Distinctive Collections news

Archival photographs and materials displayed on a table.

Child Drama Collection renamed to Theatre for Youth and Community Collection

A recent name change is bringing new energy to a renowned ASU Library collection. The ASU Library’s Child Drama Collection was renamed the Theatre for Youth and Community Collection. Founded in 1979, the collection is the world's largest archival repository of manuscripts, ephemera and educational m...

Portrait of David William Foster laughing

Honoring the legacy of David William Foster and Latin American scholarship

The legacy of renowned ASU professor and Latin American scholar David William Foster will be celebrated with an upcoming lecture and a new collection coming soon to the ASU Library.  The ASU Library received a donation of 4,000 books and papers from Foster’s personal collections. This donation crea...

Group of people standing in a Newberry Library classroom

Workshop offers students the opportunity to study rare documents from New Spain

On a cold and rainy spring Chicago day, students inside the famed Newberry Library accessed an array of rare manuscripts and materials for study and discussion.  The workshop, titled “New Spain at the Newberry Library: Demystifying Colonial Documents from the Ayer Collection,” took place April 22 a...

covers of Lumen animae and Chronicon Hierosolymitanum

Encouraging Discovery and Learning: Acquiring Rare Books for ASU Students

  That book is really old! It even smells old. When’s it from? Look at its cover! Is that leather? How'd they make that?       These are some of the initial observations and questions students make when they visit Distinctive Collections with their classes...

archival image of latine and chicano history

ASU's Archival Collections Highlight Histories of Latine and Chicano History

ASU has been taking steps in showcasing historically marginalized voices from the Latine and Chicano communities. When Seonaid Valiant, curator for Latin American Studies at the ASU Library, started at ASU, the collection only had one manuscript.  Now, there are books on magic, biology, art, politi...

Cover of Hold by Jan Vicar and Sally Ball

Diving Deeper: An Artist Book's Impact on Campus and Beyond. Documenting When Distinctive Collections is Working Well

Cover of "Hold." Photo courtesy of Julie Tanaka      Layer upon layer of ink. A shimmering iridescence. A poem.                All describe a really big book.      An exhibition. Students and classes. Global leaders.                ...

Tertiary history of the Grand Canyon image

Our Grand Neighbor

ASU sits about 200 miles south of one of nature’s wonders, the Grand Canyon. A river valley situated in the Colorado Plateau, the Canyon spans some 277 miles and reaches a width of nearly 18 miles at various points and a depth of over a mile. The towering, craggy, bright-orange rock has become one o...

Maria Juliette Escudero

Women's History Month: Dr. Maria Juliette Escudero, Professor of Spanish, 1948 to 1977

By Christine Marin Professor emerita and Founder of the Chicano/a Research Collection, Arizona State University It’s March, 2022, and I celebrate and welcome Women’s History Month. I recognize the remarkable scholar and distinguished linguist, Dr. Maria Juliette Escudero. ...

Hotel Albert: Poems by Diane di Prima

Diving Deeper into ASU's Rare Books and Manuscripts: Diane di Prima, Feminist Beat Poet

Diane di Prima (August 6, 1934-October 25, 2020) was a famous Beat Poet, political activist, esteemed editor and publisher within the artistic world. Her creative reach has impacted the lives of many. Publishing her first book, “This Kind of Bird Flies Backwards,” in 1958, di Prima solidified hersel...