HI L L INO SUNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

PRODUCTION NOTE

University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign Library

Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY FRIENDS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Scholar Donates CollectionDocuments Illuminate Lives of American WritersWilliam A. Sutton, emeritus professor ofEnglish at Ball State University, Muncie,Indiana, has selected the UI Library asthe new home for his rich researchcollection. The 49,000 items in thecollection include material aboutSherwood Anderson, Erskine Caldwell,Robert Frost, and Carl Sandburg, aswell as smaller collections concerningMargaret Mitchell and Gertrude Stein.

Mr. Sutton began his collectioninitially while researching the life ofSherwood Anderson for his doctoraldissertation in the 1940s. A thoroughscholar, he kept careful and growingfiles of his contacts with literary figuresand their acquaintances.

The fruits of these projects, Dr.Sutton's own works, include: The Roadto Winesburg (1972), Newdick's Seasonof Frost (1976), and Carl SandburgRemembered (1978). His edition ofSherwood Anderson's letters toMarietta D. Finlay Hahn will be

Sherwood Anderson (rear, center) as a soldierin the Spanish-American War.

published by the University of IllinoisPress. Last fall, Mr. Sutton visited thecampus and spoke to members ofFriends on the topic of Lincoln andSandburg.

In 1946 Mr. Sutton recorded hisinterviews in Paris with Gertrude Steinand discussions with her and Alice B.Toklas. The collection given to theLibrary includes the interview transcriptautographed by Gertrude Stein, as wellas letters, clippings and otherdocuments.

Sutton first met Erskine Caldwell inthe early 1960s and was appointed hisofficial biographer. Sutton's files on the

writer reflect his close contacts with theCaldwell circle, and there areparticularly rich notes andcorrespondence relating to thephotographer Margaret Bourke-White,who was Caldwell's second wife.

After his initial meeting in 1966 withCarl Sandburg in North Carolina,Sutton embarked on an extensivecompilation of material relating toSandburg's travels, and records of allhis public appearances. His files includemany fascinating photographs ofSandburg, as well as importantcorrespondence records.

-(continued inside)

Margaret Bourke-White took this photo of Erskine Caldwell about 1940 in Darien,Connecticut.

vol. 3, no. 2Summer 1981ISSN 0192-5539

Staff Rescues Booksfrom Mold

When a small trace of mildew wasdiscovered on some of the Rare BookRoom's treasured volumes lastDecember, the problem initiallyappeared to be small and self-contained. The books showing thelight-colored dust were cleaned andisolated, and steps were taken toensure that the temperature andhumidity levels in the stacks be keptlow.

However, when mildew alsoappeared elsewhere in the shelves andon books stored in steel lockers, thingsbecame more serious. Conservationpersonnel from the Library's Bindingand Preservation Division preparedsolutions of thymol to attack the mold.Thymol is a chemical which, whenvaporized with heat over a book, killsmold and prevents its future growth.

Though long a standard treatment forindividual volumes, using thymol onentire cases of books required somemakeshift adaptations. For this situation,entire shelves were quarantined underplastic tents to encapsulate the vapors.Strong heat lamps had to be placedunder the sheets to vaporize thethymol, and their fire hazard had to bemonitored closely. The vapors werestrong and toxic; and the mold was stillspreading.

A mycologist on the UI faculty wasconsulted, and he identified the moldas a common penicillium storage-typemold. Then Bill Henderson, chief of theBinding and Preservation Division,

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before putting it inside the heated plastictent of quarantined books.

sought the advice of specialists at theLibrary of Congress. For the scope ofthe Rare Book Room's problem, theyrecommended trying a new method oftreatment: Dowicide. In a crystallinepowder form, this chemical vaporizes atroom temperature, is much lessexpensive and less toxic than thymol,and can be quite simply distributedover a large affected area.

When the shipment of Dowicidearrived, many conservation and RareBook Room staff spent several sessionsspooning the crystals into small paper

rreservatuon start members Minnie Sawyer (left) and Pat Jakes place paper cups of Dowicideon the shelves of the Rare Book Room stacks to stop the mildew growth.

cups and placing them throughout theRare Book Room stacks, on shelves andinside storage cabinets. After so mucheffort, the mold is disappearing.

There are follow-up measures still tobe taken, says Mr. Henderson, "but weare delighted to be getting the upperhand on the problem. We have averteda real disaster; many of these books areirreplaceable."

Once the new stack addition iscompleted (see From the Librarian'sView), books will be stored underbetter-controlled conditions, and therisk of mold infestation will be reduced.For now, however, it is because of theefforts and dedication of quick-thinkingLibrary staff that the books have beenpreserved.

