Goldstein Library Updates - LibGuides at Ringling College of Art + Design

Blog post written by Olga Nerciu, Motion Design '27, Special Collections Assistant

Walking down the aisles, enclosed with shelves of meticulously placed books, each enveloped and assigned a long code of letters and numbers. I would scan through them, looking for the right one, the numbers would hint at where to look. “Bingo!” Take it, scan it, register in the system, display on the shelves, scan it again, put it back. This is how my shifts started as a Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center student worker. It did not take long to learn how wrong I was reducing our collection’s items to their mere numbers.

I am Olga, motion design sophomore at Ringling College of Art and Design from Moldova. In fall 2024, I started working as a Special Collection student assistant, picking a wide range of skills and responsibilities, from organizing and registering books, to creating merchandise and even writing a blog! By my side, I always have Muling Tzai, another student worker from Taiwan, and Cheri Marks, Special Collections Librarian and Archivist(my boss). Our Special Collections Center specializes in rare artists’ books, publication projects, art prints, zines and many more. We are driven to introduce the general public to both niche and recognized artistic creations via hands-on object based experience. I myself was amazed by the variety of items in our collection: broadsides, campus materials, democratic multiples, documentation of time-based and performance projects, engravings, exhibition publications, experimental writing, fine press books, flip books, handmade editions, historic facsimiles, parlor toys, photographs, pop-up books, prints, rare books, zines, and more.

My favorite part about Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center is the unique tactile experience we give access to. Anyone coming to our center can literally touch art and connect with the artist on the other side of the page. I believe that utilizing primary sources is a game changer in any scholarly research. Engaging with physical original materials rewards with more insights into a particular subject, compared to internet/digital research. Touching or closely observing an artifact allows researchers to feel a deeper connection to the material. For example, examining an ancient manuscript provides a sense of its age, authenticity, and craftsmanship.

Images by Olga Nerciu, spreads from “Giving Fear a Proper Name, Detroit” by Susan Kae Grant, 2025

My favorite artwork to physically interact with is “Giving Fear a Proper Name, Detroit” by Susan Kae Grant. It follows the artist’s journey as she moved to Detroit, supported by images from her dreams, nightmares and daily experiences, interpreted in symbolic manner. I was stunned to find strands of artist’s hair, human teeth, accompanied by pictures of body parts, nails and increments of dirt and sand. The overwhelming experience from the book could have never been felt through digital research. Seeing the book and touching it, even smelling it, submerged me into the artist's world, where I was guided by mysterious pieces of her writing to undergo the same experiences and storylines.

Hence, experiences are made to be shared. Artworks such as “Giving Fear a Proper Name, Detroit” inspire us to hold exhibitions, led by conceptual themes that unite various art pieces and artists, bringing a holistic experience of an era or movement to our audience. Our visitors are welcome to interact with the items and witness the line between a book and a work of art blur. Our Special Collections Center is open to collaborations and exhibition ideas proposed by faculty and students! I am most curious to observe my colleague, Muling, creating branding identity for our exhibitions, setting the mood for it. Thanks to her, our visitors always leave with a cute sticker, postcard or brochure to remember the event.

I find myself again, walking down the aisles on my weekly shift, looking straight through envelopes, through long codes of letters and numbers, as each book is rather a story, a person, an entire universe for me to dive into. This is how my shifts are, as a Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center student worker.

This blog post can also be viewed on the College Book Art Association blog, Book Art Theory.

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Spring Semester Sign Off! 2025

