SPRING 2025
Graham Goetz, a student worker in the book repair unit of the Preservation Department, adheres a book spine. Goetz is a junior studying cinema who enjoys the creative aspects of the job.
Student employees value their time at the Libraries long after leaving campus
All our student employees are an important part of the University of Iowa Libraries’ story, just as we hope to be part of theirs.
In this issue of Bindings, we take a look back on another successful fall semester for the University of Iowa Libraries in providing academic and research support for all disciplines thanks to the efforts of our dedicated staff and student employees.
The new year also brought a new milestone for the Libraries—170 years of service to the campus and community. Over that time, thousands of Libraries student employees have made their mark on campus, and in “For UI Libraries student employees, groundwork for success and epiphanies come with the job” (page 8) several trace the lasting impressions the Libraries had on their own lives.
We hope you enjoy spotlights on two current students, whose on-the-job learning is setting them up for success (page 4); going behind-the-scenes with two of our incredible staff members (page 14); and a look at programming throughout the Libraries during the fall 2024 semester (page 22).
With the Main Library Gallery’s fall 2024 exhibit, Hawkeye Histories | Sporting Stories, we examined the role sports has played at Iowa throughout the changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics (page 18). Now, you can discover how a single poem forever changed the way we look at words by visiting the spring 2025 exhibit, A Roll of the Dice: Symbolism in the Sackner Archive (page 20).
Finally, I’d like to recognize the newest members of our student employee community who received degrees after the fall 2024 semester: Jordan (Jo) Adams, Jessica (Jessi) Beck, Ryan Carter, Carson Hartzog, Olivia Tobin, and Qing Xu. We wish them the best on their new journeys. Just like all our student employees at the Libraries, they are part of the Libraries story, now and forever.
John Culshaw
Jack B. King University Librarian
Student employee spotlights
Izabella Botto and Carson Hartzog
For UI Libraries student employees, groundwork for success and epiphanies come with the job
Student employee alumni trace the Libraries’ impact
Inside the Libraries
Andrea Anderson and Maggie Halterman-Dess
Looking back on Hawkeye Histories | Sporting Stories
A Roll of the Dice: Symbolism in the Sackner Archive
Quick hits
Each of our libraries brought its own personality and programming to the fall 2024 semester
Libraries Advancement Council fall 2024 Meeting
Eichacker-Harper family recipients of the University of Iowa
Family Spirit Award
Together Hawkeyes, together for the University of Iowa Libraries
Izabella Botto is a second-year student in the University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) from Santa Rosa, California. Her role as an advanced student employee is funded by the University Librarian’s Student Employment Fund .
A conversation with Izabella Botto makes one thing immediately clear: Botto is a true believer in the Libraries. In her work with the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Department, the SLIS student has taken on an admirable array of responsibilities, from helping students at the Just Ask desk on the Main Library’s first floor to organizing book displays and working to increase the accessibility of library instruction. For Botto, libraries are a lifelong point of connection.
“I chose the SLIS program at Iowa because libraries have always been a big part of my life,” says Botto. “And as a history student during undergrad, I loved working and studying in the library.”
Botto’s dedication and adaptability have amazed her supervisor, Katie DeVries, a social sciences librarian and SLIS instructor.
“Izabella holds herself to lofty standards,” says DeVries. “She never shies away from learning something new, whether it’s a new research topic or a library work process. Our department can rely on [Botto’s] efforts.”
Botto received a BA from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, and spent a year before graduate school studying visual arts in Florence, Italy. When she returned to Iowa to begin her graduate program, she applied the same adventurous spirit to her studies—and her student employment with the Libraries. She’s
quickly become indispensable to DeVries and her colleagues in HSS, who prize her ability to take on tasks in areas previously unfamiliar to her. That has included stepping in to hold office hours for students in the Nonfiction Writing Program. Botto has applied herself enthusiastically to the role, viewing it as an exciting opportunity to learn on the job. As she takes on more advanced work, Botto has especially come to value the mentorship she’s received from DeVries.
“I’ve loved all my professors, but before this position, I’d never really had a mentor,” Botto says. “[DeVries] has all these great ideas and experiences and has really helped guide my work. It’s been very important to me.”
Botto also was nominated and selected to serve on the Ada M. Stoflet Lectureship Committee, an internal body that works together to select the recipient of Ada M. Stoflet Lectureship. The event brings experts in the field of librarianship to campus to deliver a lecture on a topic of interest to Libraries staff and other professionals
in the field. Botto, the only student employee on the committee, says she looks forward to bringing lecturers to campus to benefit the Hawkeye community.
