The Sterling Morton Library at the Morton Arboretum Lisle, Illinois

The Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library at the Theosophical Society Wheaton, Illinois

Visits to Two Special Libraries Susan Gray McQuaid LIS 6010 Section 200

Fall 2010

“To collect and study trees, shrubs and other plants…to display them…for people to

study and enjoy, and to learn how to grow them in ways that enhance our environment. Our

goal is to encourage the planting and conservation of trees and other plants for a

greener, healthier and more beautiful world.”

The library islocated within theAdministration &Research Center

“The arboretum is the most visited attraction In DuPage County… it encompasses 1,700 acres”

The Sterling Morton Library’s purpose is to support the mission of the Morton Arboretum.

A library has been a feature of the

Arboretum since the planning stages in 1921.

The Library is open to all. Non-members pay Arboretum grounds

admission fees in order to gain access.

Collections are devoted mainly to the literature of botany and horticulture, especially as it relates to trees and shrubs that can be grown in northern Illinois.

Borrowing privileges are granted to staff, 900 volunteers, and also

Arboretum members. Materials may also be borrowed through interlibrary

loan.

The Library Administrator reports to the Vice President of Education and Information. Library staff plan much of their programming with the

Arboretum Education staff.

Library hours: Tuesday-Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Hours correlate with the daylight schedule of the arboretum.

The entrance hall displays the latest exhibit “Flora! Illuminated…” an exploration of plant images from the Suzette Morton Davidson Special

Collections, which have 3 divisions: Archives, Publications, and Art.

Among the Publications are 5000 volumes of Rare books including a work published in 1482.

This whimsical exhibit is accompanied by a blog at florailluminated.wordpress.com

Pictured is Rita Hassert, Technical Services Librarian., 1of 3

professional staff. They have 1 assistant for the Rare

Print Collection. Among volunteers of the library are 3

retired librarians

Public computers and online catalog access.

Further viewing of the Special Collections is by appointment only.

Rita spoke of the importance of keeping volunteers’ tasks

interesting. Obviously successful with this, as some volunteers have

served for as long as 20 years.

The Reading Room was built in 1963 in the shape of an oval, and has cherry wood bookcases with glass shelves,

terra-cotta tiled floors, and windows on each side “to embrace the beauty of the

arboretum.”

Primary users of the library are Arboretum Staff, Volunteers, and Arboretum Members.

This Reading Room contains the Circulating Collection. The

collection contains both scholarly and general public resources.

They belong to the SWAN consortium of 77 libraries.

Membership offers visibility and facilitates all automated systems, but changes are difficult

to make as an individual library in a large consortium.

There are 28,000 volumes in the circulating, reference and government documents

collections.

Programming such as book discussions, and children’s activities have increased use of the library.

In the serials collection there are over 200 current journal titles including scientific and general interest publications.

Counting titles that are both current and no longer active, there are 800 journal titles including one first published in 1793.

All materials are cataloged with the Library of Congress

Classification System.

The children’s section “focuses on books with positive

environmental messages.”

The May T. Watts Reading Garden, accessed through the library, brings visitors to the library collections on temperate days.

The large collection of nursery catalogs kept on file are popular with members

planning gardens all year round.

The card catalog is no longer updated, but is still used by some clients.

This room holds the non-circulating reference collection.

Library web site: www.sterlingmortonlibrary.org

Library on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisle-IL/Sterling-Morton-Library/102514733126106

Library blog: http://sterlingmortonlibrary.blogspot.com/

Images from the special collections on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sterlingmortonlibrary/

Flora! Illuminated… is also on twitter: http://twitter.com/flora_illum

The Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library’s purpose

is to support the mission of The Theosophical Society.

“To encourage open-minded inquiry into world religions, philosophy, science, and the arts in order to understand the wisdom of the ages, respect the unity of all life, and help people

explore spiritual self-transformation.”

The library is located in the L. W. Rogers Building, on the 40 acre grounds of the National Center of The Theosophical Society in America, located in Wheaton, Illinois.

A video of the center is at http://www.theosophical.org/

Murals on the walls of the reception room depict “the unity of life through

changing forms.”

Olcott Library is affiliated with libraries in New York and California. The international headquarters are

in Adyar, India.

I spoke with the entire professional staff, Marina Maestas - Library Director, Erika - Library Assistant, and Dan - Cataloging Librarian. 2 other individuals contribute time in the Archives and Rare Book Room. There is sporadic assistance from volunteers, including a retired librarian from the Newbery Library who helps determine the worth of old and rare volumes..

The library founded in 1926, is open to anyone to browse, but only members may check items out.

Materials are also available through interlibrary loan.Approximately half of the library members are “remote,”

out-of-state users that receive items by mail.

Tuesday – Saturday they are open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.Like the Arboretum their evening hours are limited: Tuesday- Thursday, available only during September through May.They are closed during lunch and dinner hours.

One computer is available to patrons.

It provides the library catalog, Internet access, and Microsoft

Office.

They are members of the MAGIC library consortium and receive interlibrary loan

requests daily.

The collection of more than 20,000 titles of books, periodicals, and audio and video

recordings includes subjects such as Theosophy, Eastern philosophy and religions,

comparative religion, esoteric Christianity, mysticism, mythology, psychology, and

parapsychology.

Like the Arboretum, they are a non-profit organization. 25% of their funding comes from the Kern foundation, the rest comes from membership fees, and bequests.

The cataloging system, a unique adaptation of the Dewey system, was

developed in Adyar, India.

Marina, the Library Director, is also the head of programming for the Society. Current program listings and an introduction to Theosophy are at: http://www.theosophical.org/

Their only outsourcing is for binding of

periodicals.

The library has a fiction section relating to

spiritual topics. The library has a fiction section relating to

spiritual topics.

There is a small children’s section.

There are journals from many faiths, denominations, and philosophies.

Their website lists numerous rare volumes that they have for sale. http://www.theosophical.org/library/rare-books

Their biggest challenge is the large amount of un-cataloged

materials. These are mainly older items.

They also have a basement full of older books, journals, and

other materials, for which they would like to build an

environmentally controlled archive.

There is a card catalog in the basement which they still add cards to.

The Society is associated with Quest Publishing which has offices and a bookstore on the Wheaton campus.

Spiritual leaders and authors, such as the Dali Lama, visit the Theosophical Society. A

collection of authors’ autographed works are

displayed in the Kern Conference Room.

Many of the staff members of the Society live on the Wheaton campus. They have access to amenities such as this meditation room and a perk I was cordially invited to, a vegetarian cafeteria

and dining area.

Programs take place in the library or in this large meeting room.