A collaborative blog post/end-of-the-year wrap-up from Instructional Design Librarians Kelly and Dan, and Research Consultants Emily Kang, Mili Walton, Hayden Oliveri, Destini Brown, and Anna Herrara! A Wrap-up from your LibrariansKelly: Wowza! This semester has been a wild one, and we’ve accomplished so much this past year at the library. We’ve had an absolute blast with helping students do research, participating in Wonderful Wednesdays and Paws and Relax, and so much more. We created so much cool library swag and signage! We hired THREE new Student Research Consultants, we made our Research Consultation Office feel more like a classroom, and we’ve been enjoying every busy day!I especially appreciated being invited to special events like the "Beyond Roberto, el Zorro Rojo: Art, Autism & Authorship" event celebrating our student Antonio Machado Boada who published a book with Penguin Random House, the Earth Day/Terrific Tuesday celebration, having the Pop-Up Public Library back on campus, and even things I participated in off campus such as presenting on “A Zine History” at St. Pete College as part of St Pete Zine Fest, the BAM! Fest in Bradenton with Professor Gary Barker and our friends from Bat City Comic Professionals (and oh, did I mention the current special collections exhibition “Off-Panel: a Ringling College x Bat City Comic Professionals Collaboration”?!). As you might have noticed, I love campus and community collaboration, so feel free to reach out to me if you would like to connect! I even had a poster proposal accepted for the upcoming ARLIS/NA conference on community engagement and using comics and zines for educational and outreach purposes! I'm so happy to be working at Goldstein Library (and I will miss our graduating student worker Emily dearly)! Kelly at BAM! Fest in Bradenton, promoting zine making and Ringling College! Dan: As the academic year comes to a close at the Alfred R. Goldstein Library, we’re reflecting on an incredible year of learning, collaboration, and growth. It’s been my first full year as Instructional Design Librarian at Ringling College of Art and Design, and I’m so proud of all we’ve accomplished together! From visiting dozens of classes to teach students how to make the most of our library’s powerful resources, to presenting on critical information literacy and developing a CIL framework for classroom use, we’ve been busy helping students and faculty engage deeply with research, media, and creative inquiry.Beyond the classroom, we’ve been active across campus—tabling at events like Wonderful Wednesdays, Paws and Relax, and open houses to connect with our community in fun and meaningful ways. We’ve had the pleasure of working alongside five outstanding student research assistants this year; while we’re sad to say goodbye to Emily, we’re excited to see all she will accomplish in her next chapter. We also welcomed three fantastic new staff members, and we look forward to their continued contributions next year. To our graduates: we are so proud of you and can’t wait to see what’s next. Congratulations and best wishes from all of us at the library! Hayden and Dan at our last Wonderful Wednesday of the semester, with graphic novels and comics to celebrate the exhibition on the second floor in Special Collections, “Off-Panel”!Dan at a Paws and Relax outreach event! Congratulations on your graduation, Emily! Class of 2025! Emily: Hi, everyone! My name is Emily Kang, and you may have previously seen my art on the walls of the library or a post by me on this blog. I'm a fourth year majoring in General Illustration and I'll be graduating in two weeks. I started working with Kelly and Dan as a Research Consultant in February of last year, and to be honest, I'm torn at the fact that it's already over. Make no mistake -- even while majoring in the most visual of all mediums, I love reading. As a kid, I'd check out as many books as humanly possible at my local library and make my mom help carry them to the car. Occasionally there would be multiple trips made, me with books stacked in my arms higher than I could look past it and my mom hefting a plastic cart that could do nothing but bend under the weight of all that paper. Looking back, there's no doubt that it must've been a hassle for the workers, too. There's so much unseen that goes into the function of a library to make it run every day. Yet I also know that there must've been some happiness in seeing that kind of passion. What touched me most was learning how enthusiastic the Goldstein staff are about their workplace. They love reading, are very passionate about their knowledge, and want to share it all with as many students as they can. Back in the summer when I was working on the third floor map, I distinctly remember a conversation with Christina, the Circulation Assistant Manager, on what was or wasn't allowed in the library. 