“I think it’s a really amazing opportunity to sit down and hear what the other people on the committee have to say,” says Botto. “We can bring in lecturers with different areas of specialization who can speak on what’s happening in the field.”
Botto’s inclusion on the committee will make all the difference, according to DeVries. “In small project teams she listens intentionally,” she says. “Her insights improve project outcomes. She is self-motivated and confident, willing to take risks and apply for new opportunities. We feel lucky to have a student employee like her.”
After she graduates in May 2025, Botto hopes to become a liaison librarian, connecting students and faculty with the world of resources academic libraries offer. Along the way, she says she also hopes to take part in initiatives to modernize and improve the field, including digital library exhibitions and the decolonization of archives. She believes her time at the Libraries has prepared her well to do just that.
“I’m excited to be gaining experience working in an R1 institution and hope to continue fostering student research and sharing all the resources that the libraries have to offer,” says Botto. “Iowa has been a wonderful opportunity to explore my interests and prepare me for a future career in academic libraries.”
Carson Hartzog has been working at the Art Library for three years, since she first arrived in Iowa City from Lake Oswego, Oregon.
When she enrolled as a first-year student, Carson Hartzog was already a few years out of high school. She’d tried her hand at college before and ended up withdrawing, an experience that left her feeling somewhat rattled. She wasn’t sure what to expect from her college experience, especially given her status as a nontraditional student.
“There was a lot of fear for me in coming back to school,” says Hartzog. “I was a bit older than the average student and wasn’t sure how well I’d fit into the student culture. The Art Library was one of the first places I connected to on campus.”
Patricia Gimenez, director of the Art Library, and Jim Hall, library assistant, immediately welcomed her into the library’s light-filled floor in Art Building West.
Hartzog’s return to college has been a resounding success. Now in her final semester, the journalism and social work major is an enthusiastic participant in campus life, including serving as opinions editor for The Daily Iowan . Her interests have also taken her into the wider world, from an internship with the Coralville Community Food Pantry to a summer stint with BlueGAP, a National Science Foundation project that uses storytelling to take action against nitrogen pollution. According to Hartzog, the confidence to pursue these opportunities began behind the Art Library gates.
“I think that’s one of the most crucial moments for any college student—finding a space where you can be yourself while also moving beyond what you sometimes think is possible for yourself,” says Hartzog.
Hartzog's experience having Hall as a supervisor has been so positive that in 2023 she joined her fellow student library employees in nominating him for UI Student Supervisor of the Year. Out of 106 nominees, the Pomerantz Career Center selected Hall for the honor.
The appreciation is mutual. Hall praises Hartzog’s “knowledge, experience, reliability, and diligence,” which he says have made her “an integral and vital” member of the Art Library staff.
“Her intelligence, humor, and personality make her a joy to work with and a genuine pleasure to have around,” says Hall.
Though Hartzog is not an artist herself, she says she’s learned a great deal about visual art by osmosis, thanks to friendly library users. She’s also familiarized herself with the Library of Congress classification system, which organizes millions of Libraries resources by subject. One of the things she loves most about the Art Library is its openness to students from all backgrounds and all areas of study.
“Because of the architecture and design that went into Art Building West, students are drawn to it,” says Hartzog. “And I know I’m biased in saying this, but I do think the Art Library is one of the most inclusive spaces on campus. Patricia does an amazing job of curating book displays that represent all of our readers.”
Like many undergraduates, Hartzog is enjoying exploring potential careers. She hasn’t yet pinpointed what comes after graduation, but she knows which values will guide her in the future— and they’re the same ones she’s witnessed in action with her supervisors at the Art Library.
“My end goal in terms of a career is ensuring information is as accessible as possible while also making sure that information reflects as many voices as possible, not just the voices of folks that look like me or share similar experiences,” says Hartzog.
She’s also developed a new litmus test for use in her future career.
“I’m always asking myself: Would I want to work for me? If the answer is no, I know I need to adjust and start asking myself: What would Jim and Patricia do?”
By Natalee Dawson
When the University of Iowa Libraries was established in 1855, its collection consisted of 50 books shelved in a room no larger than a broom closet. Over the past 170 years, the Libraries has developed into its current incarnation: a world-class system with seven campus libraries; a state-of-the-art, highdensity print preservation facility; and a museum-quality exhibition gallery.
Undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines depend on the Libraries for academic and research support—but for the thousands of
student employees throughout the years, one of its most impactful offerings is on-the-job learning that sets them up for success.
