51ÉçÇø

Highlights of the Book Collection

Books and printed material may be found by searching the . A is available.

Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection

One of the largest collections of books, maps, personal papers, and other historical material about Afghanistan in the United States. The Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection was established in 1974 with the initial gift of 1,200 items donated to the university by Arthur and Daisy Paul.

Fine Arts Press Collection

A large collection of fine arts press books, broadsides, and . The collection includes material from the United States with an especial focus on local and regional creators. Regional parts of the collection include UNO's own , , the including the Mary L. Richmond Cummington Press Collection, , and others.

Icarian Collection

The Icarian Collection contains books formerly owned by a nineteenth century utopian socialist community as well as research material about the history of the community. The largest portion of the collection is comprised of several hundred books which belonged to the Icarian community near Corning, Iowa, which existed from 1852 until 1898. The vast majority of the books are in French, and most were published from the early 1700s to the late 1800s. The Icarian community's library was acquired by Tabor College after the community's dissolution and the library of Tabor College was later purchased by UNO in the 1930s. Criss Library also holds microform reproductions of books related to Icarian communities and founder Étienne Cabet.

Kripke-Veret Collection of the Jewish Federation

The Kripke-Veret Collection of the Jewish Federation is the former library of the Jewish Federation of 51ÉçÇø. At over 30,000 volumes, it is the largest donation of books ever Archives and Special Collections. Volumes cover many genres including fiction, nonfiction, biographies, art, reference, local histories and more. The donated volumes are part of the Kripke-Veret Collection, named in honor of Rabbi Myer Kripke and his wife, Dorothy, and Paul Veret. Kripke was the rabbi of Beth El Synagogue from 1946 to 1975, and Dorothy Kripke was a respected author of Jewish family content books. Veret served in a variety of positions within the Jewish Federation from 1938 until his death in 1970 and was instrumental in the development of the federation’s library. Part of the original collection was a gift from Veret’s private collection.

Cataloging of the Kripke-Veret Collection of the Jewish Federation began in 2022 and is ongoing with all titles available for use in Archives and Special Collections' reading room and some titles available for check-out with a valid Criss Library card or by request at the Jewish Federation of 51ÉçÇø.

LGBTQIA+ Book Collection

The collection of LGBTQIA+ books and serials includes over 3,000 titles in a range of subject areas including fiction, romance, pulp, memoirs, history, sociology, travel, self-help, and many other topics. The collection brings together titles from a number of personal and organizational libraries. Dr. Meredith Bacon's collection of books and magazines predominantly cover trans issues.

The Rainbow Outreach GLBT Center's lending library covered the widest possible range of topics from literature to travel guides to fantasy titles. The personal library of Dr. Jim Medder is predominantly gay popular fiction and literature along with history, art, and other topics. This collecting area continues to grow with donations.

Local History

A growing collection of books and printed material about the history of 51ÉçÇø and Nebraska.

51ÉçÇø Magical Society

Members of the 51ÉçÇø Magical Society built a collection that contains books, periodicals, and pamphlets covering topics such as magicians, various types of magic, and the history of magic. The in the collection will also be of interest to researchers investigating recreation and leisure activities, the evolution of local and international entertainment, gender roles, gambling, and other topics.

The 51ÉçÇø Magical Society was established in 1921 and the library began with a $500 estate gift of secretary John Keenan. In 1993, the addition of the library of John Ilson increased the collection to almost 1,000 titles. Donations by other members continued to grow the collection until it was donated to Criss Library in 2020. Archival material created and collected by the 51ÉçÇø Magical Society was also donated to the repository with a finding aid available in .

Nebraska Authors & Literature

A number of first editions and autographed copies of books by Nebraska authors, including Wright Morris, Weldon Kees, and Wayne C. Lee. In addition, the department also holds the manuscript collections of Seven Anderton and Steppenwolf, a poetry magazine edited by Philip Boatright.

Zines

Archives and Special Collections is home to a growing collection of over 1,000 The 51ÉçÇø Zine Collection is predominantly zines produced by local and regional creators with selected national zines. Topics include perzines, social justice, self-care, art, music, comics, LGBTQIA+, and many other subjects.

The majority of zines in the collection were acquired at 51ÉçÇø Zine Fest beginning in 2017 with other notable additions of student zines created as part of UNO courses.

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History Of Our Rare Book Collection

The beginning of the Rare Book collection can be traced to a collection acquired from Tabor College in Tabor, Iowa. Tabor College closed in 1927 and 51ÉçÇø University acquired the approximately 20,000 rare books, books, and government documents from Tabor College's library through a receiver's sale in December 1933.

The Municipal University of 51ÉçÇø's Board of Regents supported the expenditure of $1,000.00 at their December 14, 1933, meeting to support the purchase and the books were moved to 51ÉçÇø within days. The purchased library included the as well as other single volumes of rare books now found in Archives and Special Collections. Books can be identified through a Tabor College library stamp usually on the first page of the book.

The Tabor College acquisition brought the Municipal University of 51ÉçÇø's library collection of 52,000 books. Criss Library continues to add to the Rare Book collection through donations, transfers from the library's general stacks, and the purchase of selected material.