Friends Programs Set forComing YearThe Library Friends ProgramCommittee, chaired by RobertJohannsen, has planned an interestingseries of events for Friends in 1981-82.

The season will lead off withProfessor Nicholas Temperley of the UISchool of Music, who will present arecital demonstration focusing onBeethoven and the keyboard. For hisprogram, Professor Temperley will playthe piano, harpiscord, and clavichord.The event will take place in the newMusic Building Auditorium on Friday,October 2, 1981, at 8:00 p.m. AssociateMusic Librarian Jean Geil is preparingan exhibit of related Library materials,which can be viewed during thereception in the Rare Book Roomfollowing the program.

In November, Professor RichardBurkhardt of the UI Department ofHistory will give a lecture on CharlesDarwin. He will also arrange anaccompanying exhibit to be displayedin the Rare Book Room during andfollowing the program.

February, the month of AbrahamLincoln's birthday, will take on specialsignificance for the Library and itsFriends in 1982. At that time, the newquarters for the Library's Lincoln Roomwill be dedicated. A highlight of theevent will be a special lecture by Mr.Mark Neely, director of the LincolnLibrary and Museum, Fort Wayne,Indiana. Mr. Neely will speak on thetopic of Lincoln collections andcollectors.

Friends will be informed of the exacttimes and locations of these events asfinal arrangements are made. Theseason promises to bring a bright andenriching series of programs, to whichall the Library's Friends are welcome.

From theLibrarian's ViewLet us hope that the legislature andgovernor provide the funding plannedfor the new stack addition. If thathappy event occurs, the Library hasnow fully developed plans for theaddition. The addition, which will beapproximately half again as large as theFifth Stack Addition (the additionbeginning at the end of the yellowbrick Fourth Addition), has beenplanned to provide the largest volumeof storage possible.

Because the emphasis is on highvolume, it will not be simply acontinuation of the previous fiveadditions, each having five floors withten stack levels. Instead, with the sameheight and width as the present seriesof additions but one and one-half timesthe length (that is, the extension intothe parking lot), we will have eightstack levels, and we will go toelectromechanical compact shelving.Thus, instead of storage for 900,000books, we will be providing storage forslightly over 2,000,000 volumes. Thebuilding will be air conditioned, andwe will have an alternative to thoseoverly warm and humid stacks for itemsin need of special care.

The compact shelving, similar to thatat the new Library of Congress MadisonBuilding, is composed of groups ofmovable stack ranges which have onlyone aisle in approximately every twentystack ranges. That aisle is movable bymoving the ranges on either side of theaisle apart. There is a safety system to

The new stacks will provide over twice thestorage of conventional bookshelves.

ensure that the shelves don't closewhile a user is in the aisle. The shelvesare much more secure, as well asbeing more fire-resistant, than standardshelves.

The Rare Book Room will have aportion of these stacks and will thenrelease most of the stacks they are nowoccupying in the Fifth Stack Addition.We recognize that we will want to putthe lesser used material, as well as thatwhich is most in need of airconditioning, in the new addition.

We expect that the construction willtake approximately two and one-halfyears to complete, but we certainlylook forward to that time. The ability tostore books in a facility with as high adensity as we are planning will providegood storage in an environmentallyhigh quality area at about $4.35 perbook. That is far, far cheaper than withconventional shelving, and is lowenough so that it is clearly cheaper tobuild storage for and retain booksrather than incur the costs and makethe efforts of deciding what to discard.

We will be able to return to theLibrary all of the items which are nowbeing stored off campus and to providewell over a decade of future growth,and to do so in a quality environmentat low cost. We are both pleased andexcited at this prospect, and lookforward to the challenges ofconstructing and using such anadvanced facility.

-Hugh C. AtkinsonUniversity Librarian

Friends Gift Discovered to bean Unrecorded First Edition

Friendscript recently (vol. 2, no. 4)reported the acquisition by the RareBook Room (thanks to the Friends ofthe Library) of an apparentlyunrecorded first edition of thesixteenth century: Les Grans Abus etBarbouilleries des Taverniers (1558) byArtus Desire. Professors N. FrederickNash of the Rare Book Room andBarbara C. Bowen of the FrenchDepartment have explored the historyof this volume, and can now confirmthat it is indeed an unrecorded firstedition, of a work known in only oneother copy. Their joint article on theUniversity of Illinois copy has beenaccepted for publication in aforthcoming number of Bibliothequed'Humanisme et Renaissance, publishedby Droz in Geneva. They hope that thearticle will generate more informationfrom European libraries about thishighly entertaining little work.

