Collections & Exhibits - The University of Chicago Library

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Exhibit Thumbnail	Title	Locations	Subjects
Exhibits
	The Berlin Collection Showcasing the collection of nearly 100,000 books and manuscripts purchased by William Rainey Harper in Berlin in 1891, which became the core of the University of Chicago Library's holdings and have had an abiding influence on the course of scholarly investigation at the University.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center Jan. 1 — Dec. 31, 1979 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago Library
	A Bold Experiment: The Origins of the Sciences at the University of Chicago In celebration of the 125th anniversary of the University of Chicago's founding, this exhibit looks back at the establishment of the natural sciences at the University.	Locations Crerar Library, 1st Floor: Other Spaces Sept. 21 — March 31, 2016 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago History of Science
	Building for a Long Future: The University of Chicago and Its Donors, 1889-1930 This exhibition explores the motivations and purposes of the varied group of donors who supported the University of Chicago from the time of its founding in the late 1880s to the conclusion of the extensive campus building campaign of the late 1920s and early 1930s.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center May 1 — Dec. 31, 2001 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago
	Chicago Celebrates Darwin The John Crerar Library presents Chicago Celebrates Darwin, an exhibit which revisits the Darwin Centennial Celebration hosted by the University in 1959. We look back at the original letters, pictures, and documents from that conference to get a sense of the atmosphere and the importance of the events, including the effect of Darwin’s theories on the research and popular opinion of the day.	Locations Crerar Library, 1st Floor: Other Spaces Oct. 19 — March 26, 2010 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago Ecology & Evolution Organismal Biology Biological Sciences Chicago and Illinois
	Closeted/OUT in the Quadrangles: A History of LGBTQ Life at the University of Chicago Historical view of LGBT faculty, student, and staff life at the University of Chicago.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center March 30 — June 12, 2015 View web exhibit >>	Subjects LGBTQIA Studies University of Chicago
	Discovering the Beauty and Charm of the Wilderness: Chicago Connections to the National Park Service The National Park Service offers a rich variety of landforms, flora, and fauna that have been the subject of many University of Chicago scientific studies. The parks have also served as inspiration for art, photography and literature. To mark the National Park Service’s 100-year anniversary, we delve into the Library’s archives and rare collections to uncover Chicago connections to the parks.	Locations Crerar Library, 1st Floor: Other Spaces Oct. 31 — Dec. 31, 2016 View web exhibit >>	Subjects Organismal Biology American History University of Chicago Environmental Science
	Dog Fight: The Animal Experimentation Debate in Twentieth-Century Chicago What should be done with unclaimed pound dogs? This question inspired fierce debates in Chicago, where an unusual city ordinance in 1931 granted scientists at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and other local medical schools access to stray dogs for experimental purposes. This exhibition explores both sides of that controversy and shows how it continues to shape the ways we discuss biomedical ethics and scientific progress.	May 8 — Sept. 1, 2023 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago Chicago and Illinois History of Science History
	Expanding Sources: Recent Additions to Special Collections As academic fields expand and diversify, Special Collections is building collections to support these new directions. Researchers are drawing on original materials in many areas including race and gender, cinema and media, graphic design, arts practice, and cross-cultural global studies. This exhibition displays recent acquisitions with research potential for a range of disciplines. The materials represent many formats, including children’s books, family letters, journals, fine book design, posters, research notes, clothing, board games, and printed ephemera.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center Jan. 6 — April 24, 2020 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago Library Chicago and Illinois University of Chicago
	Ghosts of the Past: Early Students at the University of Chicago This web exhibit explores the experiences of early University of Chicago students through letters, scrapbooks, photographs, and other papers from the students' papers in the University Archives.	View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago
	I Step Out of Myself: Portrait Photography in Special Collections An exhibition of portrait photography collections in the University Archives.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center Jan. 12 — March 20, 2015 View web exhibit >>	Subjects Art Photography University of Chicago
	Integrating the Life of the Mind: African Americans at the University of Chicago, 1870-1940 This exhibit presents original manuscripts, rarely seen portraits and photographs, African American publications, books by African American graduates of the University of Chicago, and other documents that trace the interlocking strands of academic and gradual social integration through the mid-twentieth century.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center Sept. 1 — Feb. 28, 2009 View web exhibit >>	Subjects African-American Studies University of Chicago
	Mapping the University of Chicago This exhibit features interactive mapping applications, information on the University's history, and archived maps and resources to find more information.	July 15 — March 31, 2021 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago Maps
