Exhibits
Advancing Accessibility: A Timeline
2 West
December 08, 2023 – April 30, 2024
Approximately 1.3 billion, or one in six, people experience disability worldwide (World Health Organization). Despite this high prevalence, people with disabilities have been oppressed and treated unequally and unfairly by ableist societies and systems since the beginning of history. There have, however, been many accessibility advancements and improvements, especially in technology and physical spaces, throughout time; some of which are highlighted in our exhibit.
Healing Waters of Bath
May 02, 2023
Bath U.K.’s famous geothermal hot springs have attracted people since prehistoric times. From the 17th century, people claimed the water had curative properties if one drank or bathed in it. Bath became a popular spa town, a place to live in and vacation at, to see and to be seen.
Footpath to Freeway: The Evolution of Michigan Road Maps
May 02, 2023
A systematic review of the maps contained in Clason State Road Maps, touring atlases, and Green Guides reveal that the road legends and other map symbols varied over the years in systematic ways.
Michigan Writers
May 02, 2023
The Michigan Writers Collection, located in Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections, is devoted to collecting and making accessible all the manuscripts and published works of selected writers with important ties to Michigan. The Michigan Writers Series recognizes and highlights the literary work of important writers who live and work in Michigan.
Defoe and the Plague in London
May 02, 2023
Daniel Defoe, 1660?-1731, was a London businessman, journalist, political pamphleteer, spy, and proponent of the novel as a literary genre. As the Second Plague Pandemic approached London in the early 1720’s, Defoe published Journal of the Plague Year and Due Preparations for the Plague to teach people about the experiences English people had had in the plague of 1664-1665.
Clason Road Map & Atlas Site
May 02, 2023
A systematic review of the maps contained in Clason State Road Maps, touring atlases, and Green Guides reveal that the road legends and other map symbols varied over the years in systematic ways.
Telling Family Stories
May 02, 2023
This exhibit features American Jewish cookbooks and schoolbooks from MSU Libraries’ Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections. American Jews, in their children's books and cookbooks, demonstrated the importance of religion and gender in their families, and asserted themselves as both American and international/multilingual.
Women and Botany in 18th and Early 19th‑Century England
May 02, 2023
In the Enlightenment, learning about science became part of general, polite culture. Many authors wrote books for young children, women, or girls to introduce them to the new scientific discoveries about plants.
Catalogue of Rare Veterinary Books & Allied Subjects in Allied Husbandry in the Michigan State University Library
May 02, 2023
This catalogue has been compiled to illustrate the extent of the Veterinary Medicine Historical Collection housed in the Special Collections Division of the Michigan State University Library. While this catalogue is by no means exhaustive of the subject, it should be a guide and a finding list for librarians, book dealers, collectors, veterinary faculty, and students.
Botanical Art & Illustration Through the Ages
May 02, 2023
This exhibit showcases the 150-year history and legacies of W.J. Beal’s garden’s influences with artifacts from Special Collections, Univ. Archives, and the W.J. Beal Dept. Utilized by the MSU community and visitors, the original intent of Beal’s pioneering garden has remained consistent – it’s a place to learn, a place to experiment, a place to sow, and a place to grow.