'Sleeping was okay,' she told me. 'Actually, we had to move some chairs so there were more inviting spots for people to lay around.' What about bringing in food? 'That's okay (within reason) too. Especially the first floor section, near the cafe. The goal is to make students feel that they can spend as much time as they'd like here.' That's a fact I love bringing up when talking about the library -- to never forget that they want you here. Invite your friends to hang out on the second floor and let the staff know what about the space you like and dislike. Borrow CD players from the front desk and use the third floor light box and ask the library to purchase that new juicy romance novel you want to read, because there might be others who feel the same way. And find out everything about Goldstein Library. It's a space meant for you, so take advantage of it. Thank you and goodbye! Emily showing us her process of making us posters for promoting library instruction! Emily loves the Student Learning Center ducks (but don't we all!?)A Word from Our Busy BeeMili: The library is such a wonderful environment to work, learn, and collaborate in. I’ve been able to do a lot of really fun and impactful things through the library- Like tabling for events, welcoming the mobile library, designing stickers and T-shirts, and making my “Radical Reading” zine. I’ve also loved helping students get a better understanding of the catalog and all the resources available to them through the library. I’ve got to assist really cool people with some really cool projects- the work rewards itself. I can’t wait to continue my work with the Ringling library next year (My Junior year! Time really flies!) We're very lucky to have one of Ringling's Busiest Bees as our Library Research Consultants - Mili!Mili designed our latest library stickers - are you a dizzy spinning Remy or a comfy chair chill Remy?Mili's popular “Radical Reading” zine! And now…Introducing our Newest Research Consultants: Anna: My name is Anna Herrera, I am currently a freshman in Entertainment Design. I like the library because of the vast amount of resources they have for students. In particular, I have used the light tables, printers, computers, and databases for many academic and personal projects this year. I also appreciate the fact that the library has dvds and dvd players as someone who is passionate about physical media. I enjoy working at the library as well because of all the opportunities it has given me. I’ve had a lot of fun working on projects like buttons, zines, and my own Remy design for some animated shorts I hope to make for the library. Working at the library has also allowed me to meet new people and tell others about all the cool stuff they have to offer. Anna, Hayden, and Destini - our new Library Research Consultants!Anna designed these buttons!Destini: Hello! I am Destini Brown, and I am a second-year student in Creative Writing who loves screenplays and anything film-related. I am a research consultant at the library. I chose to work here because of my love of the library’s incredible selection of books, especially the books on photography in film that I spend my free time reading. Being a research consultant allows me to mix my interests in both finding helpful resources and being able to help students with their Ringling workload! If you see me on campus feel free to say hello! Destini at our Asian American and Pacific Islander Wonderful Wednesday outreach event, cutting out some dragon temporary tattoos we brought along! Hayden: My name is Hayden Oliveri, I am a Second Year Illustration student. I chose Ringling because it had one of the best programs for illustration and it was close to home. I loved how they run the illustration department and the courses they offer here have helped me develop my art. The reason I wanted to work at the library was because I am at the library a lot, it is one of my favorite places on campus. In my first year, I would look up some of my favorite artists to see if their art books were in the library. One of my favorite books was The Big Kopinski by Karl Kopinski. I loved his style, especially his pencil sketches. I am also the Sketchbook Club President and the club meets every Saturday in the Library, I knew the library was the perfect place for the club as there are so many resources to study from, and I could bring in any books that are relevant to the artist or theme we’re studying at that meeting. Hayden with George Pratt as a guest speaker for Sketchbook Club! One of our Whiteboard Doodle Stickers made by Christina - an accurate portrayal of how a lot of us feel after a busy semester!Thanks for a great year, everyone, and we're looking forward to working with you all in the Fall! ...

