Sherrod Library displayed its hidden treasures during a rare books and maps display on Oct. 23 from noon to 4 p.m. in the Quillen Conference Room and Gallery on the fourth floor of the library.
The display showcased rare books ranging from a first edition of “The Scarlet Letter” to reproductions of illustrated medieval manuscripts. Among them was also a 1562 edition of “Euripides,” which is the oldest book in the library.
Twenty-four books printed in the 16th and 17th Centuries were displayed at the event. However, the library’s Rare Books Collection does not end there.
“We could have filled five rooms this size or more with neat stuff that’s down there,” said Sherrod Library Cataloging and Metadata Librarian Katy Libby.
“I just think it’s important for everyone to know about them because they are artifacts of history for one thing,” Libby said. “There is one book over here that, as far as I know, is the only copy in the world. I have not been able to find it anywhere else.”
Topographical, planning and zoning maps – some dating back to the early 20th Century – were also on display. There were 10 maps displayed in total. All of these came from the library’s Government Documents Collection, which is home to almost 80,000 local, regional and world maps.
“We have a few rare maps – some local zoning maps for Elizabethton, Kingsport and Johnson City,” said Sherrod Library Documents, Law and Maps Specialist Paul Nease. “So, those are hard to come by these days. A lot of them are hand drawn from like the 1970s. Everything is done digitally these days, but we are the place you go to find the older planning maps.”
Nease said some of the maps on display had even been drawn using crayons.
Students, faculty and staff who attended were required to wear gloves when touching the books. They were able to look closely at the books and maps and learn about the history behind them.
“The colors and the images really stood out,” ETSU Junior Heba Alkhateeb said, referring to one of the medieval manuscripts. “It really surprised me how they had those images and that kind of color since a long time ago, and they were kind of advanced.”
Alkhateeb said she was intrigued when she first heard about the event, and she thinks it is important for students to attend events like these on campus.
“It is very important for people and students just to be more open minded,” Alkhateeb said. “Be intrigued and be curious about things because, you know, without curiosity you won’t have imagination, and without that imagination you can’t have creativity. So, it is very important for people to actually know their history.”
The event was intended to promote the library’s Rare Books Collection and Maps Collection. The selection of rare books was chosen by Libby and Adjunct History Professor Kim Woodring. The maps on display were selected by Nease.
The Rare Books Collection and Maps Collection are kept locked in the closed stacks on the third floor of the library in the Government Documents and Law department. Students can access these documents anytime, but they must stay in a work room where they can be supervised by a member of the library staff.
“If you’re interested in literature, you can look at different editions of books and see how they’ve changed, “Libby said. “If you’re interested in art, we have copies of some of the most wonderful medieval manuscripts. Yes, they are not the originals, but you can actually see them as they would have been, and I just like seeing things and touching things with my own hands to learn about them. So, I just think it’s important to know that these things are here and that they can be used.”