Carmela Furio loves the hands-on nature of their job in the Libraries Special Collections and Archives. As new books arrive at the Libraries, Furio handles them with care, recording relevant attributes for future researchers. The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) student works as a library support lead supervised by Jenna Silver, processing coordinator archivist.
“I’m grateful for the unique opportunity to process and accession manuscript collections as a student worker,” says Furio. “Be it World War II-era love letters, science fiction fanzines, or 19th-century ephemera, it's amazing to know the materials I work with will go on to support historical narratives far beyond my time at Iowa.”
When Furio started as a library student employee, they were an undergraduate who had just accepted a place in SLIS after applying during their fourth year at Iowa. Already a frequent user of the Libraries, Furio was drawn to the field of library and information science because of its connection to some of their most deeply held values, including open access and community heritage. But before starting the program, Furio wanted to gain familiarity with the libraries they loved from a new perspective: that of an employee.
“It was actually a big worry of mine, not having enough experience before I started my program,” says Furio. “But Special Collections became this wonderful confirmation that library work was for me.”
Furio is one of about 135 students who are employed by the Libraries during any given semester. These student workers fill a variety of roles, and they’re essential to the daily operations of all seven libraries.
“From the Main Library Service Desk to the Annex, our student workers help the Libraries excel as learning environments and community-building spaces,” says John Culshaw, Jack B. King university librarian. “We do all we can—through scholarships, mentorship, and other support—to ensure that they get just as much out of the Libraries as they give.”
The data shows that student library workers feel that support. In fall 2024,
continued on page 10
half of Libraries student employees were returning to roles they’d had the previous semester, and it’s common for students to continue working for the Libraries throughout their time at the university.
Upon graduation, student library workers also receive their diplomas while wearing Hawkeye old gold honor cords that set them apart as alumni of the Libraries. For many, like Dr. Lisa Kreber (BS ’99), it’s a designation they carry with pride long after they graduate. Kreber is a neuroscientist and multisite director of neurology at the Brain and Spine Institute within Adventist Health in Bakersfield, California. For 25 years, she has dedicated her career to improving results for patients recovering from brain injuries.
“All these years later, I often still think about the job I had working in the Libraries and how that shaped my life,” says Kreber. “It was quite the experience.”
Kreber sought a position in the former Biology Library (which has since been merged into the Sciences Library) immediately upon enrolling at Iowa. At the time, she felt confident about where her path would lead: to medical school, then on to a career as a neurosurgeon or neurologist. Instead, the job offered her something even more precious, revealing new possibilities when her certitude wavered.
All these years later, I often still think about working in the Libraries and how that shaped quite the experience.
“As I took classes, I realized I didn’t like biology as much as I loved psychology and neuroscience,” says Kreber. “My experience in the Biology Library interacting with professors gave me the courage to approach one of my psychology professors, Dr. Mark Blumberg, about becoming a student researcher in his lab.”
Kreber started working with Blumberg while continuing her role at the Libraries. From there, a path began to unfurl before her, including earning a PhD in psychology and neuroscience from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
“I’m not sure I would have decided to pursue a PhD had it not been for my experiences in the Biology Library,” Kreber says. “The conversations I had there influenced me, and I developed a passion for research.”
Kreber is not the only alum whose job in the Libraries led to a calling. James Fitzmaurice,
the job I had my life. It was
emeritus professor of English at Northern Arizona University and now an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield (U.K.), began working at the Art Library in 1967 while pursuing a PhD in English.
Without a visual arts background, Fitzmaurice was initially nervous that he wouldn’t know enough to help students at the Art Library. But through daily interactions with faculty and students, Fitzmaurice became interested in the intersections of art and literature.
Eventually, the visual arts found their way into his dissertation, which focused on 18th-century emblem books. His research took him deeper into Special Collections and Archives, where he handled volumes whose illustrated contents would become the core of his academic career.
To this day, Fitzmaurice looks back with extreme gratitude at the encouragement he received from
continued on page 12
his supervisor at the time, art librarian Harlan Sifford.
“[Sifford] said, ‘Well, if you're checking in a book and it looks interesting, if there's no one around, you should just read it,’” says Fitzmaurice.
“Because of that, the visual arts have been extremely important in my understanding of literature throughout my career.”
Kreber, too, remembers the names of her supervisors and the lessons they imparted.
“I strive to be a boss like Bob [Lane] and Jeff [Dodd] were to me,” she says. “Supportive, compassionate, and always willing to roll up my sleeves to help my team.”