Will Eisner Week: Death in the Newspaper Revisited

Blog written by Tim DeForest, Library Circulation Manager. Will Eisner Week is annually the week of March 6th, and celebrates the “father of the Graphic Novel”. Visit willeisner.com for more information on Will Eisner and his legacy, and check out our materials on Will Eisner here at the Goldstein Library.In 1940, the Register and Tribune Syndicate of Des Moines began to distribute a 16-page comic book that newspapers would include in their Sunday edition (along with the regular comics section). Though their subscriber base was never large and their page count eventually dropped to 8 pages, this newspaper/comic book hybrid ran for 12 years.The main feature for the comic was The Spirit, created by Will Eisner. Except for a few years spent in the army during the war, Eisner drew the strip and did most of the writing. He often re-wrote scripts when he didn't originate them, so The Spirit was pretty much his baby from start to finish.Superheroes were all the rage in 1940, but Eisner resisted the pressure to turn his hero--criminologist Denny Colt--into a costumed hero. Instead, he slapped a mask and a pair of gloves on the character, which made everyone happy and left him free to tell the sort of stories he wanted to tell. Any one Spirit story might be a comedy, a hard-boiled crime story, a fantasy or a combination of genres. Often the Spirit was only a peripheral character in a particular story, because that story was centered on an inevitably fascinating one-shot character.I got to meet Mr. Eisner once when he spoke here at Ringling way back in 2004. It was just before my first book came out and the teacher (David Steiling) giving him the campus tour mentioned this. Mr. Eisner was kind enough to ask me about the book. When I mentioned that it was in part about pulp magazines such as Black Mask, he said he learned to write short stories from reading Black Mask. This was a magazine published before World War II and was responsible for popularizing the hard-boiled school of detective fiction. These were stories about tough private eyes and violent criminals, told in a terse style that doesn’t waste any words in getting to the point.And he was indeed a master of the short story format. The post-war Spirit stories, which usually ran only 7 pages, were models of concise storytelling and often packed an extraordinary emotional punch.For instance, the November 10, 1949 issue is about Freddie, a young man who is apparently well-liked in his neighborhood, but who sick of his life and wants to move on. Moving on costs money and the most convenient way to get money is to rob the local candy store.Well, we've been told right up front that this story is about the last ten minutes of Freddie's life, so it's not surprising when things go wrong. Freddie ends up killing the candy store owner and, after spending several tense moments serving malteds to customers while a corpse is hidden behind the counter, he's forced to make a run for it. The Spirit nearly catches him in a subway station--Freddie makes a break for it, but his hands get stuck in a subway car, pulling him to his death against a steel support.Several things make the story work. First, Eisner quickly but effectively sketches out Freddie's character for us. He looks young and his character design wouldn't be out-of-place in an Archie comic, but we soon see that he's a bitter man who's about to make several horribly bad decisions. We are made to sympathize with Freddie to a degree, but without in anyway being told to excuse his actions.Also, Eisner casually inserts a number of elements that remind us the entire story takes place in only ten minutes. For instance, on the first page there's a little girl bouncing a ball while reciting an alphabet rhyme. She's on "A my Name is Alice" when Freddie walks by on his way to the candy shop. She's still at the game, up to R when Freddie is fleeing for his life a few minutes later. It's such a simple thing, but it works perfectly, reminding us just how quickly events are unfolding.. I can really believe that Eisner learned to write short stories from Black Mask. Were this a prose story, it's exactly the sort of tale you'd have expected to find in that magazine.It you have an interest in writing and/or illustrating graphic literature, then this story has a lot to teach you about using both script and art together to tell a story well; how to lay out a plot without wasting time; and how to give your stories a real sense of movement and the passage of time. You can read this story in A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics, located on the library’s second floor in the Graphic Novel section (call # PN6726 .S58 1981).Circulation manager Tim DeForest behind his desk, with a photo of his first book! Tim DeForest has worked at Ringling for over 35 years, and has a wealth of comic knowledge! This blog was originally published on Tim's blog in February 2014 - over ten years ago, and ten years after he met Will Eisner! Visit him behind the library circulation desk, and be sure to check out the rest of his blog (Comics, old time radio, and other cool stuff), the other books he's written (which we have available for check out in Goldstein Library), and his YouTube Videos on comics.There is a Sarasota Herald-Tribune article about Eisner's visit to Sarasota in 2004, when he was 86 years old: HUISKING, CHARLIE. 2004. “Will Eisner’s Art Goes Far beyond ‘Funny Books.’” Sarasota Herald-Tribune. March 12, 2004. https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2004/03/12/will-eisners-art-goes-far-beyond-funny-books/28793548007/. The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at OSU contains correspondence between Will Eisner and Ringling School of Art and Design in their Special Collections. Librarian Kelly Lindberg has reached out to OSU to ask if they can share this correspondence for our own archives, check back soon for updates!Will Eisner Week Display 2025, a selection of some materials available for check out at Goldstein Library!‌...

