~ Sterling's Stained Glass

Sterling Memorial 's exquisite stained·glass win­ adequate light for . In addition, most designs dow decorations feature prominently in a beautiful new were based on a w ide array of sources eclectic in both about their creator by Gay Walker, a former Ya le style and subject. The techniques used to create decora­ librarian. Bonawit, Stained Glass & Yale: C. Owen tions that filled cathedral-like spaces while admitting Bonawit's Work at & Elsewhere enough light for a library included dark outl ines com­ (Wilsonvill e, Oregon : Wildwood Press, 2000) sets the bi ned with translucent stain ing, the use of clear glass, windows in the broader conrext of Ya le's architecture and the restriction of fu ll color designs to small areas and of Bonawit's work. of window. The sources of the majority of designs were The author knows her subject wel l. She began illustrations taken from library holdings, representing a researching the Bonawit windows at Yale and in many great array of subjects, styles, and media. While preserv­ other locations for a masters thesis at Wesleyan Universi­ ing the variety and liveliness of these images, Bonawit ty. In addition whil e working in the library as Head of nevertheless achieved a sense of coherence in the decora­ the Preservation Department (1972- 1990), Curator of tive program by controll ing the placement and composi­ the Arts of the Book and Bookplate Coll ections ('978- tion of the images and us ing unifor m pai nting tech­ 1990), and Exhibits Officer, she occupied desks in front niques. The designs that were left to the imagination of of wonderful Bonawit windows in six different locations the artist show the influence of the Art Deco movement and came [Q love them. on his personal style. Ms. Wa lker's discussion of the architectutal back­ Walker's discussion of the selection, sources, and ground of the window decorations illuminates why Yale treatment of the window decorations gives fasc inating and numerous other American universities chose the insight into the genesis of the li brary's iconography as Collegiate Gothic style for building programs during the a whole. Then, as now, there was a committee. Library 1920S and 1930S, an era when functionalism and clean sraff and other members of rhe Yale community took lines characterized contemporary architecture. Though pa rr in choosing subjects fo r decorations [hat individu­ modeled on the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, ally represented the purpose of each room and together Collegiate Gothic was perceived to be a uniquely Ameri­ symbolized the world of learning. The Committee on can style. Architects and administrators of major univer­ Decoration met for several years beginning in 1928; sities alike found in the height, elaborate decoration, and scale a suitable expression of their educational mission. The America n stained-glass trad ition merged with this style, and Bonawit's works, according to Walke r, were "among the best of a creative American development." The book focuses primarily on the windows of Ster­ ling Memorial Library, the program for their decoration, and its implementation. According to architect James Gamble Rogers, the ornamentation was intended to illustrate the purpose of the building and the history of the Ya le Library as well as "the history and univer­ sality of the of the world" and the enrire universe of learning. In designing and fabricating some 3dOO window decorations, Bonawit and his firm confronted significant challenges. In spite of the Gothic style, the decorations were to adorn a library not a cathedral. Most were to be This lizard adorning a window in S.\1I. Room 33 5, originally a Natural History study, was one of many animals used repeatedly viewed at eye leve l. More important, they had to admit by G. Owen Bonawit in window decorations at Yale and elsewhere. ~ New Library Web Site it commenced with decorations for the stonework and Visitors to the library'S Web site will see great improve­ other media and treated the windows last. Members ments to the design and functionality of its main pages compiled lists of subjects, tracked down illustrations at www.!ibrary.yale.edu. The redesigned si te organizes in , and gave photostats to Bonawit. The sources the library'S resources and services into four di stinctive for many designs came from a wide array of illustrators sections: Research Tools, About the Li brary, Li braries and illustrations in many media such as ma nuscri pt and and Collections, and Library Services. In addition, prinred books, sales catalogs, murals, bookplates, and searching in Orbis, the online catalog, is possible from objects. Only a few, such as the and JOSt the main page. An eye-catching li st of "Quick Links" Amman, were represented more than once. Faithful to on the right enables fast access to borrower accOunt the material provided, Bonawit nevertheless made some information and frequently used services such as renew­ changes in many illustrations for technica l or aesthetic ing books and requesting materials from other libraries. reasons, often to simplify the design or increase its inter­ A portion of the page contains li brary-related news. est. Some of the painted quarries or sections of the win­ Designed by the New Haven firm AHDesign, the new dows were deliberately mended or stained to create the Web site incorporates thematic colors with images fro m ill us ion of weathering. the beautiful leaded glass windows in Sterling Memorial The production of Yale's stained-glass windows is best Library. T he organization of the site was developed over appreciated in the context of the European tradi tion, rhe course of nin e months by a library task force using which the author sketches from the middle ages to its surveys, usability rests, and open meetings to determi ne revival in the ninetee nth century. The late medieval secu­ the needs of students, staff, faculty, and vis itors. The new lar tradition emphasized the pictorial and used more site brings more information to the fore and combines clear glass and was thus a direct anceStor to Bonawit's the functions of the old" Front Door," des igned for visi­ method and designs. Production of windows also fol ­ tors and novice users, and the "Research Workstation," lowed the late medieval practice of painting scenes on where the electronic databases and other research tools glass set in leaded windows; the production of heraldic were collected. shields remained close r to an older mosa ic tradition. The new site made irs debut on June 5, 2. 00I. Conver­ Wa lker fo ll ows a revi ew of Bona wit's life (1891- sion of hundreds of lib rary Web pages to the new des ign 1971 ) and work at Yale and el sewhere with an appendix wi ll follow over the su mm er. Feedback will help improve of some fifty-two locations, including eight at Yale, of this critical service, and visitors to the site are invited ro Bonawit Windows and a selected . Sp lendid send commenrs to Holly Nardini ([email protected]). color illustrations adorn and illuminate the text. -SFR -HGN