These meaningful supervisory relationships are crucial in setting employment at the
...the visual arts have been extremely important in my understanding of literature throughout my career.
Libraries apart from the more than 7,000 other roles for students on campus. And they’re among the threads that bind generations of the Libraries’ student workers—no matter what else changes at the university or in the field of librarianship.
The Art Library’s Jim Hall, library assistant, takes that legacy seriously. In 2023, the students he supervised expressed their gratitude by nominating him for UI Student Supervisor of the Year. The Pomerantz
Career Center selected Hall for the award from a field of 106 nominees.
According to Hall, acting as an effective supervisor and mentor requires two central values: patience and encouragement.
“I try to impress upon student employees that we appreciate them,” says Hall. “Patricia [Gimenez, director of the Art Library] and I want them to know how important they are to the operation of the library, without laying on any additional pressure. It’s really not possible to be too patient.”
And that supportive philosophy clearly resonates with students. Hall's nominators wrote that his mentorship provides the knowledge they need for problem solving and he constantly prioritizes their mental health in the workplace.
When student employees eventually move into the wider world—as Kreber, Fitzmaurice, along with Hall’s students have—the impact of the Libraries echoes far beyond campus. That’s why Culshaw has expanded opportunities for students to receive the kind of advanced training and scholarship support that have benefited student library workers through the decades.
an important part of the Libraries’ story, just as we hope to be part of theirs.”
Whatever happens, the priorities that will define the Libraries’ next chapter are clear, including support for students like Furio, whose time in Special Collections and Archives has affirmed more than their choice of career.
“I’ve gained so many mentors working here, and for the first time ever I can really see a path ahead where I’m happy and feel like myself,” says Furio.
To learn more about how you can support Libraries’ student employees, including advanced students such as Furio, contact paula.wiley@foriowa.org.
“Our student workers remain a part of our community all their lives,” says Culshaw, who started his own career with a job at his undergraduate institution’s library. “They are Did your time as a Libraries student worker positively impact your life? Please share your thoughts with us at lib-communication@uiowa.edu for inclusion in a future Bindings .
Inside the University of Iowa Libraries is your look behind-the-scenes to meet the people and discover the stories making our organization unique and valuable. From cutting-edge databases to rare books, join us to explore a world of research, preservation, and discovery that fosters student success through countless touchpoints.
For many students, Andrea Anderson is the first touchpoint with the University of Iowa Libraries and becomes their personal guide to the vast resources available at its seven branches and beyond. From teaching classes to providing support at the Just Ask Desk in the Main Library, Anderson helps students develop important research skills and fosters a sense of curiosity about the information around them. She sees herself as a friendly expert who can bridge the gap between students and the research expectations of their instructors.
Anderson joined the Libraries in the fall of 2023 as an undergraduate engagement librarian, after serving seven years at California State University,
Bakersfield (CSUB) as a library instruction coordinator. She graduated from CSUB with a Bachelor of Arts in history and earned a Master of Library Information Science from San Jose State University.
Now, Anderson’s work goes beyond teaching library and research skills that help students navigate their academic work. She collaborates with colleagues to engage students in a variety of resources and experiences that support holistic student success while they are on campus and in the libraries. Embracing the lasting impact of her work, Anderson approaches her time with students as an opportunity to encourage lifelong learning.
When does your job feel most rewarding?
It’s always rewarding to hear from students that something I showed them helped make their academic life a little easier. Sometimes it’s at the Just Ask Desk. Students are surprised by the resources that are so quickly available. Sometimes it’s a faculty member mentioning that students found a workshop helpful. And sometimes it’s a student who just needed to talk their way through an assignment and hear someone tell them they were on the right track. We don’t always get feedback from the help we provide or see the impact it all eventually makes. So, it can be really rewarding to hear back from some of the people we’ve helped along the way.
Q: What is an academic library to you ?
To me, an academic library is the heart of an academic community. It includes our resources, but, just as important, it holds our people and their differing ideas and experiences. It’s both a space to just be and it’s also a place where curiosity leads to new knowledge and understanding of people and the world around us.
Q: What activities do you enjoy outside of work ?
In the spare time I don’t have, I enjoy adding miles to my minivan by driving my four children around to their activities/sports, going on long walks around my neighborhood and commenting on my neighbors' lawns, and attempting to resuscitate all the plants in my yard.
Q: What might colleagues or students find surprising about you ?
I am currently teaching a first-year seminar on celebrity memoirs. I love memoirs in general but have recently enjoyed diving into this celebrity memoir boom. It’s been interesting sharing different excerpts and seeing themes and experiences that resonate with our students even though most tend to be leading far different lives. So far, my favorite celebrity memoir is Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime
To find support from Anderson and other librarians, visit the Just Ask Desk in the Main Library or the Contact a Librarian webpage .
