
Paula Wiley
Associate Director of Development, Libraries paula.wiley@foriowa.org
Ali Sauer
Advancement Program Coordinator ali.sauer@foriowa.org
The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences. The university also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to university facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact the Senior Director, Office of Civil Rights Compliance, the University of Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242-1316, 319-335-0705, daod-ocrc@uiowa.edu.
ON THE cover
A 1968 watercolor illustration of the Health Sciences Library (later renamed the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences) as designed by architect Walter Netsch. The library opened in 1974 and recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. To read more about the Hardin Library, past and present, turn to page 24.
University of Iowa Main Library
125 W. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52242
EXPLORE OUR GALLERY AND ARCHIVES
The Arthur and Miriam Canter Rare Book Room
Rita Benton Music Library
Voxman Music Building, first floor
The Iowa Women’s Archives
Main Library, third floor
The John Martin Rare Book Room
Hardin Library, fourth floor
The Main Library Gallery
Main Library, first floor
Special Collections and Archives
Main Library, third floor
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