Added 4/7/08 15:53 EDT

FORMER SC&A DARKROOM FINDS NEW LIFE AS LIBRARY PRESERVATION LAB. Fenwick Library recently converted a small photo lab to a preservation lab. While the area is not large, with some simple equipment many old or worn books can be restored to a useful condition with a much lengthened shelf life. The main equipment consists of various kinds of specialized small hand tools, Japanese paper for strengthening repairs, glues and pastes, a small book press and other weights, and a good, precise paper cutter. After some initial training, staff can repair torn or loose pages, loose text blocks, torn book spines and create protective enclosures for books or other items too fragile to be left on the shelves by themselves.

Added 3/3/08 10:37 EDT

SC&A's RENOVATION IS COMPLETE. Special Collections & Archives underwent a renovation over the winter to expand its public area and make using the department a much more pleasant, quiet, and comfortable experience. We are proud of our new space and welcome anyone and everyone to stop by to use our new facility or pay a visit. Thank you once again for your patience during the construction. Please call (703-993-2220), email (speccoll@gmu.edu), or stop by (Fenwick Library, C-204).

Added 1/9/08 13:20 EST

FRENCH THEATRE COLLECTION. SC&A has received a gift of over four hundred black and white photographs documenting the career of French actor, mime, and director Jean-Louis Barrault (1910-1994). The collection includes production stills and images of theatrical life taken between 1947 and 1979. Included are images of playwrights Albert Camus, Andre Gide, and Samuel Beckett, and stills from productions of plays by Eugene Ionesco, Edward Albee, and Jean Genet, as well as Shakespeare and Moliere. Suzanne Donnelly Jenkins and Paul Jenkins of New York City donated the photographs, which complement and expand SC&A's strong theatre collections. The collection will be available to researchers in Spring 2008.

Added 12/14/07 11:15 EST

SC&A WILL BE UNDERGOING RENOVATION BEGINNING DECEMBER 17, 2007. Special Collections & Archives will be undergoing a renovation to expand our reading room and improve service and access during the winter break of 2007-2008. Open hours may vary depending upon whether construction will cause excessive noise or will limit access to the department. Please call (703-993-2220) or email (speccoll@gmu.edu) ahead if you plan to visit for up-to-date information regarding open hours.

Added 10/15/07 10:20 EDT

SC&A INTERVIEWS ROGER WILKINS, ROBINSON PROFESSOR AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY. On September 26th, 2007 SC&A’s Oral History Program staff interviewed Robinson Professor and Pulitzer Prize winner, Roger Wilkins. Professor Wilkins, who is preparing to retire from teaching at Mason after 20 years, discussed his many memories and impressions of Mason and how the university has changed over the years. He compared this generation of Mason students, in terms of their political involvement, to the generation of which he was a part, and he also discussed his past roles in shaping public schools and his future plans to help improve the current situation in the District of 
Columbia's public school system.

Added 8/14/07 14:30 EDT

ROBERT PROSKY DONATES PERSONAL PAPERS COLLECTION TO SC&A. Actor Robert Prosky, best known for his television role in Hill Street Blues and in numerous roles in films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Man Walking, and The Chamber (from which the photograph of Prosky and Chris O'Donnell at left was taken) donated his personal papers to Special Collections & Archives in mid July.  The collection represents over 50 years of his life and includes letters, photographs, scripts and memorabilia which detail Prosky's long career in theater, television and film.  Please visit the links below to read more about Prosky and his donation.

Theatrical Collections a Specialty of University Libraries Archives

The Five-Minute Interview: Actor Robert Prosky

Added 7/3/07 7:10 EDT

ON EXHIBIT IN SC&A: Road Trip: Transportation History Resources in Special Collections & Archives. From early road surveying to sophisticated computer traffic planning models, America's love of overland travel has made us, of necessity, enamored of roads. Road Trip: Transportation History Resources in Special Collections & Archives demonstrates that the history of transportation can be studied through a broad variety of resources: popular magazines document consumer culture's embrace of the automobile; postcards and tourist pamphlets promote travel and leisure on the nation's highways; Civil War maps and graphics show the importance of roads to military campaigns; government surveys and promotional material depict the role of transportation planning in regional and community development. The exhibit begins with the earliest legislation for road building in Virginia, and ends with material from the Mertz, Deen, and McDonnell transportation collections. The exhibit promotes a unique perspective on the graphic, archival, cartographic, journal, and rare book holdings in Special Collections & Archives.

Added 5/21/07  13:35 EDT

ON EXHIBIT IN SC&A: Documenting Subversion in America: The Francis J. McNamara Collection. The relationship between surveillance and subversion is on display in an exhibit of materials from the McNamara Collection. Francis McNamara had a long career in anti-communist and anti-"subversive" activities, serving as staff director of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1960s and later as a staffer with the Subversive Activities Control Board. His papers consist of correspondence, staff briefs, and publications of hundreds of dissident groups. Through August 1.