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..CO ....I ND .. 100lt.o. 'N, ...... n The redesigned library Web site ~ Double Fold The publication in April of Nicholson Baker's Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper (New York: Random House, 2001) caused a great commotion in aca­ demic lihraries. The tide of the book refers to a common tcst for paper brittleness that involves repeatedly folding and creasing a paper sample until it breaks. Paper is described as brittle when it can endure only onc or two back-and-forrh folds without breaking. In an avowedly polemical manner, Mr. Baker challenges the view of brit­ tle paper commonly taken in the library community. He is highly critical of libraries for preserving newspapers on microfilm and then discarding the originals. Mr. Baker also focuses his attention on the past, and sometimes present, practice of discarding brittle books and serials after microfilming or digital conversion. Double Fold has received a lot of attention, including the lead review in the April 15th issue of the New York Times and a lengthy review essay by Robert Damron in the New York Review of Books (26 April 2001). The Yale University Library features promi­ nently in Mr. Baker's book. The index lists at least forty­ three references to library staff or to research, projects, From the bookplate and practices carried out by the Preservation Depar.tment over a nearly twenty-year period. Mr. Baker cites the time, the Preservation Department has preserved on extensive published record of the department as well as microfilm at least 5,000 volumes from the library'S col­ interviews he conducted during the course of his research. lections every year. Until 1993, the common practice in Yale University Library has been a pioneer in the use the Preservation Department was to cut brittle volumes of microfilm for preservation purposes and in the devel­ apart so that the pages could be placed flat under [he opment of procedures for microfilming collections of microfilm camera. Books that could be opened nearly flat books, journals, and newspapers on a large scale. Yale or that could bear the pressure of flattening under glass first microfilmed portions of its collections in 1931, were not cut apart. A disbound brittle book rarely can be shortly after moving into the Sterling Memorial Library. restored to usable condition. At least fifty percent of all Founded in 1971, the Preservation Department devel­ books preserved on microfilm until 1993 were disbound oped a comprehensive approach to preserving Yale's col­ and then withdrawn from the collections after staff lections, including conservation treatment, preservation inspected the microfilm for quality and completeness. microfilming, environmental controls in Since 1993, the practice of disbinding books prior ro areas, and active engagement with library staff and read­ microfilm preservation has been drastically curtailed, but ers on appropriate care and handling routines. In the it has not ceased altogether. Working with the Preserva­ early 1980s, with the support of the National Endow­ tion Department, subject specia li sts target a brittle or ment for the Humanities, department head Gay Walker broken book for microfilm because the book is unusable conducted the first large-scale assessment of collection in its present state, cannot be repaired, and has seen little condition in the . Ms. Walker surveyed the or no circulation in the past decade. Even with these brittleness of the paper as well as other problems, includ­ selection criteria in place, preservation staff and the COI11- ing broken bindings, damaged text blocks, and missing mercial microfilm vendors with whom they work make pages, in over 35,000 volumes. every effort to create a preservation microfilm copy The Yale survey identified a genuine and massive pre­ without destroying the book. Books that are unusable servation challenge for the library. One outcome of the after microfilming are w ithdrawn from the collection study, but by no means the only important outcome, and discarded. Last year, the library'S seleccors autho­ was the development of a grant-funded microfilming