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Showing posts from June 7, 2015

New Exhibit in Special Collections through August 28 -- Portable Likeness: Selected Portrait Miniatures and their Literary Context

A new exhibit in Jackson Library's Hodges Reading Room,  Portable Likeness: Selected Portrait Miniatures and their Literary Context, explores the role played by portrait miniatures both in and out of the book arts. The art of miniature portraits has several early forms: Roman coins, Renaissance commemorative medals, and images within medieval manuscripts. It is this last form that is the connection in this exhibit. Medieval religious texts, such as a Book of Hours, offered an opportunity to record a patron and a patron’s family members in the portraiture found in the illustrations. By 1460, the hand-written books were competing with the printed books. The ability to include personalized portraits within the book added to both the desirability and value of the manuscript works. However, during the sixteenth century fashion shifted to the less expensive and more accessible printed works. Portrait artists shifted also, offering their services to wealthy patrons. Most portraits were

Assistant Dean Beth Bernhardt Elected to National Post

Assistant Dean for Collection Management and Scholarly Communications Beth Bernhardt is the Chair-Elect for the Association of Library Collections and Technical Services - Collection Management Section for 2015/16 and will become chair in 2016/17. This section supports library professionals who perform collection management and development while selecting and evaluating all types of library materials in all types of institutions.