University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections & Archives

06/19/2026

Here at Special Collections and Archives, we have a lot of signed first editions. One of the highlights is this copy of James Baldwin’s 1963 book of essays The Fire Next Time. Baldwin was one of the most influential voices in American literature, writing six acclaimed novels, several plays, screenplays and books of poetry, and dozens of essays. This copy is inscribed by the author to literary critic and fellow essayist Seymour Krim.

06/17/2026

🚨New item alert! 🚨

A new acquisition for Special Collections and Archives, Girls Who Like Ice Cream Also Like Pie by artist Lisa Kokin is a one-of-a-kind artist's book made almost entirely out of found objects, mostly related to sewing and fashion. In fact, the pages are made from sewing pattern pieces! It is bound in cardboard printed with instructions on assembling a dresser.

Come see it and other one-of-a-kind artist's books in our reading room!

06/15/2026

The Gay Iowan was a student-run publication which was produced by the University of Iowa Gay Student Union. It ran from 1984-1989 and covered a wide variety of topics such as the AIDS crisis, civic engagement, film screenings, support groups, and community events. The Gay Student Union, now the Q***r Liberation Front, was founded in 1970.

06/05/2026

Stop by the third floor to see our newest Reading Room exhibition, curated by Olson Research Graduate Assistant Anne Moore. "The World Says No To War: Protest, Politics, and Art in the Aughts" showcases protest art of the 2000s and features artist's books, photography, political buttons, magazine articles, and even some CDs. Anne, thank you for your hard work as our Olson GA!

05/29/2026

This register of a Venetian confraternity has entries from 1556 to 1708 - that's over 150 years of record keeping! You can see the changes in handwriting and style as you look through the entries; some scribes chose cursive, some chose humanist miniscule, and some chose an italic hand. Each scribe also chose different decorations and capital letters; some used gold text, others used solid red caps, and others made ornamental designs with black ink. Which style is your favorite?

05/27/2026

Happy Iowa Women Wednesday! These photos are from the Harris Scheer Berg family papers, which are part of the Jewish Women in Iowa project. In these photographs, Hannah Scheer is being confirmed during Shavuot at Temple Judah in Cedar Rapids. The confirmation ceremony in Reform Judaism is only about 200 years old and likely originated in Germany. It would have been brought to Iowa by German-Jewish immigrants like the Scheer family in the late 1800s...
Material from IWA1040

05/22/2026

New on the blog: Student employee Whitney Jensen rounds up her top 10 Civil War documents held in Special Collections and Archives, from diaries that rode in the breast pockets of soldiers as they marched into battle to letters sent between loved ones over the course of the war. Click the link to read more about these fascinating pieces of American history.

Students Investigate: Special Collections’ most accessible Civil War documents Posted byElizabeth RiordanApril 30, 2026May 6, 2026Posted inCollection Connection, Students Investigate, Top 10Tags:civil war, student workers, students investigate, Top 10, Whitney jensen This series features the work ...