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.  While the theme or focus of each exhibition varies, the archives strives to exhibit original materials from its 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.  Eleanor Schultz, Archives Administrative and Processing Assistant, (pictured left), curates many of our exhibitions and displays throughout the year.

About Library Displays:  Smaller archival and/or informational displays are rotated throughout the calendar year and located on the first floor of the library next to the Reference Desk.  These displays typically highlight an event, such as PSH Reads, or another topic of interest to the college community.

About Outreach:  Since 2006, the archives has developed exhibitions and smaller displays in partnership with academic departments and student clubs on campus, local collectors, as well as collaborated with other area and national museums and historical organizations, including the following:  American Philatelic Society, 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!

 

 

 

 

April 4, 2023 - September 1, 2023 Exhibition

"Much More Than The 'Splendid Little War': Exploring the Spanish-American War's Legacy on Its 125th Anniversary" 

Curated by American Studies graduate student and archives intern, Dustin T. Smith, this exhibition is the second in our series of outreach activities that highlight the 125th anniversary of the Spanish-American War of 1898 and its close connections to Middletown, Camp Meade, and present-day Penn State Harrisburg.  According to the curator, "The Spanish-American War was a truly complex conflict that involved more belligerents than simply Spain and the United States.  However, these complexities have been forgotten over time, resulting in the Spanish-American War's gradual oversimplification."  This exhibition seeks to correct this and draws attention to the contributions of African American servicemen of the U.S. military and the revolutionary forces from Cuba and the Philippines.  Generously on loan to the library and archives from the NGP History Project, the display features rare and unique items, such as a Model 1874 canteen used by a member of the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment's Company A and a wool, U.S. Army Volunteers fatigue blouse, ca. 1898.  Stop by the first floor of the library now through September 1st to see this wonderful new exhibition!  Can't make it to the campus?  Visit our Flickr album to see some of the objects on display.

 

January 15, 2022 - Present, Exhibition and Public Lecture

"Gross Breesen:  Jews Escaping Genocide Through Agricultural Education"

Curated by Steve Strauss and on loan to Penn State Harrisburg, this multimedia exhibition documents Gross Breesen, which was a training farm and school created by Jewish leadership in the mid-1930s.  The exhibition highlights this uniquely underrepresented aspect of Jewish life under Nazi rule—a lifesaving farming school that trained Jewish youth in the skills needed for emigration.  Featuring facsimiles of photographs, tributes about Gross Breesen students, and a 45-minute documentary film, Gross Breesen is on display in the Linda Schwab Holocaust Gallery and Reading Room at the Madlyn L. Hanes Library. 

In conjunction with the exhibition, a public lecture was held in the library's Morrison Gallery on Thursday, January 27, 2022, from 12 Noon until 1:00 pm, featuring Heidi Landecker, Deputy Managing Editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education, who will present a discussion of her father’s experience as a student at Gross Breesen.  Mr. Steve Strauss, a noted photographer from New York City and curator of the “Gross Breesen” exhibit, will also be in attendance.  A Kosher reception will be provided.

The exhibition and lecture are both generously supported by a grant from the Penn State University Spring 2022 "Humanities in the World" Commonwealth Campus Initiative, as well as funding from the Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies Endowment, the School of Humanities, the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education, and the Madlyn L. Hanes Library at Penn State Harrisburg.

January - April 2023 Black History Month and LGBTQIA+ Exhibition and Displays

Display "Honoring Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." 

Since 2008, Penn State Harrisburg's Diversity and Educational Equity Committee (DEEC) honors Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s memory by sponsoring a student Poster Design Contest. The deadline for the contest this year is February 3, 2023.  The winning submission is always printed in a limited run of posters. Archives and Special Collections preserves copies of the winning posters and pinback buttons and has selected several from our collection to share in this display.  The theme for the contest in 2023 is “Emerging Voices; Inspiring Leaders.”  Please stop by to see the display near the Reference Desk in the library. Or, to view the collection of winning posters from the archives, visit our Flickr album.

 

February 8, 2023 -  April 1, 2023:  "Beyond Black History Month:  Showcasing African Art, African Textiles, and the Creative Accomplishments of Black People in America," curated by Dr. Wanda B. Knight, Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Penn State Harrisburg), and Professor of Art Education, African American Studies, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (University Park). 

