Future of the Book Symposium, October 10, 2009
The Clements Library, The Special Libraries Association-U of M chapter, and the School of Information invite you to a fall 2009 interdisciplinary conference "Digital Book Debates" asking the question, "What is the future of the book?"This event will be held in the Main Room of the Clements Library on October 10, 2009, 10:00-4:30. Clements Library Director Kevin Graffagnino will be participating in the first panel, "The Physical Book and Its Future."Online registration is available through the...
Online Exhibit in honor of Banned Books Week
Dangerous Ideas: Controversial works from the William L. Clements Library In honor of Banned Books Week, this online exhibit from the William L. Clements Library presents twenty titles from the collection that have been the subject of controversy at different moments in history. These books span over four centuries, from the Nuremberg Chronicle in 1493 to Elinor Glyn's Three Weeks in 1907. They provide examples of actual or attempted censorship by governments, social organizations, and private...
Recently Published: Article about the Clements in the Michigan Daily
The Michigan Daily has a new article about the Clements Library: "Off the Beaten Path: William L. Clements Library," by Gracelin Baskaran. The article includes quotes from Tom Dziuszko, longtime Clements Library volunteer, and Ann Rock, director of development at the library.
International Talk Like a Pirate Day
In honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, we offer several examples from the pirate-related materials at the Clements Library. The library has a variety of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and maps related to the history of pirates, buccaneers, privateers, and other folks on the high seas.Did pirates really say, "Arrrr, matey"? Probably not, but you can find accounts about real pirates in the Clements Library. The picture below is from the 1699 English translation of The History of the...
Recent Acquisitions: Iconic Images of Custer’s Last Stand
The Clements Library has acquired two prints depicting Custer's last stand: John Mulvany's "Custer's Last Rally" (1881) and Cassily Adams' "Custer's Last Fight" (1885). These two iconic images provide the best known representations of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Both of these images were widely copied and distributed. As can be seen from the text on the Adams print, it was reproduced by the Anheuser Busch brewing company, which distributed it to saloons across America and...
Today in History: Kicking Off the UM Football Season at the Clements
To celebrate the opening of the University of Michigan 2009 football season, we offer this selection of football-related items from the Clements Library collection.University Foot-Ball: The Play of Each Position Treated by a College Expert, 1893This book, edited by James R. Church, includes portraits of players, illustrations of plays, and diagrams.Foot Ball Rules: As Recommended to the University Athletic Club by the Rules Committee, 1896This pamphlet, part of the Spaulding's athletic library...
Kerrytown BookFest, September 13, 2009
The 7th Annual Kerrytown BookFest will be held in and around the Farmers’ Market in Ann Arbor on Sunday, September 13, 2009. The theme of this year’s Fest is Culinary History and Culinary Michigan. Clements Curator of American Culinary History Jan Longone will be honored with the KBF’s Community Book Award. The Award will be presented by Ari Weinzweig, Honorary Chair of the 2009 Fest and co-founder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses.Following the Award presentation Jan will moderate a...
The Clements Library Has a New Sign!
On Friday, August 21, workers installed a blue University of Michigan sign in front of the Clements Library. We hope this will increase our visibility and make it easier for visitors to find us on S. University Avenue.Visitors are welcome to come in the front door of the library and see the Main Room on Monday through Thursday from 1:00 pm to 4:45 pm, and by special arrangement. Stop by and see the current exhibit, 1759: Britain's Year of Victories.
Five Ways to Use Google Books for Historical Research
The University of Michigan is partnering with Google on the Michigan Digitization Project to scan the print collection of the University Library. Scanned books from the University of Michigan can be searched in the Mirlyn library catalog and on Google Book Search. Google Book Search, which searches the full text of millions of books, will provide snippets of page results from copyrighted works and full text results for materials that are out of copyright. Although the Clements Library is not...
A Tradition of Giving: Adopt a Piece of History
During the last 86 years, through the generosity of the University of Michigan and many important donors and leaders, the Clements has come to stand for excellence in the study of America history. But we are now beginning to write the story of the Clements in the 21st Century. We are starting a new program, Adopt a Piece of History, that asks people to fund purchases and conservation at the Clements. There are many books, manuscripts, maps and visual materials that we desire to add to the...