CURRENT EXHIBITS:
Nancy Marshall (Rotunda) Gallery and Special Collections Research Center on the first floor
September 18, 2009-February 7, 2010
A proposal to build a gymnasium on the second floor of the Wren Building? A swimming pool in the basement of the women’s dormitory? Basketball at William & Mary Hall without heat? Stadium expansion controversy? This and much more are to be found in Swem Library’s exhibit “Healthful and Recreative: Fields for Fitness, Courts for Competition, and Arenas for Athletics, 1900-1970.” Concentrating on the buildings and fields opened from 1900 to 1970, the exhibit uses documents, images, and memorabilia from Swem’s Special Collections Research Center to explore how the growth of athletic facilities was key to expanding infrastructure, attracting students, and maintaining alumni interest as the College of William and Mary grew from an all-male college of 200 students to a university of over 5,000 full-time students.
Images of the installed exhibit cases are available from the SCRC on Flickr. Digital companions to the exhibit will be available online via iTunes U and the W@M Digital Archive and on Swem Library's iPods. They include: the song "Ode to Cary Field" written to protest the proposed stadium expansion of 1979-1981; an audio recording from the victory rally after William & Mary defeated the Navy football team in 1967; "College Athletics as Big Business--Where to Now?" from the program Williamsburg Weekly in Spring 1981; the WMBG radio program Information Point: The College Athletic Study in 1974; and more to be added. A timeline following the buildings and fields featured in the exhibit is also available. Finally, the SCRC Wiki provides a great deal of information about campus buildings.
The cases in the Nancy Marshall (Rotunda) Gallery explore current and past athletic buildings on campus from William & Mary’s first gymnasium built in 1900 through William & Mary Hall, which hosted its first basketball game in December 1970. One section relates the story of William & Mary’s first gymnasium at one time proposed for the second floor of the Wren Building. Correspondence between College President Lyon G. Tyler and a member of the Board of Visitors in favor of the plan displays Tyler’s skepticism. Another section highlights the history of Blow Gym from W.A.R. Goodwin’s 1920s fundraising ledger through expansion and improvements until it was renovated into a classroom and administrative building in the 1990s. Another section features the first athletic facilities built specifically for women including a blueprint of Jefferson Hall and games in action on the Barksdale Athletic Fields. The gallery is rounded out with a look at the multiple users of Adair and William & Mary Halls with photographs, tickets, and other material from Adair’s dedication, the first frigid basketball game in William & Mary Hall, and other events.
The exhibit continues in the adjoining Special Collections Research Center with sections about Cary Field and early tennis courts. Notable is the display of a baseball uniform from a member of the class of 1933. One case highlights the early years of Cary Field, which was named in 1909 by the Board of Visitors after several gifts for improving the field by T. Archibald Cary. Despite use by teams for games and practices, the field continued to hold agricultural interest as illustrated through a 1913 letter from a Williamsburg resident requesting access to the field for his cow. Visitors can follow the expansion of Cary Field and stadium construction during the Great Depression, 1980 stadium expansion controversy, the variety of athletic teams formerly based at Cary Field, and the dedication of Zable Stadium through photographs, brochures, tickets, and other material. Another section follows the construction, expansion, and irregular movement of early tennis courts across campus and features a William & Mary student’s tennis racquet. The exhibit concludes with enlarged aerial photographs of campus from the 1920s to the present showcasing the changing footprint of athletic fields and buildings across campus.
“Healthful and Recreative: Fields for Fitness, Courts for Competition, and Arenas for Athletics, 1900-1970” is on display in the Nancy Marshall Gallery and the Special Collections Research Center, located on the first floor of Swem Library. The exhibit will be open through February 7, 2010. The Nancy Marshall Gallery is open whenever Swem Library is open; the Special Collections Research Center is open more limited hours. For details on hours, see the Swem Library and Special Collections Research Center hours.
