The Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois

www.newberry.org
Press Contact: Heather Malec, malech@newberry.org, (312) 255-3625, www.newberry.org/media

The Newberry Library Book Fair attracts visitors from around the city. Click image for a larger view.

With more than 1.5 million books, 5 million manuscript pages, and 500,000 historic maps in its collection, Chicago’s Newberry Library has a proud history as one of the nation’s largest and most revered independent research libraries. But in recent years the Newberry’s reach has extended far beyond the shelves of its four ample walls, thanks to programming that actively engages and mirrors the diverse communities it serves.

Each year, more than 100,000 patrons take advantage of the free collections, amateur genealogists often sitting side by side in the reading rooms with American Indian community historians. But just as the nation has changed and grown, so too has the Newberry. Set in one of the country’s most ethnically diverse areas – with large Latino, African American, Native American, and eastern European communities – the Newberry has made public outreach and relevance one of its top priorities.

A fall 2007 exhibition on The Aztecs and the Making of Colonial Mexico featured one of the most extensive pre- and post-Columbian Mexican collections of its kind. The Newberry also has dramatically expanded its African American history and genealogy offerings, and continues to offer one of the nation’s most important collections of American Indian linguistic materials, including texts, grammars, glossaries, and dictionaries.

Special programs connect Chicago teachers and classrooms from all neighborhoods with the city’s finest cultural institutions, while people all over the world can visit the Newberry, via its upgraded website and fully searchable online catalog. It all adds up to a library very much aware of its place and its time, where elite resources are democratized and offered to an infinitely expanding visitor base.

"It seems especially appropriate that the Newberry Library is located on the northern edge of Washington Square, affectionately known as bughouse square and probably the best known open air free speech center in America ," said U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL). “For well over 100 years, Chicagoans have held forth on just about any imaginable topic. Luckily, they can check out their facts right there at the Newberry Library. Since 1887, the Newberry has been open and free to the public. Anyone who thinks the Internet has made libraries obsolete hasn’t been to the Newberry, home to one of the premier genealogical collections in the U.S. and repository of an incredible collection of maps of every shape and kind. And then there are the librarians, a special breed of persons dedicated to helping anyone interested in exploring the world fulfill that mission."

"I am proud to congratulate the Newberry Library for the high honor of receiving the 2007 National Medal for Museum and Library Service," said U.S. Representative Dan Lipinski (D-IL). "The library's efforts to move programming into the neighborhoods is but one of many examples that demonstrate its merit and worthiness. The Newberry's unrelenting dedication to outreach, service, and education has set it apart, and I encourage its continued efforts to positively influence the community.”

U.S. Representative Melissa L. Bean (D-IL) said, “Congratulations to the Newberry Library for receiving the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ National Medal. The Newberry is being honored for maintaining one of the country’s largest and most diverse collections and for its energetic outreach to families, students, and scholars.”

“It is such a wonderful honor for the Newberry Library to receive the prestigious National Medal for Museum and Library Services,” said U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL). “Newberry offers one of the richest collections of scholarly research materials in America and is unsurpassed in reaching out to the entire community. The greater Chicago area is so fortunate to be served by this outstanding institution."

“Through its diligent commitment to education, the Newberry Library has enriched the minds and lives of our citizens and has truly become ‘the pride of our city,’” said U.S. Representative Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL). “Congratulations to the Newberry Library for this much-deserved award.”

Community Member Jereldine RedCorn -- Traditional Caddo Potter
Jereldine RedCorn, a member of the Caddo Tribe living in Norman, OK, single-handedly revived the art of Caddo pottery using texts found in the Newberry Library’s Edward E. Ayer Collection and the D’Arcy McNickle Research Center. Originating in Arkansas, Caddo Indians were masters of working with clay, but, until recently, RedCorn was the only living Caddo traditional potter. Now there are two potters as a result of her efforts to interest young Caddos in traditional tribal ceramics.