The latest exhibition in the Main Gallery of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library takes an alphabetical approach to UVA Library’s collections. “The ABCs of the UVA Library,” curated by UVA Library staff members, displays approximately 200 Library items grouped into 48 topics. Each topic corresponds to a letter of the alphabet, ranging from architecture (A) to zines (Z).
“This exhibition showcases the rich and assorted collections of the University of Virginia Library, highlighting the Library staff who make those materials discoverable and accessible,” said Holly Robertson, Curator of University Library Exhibitions, who organized “ABCs” along with Exhibitions Coordinator Jacquelyn Kim. Nearly 50 Library staff members served as curators, and the exhibition itself is just as wide-ranging, with display locations not only in the Special Collections gallery but also in Shannon, Clemons, Fine Arts, and Brown libraries as well.
University Librarian Leo S. Lo (center, with name badge) stands with some of the curators of “The ABCs of the UVA Library” exhibition. (Photo courtesy Holly Robertson)
“The ABCs of the UVA Library” was also conceived as a way to give Leo S. Lo, the new Dean of Libraries and University Librarian, an overview of the Library’s collections. Lo’s tenure began two days before the exhibition opened. “What an extraordinary welcome gift!” Lo said. “I am deeply impressed by the scope of our collections and, even more, by the creativity and collaboration. The concept is playful and imaginative, the execution is stunning. I am telling everyone about it.”
C is for Clemons, though it would equally stand for correspondence or China. Curator Veronica Fu, the East Asian Collections Librarian, selected a series of letters between Harry Clemons, who was the 10th University Librarian, and a former student of his in China. Clemons was an English professor and a librarian at the University of Nanking from 1913 until 1927, when he began working at UVA.
For the exhibition, Veronica Fu (center), the East Asian Collections Librarian, curated a series of letters between Harry Clemons, who was the 10th University Librarian, and Kwan-Tsing Wu (吴光清), a former student of his in China. (Photo by Jeff Hill, UVA Library Communications)
In the letters on display, Clemons helps the former student find scholarship opportunities to go to library school in the United States.
In August 1939, Wu (first from left), his wife, and two friends visited Harry Clemons (center), then University Librarian at the University of Virginia. The photo was taken in front of Alderman Library — now renamed Shannon Library — in Charlottesville. (Papers of the University Librarian [RG-12/1/1.671])
“I would say that the student became a pioneer of library science. He comes to the United States to study library science, then goes back to China, then returns to the United States to work in the Library of Congress,” Fu said.
A close-up view of letter from Kwan-Tsing Wu to Harry Clemons. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
UVA has more than 100 letters between Clemons and his former students, demonstrating his commitment to their success.