In conjunction with this exhibition, the library is featuring a display that celebrates and highlights the publications and creative accomplishments by current and former Black teaching faculty at Penn State Harrisburg, including Dr. Reuben Selase Asempapa, Dr. Lewis Asimeng-Boahene, Dr. Beatrice N. Epwene, Dr. Aderaw Workneh Fenta, Dr. Shaun Gabbidon, Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice; Dr. Clemmie Gilpin, Dr. Peter B. Idowu, Dr. Harris E. Imadojemu, Dr. Shauntey James, Dr. Rhoda C. Joseph, Professor Dorothy E. King, Dr. Wanda B. Knight, Professor C. Oliver LaGrone, Dr. Roderick L. Lee, Dr. Tony N. K. Lynch, Dr. Anita Mareno, Dr. Dassou Nagassou, Dr. Yonatan Tewelde, and Dr. Winston Richards, Associate Professor Emeritus of Mathematical Sciences, who recently passed away in December 2022 at age 87. 

 

February 20, 2023 - March 3, 2023: The Madlyn L. Hanes Library, part of the Penn State University Libraries, is proud to host the traveling exhibition, "Out on Campus:  A History of LGBTQ+ Activism at Pennsylvania Colleges and Universities." The exhibition is a collaborative project of the Pennsylvania LGBT History Network and the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project, the records for which are located in Dickinson College's Archives and Special Collections in Carlisle, PA. Co-founder and Chair of the LGBT Center of Central Pennsylvania History Project and Coordinator of the Pennsylvania LGBT History Network, Barry Loveland, also served as the exhibition's organizer and curator. Two Penn State Harrisburg School of Humanities teaching faculty, Dr. Mary Zaborskis, Assistant Professor of American Studies and Gender Studies, and Jeremy Boorum, American Studies Ph.D. Candidate and Lecturer, also contributed to the exhibition.  It is located on the first floor of the Hanes Library and is free and open to the public during regular library hours. 

 

October 3, 2022 - February 1, 2023 Exhibition 

"Commemorating Camp Meade:  Honoring the 125th Anniversary of the Formation of Camp Meade During the Spanish-American War of 1898"

Archives and Special Collections is honored to curate and preserve Mr. Fred M. Greguras' extensive Camp Meade Collection and present it to the Penn State Harrisburg community for the first time since its acquisition in 2018.  This exhibition features over twenty items that were donated by Mr. Gregruas, a long-time collector and expert on Spanish-American War Camps.  Materials on display include numerous artifacts, photographs, postcards, and a rare copy of the Camp Meade Gazette (October 20, 1898) from the collection. 

The exhibition also commemorates the 125th anniversary of the Spanish-American War that began in April of 1898, following the explosion of the battleship, U.S.S. Maine, which led U.S. President William McKinley to declare war on Spain.  The war lasted for just 110 days until December 10, 1898, when the Treaty of Paris was signed.  The Treaty established Cuba's independence, ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the U.S., and allowed the U.S. to purchase the Philippine Islands from Spain for $20 million.  On August 14, 1898, two days after Spain agreed to an armistice, Camp Meade opened when two companies of the 2nd U.S. Volunteer Engineers arrived from Fort Sheridan, Illinois.  Camp Meade occupied 140 acres of farmland owned by Colonel James Young and the adjoining property owned by George Cumbler, now the current location of Penn State Harrisburg.

 

January - February, and May - October 2022 

"Food as Comfort:  Advertising and Consumer Culture in American Foodways"

As we enter year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, preparing food at home, streaming tv shows about food from around the globe, and the way that people think about and enjoy food remain ever popular.  Drawn from graphics in the Alice K. Marshall Women's History Collection, this exhibition showcases "Food as Comfort" advertisements from 1911-1956, such as Jell-O, a warm bowl of Campbell's tomato soup, and a refreshing bottle of Coca-Cola. If there is anything the world needs after the last few years, it is a little comfort. So, feast on this fun and wholesome exhibit as you explore how food advertisements have grown with time! 

 

March 1-May 16, 2022
"The Library at the Heart of Our Campus: A Retrospective of Photographs and Documents for the Newly-Named Madlyn L. Hanes Library at Penn State Harrisburg"

This exhibition provides a glimpse into the history of the library building at Penn State Harrisburg.  In July 2021, the building was named by the Penn State Board of Trustees to honor Dr. Madlyn L. Hanes for her years of service as Chancellor of Penn State Harrisburg from 2000 until 2010.  Photographs, documents, ephemera, as well as articles from the college's student newspaper highlight the library's evolution from its original location in the Olmsted Building in 1966, through the detailed planning and construction of a new building between 1978-2000, and, finally, to the library building that is at the heart of our campus today.

