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Philip and Nancy Anschutz, of Denver, founded the Anschutz Foundation in 1983. Philip Anschutz earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from KU in 1961.
— the major exhibition space for KU Libraries — features multimedia exhibits of KU Libraries collections with related research by KU faculty and students.
“We are pleased to be associated with Gene and Gretchen Budig in this effort to support one of the finest libraries in the state of Kansas,” said Philip Anschutz.
“The Anschutz and Budig families have created a legacy on this campus through their support of its programs, projects and people,” said Lorraine J. Haricombe, dean of KU Libraries. “The gifts to create the new Anschutz-Budig Outstanding Librarian Award show a clear understanding of and commitment to the vital role libraries and librarians play here at KU.” v
Sarah Goodwin Thiel, KU digital services librarian and chair of KU Libraries Exhibits Program, is the inaugural recipient of the new award. Thiel was selected for her leadership role in creating the Library Gallery in Watson Library. The gallery
Gift establishes world’s largest collection of author Theodore FROM Sturgeon’s materials at Kenneth Spencer Research Library (CONTINUED FRONT PAGE) Correspondence includes letters from Sturgeon to his mother (a writer and feminist peace activist) describing his early career in New York, and letters between Sturgeon and editors and authors, including John W. Campbell, Judy Lynn del Rey, Poul Anderson, Robert Heinlein, Edgar Pangborn, Harlan Ellison, Isaac Asimov, Kurt Vonnegut, Damon Knight, Clifford Simak, James Tiptree, Jr. and others, such as Gene Roddenberry and T.H. White. Vonnegut, who named his iconic pulp fiction writer, Kilgore Trout, in Sturgeon’s honor, called him “one of the best writers in America.” Sturgeon’s writing influenced sixties countercultural icons like The Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills and Nash. His lyrical and varied style represented a turn from the “hard” science fiction of the forties to the socially conscious topics more common in contemporary science fiction, including sexuality, gender, pacifism and the individual cost of social conventions.
“This extraordinary gift ensures that Sturgeon’s profound literary and cultural legacy will be available to new generations of scholars, writers and readers.“ - Beth Whittaker “We are thrilled and honored to be entrusted with this outstanding collection,” said Beth Whittaker, head of Spencer Research Library. “This extraordinary gift ensures that Sturgeon’s profound literary and cultural legacy will be available to new generations of scholars, writers and readers. These materials, in the context of our existing collections, build an increasingly rich resource of primary materials in the field. I am especially pleased with the partnership among the Libraries, the English department, and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction that made this possible.”
Noël Sturgeon (right) tours Spencer Research Library with Library Head Beth Whittaker (left) and Special Collections Librarian Elspeth Healey. Photo by Sarah Kanning.
In making the donation, Noël Sturgeon credits the work of James Gunn, professor emeritus of English at KU and a noted science fiction author who created KU’s Intensive English Institute on the Teaching of Science Fiction in 1975 and the CSSF in 1982, and was named a Damon Knight Grand Master in 2007 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. “Jim’s long dedication to the teaching and scholarship of science fiction, and his particular interest in and support of my father’s work, was the main impetus behind our choice of the Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas as the home for Sturgeon’s collection of papers,” Noël Sturgeon said. “What was crucially important to us is that the Center for Science Fiction has the firm support of the English Department and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, meaning that there will be an on-going vibrant community of scholars and students who will benefit from the Sturgeon collection,” Noël Sturgeon said. “I hope that other science fiction and fantasy authors will be inspired by our donations to also contribute their papers, making the Center for the Study of Science Fiction and Spencer Library the premier institutions for the study of science fiction in the United States.” v
Library alumni updates Former KU Libraries student workers share their news:
Braden Conrad-Heibner named first Price Fellow
Penny Clark writes that she has worked in three different repositories of Southeast Texas archives in the past 15 years. She is now the university archivist at Lamar University’s University Archives and Special Collections. Clark notes, “One of our landmark collections is the David Lewis Collection, one of the largest image collection of fungi in the South. David dries the actual mushrooms and sends the specimens to the Field Museum in Chicago and the National Natural History Museum in Paris. This summer I traveled to Paris where I saw their mycology department and David’s actual specimens! I utilize the great education I received at KU every day in my work.” Recent KU graduate Jono Bowles writes, “My time working in Instructional Services in KU Libraries served as the perfect complement to my education in preparing me for my career. The skills that I developed there benefit me every day in the workplace, and my time at the Libraries helped make me a better student and, ultimately, a better job candidate.” Bowles now works for Perceptive Software in Kansas City. Amanda Bailey writes, “I worked at the library’s Conservation Lab during my graduate studies in the Museum Studies program (2006-2008). After leaving KU, I went on to work on contract with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, then spent a short stint in Waco, Texas at the Texas Ranger Museum, and now I find myself at the Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center working as their Collections Registrar. My experiences in the lab have been invaluable in every place I have ended up since. I have a good foundation about the preservation of paper and books.” For more updates from library alumni, visit www.lib.ku.edu/bibliophile. v
FALL 2011 A University of Kansas Libraries publication for friends and benefactors
MAJOR GIFTS
The Anschutz-Budig Award Braden Conrad-Hiebner, at work in Spencer Research Library. Photo by Dylan Derryberry.
