Samples of some of the quarantine zines that will be featured on Preview Night. Credit: Courtesy of Jolie Braun
Although you might head to the library looking for your next page-turner or to hit the books, the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library wants to give you a look back at history with its annual Preview Night.
Featuring a fundraiser for the first time ever, the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library — one of the special collection units housed within Thompson Library — is presenting its latest collection as a part of its annual event. The Preview Night will be held virtually Oct. 28 from 3-4:15 p.m.
The Rare Books and Manuscripts Library collects, preserves and provides access to literary and historical published works and archival material, from medieval and Renaissance manuscripts to contemporary novels and zines, according to the University Libraries’ website.
This event is a chance for the library to showcase the new items they have received from the previous year, whether it be through investment or donations from people, curators or colleagues, Jolie Braun, curator of modern literature and manuscripts in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, said.
The event is organized by Braun and Eric Johnson, associate professor and curator in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library. Braun said that she wanted to choose items that had an interesting context or story.
“I was trying to think about the broader picture questions about what I would love people to know about our collections that they might not already know about,” Braun said.
Johnson said that their material is actively acquired for student and faculty use. He also said that he thinks a lot of students have a preconceived notion that rare books and manuscripts aren’t for them and that you have to be a specialist, professor or graduate student.
“We collect things for deliberate and immediate use by students and faculty, and classes and honors thesis research, and individual studies research, and really any kind of student endeavor that they might want to pursue when it comes to original research,” Johnson said.
Braun said that the fundraising effort will be a chance to help them continue to grow their collections.
The library is aiming to reach its goal of $5,000 by Oct. 31 when the fundraiser ends and has raised $2,000 so far, according to the Ohio State University Libraries website.
Johnson said that there are costs that people may not realize come with having a collection like that of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library.
“There are just all sorts of different kinds of costs through maintenance and storage costs to processing costs,” Johnson said.
In a normal year, Braun said that for the event they would close down Thompson Library’s Special Collections Reading Room and bring out all of the materials that they have collected from the past year and have it open to the public.
But due to the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, only a few pieces will be selected and presented by Braun, Johnson and other colleagues virtually with a short description of each piece.
“It’s not just about collecting stuff to collect stuff,” Braun said. “We want to make sure people know what we have and have opportunities to think about how they could use it.”
The Rare Books and Manuscripts Library’s Preview Night is Wednesday from 3-4:15 p.m. In-person appointments to the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library can be made online through the University Libraries’ website.
