Peek in the Stacks

The evolution of the scrapbook dates back centuries, as people began to document their lives, the places they visited, and the significant events that shaped their daily lives in the unique format. Special Collections and Archives holds a wide variety of materials that illustrate this evolution, including scrapbooking's historical roots and the merging of storytelling...

The Left Book Club was a left-wing organization founded in 1936 by labor politician Sir Richard Stafford Cripps, Sir Victor Gollancz, a publisher and humanitarian, and Evelyn John St Loe Strachey a labor politician and writer in the United Kingdom. Its primary purpose was to speak out against fascism and promote peace in the world through its publications. The club supplied a book title for purchase by members every month that covered a number of topics, including science, reporting, fiction, and a range of other subjects, from a left-leaning perspective...

When a student or other patron requests a book in the Special Collections and Archives Reading Room, he or she is sometimes surprised to find the book is a part of our Miniature Book Collection. Whether or not a book is called "miniature" is determined entirely by its size; any book smaller than 3" can be considered a miniature book. Miniature books are often made in limited editions. Some people find them so fascinating...

The Temperance Movement, also called the Prohibition Movement, was a political and social movement in the United States during Progressive Era. Supporters of the Temperance Movement, mostly Protestant and known as "teetotalers," worked for many decades to end the sale of alcohol across the United States at the local, state and national level. Groups like the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and Anti-Saloon League argued alcohol was the root of numerous social problems plaguing the nation at the time, especially in rapidly expanding urban areas flush with new, predominantly Catholic, immigrant groups...