Spring 2024 Newsletter
Dear Friends of SCU Archives & Special Collections,
Spring is in the air! Spring is a popular time for reference appointments as people think more about their family history with Mother’s Day and Father’s Day approaching. As always, we are happy to answer questions about alumni and records from the Mission era! If you have questions for us, please email our reference desk at specialcollections@scu.edu
Reading Room Hours for Spring 2024
Starting this week, we will be going back to our regular hours: Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 5 pm and Friday 10 am to 3 pm. We anticipate that finals week will be by appointment only (June 10-13). Please remember that we need time to retrieve materials from the vault for your visit, so try to email us in advance for a research appointment at specialcollections@scu.edu
We are looking forward to teaching with our materials this spring, so if you haven’t yet booked a time for your class, please reach out as soon as possible! The schedule fills quickly and we need several weeks notice to prepare a new class. We are happy to work with instructors to teach students about using primary sources, archives, rare books and other special collections materials with a visit to the reading room.
New A&SC Staff & Student Assistants!
Taylor Garvey, Digital Collections Coordinator
We are delighted to have Taylor Garvey join our team as Digital Collections Coordinator! Taylor will be primarily handling digitization and the digital collections for SCU. She has lived in San Jose for her entire life except when attending UCSC to receive her BA in English Literature and then UCLA for her MLIS. Her primary focus has been on cataloging and providing access to materials. When she isn’t reading or working with the collections, Taylor enjoys writing, embroidery, video games, and spending time with her four cats, Captain, Tigger, Flash, and Moon.
Shreya Chinthala, Student Assistant
Welcome to Shreya Chinthala, one of our new student workers! Shreya is working on her Master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Santa Clara University and is an international student from India. She is very enthusiastic about working with historic materials and rare books.
Divya Meharwade, Student Assistant
Please give a warm welcome to student assistant Divya Meharwade! Divya is also an international student from India working on her Master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Santa Clara University. She is very excited to join our team!
Collection Spotlights
Contemporary Artists’ Books Exhibit
Archives & Special Collections Librarian Monica Keane has curated an exhibit of artists’ books in the gallery cases facing the main library folio stacks. This genre of contemporary art reflects upon the form, function and history of the book. They feature handmade paper, hand-applied decorations, hand-set printing, and/or bespoke bindings.
This small exhibit features artists’ books from the Santa Clara University Library’s Archives & Special Collections to reflect some of the range of this artistic medium: Traditions before Print, Letterpress & Print Art, Literary Art, and Digital Art. The first set reflects upon the development of letters and writing traditions in the ancient and medieval worlds. The second explores the mechanics of hand press printing. In the third, the crafting of the work of literary art is paralleled in the crafting of the physical object. The last group focuses on the digital age and accompanying material forms that are easily overlooked from punch cards to postcards. Artists’ books play with the idea of a book and the ephemera of writing, asking us to examine how we continually redefine and recreate this ancient technology in the modern age.
New Faculty Publications
Did you know that A&SC collects faculty publications? The most recent faculty publications, highlighted in this year’s New Faculty Publications Reception, are on display in the tall cases starting in Spring Quarter! You can also view the digital gallery of books on Scholar Commons.
Faculty are invited to deposit their new research publications with the department, either online with ScholarCommons or physically with special collections. For deposits of digital publications, faculty can contact Ray Scroggin. For physical copies, we collect faculty books in their first edition and inquiries can be sent to A&SC director Nadia Nasr.
Support A&SC
We welcome your support! If you would like to donate towards preserving and making available Santa Clara University’s rare and unique materials, please consider giving a donation to University Library, Archives and Special Collections.