Author: Mrs. Bridget C. Conlogue

The Heritage Room will feature an exhibit of the medieval material from the McHugh Family Special Collections. The Library has long held a collection of three complete manuscripts and seven books printed before 1500. These were traditionally called incunables, which translates loosely from Latin as books from the cradle of printing. During the past 25 years, Special Collections has added a few dozen manuscript leaves and fragments as well as facsimiles of medieval manuscripts. This exhibit will showcase the oldest and rarest material owned by the Library. The exhibit will run through December 12. On November 13 at 5:30 Prof. Michael Knies will speak on the production and use of medieval manuscripts and early printed books in the Heritage Room. Please contact Special Collections Librarian, Prof. Michael Knies at Michael.Knies@Scranton.edu or (570) 941-6341 for more information.

Learning to Write: American Penmanship Manuals from the David Kaminski and Zaner-Bloser Collections 1791-1980 is the Heritage Room autumn exhibit. The exhibit presents a wide range of manuals used by students of penmanship in the United States, from the first known manual, The Art of Writing Reduced to a Plain and Easy System by John Jenkins, through manuals produced by the Zaner-Bloser Company in the later 20th century. The exhibit will run through Friday, December 15. For more information contact Michael Knies at Michael.Knies@scranton.edu or 570-941-6341.

Pride, Passion, Promise: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Presidency of the Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S. J.

This Weinberg Library Heritage Room exhibit celebrates the University of Scranton career of Rev Scott R. Pilarz, S. J. (1959-2021) on the 20th the anniversary of his appointment as the 24th President of the University of Scranton in 2003. The exhibit focuses on the dramatic expansion of campus facilities spearheaded by Fr. Pilarz under his 2005-2010 Strategic Plan – Pride, Passion, Promise: Shaping Our Jesuit Tradition.

The exhibit was curated by Special Collections Librarian, Professor Michael Knies with assistance from Digital Services Assistant David Hunisch, Special Collections Assistant Bridget Conlogue, Assistant to the Dean of the Library Kym Fetsko, and Digital Services Librarian, Professor Colleen Farry.

The exhibit will run through April 23, 2023. For more information, please contact Michael Knies at Michael.Knies@Scranton.edu or 570-941-6341

The 30th Anniversary of the Weinberg Memorial Library briefly presents the history of libraries on campus and showcases the planning, building and opening of the Weinberg Memorial Library, the dedication of the library featured an address by James Billington, Librarian of Congress. The exhibit also highlights the library’s core instructional mission and the scope of library programming during the past 30 years. The exhibit will run through December 17, 2022.

Going Coeducational: Women on Campus 1923-1972 presents the history of women’s educational opportunities on campus starting with Nellie Brown, the first woman to take a class at what was then St.Thomas College in 1923, through women taking evening classes starting in the mid-1930s, women being admitted to the new graduate school in 1950, and culminating in the University going fully coeducational in 1972. The exhibit focuses on the move to coeducation starting in 1970. The University delayed implementing coeducation due to objections from Marywood, a women’s college at the time. The two institutions attempted to create a cooperative educational environment where students could take classes at either school. After a year, however, both institutions realized that the attempt at cooperation was not succeeding and the University went fully coeducational in Spring 1972. This exhibit is based on research conducted by Kathleen Reilly ’17 for her Honors Thesis Girls at the “U”: A History of Coeducation at the University of Scranton. The exhibit will run until April 23, 2023.