Join University Libraries for a Special Collections Celebration Oct. 12

Image via Special Collections; graphic design by Ariel Romero

The University Libraries Special Collections department is pleased to host a celebratory event in honor of Archives Month Oct. 12 at 2:30 p.m. on the first floor of Mullins Library. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Attendees will meet Lori Birrell, the newly appointed head of the department, and take a behind-the-scenes tour of the collections. There will be opportunities to compete in a BINGO scavenger hunt, explore current exhibitions, smell a rare book, touch university history, and experience the treasures of the Libraries. Items on display will include memorabilia from U of A homecoming events, rare books about vampires, drawings from a Fay Jones chapel, photographs, World War I letters, and medical instruments.

"Our rich collections offer our community the opportunity to see themselves in history, as told through these documents," said Birrell. "We hope that many will return to use the collections to further their scholarly research or to explore a new interest."

Visitors may park in the parking garages on Stadium Drive and Garland Avenue. Both have options to pay for parking in numbered spots at the cost of $1.65 per hour. Payment stations accept major credit cards.

The Special Collections department was created in 1967 to encourage research and writing on the history and culture of Arkansas and the surrounding region. Its mission is to acquire, preserve, and provide access to historical manuscripts, archives, maps, photographs, and published materials to support scholarly investigation of the state, its customs and people, and its cultural, physical, and political climate. Special Collections include manuscripts and archives, the Arkansas Collection, rare books and special libraries, photographs, broadsides, and maps.