Braden Conrad-Hiebner is the inaugural recipient of the G. Baley Price Graduate Fellowship at Kenneth Spencer Research Library. The Price Fellowship provides students with demonstrated interest in scholarly archival research and/or librarianship the opportunity to gain direct experience working with archivists in the Spencer Research Library collections. The fellowship will enable the recipient to engage in hands-on work helping to organize, catalog and preserve the library’s materials and to make them accessible to others. The Price Fellowship was funded by a gift from G. Baley Price to KU Endowment. v
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: OCT. 24-28
KU Celebrates International Open Access Week
NOV. 16
“Saints and Scholars, Poets and Politicians: An Introduction to Kenneth Spencer Research Library’s Irish Collections”
BOSTON, MA
NOV. 29
Grand opening of the Marilyn Stokstad Reading Room at Kenneth Spencer Research Library
For additional details about our fall events, visit www.lib.ku.edu/events.
CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF BIBLIOPHILE? Visit Bibliophile online (www.lib.ku.edu/ bibliophile) for more news and updates, including news from former student employees, our “library alumni.”
KEEP IN TOUCH!
The Anschutz-Budig Award
Questions? Comments? E-mail us at rasmith@ku.edu or send your letter to : Bibliophile 502 Watson Library 1425 Jayhawk Blvd. Lawrence, KS 66045
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1425 Jayhawk Blvd. Lawrence, KS 66045
A new University of Kansas Libraries award, established by two longtime KU Libraries supporters, will honor an outstanding KU librarian each year. The Anschutz Foundation and former KU Chancellor Gene Budig along with his wife, Gretchen, each provided $25,000 to KU Endowment to create the endowed fund. “There are no great universities without superior libraries,” said Gene Budig, who served as KU’s chancellor from 1981 to 1994. “With that belief, Gretchen and I support libraries at KU, and have for years. It is especially important for undergraduate students to learn from the priceless treasures therein. Effective use of a great library opens the doors of opportunity; it assures intellectual
Sarah Goodwin Thiel, digital imaging librarian and first recipient of the new AnschutzBudig Award. Photo by David McKinney, KU University Relations.
growth and access to modern-day opportunities. Phil Anschutz shares our views and commitment, as reflected by this award.” (CONTINUED ON INSIDE FLAP)
Gift establishes world’s largest collection of author Theodore Sturgeon’s materials at Kenneth Spencer Research Library By sarah kanning
A gift valued at more than $600,000 of author Theodore Sturgeon’s books, papers, manuscripts and correspondence has established the definitive collection of his work at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas. Sturgeon (1918-1985) was one of the most influential writers of the “Golden Age” of science fiction, and won virtually every major award in his field, including the Hugo, the Nebula, the World Fantasy Achievement Award, the Gaylactica/Spectrum Award and induction into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Gene Roddenberry credited him with inventing (with Leonard Nimoy) the famous Vulcan phrase, “Live long and prosper,” for the original Star Trek television show. Sturgeon’s papers had been privately held in two parts: the Woodstock collection, from Marion Sturgeon, his widow; and the Sturgeon Literary Trust collection, managed by Trustee Noël Sturgeon, his daughter. The gift was made possible with additional support from KU’s Center for the
Study of Science Fiction (CSSF), the English department and Spencer Research Library. The collection includes the original manuscript of “More Than Human,” Sturgeon’s best-known novel and winner of the International Fantasy Award, and manuscripts of his short stories and screenplays, including Sturgeon’s outline for “Amok Time,” the episode of Star Trek for which he won the Outstanding Achievement Award from the International Society of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy. (CONTINUED ON INSIDE FLAP)
IN THIS ISSUE: • In Memoriam • KU Libraries awarded NEH grant • Team up for Touchdown Challenge 2011 • KU leads national open access efforts • Stansifer gift broadens Latin American collections • Library alumni updates • Braden Conrad-Heibner named first Price Fellow