I Know!
By Aly Wepplo, Collections Manager
As collections manager, I keep our shelves full of materials that serve the community. On a day-to-day basis, this means ordering books that people want to check out and keeping them in good shape.
But the Library also holds materials that don’t circulate and aren’t for daily use. These are special collections, and the library is finding new ways to showcase them.
Items in special collections tell the story of our Library. We still hold many of the first books added to the library’s shelves—chosen by library founders including Anita Gray, Jeanne Rodger Lane, and Clara Spiegel.
A small purple and gold edition of Hugh Walpole’s Reading: An Essay still holds the checkout card signed by patron Betty Bell on July 6, 1964.
These books are a tangible link to the hard work, planning, and love of reading that started The Community Library.
Now, we’re working to make these items more accessible for research and inspiration. This year, we displayed Captain Cook’s 1874 journals titled A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean in the lobby. Outside the Idaho Room, we highlighted books from Arion Press, the only printer in the United States that still makes books entirely by hand under one roof. Our copy of Audubon’s Fifty Best: Oppenheimer Field Museum Edition was used in a program for local middle schoolers as a tie-in to their study of Gary D. Schmidt’s novel Okay for Now.
I’m proud to share a new collection on display: Dollhouses by local artist and collector Carol Dumke. These miniature structures include a mouse house, a barn, a “1776” house, a silversmith, and several storefronts. Dumke curated each space, filling it with furnishings, wallcoverings, and light fixtures. She stocked the rooms with equipment for kitchens, workbenches, and stables. Inside, miniature people live their daily lives, reading the Declaration of Independence, pressing apples for cider, and setting the table for dinner.
These collections are “special” for a few reasons. They are not easily replaced. They are not something to check out and take home, but they can be enjoyed by anyone who visits the Library or website.
And they document the unique historical and cultural experiences of our community.
Find more information about our special collections here. In person, you can visit the dollhouse collection on display in the nonfiction stacks and in the stairwell outside the Children’s Library. Framed reproductions of our Audubon prints line the walls of the Lecture Hall. And selections from the Arion Press collection rotate on display outside the Idaho Room.
Email me here if you would like to make an appointment to see Captain Cook’s journals or the full set of Audubon prints.