We Need Your HelpYou can ensure the UI Library'scontinued excellence by:

* telling others about the LibraryFriends and encouraging them tojoin

* sending us lists of potential membersand contributors

* helping the Library solicit grantsfrom foundations

* obtaining your company's ororganization's participation in amatching gift program

* passing the information aboutLibrary Friends membership on inyour newsletter or publications.

The Benefits of MembershipAs a Friend of the University of IllinoisLibrary, you receive:* Special circulation and stack privileges for

Library materials* Friendscript, the quarterly newsletter* Non Solus, the annual bulletin* Invitations to exhibits, lectures and

receptions* A 30% discount on University of Illinois

Press publicationsThe Friends welcome everyone interested inthe continued excellence of the Universityof Illinois Library. There are now over 1000members of Library Friends.

YES, I/We wish to becomemembers of the U of I LIBRARYFRIENDS" University Librarian's Council at UIUC:

$5000 0 Sponsor: $100o Life: $1500 0 Subscriber: $50o Benefactor: $1000 0 Contributor: $2513 Patron: $500 0 Student: $5

Please make your check payable toUniversity of Illinois Foundation/LibraryFriends, 224 Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St.,Urbana, Illinois 61801. All contributions aretax-deductible.

Name

Address

State & Zip

Program Honors VolunteersOn May 15 Friends volunteers werehonored with a recognition programfor their hard work over the past yearon a variety of projects. Guest speakerMs. Virginia Wisniewski gave aninteresting talk and slide presentationon "Preserving the World of Books."Volunteers were awarded specialcertificates by UI Librarian HughAtkinson and Volunteer Servicescochairmen Maryann Bitzer and SarahBalbach. Special mention was made ofthe generosity of four of thevolunteers-Miss Marian Harman, MissClarissa Lewis, Miss Edythe Kirk, andthe late Mr. Lyle Bamber-whotogether have given over 40 years oftheir time to the Library. Seven peoplehave volunteered over 100 hours oftheir time. All volunteers "logging"over 30 hours of service chose a giftvolume from a group of UniversityPress books donated to the Friends. Ata reception after the program,volunteers viewed a special display ofpreserved and transferred volumes, thefruits of their work. The Friends and allLibrary staff and supporters sincerelyappreciate the efforts of these peoplein keeping the Library strong.

UI Librarian Hugh Atkinson presents Mrs. Joan Waller (center), an active Friends volunteer,with her certificate. Committee cochairman Mrs. Maryann Bitzer (right) holds one of the giftbooks offered to volunteers.

Personal Gifts to Library Enrich Literature,Economics, Science Collections

mvrs. rnarrier -rawrora aiscusses ner OOOKchoice with a fellow volunteer.

Special Friends have been donatingworks from their personal collections tothe Library, and they certainly deserverecognition of their generosity. TheLibrary has been fortunate to receivefrom Mrs. C.M. Willman of Edgerton,Wisconsin, 110 volumes in German,some of which contain special platesand illustrations. Several of the titles areparticularly important additions to theLibrary's German literature collections.

Miss Dorothy Footitt of Rockford, aUI alumna, also recently donated fiveold titles to the Library, four in Germanand a 1738 English volume about theQuakers. These works have beenhoused in the Rare Book Room.

Mr. William Lycan of Naples, Florida,has given several books from hispersonal collection to the Library overthe last year. Most recent of these wasPeabody's Elements of Astronomy(1884). Selim H. Peabody served aspresident of UI from 1880 to 1891. Hiswork joins the rich collection ofmaterials in the history of science.

Another much-appreciated donationcame recently from Mr. Hugh Frey ofIndianapolis. His gift was two Citibankserials: cassette tapes of Sound of theEconomy, 1971-80, with transcripts for1979 and 1980; and the MonthlyEconomic Letter, 1940-80. These titlesare now in use by students at theLibrary.

Closer to home was a recent giftfrom UI Mechanical Engineering Prof.

John C. Chato, who has donated 35titles, all but one in Hungarian, to theLibrary's Slavic and East EuropeanDepartment. Each book will carry aspecial bookplate inscribed "Donatedby Elsie and Raymond G. Chato ofDayton, Ohio, and John C. Chato ofUrbana, Illinois."