Being forklift certified is not typically a part of a librarian’s job requirements, but Maggie Halterman-Dess operates one daily to reach shelves up to 22 feet high at the University of Iowa Libraries Annex. The unique skill allows HaltermanDess and her team to be the connection to more than 2.1 million items in storage at the Annex, which the campus community and beyond can request for delivery to the seven library locations and to offices on campus.
Halterman-Dess has served as the Annex coordinator since 2017, managing the only off-site high-density library storage facility in the state of Iowa. It’s a temperature-controlled environment that can hold up to 4.8 million items.
In her role, she provides circulation and interlibrary loan services to patrons, supervises the Annex staff, coordinates collection storage in the stacks warehouse, and processes materials moved from campus libraries. She also collaborates with Special Collections and Archives and Conservation and Collections Care staff to ensure safe storage and housing environments for a variety of physical content
formats, including 16mm film, archival collections, microfilm, microfiche, books, and software.
A proud UI School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) alumna, Halterman-Dess is active in the Iowa Library Association and the Iowa Association of College and Research Libraries chapter. In September 2024, Halterman-Dess also started a temporary assignment serving as the supervisor for the Main Library’s Interlibrary Loan and Document Services, splitting her work time between the two locations.
Speaking of the Main Library, Halterman-Dess had a big and very special life event take place on the fourth floor. We propose that you read Halterman-Dess’s Q&A below to find the full story.
How does your work support student success?
My role is largely “backstage” or “behind the scenes,” but it directly impacts how our students and campus community experience the Libraries. If we are doing our work right, resources just seem to magically appear on the hold shelf or
are delivered via e-mail. Sometimes this involves more than a little bit of detective work on our end! That could be either trying to correct a citation, or merely figuring out why the catalog won’t allow a request to be put through.
Since my position and job duties are fairly unusual, I am always happy to speak with SLIS classes or have them visit us for a tour. It can be very difficult to get your head around the way materials are shelved at the Annex, or the sheer scale of both the collections and the facility! I never imagined doing this when I was in graduate school. So I really value exposing students to a different way to “library.” I might not inspire a burning love of collections storage, but I hope to get them imagining more expansively what working in the library field might include.
Q: What might someone find surprising about your work?
I know it’s a clichéd joke that nobody goes to library school and learns to troubleshoot printers, but I have learned a ton about environmental engineering and HVAC systems in my work, as well as getting forklift certified.
Q: How did you find your way to the libary?
I was taking a health-related leave of absence from finishing my undergraduate degree here at Iowa and met someone working as a media specialist (though not a teacher librarian) in a middle school and thought, “Hey, I could do that!’”
Cue copious research and applying to library school. During my time in SLIS, I taught information literacy and worked in the Iowa Women’s Archives. Then, I bounced in and out of the Libraries due to life circumstances for a bit before landing out at the Annex.
Q: What advice would you have for those just embarking on their own careers?
My dad told me when I was in undergrad not to get too stuck on one path. He had five different majors and, at the time of this conversation, he really enjoyed what he had ended up working on. However, when he had first joined his company, that kind of role didn’t exist. Technology had changed just that much in just the dozen or so years in between. So, given that advice and my own unusual experience, I would advise keeping an open mind, staying curious, and being aware that the world is going to change a lot over the course of your working life.
Q: What might colleagues or students find surprising about you?
I often speak about my strong family connections to the university. My parents are alumni who met back when Currier Hall had a cafeteria for their mutual friends to hang out in, and my two siblings and I hold five degrees from Iowa between us. But something I don’t think I’ve mentioned much publicly is that my spouse proposed to me on the fourth floor of the Main Library in the “PL” section.
To request materials from the Annex, search for them on InfoHawk+.
From Nile Kinnick to Caitlin Clark and Duke Slater to Christine Grant, Hawkeyes have been breaking records, navigating barriers, and making sports history since the University of Iowa’s first teams emerged in the late 1800s.
The Main Library Gallery’s fall 2024 exhibition, Hawkeye Histories | Sporting Stories, examined the role sports has played at Iowa throughout the changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics. That included exploring Iowa’s first men’s and women’s teams at the turn of the 20th century, the emergence of big-time men’s sports in the mid-1900s, and the rise of women athletes from the 1970s onward.
