UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — With selections spanning from circa 2000 B.C. to 2017, from as far away as Sumatra and as near as State College, Pennsylvania, the books on view in the recently launched student-curated digital exhibition “Books Unbound" defy categorization. What do these books have in common? All items on view are located within Penn State University Libraries’ Eberly Family Special Collections Library and are available to request for teaching or research.
A collaboration between Penn State’s History Department and the Eberly Family Special Collections Library, "HIST 255N: History of the Book," taught by Kathlene Baldanza, associate professor of history and Asian studies, and Clara Drummond, lead curator and exhibitions coordinator, provides a hands-on, workshop-based approach to studying book history, material culture, preservation of the written word, and the role of the library. Examples of the workshops offered include papermaking with Senior Book Conservator Bill Minter; ink-making with Professor Sarah Rich and the Center for Virtual/Material Studies; transcribing the letters of Frederick Douglass on Douglass Day; bookbinding with Lisa Baumgartner of Wandering Leaf Bindery; and zine-making with Clara Drummond.
Students commented that the workshops not only helped them better understand the structure of and labor that goes into making books, but the hands-on activities — folding, stitching, collaging, smashing wood pulp to make paper, etc. — were “therapeutic,” a form of experiential learning that contributes to the learning outcomes of the class as well as students’ overall wellness.
“Books are seriously amazing! The further this class progressed, the more my understanding of a book expanded and the greater my appreciation for it grew," one anonymous student wrote in a review of a workshop. "Books are not just words on a piece of paper: everything down to the chemical construction of the paper or the ink has a backstory. Whether it's how the reader is supposed to operate a book or what unique contents may be found inside, books have expansive properties I have never even noticed before.”
For the final exhibition project, students were asked to choose one book or book-related item, describe why it is worthy of research and meaningful to them, and communicate these findings to a general audience. One book expands into a tunnel, offering glimpses of an underwater fantasy world. One is wrapped in fur, others are made of parchment derived from animal skins. Some of these books are not finished, others are unique copies written by hand; some are not bound, some are not beautiful. They serve different purposes: to educate, to tell a story, to keep a record, to protest and inform, to teach, to mark time, to show off or to make you dance. Despite their differences, all were collected by Penn State’s Special Collections Library because of their rarity and cultural significance. The students also co-wrote the introduction to the exhibition Books Unbound.
“I’m so grateful to have the libraries as a partner for this class,” Baldanza said. “Staff from across the libraries, from the Annex to the Special Collections Library, supported the students and helped them succeed. Thanks to our collaboration with Special Collections, students learned about curatorship and had the opportunity to design a public-facing digital exhibition as their final project.”
The exhibition will be available alongside Special Collections’ other Digital Projects and Exhibits. Questions about the exhibition and accessibility can be directed to Clara Drummond at cjd86@psu.edu.