All material is from the Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library. Curator: Amy Schindler, University Archivist; Exhibit Design and Installation: Chandi Singer, Warren E. Burger Archives Specialist; Installers: Ellen Cloyed, Serials Cataloger, Katie Moore, SCRC student, Lily Rubino, SCRC student; Poster Graphics: Karen McCluney, Swem Graphic Artist; Ticket and Title Graphics: Barbara Gaut, SCRC Volunteer.
Read & Relax in Swem Library on the first floor
January 27, 2010-April 2010
This exhibit commemorates Black History month with a look at the evolution of African American student life at the College of William and Mary. On March 22, 1951, Hulon Willis became the first African American student admitted to William and Mary. The first case shares the lives of the first African American students, while the second case chronicles several student organizations. The first case is open immediately and the second case will open later this month. The exhibit includes photographs, articles, fliers and other material from the Special Collections Research Center.
To learn more about early African American students at the College of William and Mary, visit the SCRC Wiki.
Curator: Steven Bookman, University Archives Specialist, Tova Johnson, Graduate Student Apprentice; Exhibit design and installation: Chandi Singer, Burger Archives Assistant.
One flat case near the front door of Swem Library on the first floor
January 21, 2010-March 2010
In honor of the College of William and Mary's annual Charter Day Ceremony on February 6, 2010, an exhibit case of original material and reproductions is on display at the entrance to Swem Library. Items on exhibit include a reproduction of the the first page of the copy of the Royal Charter held by Swem Library, items from past Charter Day ceremonies, and information about this year's honorary degree recipients and speaker.
To learn more about Charter Day and the Royal Charter, visit the SCRC Wiki.
Curator: Steven Bookman, University Archives Specialist; Exhibit design and installation: Chandi Singer, Burger Archives Assistant.
Flat case near Brown Board Room and Library Administration on the third floor
March 2009-2010
This exhibit marks the centennial of Tucker Hall opening to the public. In May 1909, the College of William and Mary's new library, the building we know today as Tucker Hall, was dedicated. The exhibit explores the history of Tucker Hall from its beginning to today. The exhibit includes photographs, correspondence, programs, and other material from the Special Collections Research Center. An image of the installed exhibit is available at the SCRC's Flickr page.
Curator: Steve Bookman, University Archives Specialist; Exhibit design and installation: Chandi Singer, Burger Archives Assistant.
Third Floor (Rotunda) Gallery
June 2009-
The earliest poster for an athletic event in the Special Collections Research Center, on display in this exhibit, is for the football team from 1926. Records about sports and athletic teams at the university from earlier and to the present in a variety of other formats are also available in the collection. Posters such as these are not only visually interesting and trace printing and advertising in the 20th century, but may also serve as rich sources of information about students and university life as well as other College of William and Mary, local, and world events. The posters on display come from among the over 1,700 in the University Archives Poster Collection.The Special Collections Research Center actively collects material in a variety of formats from students and university departments. We encourage students and organizations to consider donating material to ensure that future students and researchers have access to these rich sources of information about life at William and Mary. Visit or contact the Special Collections Research Center for more information. Images of the posters in this exhibit are available from the department's Flickr page.
Curator: Amy Schindler, University Archivist; Exhibit design and installation: Chandi Singer, Burger Archives Assistant.
Special Collections Research Center
The SCRC is home to the papers of the late Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. While the collection will not be open to researchers for many years, the SCRC does have an exhibit re-creating the atmosphere of his office. Many objects actually used by Burger are on display in the Burger Office on the first floor of the SCRC. For more information and photographs, please see the Warren E. Burger Online Exhibit.
Special Collections Research Center
The SCRC cares for and displays the College of William and Mary regalia when it is not in use for official university functions including Opening Convocation, Charter Day, and Commencement. The exhibit features the College Mace, Marischal Mace, President's Medallion, Badge and Chain of Office of the Rector of the Board of Visitors, and the Badge and Chain of Office of the Chancellor. For more information, please see more information about each piece at the SCRC Wiki.
