FALL 2024 VOLUME 49 | NUMBER 2
On the cover:
Detail of a Venetian gradual, circa 1500
View cover image
A Venetian gradual (choir book), circa 1500, held by the Northwestern Music Library and displayed in a student-curated exhibit in Deering Library last spring. Photography by Jasmin Shah.
In this issue
Music Library exhibitions plumb old materials for new discoveries
Two recent exhibitions featuring rare materials from the Music Library led to the unearthing of a rare Gregorian plainchant document and brought sounds alive that haven’t been heard since the 18th century.
Here to Help: Geographic information systems
In this issue, geographic information systems, or GIS, specialists Méch Frazier and Kelsey Rydland share what makes their expertise some of the most sought after in the Libraries.
From here to e-ternity
In a golden age of digital materials, what role do libraries play in disseminating the vast digital resources of publishers?
Acquiring mind: John Blosser retires after 32 years
The former head of Acquisitions for Northwestern Libraries reflects on the changes to libraries over the past three decades on the occasion of his retirement.
Merry Garry
A fall exhibition at the Libraries showcases the archive of prolific director and irrepressible joke-teller Garry Marshall. Marshall's influence on American pop culture is vast and undeniable, as was his love of Northwestern.Donor Spotlight: Will Evans ’77, ’81 MBA
Among many contributions to his alma mater, Will Evans’ most legacy-making impact may be the campaign to endow the role of curator of the Black experience, held by Charla Wilson, who joined the library in 2017. That foundational effort helped Evans earn the Deering Family Award, University Libraries’ highest recognition. In his remarks at last May’s annual ceremony, Evans called the recognition a true honor.
“I have received several awards through the years, but this is a defining moment for me,” he said. “It means I have lived up to Northwestern’s values. I have a deep passion and appreciation for Northwestern, and it is very humbling to be honored here today.”
Evans has been a longtime supporter of the University, but his philanthropic endeavors picked up speed in recent years, most recently underwriting the curator position to ensure its longevity for generations to come. His gifts to the Libraries have been constant, in the form of both outright and deferred gifts.
Evans spent 40 years in the natural gas industry, starting as an engineering intern at Peoples Gas in 1974.
“I would not have guessed that I would retire as president of the company,” he said. “I served under two different presidents who were also Northwestern alumni. They watched over my career just because I was a Wildcat—they helped transform my career.”
Evans was president of the Northwestern University Black Alumni Association from 2018 to 2020, and he cochaired his 15th, 30th, 35th, 40th, and 45th reunion committees. His community service mindset has extended to several other board positions outside Northwestern, including chair of the Skokie Board of Fire and Police Commissioners and of Chicago Commons, a nonprofit that provides quality early childhood education, family-centered adult education, and senior services for underserved communities.
“It’s truly amazing how one thing, no matter how big or small, can transform your life and make things better for you. For me that one thing may be Northwestern University,” Evans said. “I’d like to think that I have made a difference, that I have been a good leader and a positive role model for others, that I have lived up to those Northwestern values.”
Photo by Yun Oldshue
Library Plaza revived as gathering spot
Despite being central to campus, Burgess Plaza at University Library has never been renowned as a congregating spot. That is, not until Libraries facilities manager James Abbott worked with Northwestern’s facilities department to develop the space with some friendlier furnishings that could bring community to the plaza.
The furniture arrived in spring, and immediately students and staff could be found gathering at an array of Adirondack chairs and shaded tables, some sized to accommodate wheelchairs.
“If you go to other universities, this type of outdoor furniture is almost automatic,” Abbott said.
“This could be a start of something for the plaza.”
See some historical photos of the plaza in this issue.
Impact Report 2023-24
From the Dean
Dean of Libraries Xuemao Wang opens the impact report with a note to our supporters: "One year after implementing a new vision for the Libraries, I want to take a moment to reflect on the beginning of our journey and our current course. I am thrilled with how our staff has embraced the challenge I laid before them last fall. We are making progress together in the same direction, setting ourselves up as a library of the future."
Software team receives grant to develop AI search
A team of Libraries software developers this fall released a new search tool empowered by generative artificial intelligence, a trailblazing foray into using AI to discover the full depth of a library collection. Fueled by a significant grant from IMLS, the Libraries will expand the work with this transformative technology.
Student-led exhibit explores Indigenous creators in McCormick collections
A student-led pop-up exhibition explores Indigenous writers and book-making as part of a collaboration between the McCormick Library and an undergraduate English course.
Deering renovation to improve accessibility of interior spaces
The Deering Library renovation of public spaces continues, with a new elevator in a more prominent location improving the accessibility of the 90-year old building.2023–24 by the numbers
$439,000
Institute for Library and Museum Services 2024 National Leadership Grant awarded to develop an AI search tool, the eighth-highest such grant this year. Fifty-six leadership grants were issued this cycle for an average of $265,000.
267
hours spent researching collections to answer McCormick Library remote patron queries
835
students visited the McCormick Library to experience rare primary-source materials firsthand as part of classroom instruction
80,000
books moved to the Oak Grove Library Center to accommodate the renovation of Deering Library; 45,000 will return after the renovation, restoring the Eloise W. Martin Reading Room to its original capacity.