rized the withdrawal of abollt 600 of the 21,000 vol­ program that targeted the library'S most damaged, mOSt umes that the Preservation Department handled. heavily used, and therefore most endangered collections. The Preservation Department is deeply committed to Beginning in 1983 and proceeding nearly to the present protecting the artifactual value of Yale's collections. In Mr. Pforzheimer comes from a fam il y of book men. the past seven years, this commitment has taken the form His uncle Carl Pforzheimer collected Shelley and hi s of a three-fold increase in the department's capability ro circle. His fathe r Walter amassed twO extraordinary maintain printed books and journals in fit condition for groups of books: a virtually complete coll ection of use by readers. The Conservation Program, responsible Moliere covering the 30o-year publication hi story of for the treatment of the library's rare and special collec­ the great French playwright, and a collection of French tions, has grown from three ro eight staff. The Collec­ armorial bindings, books specially bound fo r the private tions Care Program, created in 1994, now consists of libraries of kings, nobles, and churchmen. Each armorial seven staff dedicated to the care of the library's genera l is an exquisite artifact that bri ngs text, prove­ circulating collection. nance, and craftsmanship inro a uni que historical rela~ The publicati on of Nicholson Baker's Double Fold is tionship. The collection's finest treasure is one of the an opportunity to rem ind us of the val ue of Yale's library bind ings from the library of the renowned sixteenth­ collections. It should also stimulate a conversation on the century bibliophile Jean Grolie r. Walter Pforzheimer importance of choosing the right preservation strategies, the son inherited his father's library, conserved and including preservation microfilm, to address the very real augmented it, added to it twO outstanding collections prese rvation chall enges that are with us for the foresee­ of his own, and donated it, including the above-men­ able fu ture. In preservation, as with other aspects of the tioned coll ections, to Yale. li brary program, staff are lea rning, rev ising, and improv­ While still in secondary school, Walter Pforzhe imer ing how they work ro benefit the collections and the began collecting the Phi ladelphia-born novel ist, short­ readers they se rve. -PLC story write r, and humorist Frank Stockton (1834- 1902). He pursued this interest at Yale and over the years Editor's note: The Association of Research Libraries is tracking developed an exhaustive gathering of materials that the debate over Baker's book on its Web site (http://UlUlUl.arl.orgl cover Stockton's work as 3n illustrator, author, and preservlbaker.htm/). A version of this article first appeared there. editor. Soon after his graduation from Yale Law School, he helped organize various oss operations, which led to work in Ai r Force Inte lligence and then to a di stin­ ~ Pforzheimer Gift to the Beinecke guished career with the CIA. The collection kept pace. During this period Mr. Pforzheimer began to form his The Beinecke Library was recently the recipient of an great collection on in telligence service. This definitive assemblage of materials contains not only manusc ripts, extraordi nary gift of more than T 5,000 books and some 46 linear feet of manuscript material from a long-term official documents, and histOrical materials, but also supporter. Walter L. Pforzheimer '35, '38 J 0 began col­ fiction and biography relating to intelligence and lecting in earnest duri ng his student years and was the espionage, ranging chronologically from the American first undergraduate member of the newly for med Ya le Revolu tion to the Cold War. Included are a letter by Li brary Assoc iates. Elected to the governing board of George Washington citing the need for intell igence, that organization after his graduation fro m Yale, he docu ments relating to the British spy Major John is its longest-serving trustee. Andre, and materials concerning the Dreyfus Affair. Walter Pforzheimer is the author of Bibliography of Intelligence Literatu re (1972). -CAS