Mr. Leon Urbain of Burns Harbor,Indiana, has given the Library a groupof volumes of Schiller and Goethe inFrench and a set of the PetiteCollection Guillaume at the suggestionof his sister, Miss Jeanette Urbain ofChicago. The books were part of theirfather's library, and Mr. Urbain hasbeen seeking a good home for them.As Mr. Urbain wrote: "Books not beingused are books wasted....Now they arein a place where they can be looked atand they will be protected." Mr. Urbainsenior is an alumnus of the UIarchitectural school and is now 94 yearsold. His books are a welcome additionto the collections at the Library, andthe Urbains are pleased that thearrangement has worked out to thebenefit of everyone.

These donors-as well as many othersbefore them, and some even morerecently-all enrich the Library'sholdings through their generosity. TheLibrary is grateful for the efforts of eachof these special Friends; they arehelping to keep the UI Library one ofthe foremost research centers in thenation.

friendscriptAppears quarterly in April, July,October, and January. Editor: LindaHoffman. Office of Publication: 249Armory Bldg., University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign, 505 E. Armory St.,Champaign, IL 61820. Application tomail at second-class postage ratespending at Urbana, III. POSTMASTER:send Form 3579 to Friendscript, 249Armory Bldg., University of Illinois,505 E. Armory St., Champaign, IL61820.

American Writers

-(from page 1)

About ten years ago, Robert Frost'sdaughter Lesley requested that Suttoncompile a profile on her father similarto the one he had made for Sandburg,and Sutton undertook the project withcharacteristic energy. His work led tothe valuable 17 cubic feet of letters,photos, manuscripts and documentsabout Frost and Breadloaf.

When Mr. Sutton retired, he decidedto find a suitable home for hisextensive records. Having used the UILibrary in his studies of Sandburg andothers, Mr. Sutton was aware of itssubstantial research holdings on, andinterest in, Carl Sandburg material. Inanswer to his inquiry as to the Library'sinterest in acquiring his own Sandburgfiles, Prof. George Hendrick visited Mr.Sutton to discuss the gift. While he wasthere, he discovered the amazingextent of the scholar's resources onother literary figures as well asSandburg. University Librarian HughAtkinson and Prof. Scott Bennettsucceeded in convincing Mr. Sutton ofthe value of his collections as a groupand of the Ul's interest in becomingtheir guardian.

The William A. Sutton Collection ofAmerican Literary Documents providesa vast resource of information on thecreative and human aspects ofimportant contributors to this century'sliterature. It also represents an idealcomplement to the Library's otherholdings in the area of Americanliterature, notably the outstandingSandburg collection. Biographers ofthese authors will find the materials inthe collection at Illinois indispensableto a thorough understanding of theirlives.

The Library, as well as its Friends andsupporters, can take pride in thetreasure Mr. Sutton has made availableto researchers now and in the future,and be grateful to serve both as therepository of Mr. Sutton's years andbreadth of research and as benefactorof his thoughtful generosity.

Sol Cohen's MemoirsbI k l .n .LI:.h,Please remember:

Friendscript is produced and distributed with funds from a3-year grant of the Stewart Howe Foundation. These fundswere donated in recognition of the late Mr. Howe's strongsupport of the University of Illinois Library as benefactor andcharter member of Library Friends. The UI Libraryappreciates this support, and must rely on the continuedgenerosity of those who recognize the importance of theLibrary's ability to meet the challenges of today and thefuture with success.

...... has been set for February 1982.Advance orders are being acceptednow in order to make a decision on thesize of the initial print run.

. The memoirs cover the early periodof his career. Views of life in Illinois, inCentral Europe before World War I, inboot camp, on the Western Front, andin Hollywood, all refracted through SolCohen's perceptive eyes, fill thisfascinating work. Selected letters fromthe collected personal papers that Mr.Cohen has donated to the University ofIllinois Library are included. Mr. Cohenentertained Friends last year with areading from his memoirs.

If you would like this book for yourpersonal library and/or as a gift toanyone who knows Sol, has roots inUrbana-Champaign, or is interested inthe musical scene of the first half of thecentury, please contact ArthurRobinson, 1102 Mayfair Road,Champaign, IL 61820. The book,clothbound and illustrated, has aprepublication price of $15.00.

Robert Frost in his garden.

The Library is Looking...For a copy of Who's Who in the World.The only copy of this importantreference work is now held at the MainLibrary. A second copy for theEngineering Library would do much tohelp students and researchers seekingaccess to information in this book. Formore information, please call JeannieBalachandran, Engineering Librarian, at217/333-3576.

