Real Treasure: Rare Books about Piracy
“The history of one Pirate is nearly the history of all.” –Lucretia Parker In 1951, a respectable newspaperman from Wichita passed away and sold his collection of books to the Wichita Public Library for the sum of $10,000. His name was Charles B. Driscoll, and he was a popular Midwestern columnist, who later corresponded from New York, in the expansively syndicated column “New York By … Continue reading Real Treasure: Rare Books about Piracy
April 15, 2013 Event: Eureka! How Using Special Collections Can Enhance Your Writing, Publishing, and Research Skills
Please join us at 6PM, 3rd Floor Conference Room of the Richter Library, for an engaging round table featuring UM faculty and students, who will share their experiences using the rare, unique and fascinating materials held in the Special Collections Department in Richter Library. Find out about their discovery process, their new-found enthusiasm for primary source materials for their research, and how using special collections … Continue reading April 15, 2013 Event: Eureka! How Using Special Collections Can Enhance Your Writing, Publishing, and Research Skills
April 12, 2013: Marleine Bastien of Haitian Women of Miami to speak at Special Collections
Please join us, Friday April 12th at 6pm, as we welcome Marleine Bastien, founder of the Haitian Women of Miami or Famn Ayisyen nan Miyami (FANM). She will talk about the history of her organization in the Haitian diaspora and her work in community building in South Florida. Continue reading April 12, 2013: Marleine Bastien of Haitian Women of Miami to speak at Special Collections
4th Annual Edible Books Festival : April 1st, 2013
We are excited to announce the 4th annual Edible Books Festival at the University of Miami Libraries. This year’s festival takes place on April 1, 2013, in the front lobby of the Otto G. Richter Library at 12:00PM. This celebrated event was initiated by book artist Judith A. Hoffberg in 1999, and quickly became an international sensation. The rules for participating in the contest are … Continue reading 4th Annual Edible Books Festival : April 1st, 2013
What is the inspiration for our newsletter banner?
Are you wondering about the background image on The Mosaic banner? It was inspired by a page in one of our favorite artists’ books, Venus: Booklyn Artists Alliance, the collective group of artists that created this book, describes Venus as a, “one-of-a-kind artist’s book made from Korean mulberry and cellulose paper, acrylic paints, pencil, walnut ink, Japanese black ink, human blood, turmeric and cayenne pigment … Continue reading What is the inspiration for our newsletter banner?
Notes from the Director’s Desk
It’s difficult to write a first column for a first blog…how does one compress a significant amount of information in a relatively small space and in a pithy yet engaging manner? Most significantly, how does one choose which aspects of a very rich and varied collection (one that is managed and curated by an experienced and diverse group of individuals!) to emphasize? Where should I … Continue reading Notes from the Director’s Desk
The Helen Muir Collection
In a 1986 letter, writer and Florida Historian Helen Muir politely accepted an offer to an exclusive women’s club on Miami Beach from Wolfsonian-FIU Founder Micky Wolfson, but in the next sentence requested helicopter service for old ladies from her home of Coconut Grove. This image of a mobilized ensemble of grandmothers flying over the city of Miami on its way to discuss the important … Continue reading The Helen Muir Collection
Pan Am Dispatches!
This is Emily Gibson reporting from the University of Miami, the location of the Pan American World Airways, Inc. records, on a two-year grant-funded assignment sponsored by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Did you know that planes that could take off and land on water, like Pan Am’s first Clippers, could be built larger than early land planes because they did not need … Continue reading Pan Am Dispatches!
Steve Says…
In my position, I am lucky enough to be able to dig through our manuscript collections in order to help patrons with their reference requests. As I help patrons interested in a variety of our materials, I can’t help but learn more about these collections, picking up knowledge of some truly extraordinary individuals and events along the way. One of the most striking examples of … Continue reading Steve Says…
Teaching with Special Collections
Richter Libraries’ Special Collections’ materials ignite curiosities and promote deeper levels of understanding of the historical record. Our librarians are eager to welcome your students as they begin to understand the research potential of these unique rare books, manuscripts, letters, ephemera, fugitive literature, and much more. So, why teach with special collections materials? Our collections: remove editorial mediators because they are the primary evidence, inspire new … Continue reading Teaching with Special Collections
Special Collections Mosaic 