Lilly Library houses a world of history

A woman polishes the silver metal handle of a locked brown padded door. Meanwhile, visitors peer through glass cases, coming closer than they might ever be to the likes of Thomas Jefferson, William Shakespeare, Charles Darwin, Christopher Columbus and Sylvia Plath.

That is, until they walk through that door.

The Lilly Library is home to more than 400,000 books, 130,000 pieces of sheet music and approximately 7 million manuscripts.

From the first printing of the Declaration of Independence to an extensive small book collection, students can access it all for nothing more than a photo ID.

“Compared to most rare book libraries we’re extraordinarily open,” said Rebecca Cape, head of reference and public services for the Library. “Absolutely anybody can come in to use the materials, and we think curiosity is a perfectly good reason to do so.”

In order to see any piece of the library’s collection, visitors simply must be buzzed through a set of brown doors to the reading room, register with the library and make their request.

Currently, the library is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the “Treasures of the Lilly Library,” exhibit that runs through May 8.

This exhibit features some of the Lilly’s more noteworthy pieces, but at any given time only “a tiny fraction of a percent of the total holdings is ever on exhibit,” Cape said.

While the library is home to several well-known pieces that are often on display, the majority of its holdings are more commonplace than the Gutenburg Bible or Sylvia Plath’s diaries.

“We have both a museum and a research function,” Cape said.

Graduate student Ashley Nicole Forns, a references services assistant at the library, said there is a mix of graduate and undergraduate students who use the reading room, but the majority of the use is for class.

Students in medieval studies courses often look at prayer books, medieval copies of scholarly works such as Aristotle and even 19th- and 20th-century versions of medieval stories, said Rosemarie McGerr, director of the Medieval Studies Institute.

“Many students have told me they really enjoyed looking at the works because they had no idea what these works look liked and how hard it was to read them in their original form,” McGerr said.

The Medieval Studies Institute works closely with the Lilly in what McGerr said is a partnership.

What she said she appreciates most about the library is the rarity of the pieces and the accessibility of the works to the public.

“It is a resource for the whole community, not just scholars or in private collections,” she said.

James Canary, head of conservation for the library, warns that “conservation and preservation are everybody’s jobs.” When students request materials, they are informed of proper etiquette and handling. Some books require cushions, meant to help the book rest in a comfortable position and minimize damage.

The majority of conservation efforts come from maintaining the environment in which the works are stored, as well as “using the building as protection,” Canary said.

Modern paper in comic books and newspapers are brittle and kept off-site at the Auxiliary Library, which is kept cooler than the Lilly Library. Manuscripts are stored in acid-free folders and acid-free boxes.

The goal of the conservation team, which consists of six students and four professionals, is to keep the works in usable condition.

“Very few items cannot be used and require the curator’s permission,” Canary said.

“We’re very good about access here. It’s a balance between preservation and access. They go hand in hand.”

The library acquires its pieces through a mix of donations from private collections and purchases, and its history reflects this.

“It’s one of the top libraries in the nation,” said Gabriel Swift, a reference assistant for the library.

In the mid-1950s, J.K. Lilly Jr. gave his collection — one of the nation’s finest at the time — to IU. The school has been cultivating a collection since approximately 1914. 

Lilly’s gift was so outstanding when combined with what the University already held, so IU decided to build a facility for all the special collections and manuscripts for IU’s Bloomington campus, Cape said.

“I say this to the people who work for me: Never say we don’t have something that will interest somebody,” Cape said. “Chances are we can find something. And why not? It’s here. It’s meant to be used.”