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U.Va. Library's Special Collections Department Extends Operating Hours To Increase Accessibility March 1, 1999 -- Would you like to see . . . one of the 25 surviving copies of the first printing of the Declaration of Independence? a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible? ¥ Thomas Jefferson's drawings of the University of Virginia's Rotunda? the manuscript of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass"? illuminated medieval manuscripts from the 14th and 15th centuries? the manuscript of William Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury"? the proof copy of Diderot's "Encyclopedie"? one of the earliest printed atlases, Ptolemy's "Cosmographia," published in 1475? The Special Collections Department at the University of Virginia's Alderman Library is making these and other rare items more accessible by extending its hours of service to include weekday evenings. Beginning March 22, the department will be open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. These extended hours will be in effect during the fall and spring semesters when classes are in session. "We're lucky at U.Va. to have a library that cares as much about serving the community as about preserving the rare materials entrusted to it," says Stephen Railton, professor of English at U.Va. and a frequent user of Special Collections. "I plan to take advantage of the extended hours in two ways -- it will make it easier for me to do my research, and I'll also be able to ask students to spend more time with special resources like the American literature in the Barrett Collection." Putting itself once again on the forefront of library services, the Special Collections Department at the University of Virginia is one of only a handful of special collections in the country that offer evening hours. Contact Heather Moore, head of public services for Special Collections at (804) 924-4966 or by e-mail at mhm8m@virginia.edu to receive more information about the services offered by Special Collections. Contact: Bob Brickhouse, (804) 924-6856. |
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