Current and Permanent Exhibits

Bestsellers: Popular Fiction in America

Entry Floor, Main Gallery
(Opening February 27,2012)

What do Americans read, and how have our reading tastes changed over the years?

"Bestsellers" explores American reading habits from the earliest works of popular fiction in the late 18th century to today's blockbusters. Chronicling the top-selling books reveals much about American culture over time-its preferences, preoccupations, and mores. The exhibition also considers the dramatic shifts in the way people buy, read, and own books in an increasingly digital world.

"Bestsellers" features rare and beautiful first editions from the University Library's Lillian Gary Taylor Collection of Popular American Fiction. Mrs. Taylor compiled a significant collection of bestselling novels and painstakingly recorded details of each book in her collecting journals. Mrs. Taylor's notebooks, authors' manuscript materials, early bestseller lists, scripts and photos from film adaptations, and modern bestsellers complement the books from the Taylor Collection.

Bestsellers

Beyond Words: The Writer's Art

First Floor, Exhibit Gallery
October 27, 2011 – March 13, 2012

The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library presents a new exhibition, Beyond Words: The Writer’s Art. This exhibition highlights the creativity and imagination, the seriousness and whimsy, and the skill and spontaneity that extend beyond the written words of a number of writers.

Drawing on a spectacular selection of rare books, manuscripts, paintings, and artifacts, Beyond Words, highlights the artwork of a wide array of authors represented in the Special Collections library. Find out more...

Image credit: John Dos Passos Papers, MSS 5950-co, Special Collections, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA

Flowerdew Hundred: Unearthing Virginia's History

Pipe tamper

Main Floor, Permanent Exhibit Gallery

Featuring archaeological artifacts from the University of Virginia's Flowerdew Hundred Collection, this exhibit presents material evidence of Virginia's early inhabitants: Native American pottery sherds; arms and armor used to defend the new colony; refined, imported wares from Europe; and American-made goods, including items manufactured by African Americans. The materials from U.Va.'s Special Collections also on display—images from sixteenth- and seventeenth-century maps and books—illustrate the importance of the historical record in the study of material culture.

Declaring Independence: Creating and Re-creating America's Document

First Floor, Permanent Exhibit Gallery

Declaring Independence exhibit
This exhibit offers highlights of the most comprehensive collection of letters, documents, and early printings of the Declaration of Independence. The exhibition sheds light on not only the writing and signing of the Declaration, but also on its first printing, distribution across the colonies, and future impact on American history. An accompanying documentary film is available for viewing in the gallery.

Visit the Declaring Independence exhibit website.