 

Fall and Winter 2021

"We are 55:  Art and Architecture at Penn State Harrisburg"

This exhibit, which was on display from September through December 17, 2021, featured photographs, postcards, and ephemera from the College History Archives located in Archives and Special Collections on the 3rd floor of the library. It commemorates the 55th anniversary of the college, which was officially established on February 8, 1966. It also provides a fascinating visual history of the art and architecture of the campus and its tremendous growth over more than half a century.  Take a trip through campus—both past and present—via this exhibit. And when you are done viewing the digital exhibit, get outside, and take an actual tour of our beautiful campus!  We have prepared an "Art & Architecture Self-Guided Walking Tour of Campus" that, at a moderate walking pace, takes approximately one hour to complete.

 

April through December 2021

• Picturing Women Inventors

Poster exhibit, courtesy of SITES (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service) 

 

 

Spring 2021

"Through Alice’s Eyes: A Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Alice K. Marshall Women's History Collection at the Penn State Harrisburg Library (1991-2021)" celebrated thirty years of curating and preserving Alice Marshall’s extensive archives that focuses on women from the 18th through the 20th centuries.  This exhibit showcased only a small portion of the thousands of items—books, magazines, sheet music, photographs, pinback buttons, and postcards—that comprise the Alice K. Marshall Women’s History Collection (AMC) at the Penn State Harrisburg Library. Her vast collection was given to Penn State Harrisburg in 1991 and has been a springboard for teaching and learning across the curriculum. Most of the items featured have never been exhibited before and not only demonstrate the diverse scope of the collection, but also celebrate Women’s History Month.

 

 

Spring 2020

"The Sounds of Suffrage:  Songs and Sheet Music from the American Suffrage Movement"

 

 

 

Fall 2019

"Everybody Play Ball:  A Brief Timeline of American Baseball" 

 

 

Fall 2019

"Field to Front: Nittany Lions at War, 1917-1919"

Traveling exhibit, courtesy of Penn State All-Sports Museum

 

Fall 2019

• Votes For Women: A Portrait Of Persistence
• World War I: Lessons And Legacies

Poster exhibits, courtesy of SITES (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service) 

 

 

 Summer 2019   

 "Her Stamp on History:  Notable and Quotable American Women from the World of Philately"

 

 

 

Fall 2018

Pumpkins to Peeps: Holiday Postcards from the Alice Marshall Women's History Collection.  One of our "all-time favorite exhibits" that was as much fun to research and install as it was to view!  This exhibit showcased some of the 6,000+ postcards that Alice Marshall collected over her lifetime.  As described by Dr. John Haddad, Professor of American Studies at Penn State Harrisburg, these postcards are "...little units of culture."  We couldn't agree more!

 

Fall 2013

Got Advertising? Magazines & Consumer Culture in America, 1890-1984

 

 

 

 

 

Fall 2011

Witchy Women: Be"witch"ing Halloween Ephemera and Texts from the Alice Marshall Women's History Collection 

 

 

November 7 - December 31, 2022 Display

"Happy 100th Birthday Charles M. Schulz!"

The year 2022 marked the centennial celebration of Charles M. Schulz and what would have been his 100th birthday.  Schulz was born on November 26, 1922, and became a world-famous American cartoonist and the beloved artist who created the PEANUTS© Gang and popular characters such as Snoopy, Woodstock, Charlie Brown, Franklin, and many others.  The Madlyn L. Hanes Library happily joined in on the celebration and offered visitors a unique and light-hearted display that featured items from the library's collections as well as from local, private collectors, including two faculty members from Penn State Harrisburg.  In the display, visitors could view Schulz's books such as Happiness is a Warm Puppy, the Apollo 10 Snoopy Astronaut Doll (ca. 1969), as well as new and vintage ephemera, toys, and collectibles that provided a welcome respite from the stress, exams, and deadlines of the fall 2022 semester.  Want more PEANUTS© and Snoopy in your life during 2023?  From January 21 through April 16, 2023, the Reading Public Museum will host the traveling exhibition, "To the Moon:  Snoopy Soars with NASA," which is on loan from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, Santa Rosa, California. For more information about the Schulz Centennial Celebration, please visit the Charles M. Schulz Museum at https://schulzmuseum.org/.