Conspiracies, Capitalism, and Collage: How Artists’ Books and Comics Confront the Chaos

Blog post written by Kelly Lindberg, Instructional Design LibrarianConspiracies, Capitalism, and Collage: How Artists’ Books and Comics Confront the ChaosIn an era where conspiracy theories shape political realities and deepfakes blur the line between truth and fiction, it often feels like we’re living inside a comic book. The Department of Truth takes this unsettling idea to its extreme: what if reality itself was determined by mass belief?Almost a month into Trump’s second term and almost five years after the pandemic started, I’d like to recommend this comic that I’ve paired with several artists’ books that resonate with the current state of the country. We’ve been in this world overwhelmed with misinformation, disinformation, and deepfakes for quite some time now, and it often feels like everything is changing too fast for any of us to keep up. To cope with current events, I’ve recently read every single issue of the comic The Department of Truth, which I first discovered by attending my local comic shop Bat City Comic Professional’s Fresh Start Book Club, all of which I cannot recommend enough. Much like The Department of Truth, artists' books have long been a medium for questioning dominant narratives, exposing political manipulation, and challenging how we perceive reality. By pairing these works, we can explore how visual storytelling—whether in comics or book art—helps us navigate this post-truth world. The Department of Truth and the War on RealityWriter James Tynion IV, artist Martin Simmonds, letterer Aditya Bidikar, and designer Dylan Todd form the brilliant team behind The Department of Truth, which was first released on September 30, 2020. The series presents an alternate America in which Lee Harvey Oswald is alive and leading the government’s “Department of Truth,” an organization designed to push the nation’s agenda by propelling mass belief in constructed realities. In this world, every conspiracy theory that gains enough traction becomes real.Tynion has noted that his inspiration for The Department of Truth came from the 2016 presidential election. The comic explores how misinformation spreads and how belief shapes power structures, reflecting the challenges we face in today’s media landscape. Fig. 1: pg 79 of The Department of Truth: The Complete Conspiracy Volume One, Martin Simmonds, Image Comics Fig. 2: pg. 199 of The Department of Truth: The Complete Conspiracy Volume One, Martin Simmonds, Image Comics I firmly believe that Ringling staff and students will particularly appreciate how much depth and care was put into the creation of this series. In a fantastically enlightening interview with the comics’ creators, The Nation points out, “A reader experiencing The Department of Truth for the first time will likely make connections to the collage-heavy art movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, like surrealism or pop art. The most direct influence seems to be Brought to Light, a “graphic docudrama” anthology by Alan Moore, Bill Sinkiewicz, Joyce Brabner, Tom Yeates, and Paul Mavrides from 1988, whose style was partially influenced by the propaganda comics the CIA once issued in countries like Nicaragua to disrupt leftist movements.” Simmonds tells the interviewer: “My relationship with collage goes back to my love of comic artists Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave McKean, and Jon J Muth, mixed-media artist Robert Rauschenberg, and graphic designer David Carson, among others”. Martin Simmonds' visuals using mixed-media techniques reinforce the idea that truth itself is fragmented and contested. You can see an example of this in Figure 3 (shown below) which uses inverted, cut-up pieces of the pledge of allegiance as the gutters of the comic. Fig. 3: excerpt from pg. 195 of The Department of Truth: The Complete Conspiracy Volume One, Martin Simmonds, Image Comics Fig. 4: pg. 309 of The Department of Truth: The Complete Conspiracy Volume One, Martin Simmonds, Image Comics While I’m amazed by Simmonds’ artistry throughout the whole series, as demonstrated in the snapshots above, I’d like to highlight issue #7 of the comic, a flashback story illustrated by guest artist Tyler Boss, who tells the story of a young “Doc” Hynes who publishes and circulates his manifesto “Resist the Men in Black!”