For most students, the libraries are a quiet place to study and a resource for research projects. But to the librarians and curators, they are a point of pride and a recipient of worldwide acclaim and attention.
The university’s libraries have recently been in the spotlight for their newly finished digital collection, “A Treasury of World’s Fair Art & Architecture,” which was five years in the making, according to Subject Librarian for Architecture and Historic Preservation Patti Cossard.
The digital collection is the newest aspect of the extensive collection of world’s fair materials the Architecture Library showcases, according to Cossard.
“We have about 500 rare books and a graphic collection which includes about 1,700 pieces such as photographs, postcards and pamphlets handed out at the fairs,” Cossard said.
The university’s collection is so extensive it is considered an exemplar for the research venue of the 2010 world’s fair in Shanghai.
According to Cossard, the Shanghai committee has worked closely with the university’s collection and has used it as a model for creating its own collection of books and other archival material. Cossard and a few other members of the library staff were even invited to Shanghai in 2004 to provide consultation on how to improve the Shanghai collection.
The digital collection is also considered to be one of the official websites for the world’s fair, Cossard said.
The worldwide attention is not the only characteristic that sets the university’s collection apart from other world’s fair collections, however.
“Other schools and other libraries have collections, but they tend to be focused on just one fair,” Cossard said. “Our collection is unique because it includes a representation of around 50 international fairs.”
The digital collection is free for all to access at www.lib.umd.edu/digital/worldsfairs.
Contact reporter Emily Groves at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.