~ Crossing International Boundaries

Manusc ripts and Archives and the Area Studies Curators are pleased to present a year-long tercentenn ial ex hibit and lecture series, Yale: Crossing International Bound­ aries-A Tercentennial Retrospective. Wa lter L. Drawing from the libra ry'S rich and di verse area Pforzhcimcr studies and manuscript and archival holdings, each '35, '38 JO exhibit explores the interconneccions between intern a­ tional events and area studies scholarship at Yale. The library'S area studies and its holdings of primary sou rces re fl ect the evolving interests of fac ulty and students and ~ Sporting Books from Paul Mellon

Most of the books that were in Paul Mellon's posses­ sion at the time of his death in February 1999 were bequeathed to Yale University, with the majority specifi­ ca lly given to the Ya le Center for British Art. The final bequest to the Center of just over 5,000 titles, compris­ ing nearly 7,500 volumes, reflects the wide range of his interests. It includes many illustrated and color-plate books on a variety of subjects including Americana; a select group of about eighty rare maps and atlases, most dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth cen­ turies; and examples of British fine , including a complete set of books published by William Morris at the Kelmscott Press. This stone head of Buddha found in 1905 at Khadaluck, eaSt of Nearly 2,000 books and manuscripts in the bequest Khuran, is currently on display in the Memorabi lia Room in Sterling Memorial Library. belong to Mr. Mellon's important collection of sporting books. The works reflect his life-long interest in the thoroughbred horse, particularly the animal's evolution provide the hiscorical context for understanding how under domestication, its character, physiology, and Yale has taught, studied, and influenced countries and employment on the racecourse and in the field. The cultures outside of the United States. collection includes works on the anatomy, breedi ng, The first exhibit series, Yale's East European, Slavic acquiring, care, and management of horses, as well & Southeast Asian. Studies Collections: Archival Devel­ as horsemanship (the learning and practice of riding opment and Collecting during Times of Turmoil, Tran­ a horse), horse racing, and the huming of fox, hare, sition & Peace, explored the correlation between re~o­ lutionary and peace-time events which have occurred in two diverse geographic regions in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia during the past 100 years. Professor Paul Bushkovitch lectured on "'Russian Revolution and its Consequences" on January 19, 2001, and on Febru­ ary 13 Professor Ben Kiernan spoke on genocide in "The Khmer Rouge, Indones ia and East Timor, and the Australian Aborigines." The second exhibit series, The Near East, Africa and Yale: Archival Collections from Cairo to Cape Town, featured a variety of materials and artifacts, including the skull of an Egyptian princess and Apartheid ephem­ era. In March Professor Ben Foster lectured on "Yankees in Eden : Yale and the Beginnings of Arabic Study in the United States," and Professor David Apter presented "Perspectives on Africa." On May 18, Professor Valerie Hansen's lecture on "Ellsworth Huntington: Yale's Own Si lk Road Explorer" opened the third exhibit series, Archival Collections from China and Japaw Selected Papers of Famous Statesmen and East Asian Scholars. Scheduled for the fall, the fourth series will feature Judaica and Latin American studies. The final exhibit will explore Yale's connections with the world of international affairs and diplomacy. It will coincide with the Yale Center for International & Area Studies symposia, "Envisioning "A griffon , a grehond, a hors, a hare" (leaf 28 ) from the Helmingham Herbal and Bestiary (England, ca. T 500). Pen and ink, the World in the Next Century: Challenges to Interna­ watercolor and bodycolor on parchment. Yale Center for British tionalizing Yale," in September. -OMG Art, Paul Mellon Collection. John Eric Broaddus, Land O ' Lakes, 1976, is on dis­ play in the Arts of the Book Collection through June 2.5, 2.00 r. Broaddus created unique book works and one-of-a-kind costumes during the 1970'S and 1980's in . This exhibition is the largest gathering of his work In over 10 years.

