Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 8, 1994 TAG: 9407110174
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BECKY HEPLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
Two words: Newman Library.
It's cool, it has lots of good books and now it has the Special Collections Exhibit.
Special Collections is the university's equivalent of a grandmother's attic. Its three divisions, University Archives, Rare Book Collection and Manuscript Collection, are the recipients of old books, pictures, letters and other artifacts of personal or local history and culture that might otherwise end up lost. The exhibits will showcase the library's latest acquisitions.
The current exhibit features ``Kodak Moments,'' photographs from Addison Caldwell, first student to attend Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. ``The Ghost of Elvis'' compares sheet music from the King (``Love Me Tender'') with antique sheet music printed in Richmond, capitol of the Confederacy, in 1864 (``Aura Lee'').
You know all about bubblegum trading cards, but did you know cigarette manufacturers also created collector cards? ``Up In Smoke'' showcases this and other tobacco ephemera.
Hokie football pictures and memorabilia from the 1890s and the 1920s are on parade in ``Hokie Hokie Hokie Hi, Rah Rah V.P.I.,'' as well as an explanation of the preservation of old photographs. Other exhibits include ``The Pleasure Of Your Company is Requested,'' ``All Your Eggs in One Basket,'' ``Draw The Line'' and ``God Save The Queen.''
The library called on local talent to put on the exhibit. Eric Wiedegreen, assistant professor in Interior Design, designed the eight display cases, which were built by architecture students. Wiedegreen also designed the layout of the exhibit, along with graduate student Cindy Edwards.
The show marks the beginning of a rotating exhibition that will feature one new display each month of the often-oddball, always-interesting treasures that come to Special Collections.
We're a society of pack rats with no place to store our loot, so places like Special Collections are the beneficiaries of the old letters, journals, diaries, pictures and other memorabilia that younger generations don't want to deal with, but don't want to throw away. The folks at Special Collections are extremely grateful for that.
``We as archivists and collections librarians feel a special responsibility for collecting and preserving the `primary' material which is the basis of the work done by historians and researchers,'' said Laura Smith, manuscripts curator for Special Collections. ``Our mission is to be able to supply this material.''
As a result of being the repository of the public's gifts to the library and its own savvy collecting, Special Collections has built a niche for itself in several areas. Smith said the Sherwood Anderson collection, complete with first editions of his books as well as some of the author's letters, is considered one of the best in the nation.
Special Collections is the obvious place for materials on the history of the university and the region. The department collects all the student publications, such as yearbooks, newspapers and magazines, as well as the papers of each president and other materials, such as old pictures. There are collections of maps, pictures and other materials about Blacksburg, Montgomery County and Southwest Virginia.
In addition to an extensive collection of rare books on the Civil War, Special Collections will be the home for the library of E. E. ``Josh'' Billings, a Civil War scholar and book collector. Smith points out letters from Andrew Black, a surgeon in the army during the Civil War and a member of the family for which Blacksburg is named.
Because of a close relationship with Norfolk Southern Railway and its earlier incarnations, Special Collections also has inherited extensive holdings on railroad history and its important subsidiary, coal mining. ``We are a favorite destination for railroad fans and scholars because of our material,'' Smith said. It includes pictures, maps, old railroad ledgers, architectural drawings of bridges and much more.
While the rules are a little different from the general holdings in the library, Smith stressed that all of the materials in Special Collections are available to the public. Patrons must use the materials in the department's reading room and nothing can be taken from the premises.
Smith said all materials coming into Special Collections are subjected to preservation techniques designed to protect and lengthen their life, including storage in acid-free media.
The exhibits are presented in conjunction with the newly formed Friends of the Virginia Tech Library, a support system that will promote the library and encourage the people in the community to use it.
Margaret Shuler, executive secretary for the Friends, said the three goals of the group are education, promotion and recognition for those people who support the library with their gifts.
One of the group's first events will be in September when it recognizes Billings of Northern Virginia for the donation of his Civil War library and R. C. Dorey Jr. of Norfolk for his gift of a N. C. Wyeth painting.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***