The exhibition was curated by Dr. Jennifer Sterling, lecturer in sport media and culture
within the Department of American Studies and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, who refreshed visitors’ understanding of sports history by placing Iowa’s sporting milestones in their historic and cultural contexts. Each generation of Hawkeye student-athletes and coaches has moved the starting line forward for those who came after them. In many cases, that meant breaking down barriers to social progress on and off the field.
This is the Board in Control of Athletics Handbook for the University of Iowa, then known as the State University of Iowa, from 1915. As the popularity of collegiate athletics began to increase at the turn of the century, so did the number of regulations designed to standardize fair play. Handbook, 1915. Board in Control of Athletics Records [RG28.0003.005], University Archives.
Long before Title IX began to address inequality in university athletics, members of women’s teams were already at work documenting their own stories. Women’s club sports like fencing had particularly comprehensive scrapbooks, which Sterling says has helped to keep their memories alive.
Department of Physical Education for Women Records [IWA0106], Iowa Women’s Archives.
One of the loaned items for this exhibition was a piece of recent sporting history: Samantha Cary’s Racing Louisville soccer jersey. In January 2024, Cary became the first Hawkeye to be drafted to the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), joining Racing Louisville before moving to a top Swedish soccer club.
A pair of table tents dating to the 1920s were used at a women’s basketball dinner to mark seats for accomplished student-athletes Pauline Spencer and Julia Darrow. The tents, which belong to the C. Pauline Spencer papers within Iowa Women’s Archives, are lettered and illustrated by hand.
[IWA 0627]
One of Sterling’s favorite loaned items in the exhibition is headgear worn during the women’s wrestling team’s record-breaking 2023–24 season. While choosing objects to showcase for display, Sterling noted the real time history-making of Hawkeye athletes and coaches and wanted to highlight this important new sport at Iowa.
Did you know a single poem forever changed the way we look at words? In 1897, French Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé revolutionized the world of graphic design with the poem “Un coup de dés jamais n'abolira le hasard” [A throw of the dice will never abolish chance]. Mallarmé’s work illustrated how text conveys meaning not only through words, but also as visual symbols that contain a deeper message—and for more than 125 years, artists and writers have continued to explore the mystery of the poem.
The spring 2025 Main Library Gallery exhibit, A Roll of the Dice: Symbolism in the Sackner Archive, highlights the influence of Mallarmé’s poem on modern visual artists and writers while helping newcomers make sense of concrete and visual poetry.
The exhibit constructs a timeline of works that illustrate the poem’s influence on the 20thand 21st-century Avant-Garde art movements featuring art, books, and ephemera from the world-renowned Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry at the University of Iowa Libraries.
“The Sackners understood that this poem was a key to the development of visual poetry, and an influence on so many aspects of our modern visual vocabulary,” says exhibition curator and Sackner Archive Project Coordinator Librarian Rich Dana. “Even the design of text into internet memes in some way traces back to ‘Un coup.’”
The Sackners understood that this poem was a key to the development of visual poetry, and an influence on so many aspects of our modern visual vocabulary.
A Roll of the Dice: Symbolism in the Sackner Archive is free and open to all until June 27, 2025. Learn more about the exhibit and upcoming events at lib.uiowa.edu/gallery.
In October 2024, the University of Iowa Bibliophiles presented “Out of the Dark Archives: Books Bound in Human Skin and the New Science of Old Books” featuring Megan Rosenbloom.
Rosenbloom, collection strategies librarian at UCLA Library and team leader of the Anthropodermic Book Project, discussed her debut bestselling book, Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation in the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin .
Bibliophiles is a group for book lovers and enthusiasts of all kinds that hosts two events a year to talk about an aspect of book collecting, book history, book making, and more.
Watch the fall 2024 Bibliophiles event featuring Megan Rosenbloom on the Special Collections and Archives YouTube channel.
Students at the Main Library have leveled up their study game thanks to a number of new moveable charging stations and desk clamp power strips, courtesy of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG). The Libraries are always seeking to be a more comfortable space for students to focus, learn, and grow. We’re grateful to USG for its support, helping expand access for students at the central hub of campus. We are proud to be a campus go-to study spot!
The Lichtenberger Engineering Library hosted the annual Capture Your Research photo competition where students, faculty, and staff submit one image that captures the essence of their research. They are judged on originality and creativity, appeal of the image, relationship between the image and their research, and the clarity of the written description.
From algae and yeast to prairies and reservoirs, photos cover a broad range of research topics. This competition draws people from across campus and gives researchers at all stages an artistic way to share their work. This year, 25 entries were displayed and 12 winners were awarded at a reception and awards ceremony in November 2024.
