By Miriam Intrator, Special Collections Librarian
As a new semester is once again upon us, we are excited to offer a variety of events and opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and the broader OHIO and Athens communities. Below is an overview of some of what is available this spring, through spring break. We encourage you to reach out with any questions, for more information, or with your own ideas about how we can support your teaching, research, or curiosity.
Contents
Quick Links
Examples of ways Archives & Special Collections and Digital Initiatives can enhance your teaching and research. We are always looking for opportunities to collaborate. Please contact us to learn more.
- We are one of thirteen designated experiential learning spaces on campus!
- For Instructors.
- Schedule an experiential learning session for your students.
- Assign one of our asynchronous tutorials.
- Learn about other ways we can partner to incorporate primary source literacy and hands-on learning with original materials into your teaching and research.
- Orient your students to primary sources with our Research Guide.
- Browse our Digital Archives.
- Keep up with what’s happening on our blog!
- Many posts are by students working with our collections.
- Search collection inventories and descriptions in ArchivesSpace.
- Explore our Digital Exhibits. View recent exhibits highlighting some of our collections:
- Visit us on social media: Instagram | Pinterest | Spotify | X | Bluesky | YouTube & YouTube OU Historical Films
Spring Events
Beyond the To-Do List: Bullet Journaling for Academic Success & Wellness
Monday, January 27, 11:45-12:45
Room 251, 2nd floor, Alden Library
Free and all are welcome.
Aimed at students to help them make the most of their spring semester, this workshop will introduce the Bullet Journal Method, a customizable note-taking system developed by Ryder Carroll that uses pen and paper to help with productivity, time management, self-reflection, and mindfulness. Library staff will teach how to set up and use a bullet journal and create custom collections to track academic work, goals, and self-care. The workshop will also highlight the wellness aspects of bullet journaling, such as how it can help reduce stress and increase feelings of control and focus.
Historical examples of notebooks and journals from Archives & Special Collections will provide inspiration and historical context.
Founders Day Spring Student Showcase
Tuesday, February 18, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
Free and all are welcome.
The Founders Day Spring Student Showcase welcomes friends, supporters, and first time guests to hear from some of our interns and student employees about the materials they work with and the expertise they have developed, view select collections materials on display, get hands-on and creative with coloring pages, buttonmaking, legos, and more, all while mingling and enjoying light refreshments.
This event will also serve as the opening of the digital and physical exhibits, “Out and Proud: The Origin and Evolution of Ohio University’s Pride Movement,” curated by fall 2024 interns Taylor Payne, BA ’26 and Olivia Ondrik, BFA ’27.
Introduction to Wikipedia Editing
Tuesday, March 4, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
AND
Art + Feminism Zines Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon
Tuesday, March 25, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
Free and all are welcome.
Whether you’re a seasoned Wikipedian or new to editing, these events are a great opportunity to learn, share knowledge, and improve public information on Wikipedia.
The focus of the Edit-A-Thon will be creators of zines from our Zines Collection.
Spring Exhibits
Coming soon!
Out and Proud: The Origin and Evolution of Ohio University’s Pride Movement
digital exhibit, link coming soon
physical exhibit, opening February 18th on the 5th floor of Alden Library, anytime the 5th floor is open.
For Founders Day 2025, we are excited to honor the compelling history of the local Pride movement and the recently processed Ohio University Pride Collection. By providing an illustrated narrative of how the LGBTQ+ movement began, grew, and flourished in Athens and on OHIO’s campus, exhibit co-curators, fall 2024 University Archives interns Taylor Payne, BA ’26, and Olivia Ondrik, BA ’27, have continued OHIO’s Founders Day tradition of highlighting one more significant aspect of OHIO life, history, and culture.
Books & Bodies
Exhibit open through Friday, March 7, 2025
5th floor, Alden Library, anytime the 5th floor is open
This exhibit covers the connections between books and bodies, first inspired by the language often used to describe books, like “head,” “spine,” and “joints.” After spending time with anatomical models, bookbinding tutorials, medical texts, and guides for conserving books, I think our tendency to anthropomorphize books makes a lot of sense. Like human bodies, books are fragile and perishable; like books, human bodies store vast amounts of sensory and abstract information. Curated by Alex Rienerth, ’25, MA in Literary History, and 2024-2025 Graduate Assistant in Rare Books.
Read the blog post about his experience researching and preparing this exhibit.
Making 20th Century Patterns with 21st Century Materials: A Semester of Following Patterns Designed by Maud Churchill Nicoll
Exhibit open through March 7, 2025
Alden Library, 3rd floor, whenever the 3rd floor is open
This exhibit features a series of rare books related to fiber crafting. These served as the inspiration and guides for Licker’s experiments with knitting and sewing from the patterns contained within. The items Licker handmade, everything from hats and scarves to a pillow cover, are on display alongside the books that inspired their creation.
Curated by Jessica Licker, Digital Literacy Librarian, Athens County Public Libraries, Master’s in Literary History, ’24, Rare Books Graduate Assistant, 2023-2024.
Read the blog post about her experience researching and preparing this exhibit.
Still on display
Art & the Alphabet graphic design posters by students in the spring 2024 Typography class.
Alden Library, 2nd floor, whenever the 2nd floor is open.
Thank you!
None of what we do would be possible without the amazing colleagues, instructors, students, and staff who collaborate with, support, and inspire us. We are grateful and look forward to hearing from and working with new people all the time. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. Have a wonderful spring semester!