	On Equal Terms: Educating Women at the University of Chicago Since the University welcomed its first students in the fall of 1892, women have had very different stories to tell about the experiments in co-education and faculty diversification; the experience of the classroom, the laboratory, the dorm, and the streets of Hyde Park; the issues of mentorship, intellectual community, and career advancement; and the opportunities for political action and community involvement, for friendship, romance, and sexual experimentation.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center March 1 — July 31, 2009 View web exhibit >>	Subjects Women's Studies University of Chicago Library
	Past, Present, Future: the Evolution of Medicine at the University of Chicago's Hospitals This exhibit provides an overview of the history and evolution of the medical school program, the hospital facilities and their technology, and medical partnerships with other Chicago area hospitals.	Locations Crerar Library, 1st Floor: Other Spaces Oct. 15 — March 30, 2012 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago Medicine
	Paul B. Moses: Trailblazing Art Historian The extraordinary life of the art historian Paul B. Moses (1929–1966) was one defined by barriers overcome. Through his writings, photographs, video clips, personal correspondence, ephemera, and original art, the exhibition tells the story of his journey from Ardmore, Pennsylvania and Haverford College, where he was the first African-American student ever admitted, to the University of Chicago, where he distinguished himself through innovative teaching and scholarship until his untimely death.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center Sept. 12 — Dec. 16, 2022 View web exhibit >>	Subjects Chicago and Illinois University of Chicago History Art
	The Presidents of the University of Chicago: A Centennial View This exhibition, the fourth in a series marking the Centennial of the University of Chicago, examines the distinctive contributions of each of the ten chief executives of the university over the past century.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center Oct. 1 — Feb. 1, 1993 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago
	Science and Conscience: Chicago's Met Lab and the Manhattan Project Based on archives and manuscripts in the Special Collections Research Center, Science and Conscience presents unique historical documents and artifacts, many not previously exhibited. Items on display are drawn from records of scientists’ organizations and the papers of those who worked on the Manhattan Project and at Chicago’s Met Lab, including Enrico Fermi, James Franck, Herbert L. Anderson, Samuel K. Allison, Samuel Schwartz, Francis W. Test, Lawrence Lanzl, John H. Balderston, Jr., Albert Wattenberg, Eugene Rabinowitch, Paul Henshaw, William A. Higinbotham, and Donald MacRae, among others.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center Feb. 19 — April 13, 2018 View web exhibit >>	Subjects History University of Chicago
	The Science of Sustainability This exhibit takes a close look at some aspects of sustainable building design and how they can produce greener buildings.	Locations Crerar Library, 1st Floor: Other Spaces April 5 — Oct. 1, 2010 View web exhibit >>	Subjects Environmental Science Urban Studies Organismal Biology Chicago and Illinois University of Chicago
	Shared Past, Shared Future: The Marine Biological Laboratory and the University of Chicago The recent affiliation between UChicago and the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is the latest chapter in the long, intertwined history of the two institutions.	Locations Crerar Library, 1st Floor: Other Spaces April 19 — Oct. 31, 2016 View web exhibit >>	Subjects Organismal Biology University of Chicago
	The University of Chicago Centennial Catalogues This online presentation reproduces the complete text and accompanying images from four University of Chicago Centennial Exhibition Catalogues, published in conjunction with a series of physical exhibitions organized by the Department of Special Collections to celebrate the 1991-92 Centennial of the University of Chicago.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center Jan. 1 — Feb. 1, 1993 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago
	The University of Chicago Faculty: A Centennial View "The University of Chicago Faculty: A Centennial View" examines the careers of twenty-eight representative scholars from the institution's first century.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center Oct. 1 — Dec. 1, 1992 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago
	University of Chicago Law School Time Capsules: 1903 & 1958 In August 2009, University stone masons opened the cornerstone of the University of Chicago's Law School building to unveil two time capsules, one from 1903 and one from 1958.The boxes contained items collected for the cornerstone of the original Law School building and items presented when the current building, designed by Eero Saarinen, was built.	Locations The D'Angelo Law Library View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago Law
	We Are Chicago:Student Life in the Collections of the University of Chicago Archives Drawn from the historical collections of the University Archives, We Are Chicago highlights student experiences over a span of 120 years. This exhibition features recent donations to the collections along with rarely seen materials. Costumes, photographs, T-shirts, letters, posters, publications, and memorabilia will combine to make this the largest and most inclusive exhibition in the ongoing Special Collections archival series, Discover Hidden Archives Treasures.	Locations The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center Jan. 2 — March 31, 2012 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago
	Well Equipped: Library Technology from Days Past Over the years Crerar Library has used the newest equipment and technologies to make books, journals, and other information accessible to patrons. These tools have evolved through the years. A library card system has been replaced with an online catalog with significant collections available electronically. Early techniques for photocopying and microfilming materials have been eclipsed by digital scanning services. Displayed are objects and photos of some of these earlier pieces used by the Library.	Locations Crerar Library, 1st Floor: Other Spaces Sept. 18 — June 7, 2018 View web exhibit >>	Subjects University of Chicago Library Library Science