5 Things You Didn’t Know We Were Up To

Staff Happenings, Out of the stacks, Staff projects, Staff research

Greetings, loyal followers.  

We’ve missed you. We’ve been quiet here for a while, and that’s because we’ve been incubating projects and programs behind the scenes. Here’s a sneak peek at what we’ve been up to… 

Drawing of woman pregnant with 20 children
Paré, Ambroise, 1510?-1590, “Woman pregnant with twenty children.”

One – Newly Renovated Norris 

We’re renovating the historic Norris Reading Room to create a refreshed and welcoming space for researchers to view our materials on a desk or in display cases.

Black and white photograph of Norris Room fireplace.
Norris Room photograph from the Sturgis Photograph Collection.

 

Two – Moving Some Materials 

We’re moving some of our collections offsite to create space, improve discoverability, and expand access to our incunabula, medieval manuscripts, and archives. 

Writer bearing a wreath of leaves on his head consults two books at an ornate lectern.
“Writer” woodcut printed by Johann Grüninger, artist unknown.

 

Three – Testing for Toxins 

Did we mention medieval manuscripts? We’re testing several illustrations and illuminations in our oldest items to better understand the toxic pigments used by their creators. Initial results have been promising and point to the presence of orpiment, cinnabar, vermilion, and more. 

Illuminated page with illuminated initial in blue, red, and green ink.
Giles of Rome, Archbishop of Bourges, “De regimine regum et principum.” Italy; early 14th century.

 

Four – Digitization 

We’re expanding our digital collections starting with letters, medical trade ephemera, and scrapbooks on smallpox and influenza vaccinations. 

Symptoms of smallpox, chickenpox, cowpox, and vaccinia, four skin diseases characterized by pustules, depicted in 24 labeled figures.
Tardieu, Ambroise, 1788-1841, “Pustules : variole, varicelle, vaccine, vaccinelle.”

 

Five – Expanding the Team 

We’re hiring! Do you want to spend your days working with a collection of incunabula, manuscripts, archives, monographs, maps, multimedia and more that dates to the 13th century? Come work with us as an Archivist, Special Collections and Rare Books Librarian, or Special Collections Project Librarian (2-year term) 

Detailed information and application instructions on our website.   

Image of a prosthetic hand engineered so that a patient without a hand can write.
Paré, Ambroise, 1510?-1590, “Prosthetic hand.”

Check back often for updates! We have much more to show you …