riends
F
of the SMITH COLLEGE LIBRARIES
fall 2011 UPDATE
Artwork for the
Reading Room
Visitors to the new Friends of the
Smith College Libraries Reading
Room initially took in the comfortable furnishings, the good
lighting and the quiet atmosphere.
With time, eyes began to focus on
the space above the high-backed
chairs. “What about the walls?”
we heard, “Are there any plans for
the walls?”
As luck would have it, members of
the Class of 1950 were looking for
a permanent way to pay tribute to
classmate Frana Larrabee Low, a
retired librarian who loved reading, art, promoting literacy and
planning Smith reunions. Her
friends agreed to help the Libraries
embellish the Reading Room with
a piece of art. An unrestricted gift
from President Emerita Jill Ker
Conway was added to the pool,
and an artist, who is known for
his paintings of natural scenes in
the Pioneer Valley, was selected.
Thomas Locker’s four-foot by
six-foot painting Repose will be
installed this month. Mr. Locker
felt so honored to have his painting hang in this grand space that
he has donated two smaller works
A River Valley and Evening Glow
to accompany the large painting. Photos will be posted to
www.smith.edu/libraries/info/friends.
fall Program
Thursday, October 13, 2011, 7:30 P.M.
Neilson Library Browsing Room
Redwood & Wildfire: A Performance Reading
by Andrea Hairston with Pan Morigan
In Redwood & Wildfire, her second novel, Andrea Hairston explores the indelible imprint
itinerant theater, featuring immigrants and ethnic minorities, left on American culture. Her
story follows an African American “hoodoo” queen and a Seminole Irish man, who journey
from Georgia to the bright lights of Chicago in the early twentieth century. Gifted blues
musicians and performers, they find opportunities in minstrelsy, vaudeville and the early
film world that flourished in Chicago at that time. Pan Morigan will accompany Hairston’s
reading with her original bluegrass compositions.
Andrea Hairston is the Louise Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor of Theater and Afro-American
Studies at Smith College, artistic director of Chrysalis Theater, and recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Scholarship Award from the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts.
Pan Morigan is a vocalist, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer.
Our Spring Events
Clockwise from top left: Dedication of the Friends of the Smith College Libraries Reading Room, President
Carol Christ with romance literature panelists, Barbara Keiler ’74, Sarah MacLean ’00, and Stephanie Dray ’93;
graduating student library assistants at our Commencement reception; Sue Roberts ’66 prints a broadside with
Joe Riedel during our Reunion Special Collections Tour.
Noteworthy
Acquisitions
FSCL News
The late professor of biology
B. Elizabeth Horner bestowed
many gifts on Smith and the
Smith community. Most recently, Professor Horner’s large
collection of books in the biology, natural history, anthropology
and music of the southwest
Pacific and Australasia have
found their way to the shelves of
Neilson and Josten libraries. Of
special interest is John Gould’s
massive three-volume work, The
Mammals of Australia, published
in London between 1845 and
1863. Gould’s beautiful handcolored lithographs presented
the unique fauna of Australia to
Europeans for the first time and
are still valued as masterworks
of natural history illustration.
Professor Horner presented it to
the Mortimer Rare Book Room
in memory of Ruth Mortimer,
the late curator of rare books.
Since last I wrote, the Friends of Smith College Libraries Reading Room
became a reality; we have moved closer to completion of a redesign and
replacement of the current Libraries Web site; and we have seen more activity on the Friends Facebook page.
By Ann Shanahan ’59, Chair
Since the opening of the new reading room, at every hour of the day or night, Smith students have
filled virtually all of its comfortable chairs and sofas. The room’s formal name reflects the generosity
of the Friends organization, which was responsible for the majority of funding for the project.
A fascinating panel discussion, Romance Literature: Love It or Leave It, followed the dedication.
Four alumnae, May Chen ’00, senior editor at Morrow/Avon Book, and authors Barbara Keiler
(Judith Arnold) ’74, Stephanie Dray ’93, Sarah MacLean ’00, and moderator Bethanne Patrick ’85,
“book maven” and FSCL executive committee member, spoke about the genre and the continuing
growth in its popularity. (A podcast is available at the News and Events page of the Friends site
http://bit.ly/iGPJLt.)
To move from the past to the future: the Smith College Libraries Web site is nearing the final
stages of a “renovation.” We are excited about having a handsome new look, which will bring the
Libraries’ Web face more closely in line with that of the College.
