Current Issue: Spring 2026
Article
Spring 2026
Algae in Special Collections: Making Room for STEM
Lucy Perrin
The Pepperdine University special collections department is less than a century old. The department supports instruction through intentional acquisitions and generous ...
Recently Published
Article • Spring 2026
The Ordinary Numinosity of the Book: A Framework for Understanding Affective Encounters in Book Exhibition Contexts
Susana Sanchez-Gonzalez
The numen—drawn from religious and anthropological discourse—refers to a spiritual or ineffable quality that certain objects or places seem to possess, commanding responses of wonder, respect, or profound connection. In museums and library exhibitions, books often sit behind glass, closed or partially ...
Article • Spring 2026
“Widening the Poison Books Scope: Addressing Bibliotoxicology at a Medium- Sized Public University Library
Judith L Silva, Zachary Voras
Academic libraries face the challenge of what Drs. Melissa Tedone and Rosie Grayburn called “poison books,” or bibliotoxicology.1 Researchers at large institutions are conducting studies of library holdings, testing books for heavy metals, identifying health and safety guidelines ...
Article • Spring 2026
Cataloging a Life’s Work: Notes from the George Bixby James Baldwin Collection
Indica Mattson
In June 2024, as the rare materials cataloger at Cornell University Library, I began the task of cataloging a near-complete collection of the published works of the writer, intellectual, and civil rights activist James Baldwin. George Bixby, a New York City-based publisher, bibliophile, and book collector, gathered these editions over the course of five decades, with the ultimate aim of creating a bibliography of Baldwin’s work. ...