Reynolds Price Weekend Planned The Duke Alumni Association and the Friends of the Duke University Libraries are co- sponsors of "A Weekend With Reynolds Price: Teaching, Reading, and Writing," which will be held 2-4 November on the Duke campus. The program begins on Friday evening at Perkins Library with a reception and exhibition of materials from the Reynolds Price Papers and other collections in the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library. Following the reception a panel of former Price students Holly Brubach, Tommy Hays, Josephine Humphreys, Wallace Kaufman, Michael Ruhlman and moderator Daniel Voll will discuss the importance of teaching in a university setting. Reynolds Price will make introductory remarks. Events begin on Saturday morning with hour-long readings/signings. Participants will then have the opportunity to observe a creative writing master class that Reynolds Price and Doris Betts will conduct with current Duke students. More readings and book signings follow on Saturday afternoon. On Saturday evening a group of students, under the direction of Duke drama professor John Clum, will perform and read scenes from various Reynolds Price plays. The weekend’s events will conclude on Sunday with a brunch and a Reynolds Price reading and book signing. Advance registration of $275 per person is required. For more information contact Rachel Davies, assistant director of Alumni Education and Travel, at (919) 684-5114 or rachel.davies@duke.edu.
Library’s Franklin Center Becomes Franklin Collection
In November 1995 the Duke Library formed the John Hope Franklin Research Center for
African and African-American Documentation. Its purpose was to collect, preserve, and
promote the use of library materials bearing on the history of Africa and people of
African descent, particularly, though by no means exclusively, in the United States.
More recently the university has established the John Hope Franklin Center for
Interdisciplinary and International Studies, located at the corner of Trent Drive and Erwin
Road. Inevitably there has been confusion between the Franklin Center and the Franklin
Research Center, with calls and inquiries intended for the former sometimes coming to
the latter. To reduce the likelihood of confusion between these two worthwhile and
important undertakings, the library—with support from Dr. Franklin—has decided to
rename its Franklin Research Center the John Hope Franklin Collection of African and
African-American Documentation. The purpose of the Franklin Collection remains the
same—to collect, preserve, and promote the use of library materials bearing on the
history of Africa and people of African descent.
Friends Hold Annual Meeting
At its 2001 meeting and dinner, the Friends of the Duke University Libraries celebrated
the achievement of a fundraising goal, honored student book collectors, and elected new
members to the Executive Committee. Chairman Ginger Wilson presided when the group
met on 19 April at the Washington Duke Inn.
The first order of business was the announcement from the Preservation Endowment
Committee that the $100,000 minimum required by the university to create a restricted
endowment has been raised. Liz Roland, reporting for the committee, thanked the
generous anonymous donor whose early challenge stimulated the fundraising. Mrs.
Roland also acknowledged the perseverance, determination, and unflagging energy of
Dot Brock, whose leadership was critical to the success of the fundraising campaign.
Winners of the Jeremy North/Friends of the Library Student Book Collectors Contest
were recognized by John Oates. The contest, co-sponsored by the Gothic Bookshop and
the Friends, awards a $300 gift certificate in graduate and undergraduate categories. The
graduate winner was Jeff Marcus, and Sara Hudson was the winning undergraduate. Mr.
Marcus collects books about insects and related groups of arthropods, with a focus on
flies, butterflies and moths. Sara Hudson collects children’s books of the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, particularly books by classic children’s authors other than the books
that made them famous.
Nominees for three, three-year terms on the Executive Committee were presented by
Ernestine Friedl Harmel for the Nominating Committee. The nominees, elected by
acclamation, were Brenda Brodie, Carson Holloway, Jean O’Barr, and Clayton Owens.
Jason Joannou was elected to a two-year student term, and Ginger Wilson and Gerry
Larson were re-elected to their respective positions of chairman and vice-chairman for
additional one-year terms.
Following the business meeting, actress Barbara Bates Smith presented "A Fred Chappell
Sampler," a dramatic interpretation of selections drawn primarily from Chappell’s novels
I Am One of You Forever and Farewell, I’m Bound to Leave You.
Mr. Chappell and his wife Susan were special guests of the Friends for the evening.
Donation Supports Restoration of Book of Mormon
Duke may have a historical affiliation with the Methodist Church, but collections housed
in the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library (RBMSCL) reflect many
faith traditions. Most precious to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints are Duke's two first edition copies of the Book of Mormon. Only five thousand
copies of this revelatory text, translated by Joseph Smith, were printed in 1830 by E.B.
Grandin of Palmyra, New York. Since that time, one hundred million copies of The
Book of Mormon—Another Testament of Jesus Christ have been
printed in ninety-seven different languages. However, copies of the first edition are
esteemed for both their content and for their spiritual, iconic value. For many years,
groups of Mormon missionaries, students, and families have visited the RBMSCL
reading room to page through one of these volumes, often posing for a photograph to
commemorate this moving experience. As the population of the Church’s Triangle area
communicants has increased, so has the number of people visiting to view the Book of
Mormon. An unfortunate side effect of this handling has been further deterioration of
the bindings, which were already worn from decades of use.
When local Mormon leaders learned of the need to restore these first edition copies of the
Book of Mormon, they offered their financial support. On Friday, May 4, a
delegation visited the campus to present a check to Robert Byrd, director of the Rare
Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, and Winston Atkins, the library’s
preservation officer. The Latter-Day Saints Student Association raised funds for the gift
to the library by parking cars during football games. Thanks, in part, to the generosity of
these students, the Duke Library’s copies of the Book of Mormon will be available to
many future generations.
Photo: Nelda Webb
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