Every fall semester, the Sciences Library partners with the Pentacrest Museums, Facilities Management, and liveWELL to host the Fall Tree Tour
This year, participants enjoyed a beautiful October afternoon outdoors. Beginning with presentations at the Sciences Library and ending with a stroll guided by Campus Arborist Andy Dahl, university and community members enjoyed learning about the ecological diversity, symbolism, history, and lore of campus trees. It’s the perfect time of year to enjoy the beauty of peak foliage and learn more about the natural environment.
Janna Lawrence retired as the director of the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences in November 2024. She was a cornerstone of Hardin Library for 17-and-a half-years, serving the last five years in the top leadership role as the director of Hardin with unparalleled dedication and vision for the organization.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Janna for her years of service and wish her all the best in her retirement. Learn more about her tenure at Hardin Library online.
A national search for a new director will commence in the spring of 2025.
Conservation and Collections Care hosted Renate Mesmer, head of conservation and preservation at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., as part of its William Anthony Conservation Lecture Series in October 2024. Mesmer taught a bookbinding workshop and delivered a lecture during her time at the University of Iowa Libraries.
The William Anthony Conservation Lecture Series invites book and paper conservators and bookbinders to share their experience with the university book arts community and beyond. Funded by a generous gift that established the William Anthony Endowment in 1989, it honors the Libraries’ first conservator and the first bookbinding instructor at UI Center for the Book.
Learn more about the William Anthony Conservation Lecture Series online.
The University of Iowa Libraries Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio (DSPS) launched Health Story Hub in August 2024. It’s an open access website that offers a searchable database of stories about health, illness, and healing for teachers to use in classrooms, community groups, and clinics.
Learn more about the collaborative project funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Humanities Initiatives grant online.
Is adding collaborators or guest performers to a Hawkeye Marching Band (HMB) halftime show one step too far? Absolutely not! In fall 2024, Katie Buehner, director of the Rita Benton Music Library, highlighted pre-game and half-time shows when the HMB has invited outside artists to join them in Kinnick Stadium to make the walls and rafters ring extra loudly using materials from the HMB Records.
Learn more about the collaborative streak in the HMB’s DNA online.
LAC members experienced a behind-thescenes look at the Libraries Annex from Maggie Halterman-Dess, Annex coordinator.
They also experienced a Special Collections and Archives Halloween pop-up exhibit in the Main Library Learning Commons.
The group had a busy agenda, which included a tour of the Marvin Pomerantz Business Library from Kim Bloedel, director of the library located in Biz Hub at the Tippie College of Business.
We were thrilled to host the University of Iowa Libraries Advancement Council (LAC) on campus Nov. 29–31, 2024.
Barbara McFadden, an LAC member and Stanley Museum of Art docent, guided the group on a wonderful tour, which included the exhibit
To My Friends at Horn: Keith Haring and Iowa City
Left to right, first row: Amy Sullivan; Paula Wiley, associate director of development, Libraries; Jane Roth; Linda “Lin” Phillips, vice-chair; LeAnn Lemberger; Sharon Tinker; Barbara McFadden; and Beth Stence. Left to right, second row: Aaron Schaefer; Christie Krugler, chair; Jack B. King University Librarian John Culshaw; Virginia Eichacker; and Tom Rocklin.
Sara Pinkham, exhibition and engagement coordinator, provided a tour of the Main Library Gallery exhibit, Hawkeye Histories | Sporting Stories
The LAC actively champions the Libraries and provides guidance and feedback to help UI Center for Advancement efforts to increase support through fundraising, advocacy, and engagement. Members bring a variety of backgrounds and experiences that enrich and broaden the Libraries’ efforts in supporting student success, high-impact research, and creative work.
The LAC’s next meeting is scheduled for April 2025.
The Eichacker-Harper family has been making Iowa history for five generations. Now, the family has been recognized with the well-deserved University of Iowa Family Spirit Award for their longstanding contributions to the university.
The Libraries is fortunate to work closely with Virginia Eichacker (BS ’87, JD ’92), who is a member of the Libraries Advancement Council (LAC). Her parents, Lois and George, as well as her brother, sister, and aunt, also earned degrees from Iowa—and the Libraries are proud to hold the Lois Eichacker Papers in the Iowa Women’s Archives (IWA).
The Family Spirit Award recognizes a family— spanning at least three generations of UI graduates—that has substantially benefited from and continues to advocate for the university, as
well as contributes toward bettering the state of Iowa and its communities.