One of my favorite Smith sites is its home page—there’s so much going on there—but especially in
the news and events section, called “The Gate.” Its ever-changing content is managed by Eric Weld
in College Relations. One recent item, which you will find if you click on “News Archive” at the
top of the Gate’s home page, is “Smith Lit,” a reading list compiled by Kristen Cole, Smith’s media
relations director. It offers a selection of quite recently published books by or about Smith alumnae,
for example: Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West, by
Dorothy Wickenden; Joan Mitchell: Lady Painter, by Patricia Albers; Why I Left the Amish, by
Saloma Furlong ’07; or Maine, by J. Courtney Sullivan ’03. Also mentioned is Erin Blakemore
’02, whose book, The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons, From Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder, was
published last year. Erin blogs at www.theheroinesbookshelf.com. Please note that Dorothy
Wickenden will address the Friends on March 1, 2012 at 4:30 P.M. in Neilson Library.
On another Web note, please visit the Friends’ site to see booklists provided by faculty
members and, just launched, book recommendations by Friends’ executive committee members.
We’d love to hear from Smith book clubs about what they are reading or will be reading this fall;
contact us at http://www.smith.edu/libraries/info/friends/about/contact.html. We could make a
page on our website to share the lists. I encourage you to post on the Friends Facebook page about
anything related to books—Have you written one? Have you read a good one?
Book Studies
at Smith College
llustration from The Mammals of Australia
Other special gifts include
Thomas Locker’s gift of two
paintings (see page 1;) a large
collection of signed first edition
novels received from Bonnie
Brody and her daughter Davya
Sarette Brody ‘92; and a portrait
of a Vietnamese girl given in
honor of Huong Dieu Nguyen
’08 by Jeffrey Leistyna.
By Martin Antonetti,
Curator of Rare Books
The new concentration in Book Studies connects
students with the exceptional resources of the
Mortimer Rare Book Room and the wealth of book
artists and craftspeople of the Pioneer Valley. Through
classroom study, field projects and independent
research, students will learn about the history, art
and technology of the “book,” broadly defined to
extend from oral memory to manuscripts and from
printed books to digital media. Continued on back...
The Library-Based Concentrations
By Christopher B. Loring, Director of Libraries
What distinguishes an academic library in today’s world where so many resources are available
online? To my mind there are now three attributes that make for an outstanding library for students
and faculty alike: exceptional reader spaces that meet a multitude of learning styles and pedagogies,
special collections that offer unique resources unavailable anywhere else, and an array of services that
provide students and faculty what they need when they need it.
This issue of the Friends newsletter highlights two of these attributes splendidly: our Special
Collections and the two associated academic concentrations that we support through them—the
Archives Concentration and the Book Studies Concentration. Susan Novick, ’81, Friends Executive
Committee member and archivist herself, provides a wonderful perspective on the Archives
Concentration which graduated its first cohort this past spring. Martin Antonetti, curator of rare
books, describes the newly-created Book Studies Concentration which is being launched this fall.
New Staff
Member
Elizabeth Foster has joined
the staff as the Reference
and Information Commons
Librarian. Foster is a graduate
of Kenyon College and the
University of North Carolina
School of Information and
Library Science, where she
was a member of the prestigious Carolina Academic
Library Associates Program.
The College has developed curricular concentrations to provide students with a way to combine an intellectual endeavor around a practical experience. Smith is blessed with extraordinary
resources to support the development of concentrations, from the Museum of Art to the Poetry
Center to, of course, the Libraries. Collaborating with faculty, the curators and archivists of our
Special Collections have worked to provide students with an extraordinary opportunity that is
not available anywhere else. That we have these superb collections to draw upon and make these
concentrations possible is due to no small degree to the generosity of you, our Friends, who, in the
past and now, continue to support the Libraries so well. Thank you!
The Fruits of Archival Research
By Susan Goodman Novick, certified archivist and
FSCL Executive Committee member
One of the benefits of serving on the executive committee of the
Friends of the Smith College Libraries is seeing first-hand the use of
the Libraries’ remarkable resources by Smith students. I remained on
campus after a recent meeting to participate in Celebrating Collaborations,
a day which highlights the collaborative efforts of Smith students and faculty in a variety of
interdisciplinary projects.
For three hours on a Saturday morning, I listened to eleven presentations by students involved in
the Archives Concentration. The students shared their exploration of the archives, learning about
student life from scrapbooks to finding resources in Northampton repositories about Calvin
Coolidge. Other topics included the Smith College Relief Unit in France during World War I
and LGBT activism at Smith and nationally. As an archivist, I was impressed by the outstanding
quality of the presentations, the enthusiasm that the students had for using primary sources and
their appreciation for those who assisted them—the staff of the Smith College Archives, the Sophia
Smith Collection and the Mortimer Rare Book Room.
While attending Smith, I took a history seminar with Mary-Elizabeth Murdock, the college archivist and director of the Sophia Smith Collection. Using primary sources from the collection in my
research, I learned about the importance of these historical resources and the College’s stewardship
of them. Thirty years later, as I listened to students share their excitement about their research in
Smith’s archival collections, I smiled, knowing that the resources of the Smith College Libraries
remain an important part of the curriculum and add much to the students’ college experience.
