John Hay Library
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The John Hay Library is the second oldest library on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Located on Prospect Street, opposite the Van Wickle Gates, it replaced the outgrown former library, now Robinson Hall, as the main library on the campus. The library was named for John Hay (Class of 1858), the private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, at the request of Andrew Carnegie, who contributed half of the $300,000 cost of the building.[1] It was constructed with Vermont white marble in an English Renaissance style. The library was dedicated on November 10, 1910 and had an estimated collection of 300,000 volumes.[2]
When the main library was removed to the new John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library in 1964, the John Hay Library retained the special collections and provided temporary quarters for the Physical Sciences Library until the Sciences Library was built in 1971. The John Hay Library was completely renovated and was rededicated on September 21, 1981.
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[edit] Anthropodermic book collection
The John Hay Library is well-known for its collection of anthropodermic books (books bound in human skin).[3] The Hay acquired the books in the 1960s as gifts from two alumni, at least one an avid book collector. The books were not originally bound in human skin, but were instead rebound for private collectors in the 19th century.[4] The library has three such human-skin books:
- Andreas Vesalius - De Humanis Corporis Fabrica (1543)
- Dance of Death - Featuring wood-cut illustrations by Hans Holbein the Younger (two copies)
[edit] Special collections
The Library houses Brown's Special Collections division, which includes those materials that require special handling and preservation. Although many of the items in Special Collections are rare or unique, a majority of the materials are part of large subject-oriented collections which are maintained as discrete units. Altogether, Special Collections consists of over 250 separate collections, numbering some 2.5 million items.
Notable items include:
- Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection - graphics, books and miniature soldiers
- H. P. Lovecraft - personal manuscripts and letters
- Henry David Thoreau - books from personal library
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ From Martha Mitchell's Encyclopedia Brunoniana: John Hay Library
- ^ Drake, Miriam (2003). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. http://books.google.com/books?id=tPnkxsklgXoC&dq=john+hay+library+librarians:+CRC Press. ISBN 0824720776.
- ^ M.L. Johnson (2006-01-07). Some of nation's best libraries have books bound in human skin. Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Taryn Martinez (2006-01-31). In a literal bind. Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
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