A Birthday Present for Walt Whitman

On May 31, 2013 By

Today, 31 May 2013, is the 194th birthday of Walt Whitman.  The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana in the Rubenstein Library is one of the largest collections of Whitman’s manuscripts and printed works in the world.  Just in time to celebrate the Good Gray Poet’s birthday, a beautifully “wrapped” new addition [...]

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Dispatches from the German Judaica Project

On March 11, 2013 By

Usually catalogers spend most of our time thinking about appropriate subject headings, title added entries, transcription of titles and other useful information. We have developed efficient ways to do this quickly and accurately and aren’t often conscious of our role in preserving a book because it is an historical object. Sometimes, however, there is something [...]

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Audubons on the move

On February 12, 2013 By

One of the last (but not least!) collections to move during our Big Move was our set of John James Audubon’s Birds of America. The Rubenstein Library is fortunate to have a complete double elephant folio set, published between 1827 and 1838. Only 120 sets are known to exist. [...]

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Move Diary, Week 2

On January 14, 2013 By

It’s been great to see all our giant books (folios, in library-speak) come out of our old stacks and into their bright and dust-free new home. I’m of the opinion that if you are going to print a large book, it should include large pictures. This copy of The Raven caught [...]

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Week 1 is done!

On January 11, 2013 By

Rubenstein Library On the Move is off to a great start. Our new swing space is open for business and we’ve welcomed a dozen researchers to the new reading room.

We’ve also welcomed our movers, who have made excellent progress this week by packing up the Rare Book Room, moving almost all of our folios [...]

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Fun Finds from the German Judaica Project

On December 20, 2012 By

As the German Judaica Intern for the Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, I have had the opportunity to work with a number of rare and interesting materials. I am currently processing a collection of German Judaica books dating from the late eighteenth century through the twentieth century. These materials represent a range of topics, [...]

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Dispatches from the German Judaica Project

On October 22, 2012 By

Solving Cataloging Puzzles, or, How Digitization and the Web Makes Our Work More Accurate and Efficient

Difficult cataloging puzzles occur when a volume’s title page is missing. Sometimes information written into the book by a previous owner is correct, sometimes it is not. When I first began cataloging, the only resources were printed [...]

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Dispatches from the German Judaica Project

On September 26, 2012 By

A cataloger with a photographic  memory could be a source of endless fragments of information. We have only a few minutes with each of the thousands of books that pass through our hands, and much of that time is taking up with verification of details of the title, the imprint, the author’s authorized heading, etc. [...]

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Renovation Round-Up

On August 31, 2012 By

It has been a busy summer here at Rubenstein Renovation HQ. With the help of the entire Rubenstein staff, we have prepared over 50,000 rare books for the move! These are books that have been reviewed and loaded into acid-free cardboard trays for safe transport to and storage at the Library Service Center.

We have [...]

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Feeling hot, hot, hot

On August 10, 2012 By

Happy Friday! Preparing for our upcoming renovation continues at the Rubenstein. This book’s title made us giggle, especially considering the high temperatures we’ve been facing lately in Durham. If you’d like to learn more about Spontaneous Combustion: A Literary Curiosity, you can check out the catalog record. It [...]

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