For Applied Fiber Science, a referencework in three volumes, each of whichcosts under $90 but cannot be acquiredfrom the budget at this time. Alsoneeded for the Applied Life StudiesLibrary is Instrumental Analysis ofCotton Cellulose and Modified CottonCellulose. Home economists andinterior designers, as well as studentsand researchers, would find this work avaluable addition to the Library'sholdings on fabric properties and their

many uses. For more information,please call Barbara Swain at217/333-0748.

For funds for a subscription to thewell-known Nielsen National TelevisionRatings. This up-to-date report oftrends in television viewing and relatedstatistics is a needed resource forresearchers and students of the manyareas of the communications andadvertising fields. For more informationabout this subscription, which costsabout $200, please call Nancy Allen,Communications Librarian at217/333-2216.

If you can help the Library with adonation or gift, please call thenumbers listed above, or contact JoanHood at the Friends Office,217/333-7480.

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Sol B. Cohen, a native of Urbana and along-time Library Friend, has been awell-known figure in the musical life ofChampaign-Urbana for most of his 90years. A group of Sol's friends arearranging for the publication of hismemoirs. The tentative publication date

CalendarExhibitsThrough Summer"Playthings Bred in Heart & Head: Truth andFancy in Children's Books." Rare BookRoom. To remain on exhibit indefinitely.

July 1-31"Academic Overhead." University Archives.

August 1-31"Welcoming the Students, 1921-1981."University Archives.

September 1-30"Ray Eliot: Mr. Illini." University Archives.October 1-31"Class Notes and Photographs, 1868-1899."University Archives.

EventsOctober 2Recital demonstration: Beethoven and thekeyboard. Prof. Nicholas Temperley. 8 p.m.,Music Building Auditorium. Receptionfollowing, Rare Book Room.

Beyond Statistics:Dean's Letter Reflects Function of the LibraryWe can learn something of thefundamental nature of the Library froma letter written nineteen years ago toHarris Fletcher. An English professor,Fletcher played a major role in creatingthe Library's unexcelled collection ofthe poet John Milton. The letter wasfrom Robert Carmichael, who firstcame to UI as a mathematics professorin 1915 and served as Dean of theGraduate College 1933-47, and was astrong supporter of the Library. Writtenwhen Carmichael was 82 years old, hisletter refers to his own youth, beforethe turn of the century.A country boy on a small farm in Alabama,was discussing, with his Father, the amountof cotton that would be harvested that yearfrom the family farm.... The boy's estimatewas fourteen bales, while the Father's wasthirteen bales. Finally, the Father said to theson that if there were fourteen bales, thenthe son might have the proceeds from thefourteenth bale....Fourteen bales wereproduced; and the proceeds from thefourteenth bale (somewhat under-sized)amounted to sixteen dollars. For two orthree years, the boy had been getting somelittle conception-from reading "ThePathfinder"-published in Washington,D.C.- that there were many things going onin the world that he had never beforeknown anything about. He decided to usethe sixteen dollars to buy a set of 100 smallbooks, to be delivered to his country PostOffice, with carriage prepaid. These bookswere being sold by the "Pathfinder." Two ofthese books were Milton's "Paradise Lost"and "Paradise Regained." There were alsoseveral volumes of Shakespeare.

This set of books...brought to me the firstgreat intellectual stimulation of my life-andthis is true despite the fact that I finallymoved in a far different direction.

This letter says two things about ourLibrary that all the statistics about its

size or bragging about its collectionswill not. It tells us about thatencounter between readers and theirbooks which makes the place ithappens-the Library-the heart of theUniversity. In an age of massproduction and mass consumption, theLibrary still insists on the importance ofthat encounter where each individualchooses what he or she wants to readand is then left free to understand theword and act on it in whatever wayseems best. Libraries are at the heart ofour lives because they help sustain ourindividuality and our freedom.

Dean Carmichael's letter tells ussomething else, though less directly. Itis a letter of a mathematican to anEnglish teacher, but what these menshared was a profound love of booksand a determination to keep theirUniversity Library strong. Fletcher wasone of the Library's great collectors,and he was able to be that because ofwhat he described as his lucky"discovery" of Dean Carmichael's "avidinterest" in books. It was an interestthat Carmichael translated intoexceptionally generous support for theLibrary from the Graduate College.

But support came from other sourcesas well, because Carmichael's passionfor books was contagious. WilliamUdinski, one of Carmichael's students,hit upon a perfect scheme foracknowledging his gratitude to hisformer teacher: the creation of anendowment for the support of theLibrary's mathematics collection. Todaythat endowment is a key factor in ourability to maintain a nationallypreeminent mathematics library at theUniversity of Illinois.

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