2011-2012
FSCL Executive Committee
Ann E. Shanahan ’59, Chair; Elisabeth Doucett ’80; Jenny Frost ’78; Julie Iatron ’97; Kate Kelly ’73;
Susan Novick ’81; Bethanne Patrick ’85; Lizanne Payne ’74; Elisabeth Morgan Pendleton ’62;
Ex-Officio: Carol Christ, President, Honorary Chair; Christopher B. Loring, Director of Libraries;
Carrie Cadwell Brown, Ed.M ’82, Executive Director, Alumnae Association; Mary Irwin, Executive Secretary.
In Memoriam
Rosemary O’Connell
Offner ’53, former executive
secretary to the Friends from
1991-1993, passed away on
September 7. She was also
known to many for her long
service as associate director
of the Alumnae Association.
Rosemary was a frequent visitor and a long-time supporter. She was pre-deceased by
her devoted husband Elliott
Melville Offner who shared
her love of the Libraries.
Cataloger supreme,
Shirley Zachazewski
worked for fifty-five years in
Neilson Library, first from
1946 to 1991, then after
“retiring” she returned to
catalog rare books from 1994
to 2005. A hard-working and
fun-loving colleague, she was
a great source for information
about Smith lore and earlier
work practices. Shirley died
on July 22.
fal l EXHI B I TIO N S
On view until December 22, 2011
Artists Reflect on 9/11
Works by sixteen artists and writers including Sheila Metzner and Richard Goodman.
Mortimer Rare Book Room Gallery, Neilson Library, Level 3
Hand, Voice & Vision: Thirty Years of Artists’ Books from Women’s Studio
Workshop
Forty artists’ books selected from more than two hundred works produced between
1979 and 2009 at Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, New York.
Book Arts Gallery, Neilson Library, Level 3
Sponsored by the Mortimer Rare Book Room.
A Queer History of Smith, 1970-2000
This exhibition explores Smith’s complex attitude toward homosexuality.
Curated by Olivia Mandica-Hart ’11 and Amanda Lineweber ’11
Alumnae Gymnasium, Level A
Taking the Archives Public
A capstone project by students in the Archives Concentration Program.
Alumnae Gymnasium, Level A
Continued from page 3: Students in this concentration will learn to read in a new way,
in which books become an archaeological site for exploring the history of its design,
production, promotion and dissemination, as well as the sources of its craftsmanship
and beauty. A student interested in literary texts will explore how the physical production of books impacts how we understand them. Another student attracted to old
books, rich leather bindings, tactile paper, fine printing and haunting illustrations will
find a home in this concentration, as will one excited by new media and the digital
revolution that promises a change in how and what we read, enabling radical new forms
of typography, illustration and links to other media such as film, video and television.
Book Studies concentrators will thus design capstone projects in a wide variety of areas.
Does your company have a matching gift program?
We are pleased to provide
access for all alumnae to
JSTOR via the Alumnae
Association’s website. This
digital archive offers over
one thousand full-text journals in the
humanities, social sciences and sciences.
JSTOR provides access from the first
issue of each journal but JSTOR’s Alumni
Access Pilot by design excludes current
issues. Follow the link once you log in
on the Alumnae Association’s website to
explore the offerings.
Would You Rather be an eFriend?
If you would prefer to receive this
newsletter (with live links), membership
renewal letters and other correspondence
via email, please contact Mary Irwin,
mirwin@smith.edu.
The FRIENDS NEWS UPDATE is
published twice yearly, in the fall and
in the spring. Comments and suggestions
may be sent to Mary Irwin, Executive
Secretary, Friends of the Smith College
Libraries, Neilson Library, Smith
College, Northampton, MA 01063,
Telephone: (413) 585-2903 or email:
mirwin@smith.edu.
Visit us online:
www.smith.edu/libraries/info/friends or
on
facebook.com/FSCLib
FSCL MEMBERSHIP FORM
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE SMITH COLLEGE LIBRARIES BY JOINING OR RENEWING YOUR
MEMBERSHIP TODAY. Your tax deductible gift helps purchase library materials and enhances the services offered
to the college community. Members of the Friends receive this newsletter, invitations to events, and other benefits –
for more information, see www.smith.edu/libraries/info/friends.
Membership Levels
q $50 Active Member
q $20 Student/Individual
q $600 Sustaining Member q $1000 Patron
q $75 Family/Dual
q $1,500 Champion
q $150 Contributor
q My/our company will match the gift.
q I wish to make my gift in honor/in memory of___________________________________________________
Name_______________________________________________________ Class_________________ (if alumna)
Address____________________________________________________________________________________ Please make your check payable to the Friends of the Smith College Libraries and mail to the FSCL Office, Neilson Library, Smith College,
Northampton, MA 01063 or, if you prefer, enroll on-line at www.smith.edu/friends.