About Archival Exhibitions:  Throughout the calendar year, Archives and Special Collections curates and installs one or more original exhibitions on the first floor of the library near the Circulation Desk as well as on the third floor near the entrance to the repository.  While the theme or focus of each exhibition varies, the archives strives to present original materials from ten different collections for the benefit of our academic community and the general public.  In addition, within the archives' Reading Room, a permanent exhibit case always features highlights of the repository's collections and is accessible whenever the archives is open or by appointment.  David Wyche (pictured left), an archives graduate student assistant and PhD candidate in American Studies at Penn State Harrisburg, and Elizabeth "Liz" McIlhenney (pictured right), former Archives Processing Assistant, have contributed towards curating many of our exhibitions and displays.

About Library Displays:  Smaller archival and/or informational displays are rotated throughout the calendar year and usually located on the first floor of the library near the Reference or Circulation Desks.  These displays typically commemorate an event or celebration, such as LGBTQ+ History Month, or another topic of interest to the college community.

About Outreach:  Since 2006, the archives has developed over 50 exhibitions and smaller displays, many of which involved partnerships and collaborations with academic departments and student clubs on campus, local collectors, or area and national museums and historical organizations, including the following:  American Philatelic Society, Antique Automobile Club of America's Chris & Kathleen Koch Library and Research Center, Highspire Historical Society, Middletown Area Historical Society, Penn State All-Sports Museum, Penn State Harrisburg Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies, Pennsylvania National Fire Museum, Pennsylvania State Archives, and Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Service (SITES), and THON.  Please contact Heidi Abbey Moyer if you or your organization would like to collaborate with the archives!

January - August 2025, Exhibition (1st Floor)
"The Classroom and Beyond: Student Life at Penn State Harrisburg"

We are celebrating students and the evolution of student life at Penn State Harrisburg in our newest exhibition that includes materials from the College History Archives.  "The Classroom and Beyond," features over thirty unique items in five display cases that date from the mid-1960s to the present. They are organized in seven different categories: academics, alumni, athletics, international students, student clubs, student publications, and the Harrisburg Rock Festival, which was a campus tradition from 1970 until 1978.  This exhibition was designed by Katelyn M. Miller, Archives and Library Services Specialist, who served as the lead curator, in collaboration with Payton Becker, American Studies PhD Student and Graduate Archives Assistant, and Heidi Abbey Moyer, Archivist and Humanities Reference Librarian. Please stop by the 1st floor of the library to view it soon!
 

January - August 2025, Exhibition (3rd Floor, Reading Room)
"Archives and Special Collections Greatest Hits"

For visitors interested in seeing examples from our ten archival collections, this exhibition is for you!  From the Alice K. Marshall Women's History Collection to the Three Mile Island Collection, the "Greatest Hits" showcases a wide range of materials that are on display in the Reading Room of Archives and Special Collections. It is available for viewing whenever the archives is open (Mondays from 11 am - 1 pm) and by appointment.  

September 2024 - August 2025, Poster Exhibition
(1st Floor, Linda Schwab Holocaust Gallery and Reading Room)
"State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda"

In partnership with the Penn State Harrisburg Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies and the Penn State Harrisburg School of Humanities, this exhibition is on display in the Linda Schwab Holocaust Gallery and Reading Room. Located on the first floor of the Hanes Library, this poster exhibition is based on the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's exhibition by the same name, which was produced in collaboration with the Holocaust and United Nations Outreach Program. ​ The posters encourage viewers to "think about what propaganda is, how it works, and how to respond when it aims to divide people and promote violence" (U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum). Special thanks to Katelyn M. Miller, Archives and Library Services Specialist, for curating this poster exhibition. It is available for viewing, whenever the Hanes Library is open now through August 2025. For more information about the Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies, please contact Professor Hannah R. Lair, Director of the Center.

March-April 2025, Exhibition for Women's History Month
"Women as Food: An Exhibition on Depictions of Women as Edible Objects."
This exhibition is located in our newest exhibition case, which is located on the 3rd Floor of the Hanes Library, near the entrance to Archives and Special Collections.  Designed by Payton Becker, who is the lead curator, and Katelyn M. Miller, it features some of our popular, colorful and thought-provoking postcards from the Alice K. Marshall Women's History Collection.  

February - May 2025, "Expressions in Grayscale," 2nd Student Art Exhibition  (1st Floor, Library Art Wall)

In partnership with the School of Humanities, the Hanes Library is proud to showcase the 2^nd Student Art Exhibition on the Library Art Wall.  Located on the 1^st Floor of the Hanes Library, near the DVDs and Reference Collection, this student art exhibition features ten charcoal drawings and self-portraits created by first-year art students in Professor Bye's ART 20 class. It was curated with the assistance of Denise Saunders in the School of Humanities and Archives team members, Katelyn M. Miller and Payton Becker. 

Please "Save the Date" and plan to join us this fall when we expect to participate in "Archives Day" at the PA Capital Complex in downtown Harrisburg, PA.  Archives and Special Collections will be featured along with representatives from the PA House Archives, the PA Senate Library, PA State Archives and the PA State Library.  We will be giving away Penn State University Libraries swag and other free archives promotional items.

Every year in the month of October, we also celebrate #AskAnArchivist Day!  Please visit our Facebook page to connect with us and ask the archivist questions. Also during the month of October, Archives and Special Collections celebrates American Archives Month. Join the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) and/or the national professional organization for archivists and records managers, the Society of American Archivists, to raise awareness of and support for archives!