Illinois State's Special Collections at Milner Library [stories to tell]: Thanks for Sharing Our Special Collections Journey

As the semester winds down...

We are wrapping up our blog review of Illinois State University's Special Collections at Milner Library. We've enjoyed learning about and experiencing what Milner has to offer and hope you have gotten something worthwhile from our posts.

This will be our last post, but if you are interested in experiencing Milner Library's Special Collections for yourself or wondering how you can contribute to their collections, check out their homepage and feel free to reach out to their staff to touch base.

You can access any of our reviews under "Pages" or click on the links below by title.

To end, we would like to share with you what Maureen Brunsdale, the head of Milner's Special Collections, had to say when we asked her about how the department was started and what people should know about it.

"It began with Eleanor Weir Welsh, Milner Library’s Director. She started three special collections – Children’s Literature, Rare & Fine Books and the Circus & Allied Arts Collection. (The Lincoln Collection came to us from Harold K. Sage in the mid-1970s.) As to our passion for the place: It’s the materials entrusted to us and the people – like you – who we get to interact with, that bring us enthusiasm. We work hard to integrate the materials under our care into the curricular offerings at ISU and are delighted when they do get used!!
It’s the coolest place on campus – because it is here where all the fabulous items in all four collections reside! These things belong to yesterday’s, today’s and tomorrow’s students, faculty, and staff."

Thank you!

Donnie and Rakesh