Fresh Perspectives on Collecting featured several panels of younger voices in the fields of collecting, library, special collections and bookselling. The event, held as a zoom symposia on March 18 & 19, was hosted by the Winterthur Library and sponsored in part by the Bibliographical Society of America.
Panelists were:
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Jullyana Araujo, PhD student at UNIRIO/MAST of Brazil;
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Sarah Finn, librarian, Milwaukee Public Library;
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Jordan D. Ross, PhD student at Penn, winner of 2024 David Ruggles Prize for book collectors up to the age of 35;
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Finch Collins, Assistant Curator of Rare Books at Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, MO. The library focuses on science, engineering and technology;
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Auroura Morgan, artist, Tempest Tattoo Studio, winner of 2023 Honey & Wax Prize for women book collectors under 30;
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and Patrick Matherly, an aspiring bookseller.
During the two panels participants reflected on their career paths, goals, and experiences in the field thus far, highlighting innovative approaches to and conversations around the nature of collecting. Discussions touched on how the participants selected items for their collections, their collecting influences, challenges they have faced, and how they hope to see their collections used in the future.
View the two panels on Youtube at: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9b4wezhAGb0zWxBLoq-syDx21FrfJycz
RBH was able to follow up by phone with Jordan Ross and Sarah Finn.
Jordan Ross, 28, is a joint Ph.D. student in the Department of History and the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. His research centers on the history of African-American education, texts, and archives from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Before coming to Penn, Jordan studied the history of HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) as a graduate student at the University of Michigan. In 2024, he was the winner of the Ruggles Book Collecting prize and became a Junior Fellow at the Library of Congress.
He commented that some of the discussion focused on the place emerging digital formats may have in the world of collecting, for example he wondered would video games and important email correspondence become part of the world of collectibles in the same way we view manuscripts today?
Though digital formats interest him, Ross is definitely on the lookout for the real thing, i.e for out-of- print (and not going to be reprinted) Black Americana, especially textbooks.
“My journey as a collector started in August 2014 when I began my first year at Morehouse College. I remember walking into the bookstore to pick up a history book for Morehouse, only to learn from the employees that our most recent history book, A Candle in the Dark: A History of Morehouse College (1967), had been out of print for nearly 50 years.
“Then I visited our sister institution's bookstore, Spelman College, where the employees also informed me that their history book was out of print. At that moment, the bibliophile and collector within me awakened, sparking my quest for books on Black college histories.
“I had no idea I was becoming a collector because I just sought things that interested me. But over the past 10 years, I have acquired the books I sought and many rare titles that I take great pride in.”
He mentioned that he’s found a lot of what he’s acquired on eBay, and that the world of “rare” books is still pretty new to him. Before winning a prize for his collection he was not aware that specialized organizations like the Grolier Club existed.
Jordan Ross is a Phd candidate at the University of Pennsylvania with an interest in African American textbooks.
Sarah Finn, a Librarian III in the Special Collections Department at Milwaukee Public Library, is passionate about connecting people with primary sources to enhance their understanding of the past and present.
She started shelving books at a Milwaukee branch library at the age of 19, now, at 36, she has had many years of library experience, working in both public and academic libraries and two additional advanced degrees.
In 2018, she started a personal research account on Instagram called @romanceofbooks that explores rare natural history books by showcasing items in special collections libraries. The account currently has over 126,000 followers. She is particularly interested in the history of natural history illustration. One of her go-to sources is Abe.
Sarah Finn is a Milwaukee librarian with 126, 000 Instagram followers. She collects in natural history illustration and botanical art.
Finch Collins, Assistant Curator of Books at Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering, and Technology in Kansas City, MO, replied by email. He wrote, (my) “curatorial responsibilities include acquiring new books for the History of Science collection and sharing the collection through exhibitions, class visits, and scholarship.
At the symposia, he spoke about expanding on collection strengths and building connections for more diverse audiences noting “a changing priority at his own institution towards collecting books that will support exhibitions and education, with special emphasis on visually interesting objects that tell stories or have interesting provenances over more traditional “great books.”
Finch Collins is Assistant curator of Rare Books at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology in Kansas City, MO.
Jullyana Araujo, a Brazilian librarian, also responded to RBH by email. She is currently a PhD student of Museology and Heritage in a Museology and Heritage Postgraduate Program. She explained it's a joint program between the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) and the Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences (MAST), both in Rio de Janeiro.
“As a librarian, she wrote, I've learned about developing collections during my undergrad and I've worked in institutions where it was part of the job. But because my focus has always been on preventive conservation, I only started thinking about the how and the why of collecting and collections during my Master's degree, and even so, all the thoughts about this topic were a small part of it - only a chapter. Which is why I'm pursuing my PhD in Museology and Heritage and why I'm trying to understand a little bit more about the world of collections and collecting - the why, how, who, and where of it all.
“I believe collecting is a fundamental human trait, even if one, like me, doesn't see oneself as a collector. We can collect pretty much everything and we do so for various reasons: to have "the thing", to have a "complete thing" (a collection), or even, as I said during the symposia, to make us happy and keep us sane in this rapidly changing world… It can also bring us a sense of accomplishment.
“Personally, I'm still figuring out my collection…It's all still mostly academic curiosity, which I hope to extrapolate to my personal life in the future."
Jullyana Araujo is a Brazilian librarian.
The other two participants did not respond to our inquiry.
The virtual sessions were coordinated and moderated by Allie Alvis, curator of special collections of the Winterthur Library, who is responsible for the stewardship and engagement of the collection. Allie is particularly involved in the study and act of using social media for communicating book history, and maintains popular accounts across various platforms as Book Historia.
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