Visitors to the Lilly Library will find the space contains a collection of literature from across genres, including children’s books.
Erika Dowell, associate director of the Lilly Library, said the newest exhibit, “One Hundred Books Famous in Children’s Literature,” showcases these books in the hopes patrons will admire the collection and relive their youth.
Dowell said the last exhibits of this type took place in 1987 and 1992. The recent loan of a few children’s books to the Grolier Club in New York inspired the library to hold a similar event at Lilly.
“This exhibition focuses on books published for children or read by children over the past three centuries,” Dowell said. “All the books and original artwork in the exhibition is drawn from the Lilly Library’s holdings.”
The 1987 exhibit focused on Elisabeth Ball’s donation to the library, while the 1992 event showed a concrete range of books from the 18th and 19th centuries. “One Hundred Books” presents a variety of literature from the 17th to late 20th centuries.
Dowell said this is different than past shows, though the objectives for each exhibition are the same.
“The goals of all our exhibitions are to expose our collections to let people know what we have and how they can use the collections in the future,” Dowell said.
For this specific exhibition, Dowell said she wants people to see the variety and pattern within children’s literature through time.
“The exhibition shows how different themes have remained a constant through three centuries of publishing, for example, fairy tales,” Dowell said. “You can also see how books for children have changed dramatically. More and more pictures and color as you move through time, as well as more light-hearted themes. Many of the earliest books for children are very serious about religion and learning compared to children’s books today.”
Dowell said the exhibit is one of many ways to send a message to the community about the library and the many collections it hosts.
“Exhibitions help us let people know what the Library has available in a visually interesting way,” Dowell said.
Dowell said students may stop in and learn more about the library as well as relive memories of childhood reading. The exhibition began June 22 and will run through September 26. Library hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
“I really encourage all returning to students to think about stopping in for a few minutes,” Dowell said. “Almost everyone can find a book that they remember from when they were young, and I hope everyone can find an intriguing book they never knew existed.”
