The Lilly Library is giving romance the spotlight with its new exhibit Love in the Library, which showcases the first substantial collection of romance literature in a major American library. The collection is available to visit Aug. 19 through Feb. 15, 2025.
Diversification was key in putting together this exhibit, according to curator Rebecca Baumann. She emphasized that this collection purposefully showcases romance literature from and about marginalized people who have been historically ignored in the genre.
“There's way more romances now with neurodivergent characters and disabled characters, and being able to read those and say, ‘yes, I deserve love, I can find love, this could be my story, and there's something incredibly powerful about that” Baumann said.
The Lilly Library bought the collection of books on display in 2021 from Rebecca Romney, author and co-founder of bookselling firm Type Punch Matrix. The Lilly Library was the first library to have been offered the collection. Baumann put some additional books in the exhibit’s display to further explore the contemporary side of the romance genre.
After purchasing Romney’s collection, Lilly Library staff spent the next few years cataloging and preparing for the exhibit. Baumann said that even unboxing the thousands of books was a lengthy and strenuous process.
“The reason we can't buy a big collection and then immediately display it, is the time that it takes to catalog the collection,” Baumann said. “So that's a part of the work that goes into an exhibition that is often invisible.”
Each display highlights a sub-section of the romance genre, such as gothic, historical, young adult and sci-fi. The books lie upon crushed velvet and are protected inside glass cases with descriptions of each genre and its connection to the exhibit. Some selections include “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen and “Heartstopper” by Alice Oseman.
Through this exhibition, Baumann said she wanted to challenge the consciousness surrounding romance literature and prove that it has value within the history of books and our culture. She said that romantic literature is often not taken seriously, and it has been dismissed as frivolous or only for women, despite its immense popularity.
“It really signals to the world, this is culture,” Baumann said. “This is important. This is what historians will study. This is what literary critics will study. This is how we learn things about how people lived and loved and desired in the past and today.”
Jenny Mack, museum exhibition specialist and exhibit designer for the Lilly Library, worked on the physical aspects of Love in the Library. She built stands and designed tangible spaces and layouts for the displays. Mack said that the close detail and care that goes into creating the exhibit allows books to shine as pieces of art, not just words on pages.
“We really care about all aspects of the book, including the binding, the color, the way it was built,” Mack said. “It as an object, essentially.”
According to Mack, 315 visitors came to the exhibit during the First Thursday’s festival happening outside the library on Sept. 5. She said that the best part of these big crowds was witnessing their excitement both during and after their visits.
“When I clean the cases and I get to see all the fingerprints, I see where people really got into it,” Mack said. “It’s evidence to me that people are engaged and they're excited and they're reading something, which is the goal, right?”
Matt Trzaskus, an IU freshman studying cinematic arts, was one of many people drawn into the exhibit during the First Thursday’s event. He said he already had an appreciation for the romance genre and even acted in an adapted stage version of “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen.
“Yeah, I definitely think it's really cool, and I wasn’t really expecting to see something like this today,” Trzaskus said. “It’s kind of strange and weird, but I would absolutely come again.”
Even after the books are put away, Baumann hopes to encourage more research and collections of romance literature in the future.
“We don't want to just buy this big collection from [Romney] and call it done,” Baumann said. “We want to be a library that is actively collecting romance, which is very challenging because there's just so much.”
The exhibit will be available to view until the day after Valentines Day. Rebecca Romney will visit the exhibit Oct. 23 and romance author Beverly Jenkins will visit Feb. 13.
