ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


135

Third Library History Seminar

A dedicated and enthusiastic array of li­
brary historians, antiquaries, and genealogists 
descended upon Tallahassee on February 8 for 
the Third Library History Seminar at Florida 
State University. Supplemented by library 
school students and faculty, as well as other 
interested persons from the area, th e group 
sat dutifully through three days of activities, 
and all appeared to agree that they profited 
considerably from hearing some of the excel­
lent papers and discussions, formal and infor­
mal, which were aired.

Working sessions began on Thursday with 
a presentation by two FSU historians of the 
ways in which they went about the business 
of historical research. The next session demon­
strated historical criticism. Here two more 
FSU history professors served as discussants 
of two surprisingly good library history papers 
prepared by library school students Ruth Kent 
and Homer Walton, Jr.

Seven varied and interesting papers were 
presented on Friday. Kent State’s Sidney Jack- 
son opened the day with a discussion of con­
tradictory views on books and reading among 
early humanists. Thomas Slavens, University 
of Michigan, described the circumstances under 
which the highly treasured Van Ess collection 
came to rest in the Union Theological Sem­
nary. George S. Bobinski, University of Ken­
ucky, closed the morning with an account 

of the bibliothecal importance of Andrew 
Carnegie’s colleagues, James Bertram and 

lvin S. Johnson. In  the afternoon Robert V. 
illiams of the Georgia Department of Ar­

hives described the library and its setting in 
eorge Whitefield’s Bethesda; William J. Van 
eynum of the Middletown ( C onn.) public 

ibrary spoke on “The Book-Company of D ur­
am ;” Case W estern Reserve’s Clark A. El­
iott pointed out the importance of the U.S. 
ureau of Education to library history in that 
nnus mirabilis 1876; and Nova’s Robert Hav- 

ik told of the more recent experience of the 
ibrary Services Branch of USOE.
The best line of the show came on Satur­

ay morning in Budd L. Gambee’s (U niver­
ity of North Carolina) paper on “Representa­
ion of American Librarianship at W orld’s 
airs, 1853-1876.” Quoting a journalist’s de­
cription of the persons attending the library 
onclave of 1876, he reported th at “No one 
ould judge from their appearance th at they 
ere librarians.” The last paper read was 
obert C. Miller’s (University of Chicago) his­

ory of the International Publishers’ Associa­
ion, 1896-1962.

Two special sessions were also scheduled

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during the three-day meeting. Lawrence 
Towner told the delegates on Thursday eve­
ning about his own Newberry library, and at 
a very fine banquet on Friday night David 
Kaser (Joint University Libraries) spoke on 
“Tom Brown’s Library at Rugby.”

The seminar concluded before lunch on Sat­
urday with a summary by “the Grand Old 
Man” of library history in America, the dean 
emeritus of FSU’s library school, Louis Shores. 
All in all the conference was a good one 
which was well worth its designation as the 
third in a short b ut meaningful series of meet­
ings designed to foster and encourage greater 
interest in the area of library history.—D.K.

ACADEM IC LIBRARY . . .
(Continued from page 129)

Photo Credit: Ezra Stoller
Jury Comment:
“This simple, yet elegant, project is very 

well detailed, well appointed, and well fur­
nished. I t presents an ingenious solution to the 
overall lighting scheme. The roof is pierced 
and beam coves allow natural light to beauti­
fully enter the building.”

Pictures of award-of-merit academic library 
buildings are on pages 136 and 137.

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