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Home > Friends > Giving > acquisitions page
Each year the Friends generously designate 20% of member contributions to fund the purchase of special collections materials. In FY 2008, this amounted to $35,000. Recommendations for purchase are identified by librarians and the curator of rare books in consultation with faculty and graduate students. Librarians presented their recommendations at the September Friends Acquisitions Committee meeting and following a lively discussion, xx selections were made. Members of the acquisitions committee were presented with an additional 5% for conservation of rare collections. We are particularly indebted to Sara Levy, who made an impressive contribution at the meeting to purchase a nearly complete set of Der Sturm. This German Expressionist periodical was published from 1914 to 1932, and is considered to be the most important publication of German Expressionism. Expressionism was the most important artistic and literary movement of the early 20thcentury in Europe, and Germany was at the center of the Expressionism movement. It is extremely rare to find nearly complete sets of Der Sturm, and for Sara Levy, who is passionate about 20th century avant-garde art, this was an opportunity not to be missed.Der Sturm complements an already rich collection of periodicals from the late 19th and early 20 th centuries in the avant-garde, and will be a rich resource for teaching and research. The Sheridan Libraries also own Der Sturm in microfilm, which provides access to the intellectual content. But, according to Sue Waterman, librarian for German and Romance languages and literature, contact with the items itself offers a much richer experience. “Having access to print issues is particularly important, not only for the faculty and grad students working in this era, but also to the undergraduates who get to ‘hold hands with their intellectual ancestors,’ something that is exceedingly rare in any field of endeavor.” View the list of new acquisitions |