and stag. Although the focus is on the horse as an ease," a video on the history of microscopy, diagnostic animal of noble recreation, the working horse is not dilemmas, and a virtual tour of the exhibit is available neglected. There are wonderful, often humorous, books on the Internet at http://www.med.yale.edu/library/zeiss/. on coaching and ea rly road transportation. -LHS Most of the works in the sporting collection are British, but there are important Italian and French (even a few American) classic works as well; they range ~ Improving the Climate for Books in date from the early fifteenth to the mid-twentieth.cen­ tury. A number of the rarest and most interesting books Yale University Library is one of ISO institutions in and manuscripts complemented the paintings in the exhi­ the US selected to field test a new set of environmental bition The Paul Mellon Bequest: Treasures of a Lifetime monitoring tools. Developed by the Image Permanence (on view February through April, 200I). The selection Institute of the Rochester In stitute of Technology, these included works on the horse and horsemanship; horse new tools are the Preservation Environmental Monitor racing, hunting, fis hing and shooting; and coaching (rEM) and its associated software, Climate Notebook. and the working horse. -EF Grams from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the creation of these tools. ~ Microscopes at Medical Library Microscopes, from the primitive to the high-tech, were recently on display in a scientific exhibit in the Medical Library. Microscopy- Tools of the Biomedical Sciences was created in honor of Yale's Tercentennial Celebration by Dr. Martin E. Gordon, clinical professor of medicine and chair of the board of trustees of the Associates of the CushinglWhitney Medical Library. The exhibit featured rare historical microscopes as well as modern instru­ ments on the cutting edge of technology. The latter included micro-imaging surgical dissecting equ ipment, computerized opthalmic instruments, and a new Israeli­ created video capsule which, when swa llowed, transmits Pi!1ischer Microscope, 1865, about 50,000 vivid micro images as it progresses through recently on di splay in the the gastrointestinal tract revealing hidden diseases. The Medical Historical Library exhibit also included a video with computerized interac­ tive devices. The lecture given on April 25 by Dr. Joshua Leder­ berg, Ph.D. entitled "The Evolution of Infectious Dis- ~ Digital Conversion Facility To enhance library services for readers, a Digital Con­ version Facility (OCF) has opened in the basement of the Sterling Memorial Library. Designed for the use of library staff, the OCF suppOrtS im age scan nin g and manipulation and the management of digital files. Staff projects will produce archival master images that will be appropriate for long-term use and preservation. From these masters, derivatives can be created for use on the Web, or copies of the maSters can be used instead of photOgraphic prints. The OCF will also stOre the master images that are created in the facility. The OCF provides the tools, physical space, and server space for supporting hig h-quality digital conversion, including two scanners, several types of image manipula­ tion software, and a photO-quality printer. Staff projects supported by the OCF aim to extend the range of services to library users. The Manuscripts and Archives Department, for example, is using the facility to explore the possibility of supplementing or replacing its in-house photOcopying fo r readers with digital copying. Recently displayed in Sterling Memorial Library, The Preservation Department will be scanning pamphlets this phorograph shows Dr. Harvey Cushing (Ya le and ephemera as an alternati ve or in addition to preser­ class of 189 L) performing his 2000lh verified brain tumor operation in April 193 I. Records, specimens, vation photocopying. -Jsw and histological slides of hi s operations are now in the Brain Tumor Registry, Yale School of Medicine. His papers arc in the Manuscripts and Archives Department and the Med ical Historical Library.

Unlike convenrional climate monitors that simply record temperature and humidity over time, the PEM records temperature and humidity data and computes an index that predicts the useful life of books and paper Nora Bene is published during the academic year to stored under the recorded conditions. Known as the acquaint the Yale community and others interested with Time Weighted Preservation Index (TWPI ), it results from ~ of the Yale libraries. Please direct comments an algorithm that factors the recorded environmental act questions to Susanne Roberts, Editor. Research Services conditions with known data about the long·term effects of temperature and humidity on collections. Data from the PEM is downloaded into the Climate Notebook soft­ ware. This program a ll ows the temperature, humidity, and TWPI data to be graphed in a variety of ways that provide a clear image of how the storage environment COnnibUtoI'S to this issue include Paul L. Conway. Elisabeth is affecting the collection. Fauman, Danelle Moon-Geraci. Holly Grossetta Nardini, Though the storage environment in the Sterling Library stacks was greatly improved in 1999 with the Dav~d Walls. and Jennifer S. Weintraub. Special thanks are insta ll ation of new climate controls, many special collec­ due Shalane-R. Hansen. tions are housed in areas outsid e th e stacks tower in environments that need additional improvement. As a Design ls by Jobo Gambell aDd Sandra Chen test of the new PEM and the Climate Norebook software, the Preservation Department is monitoring the environ­ Sotanne F. Roberts, Editor ment in the Arts of the Book Collection, one of the spe­ cial collections not housed in an air-conditioned facility, for a period of 18 months. - ow BECTON CENTER STERLING MEMORIAL LIBRARY HIStory of the Sheffield Scimti(ic School A Decade of Scholarship, Recent Publications Based on zhrough summer Research in Manusc"pts and Archives, Surling Memorial MaRrials from. die MaODSa'lplS aod Archives Dept.. SML Library .5poo,ond by the Eng;_ Ubra", through July

BEINECKE RARE BOOK LIBRARY Students at Work, A Photographic Chronicle of the Yale From Heinrich SchUtz to Henry Miller, Selections from Library Student Assistants the Fredeiid< R. Koch CoUection at the Bemecke through June

Library MEMORABILIA ROOM through July 14 Archival Collections from China and Japan, Selected Papers of Famous Statesmen and East Asian Scholars DIVINITY LIBRARY through summer Missianary Impact on the Rights of Women through July 15 ARTS OF THE BOOK John Eric Broaddus MEDICAL LIBRARY through June 15 Yale and Medicine I95Z- Z.001 through July 31

History ofStudent Research, History of the Stwknt Please see our web site: Thesis at Yale http://www.librtn.)...I..k.edM/Not48eneJnbhome.htm through nUd-July for a complete listing of exhibits.

Nota Bene ~ News from the Yale Library

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