The family’s story is a testament to their community-minded outlook. In 1994, Lois was the first African American president of the UI Alumni Association’s Board of Directors. Lois’ sister and her daughter Virginia’s namesake, Virginia Harper, was one of the first five students to integrate Currier Residence Hall in 1946, where a mural now commemorates their achievements at the university and beyond.
The Eichacker-Harper family was honored at the Iowa football game on Sept. 14, 2024.
Read more about the Eichacker-Harper family and the University of Iowa Family Spirit Award online.
[1] More than 20 members of the Eichacker-Harper family gathered on campus prior to receiving their UI Family Spirit Award. [2] Janet Weaver, curator of the Iowa Women’s Archives, visits with Julie FlackEichacker, Milton Eichacker, Virginia Eichacker, and Lois Eichacker Jr. [3] Virginia Eichacker serves on the Libraries Advancement Council
It’s been another wonderful fall traveling across the state and country to highlight the vital resources, space, and services the University of Iowa Libraries provide to support students, faculty, and staff.
The UI Center for Advancement’s Together Hawkeyes campaign is in full swing and the university is on track to meet its historic goals of engaging with 300,000 alumni and friends in three million points of connection while raising $3 billion.
We are now over the 60% mark for the timeline of the campaign, and at this stage the Libraries has already reached nearly 90% of its fundraising goal. This is a phenomenal achievement, and we are confident that with your support we will reach 100% of our goals for both fundraising and engagement by the end of the campaign.
Please save the date for Wednesday, March 26, 2025. It’s One Day for Iowa , the university’s 24-hour online giving day. More information about the Libraries’ focus will be shared closer to the event.
Thank you for all you do for the Libraries!
If you’d like to know more about how you can support the Libraries, please feel free to reach out to Paula Wiley at paula.wiley@foriowa.org
Although they are missed after graduating in December 2024, the following six student employees have left their mark. Student employment not only provides students with an opportunity to grow and learn key professional skills, but it also brings a fresh perspective to Libraries staff with new ideas and a close connection to the students they serve.
Bachelor of Arts in art history and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in art
Art Library
Master of Library and Information Science Main Library
Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communication and a minor in social work
Art Library
Bachelor of Arts in music education and a Bachelor of Music in music performance Rita Benton Music Library
Bachelor of Science in mathematics with minors in physics and English Main Library
Master of Library and Information Science Lichtenberger Engineering Library
Bindings has been the official magazine of the University of Iowa Libraries since its first issue in fall 1997.
ADMINISTRATION
John Culshaw
Jack B. King University Librarian john-culshaw@uiowa.edu
Paul Soderdahl
Associate University Librarian paul-soderdahl@uiowa.edu
Jade E. Davis
Associate University Librarian jade-davis@uiowa.edu
Anne Bassett
Senior Director of Strategic Communications and External Relations anne-bassett@uiowa.edu
ART DIRECTOR AND DESIGNER
Lauren Coghlan
Creative Coordinator
CONTRIBUTORS
Anne Bassett
Natalee Dawson
Krista Hershberger
Sara Pinkham
Connor Hood
ADVANCEMENT
Paula Wiley
Associate Director of Development, Libraries paula.wiley@foriowa.org
Ali Sauer
Advancement Program Coordinator ali.sauer@foriowa.org
The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences. The university also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to university facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact the Senior Director, Office of Civil Rights Compliance, the University of Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242-1316, 319-335-0705, daod-ocrc@uiowa.edu.
Top to bottom, left to right:
[1] Two student employees looking for helpful information using a card catalogue in the 2000s. [2] Carmela Furio, current student employee in Special Collections and Archives, processes materials found in the David Cole Papers (Msc1260). [3] Lisa Kreber (BS ’99) during her time on campus when she worked at the then-named Biology Library (above). [4] Graham Goetz, a student employee in the book repair unit of the Preservation Department, adheres a book spine in spring 2001. [5] Jessica “Jessi”
Beck spends time at the Main Library Service Desk before earning her Master in Library and Information Science in December 2024.
University of Iowa Main Library
125 W. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 52242
The Arthur and Miriam Canter Rare Book Room
Rita Benton Music Library
Voxman Music Building, first floor
The Iowa Women’s Archives
Main Library, third floor
The John Martin Rare Book Room
Hardin Library, fourth floor
The Main Library Gallery
Main Library, first floor
Special Collections and Archives
Main Library, third floor
Learn more and check hours at lib.uiowa.edu
Thank you for helping to boost our students’ success through the Libraries!
GIVE TO THE LIBRARIES givetoiowa.org/libraries