 

May - September 2022 Display

"Summer Sounds:  Rocking Out at Penn State Harrisburg"
For most of the 1970s, students at the Capitol Campus (the original name of Penn State Harrisburg) organized a music festival every spring in May.  This tradition, which initially took place on a Sunday in front of the Olmsted Building, is one of the most celebrated events in the college's history.  The student organizers, who called themselves “Good People Productions,” aimed to provide a day of free music and fun for the entire campus community. As student and co-chairman of the event, Howie Wietz, stated, “Music does bring people together.” The first festival planned for spring 1970 was, unfortunately, canceled due to bad weather.  But, on Sunday, May 16, 1971, the first Harrisburg Rock Festival drew a crowd of over 15,000 people.  The 1972 Harrisburg Rock Festival was even more popular and held on Sunday, May 21, 1972, drawing more than 25,000 to the area and earning the event the name "Little Woodstock."  This display included photographs and ephemera drawn from the Penn State Harrisburg College History Archives.  Faculty and staff in Archive and Special Collections are currently developing a blog that will highlight more information about this unique tradition.  Stay tuned for an update about the blog in 2023!  

 

March - April 2022 Display

"Women at Penn State Harrisburg (1968-2015)"
In honor of Women's History Month this March, and as part of the celebration honoring Dr. Madlyn L. Hanes (pictured left) and renaming the library in her honor, this display featured a small selection of women and women's history events that have taken place at Penn State Harrisburg since 1968.

Dr. Madlyn L. Hanes, who served as the Senior Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses and Executive Chancellor from 2010-2021, retired from Penn State University on August 1, 2021, after a 33-year career at the University.  Prior to this pivotal role for the University, she served as Penn State Harrisburg's Chancellor from 2000 to 2010, and the Chief Executive Officer at Penn State Great Valley from 1997 to 2000.  From 1988 to 1997, she was the Chief Academic Officer of Penn State Delaware County, now Penn State Brandywine.  

 

January - February 2022 Display

"Honoring Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." 

Each year, Penn State Harrisburg's Diversity and Educational Equity Committee (DEEC) honors Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s memory by sponsoring a Poster Design Contest. The winning submission is always printed in a limited run of posters. Archives and Special Collections is proud to preserve copies of the winning posters and pinback buttons and has selected several from our collection to share in this display.  The theme for the contest in 2021 was “Black Social Justice Trailblazers.” Designed by Penn State Harrisburg student, Jailyn Figueroa, the winning poster is pictured left. Please stop by to see the display near the Reference Desk in the library.

 

November-December 2021 Display

"Thank a First Responder!  Have a Holiday Season Full of Gratitude" 

Did you know that there are over 25 million first responders in the US?  This holiday season, as we gather with friends and family, remember that some tables have empty chairs because their heroes are keeping you safe.  We honor, appreciate, and thank the many first responders in Fire, Police, EMS Personnel, Dispatch, Corrections, and Healthcare who work tirelessly to protect and help all of us every day.  This display featured original photographs of firemen and policemen in Steelton, PA, from the John Yetter Collection, as well as photographs of nurses from the Alice K. Marshall Women's History Collection.  

 

October-November 2021 Display

"Zonta International and Golden Z Student Club at Penn State Harrisburg" 

Zonta International was established in 1919 and is the leading global organization for professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. In December 2019, the Zonta Club of Harrisburg-Hershey held a Charter Induction and Installation Ceremony for the new Golden Z Student Club at Penn State Harrisburg.  Advised by Professor Heather Jackson, Golden Z is a recognized and active student club on campus. If you are interested and want to get involved with Golden Z, visit https://psuharrisburg.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/goldenz.

 

September 2021 Display

"We Remember 9/11:  Commemorating 20 Years of Sacrifice" 

September 11, 2021, marks twenty years since the terror attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  We remember those who lost their lives as well as all those who lost loved ones, family, and friends.  As we look back over the past twenty years, we honor the great sacrifice of the members in the U.S. military, first responders, and everyday heroes like the ones on United Airlines Flight 93, at the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon, who risked their lives to save others.

Every 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 archives!

On October 12, 2022, we celebrated #AskAnArchivist Day!  Please visit our Twitter feed to connect with us and ask the archivist questions.