. Inspired by early science fiction fanzines, this issue connects the comic’s themes to real-world conspiracy subcultures, making it an especially relevant discussion point. Hynes eventually wears tin foil as a makeshift hat to shield his brain from telepathic brain waves, inspired by an article he read in an issue of Amazing Stories. The Ringling Library collection has a copy of a similar publication called Astounding Science from 1938, and you can view it by appointment.Fig. 5: pg. 172, Fig. 6: pg 174, The Department of Truth: The Complete Conspiracy Volume One, Tyler Boss, Image Comics Artists’ Books as Counter-Narratives Photograph of materials in the Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center at Ringling College of Art + DesignJust as The Department of Truth unpacks the mechanisms of misinformation, many artists’ books challenge the political and social structures that enable it. Similarly, artists’ books use mixed-media and experimental design to disrupt conventional narratives. As Jane Anne Carlin notes in Artists' Books as Catalysts for Social Change, “Approaching conversations about difficult issues using the artists’ book as a jumping-off point causes us to slow down, reflect, and think deeply.” This deep thinking also allows for the capability of differentiating fact from fiction—a skill we all need to harness.Listed below are some powerful works that, much like the comic, force us to question the narratives we’re told:Louise Odes Neaderland’s Trump Circus and Trump Wallpaper Borders reflect the manipulation of political spectacle—much like the Department’s work in the comic. Fig. 7: photograph of the opened box of Trump Wallpaper Borders, Another favorite of mine that we have in the Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center by Neaderland is the Nuclear Fan. Fig. 8: photograph of the Nuclear Fan, Louise Odes NeaderlandFred Hagstrom’s The Blue and The Red examines the January 6th attack on the Capitol, using congressional testimony and archival photographs printed in relief and silkscreen to document the real-world consequences of misinformation.Fig. 9, 10: photographs of pages from The Blue and The Red, Fred HagstomDavid Stairs’ Living in Denial, U.S.A. juxtaposes economic statistics with maps of Oregon, questioning the realities we accept about data (I also highly recommend viewing Mona Chalabi’s TEDTalk on bad statistics for more on this topic).Fig. 12, 13: photographs of pages from Living in Denial, U.S.A. by David StairsDale Edwin Wittig’s Capitalism’s Collapse ruminates on a near-apocalyptic vision of crumbling global capitalism with his hand scrawled captions and graphic illustrations, mirroring themes of instability explored in The Department of Truth.Fig. 14: photograph of pages from Capitalism’s Collapse by Dale Edwin Wittig Tatana Kellner and Ann Kalmbach’s Whereas... we declare compiles text from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (proposed to the United Nations by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1948) alongside statistics on immigration, challenging governmental narratives about rights and citizenship. Fig. 15: photograph of pages from Whereas... we declare by Tatana Kellner and Ann Kalmbach All of the artists’ books mentioned can be viewed in Ringling’s Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center by appointment. You can read the first issue of The Department of Truth for free online through Image Comics, or check out the omnibus from the Alfred R. Goldstein Library. **For combatting misinformation, I’d also recommend reading How to Win the War On Truth : an illustrated guide to how mistruths are sold, why they stick, and how to reclaim reality by Samuel C. Spitale, illustrated by Allan Whincup, or you can book a session with me and I’ll nerd out over Mike Caulfield. P.S. - Jordie Bellaire is a Ringling alum who was a colorist for The Department of Truth! About the Author Kelly Lindberg is an Instructional Design Librarian at Ringling College of Art + Design’s Alfred R. Goldstein Library, with a longstanding interest in zines and comics. She actively incorporates these passions into her teaching of information literacy to students. A shorter version of this blog was published on bookarttheory.org for the College Book Arts' Association.Feel free to connect with her at klindber@ringling.edu, or on Instagram: @comic.kelly Works Cited Carlin, Jane Anne. "Artists' Books as Catalysts for Social Change." Art Libraries Journal 44, no. 1 (01, 2019): 2-8, Hagstrom, Fred, and publisher Strong Silent Type Press. The Blue and the Red / Fred Hagstrom. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Strong Silent Type Press, 2024. Keljera, ML. “A Comic That Captures the Antic Energy of a Post-Truth World.” The Nation. March 2023. Kellner, Tana, Ann E Kalmbach, and publisher Women’s Studio Workshop. Whereas... We Declare / KaKeArt: Tatana Kellner & Ann Kalmbach. Rosendale, NY: Women’s Studio Workshop, 2018. Neaderland, Louise Odes. The Nuclear Fan. 3rd ed. Brooklyn, NY: Bone Hollow Arts, 1999. Neaderland, Louise Odes. Trump Circus. Brooklyn, NY: Louise Neaderland, 2017. Neaderland, Louise Odes. Trump Wallpaper Borders. Brooklyn, New York: [Louise Odes Neaderland], 2017. Stairs, David. Living in Denial USA. Mt. Pleasant, Mich., D. Stairs, 2005. Tynion, James, Martin Simmonds, Aditya Bidikar. The Department of Truth. Portland, OR: Image Comics, 2020-ongoing. Wittig, Dale. Capitalisms Collapse / Dale Edwin Wittig. San Francisco, California: Red Hammer Press, 2017....

Working in the Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center

Blog post written by Olga Nerciu, Motion Design '27, Special Collections AssistantWalking down the aisles, enclosed with shelves of meticulously placed books, each enveloped and assigned a long code of letters and numbers. I would scan through them, looking for the right one, the numbers would hint at where to look. “Bingo!” Take it, scan it, register in the system, display on the shelves, scan it again, put it back. This is how my shifts started as a Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center student worker. It did not take long to learn how wrong I was reducing our collection’s items to their mere numbers.I am Olga, motion design sophomore at Ringling College of Art and Design from Moldova. In fall 2024, I started working as a Special Collection student assistant, picking a wide range of skills and responsibilities, from organizing and registering books, to creating merchandise and even writing a blog! By my side, I always have Muling Tzai, another student worker from Taiwan, and Cheri Marks, Special Collections Librarian and Archivist(my boss). Our Special Collections Center specializes in rare artists’ books, publication projects, art prints, zines and many more. We are driven to introduce the general public to both niche and recognized artistic creations via hands-on object based experience. I myself was amazed by the variety of items in our collection: broadsides, campus materials, democratic multiples, documentation of time-based and performance projects, engravings, exhibition publications, experimental writing, fine press books, flip books, handmade editions, historic facsimiles, parlor toys, photographs, pop-up books, prints, rare books, zines, and more.My favorite part about Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center is the unique tactile experience we give access to. Anyone coming to our center can literally touch art and connect with the artist on the other side of the page. I believe that utilizing primary sources is a game changer in any scholarly research. Engaging with physical original materials rewards with more insights into a particular subject, compared to internet/digital research. Touching or closely observing an artifact allows researchers to feel a deeper connection to the material. For example, examining an ancient manuscript provides a sense of its age, authenticity, and craftsmanship. Images by Olga Nerciu, spreads from “Giving Fear a Proper Name, Detroit” by Susan Kae Grant, 2025 My favorite artwork to physically interact with is “Giving Fear a Proper Name, Detroit” by Susan Kae Grant. It follows the artist’s journey as she moved to Detroit, supported by images from her dreams, nightmares and daily experiences, interpreted in symbolic manner. I was stunned to find strands of artist’s hair, human teeth, accompanied by pictures of body parts, nails and increments of dirt and sand. The overwhelming experience from the book could have never been felt through digital research. Seeing the book and touching it, even smelling it, submerged me into the artist's world, where I was guided by mysterious pieces of her writing to undergo the same experiences and storylines.Hence, experiences are made to be shared. Artworks such as “Giving Fear a Proper Name, Detroit” inspire us to hold exhibitions, led by conceptual themes that unite various art pieces and artists, bringing a holistic experience of an era or movement to our audience. Our visitors are welcome to interact with the items and witness the line between a book and a work of art blur. Our Special Collections Center is open to collaborations and exhibition ideas proposed by faculty and students! I am most curious to observe my colleague, Muling, creating branding identity for our exhibitions, setting the mood for it. Thanks to her, our visitors always leave with a cute sticker, postcard or brochure to remember the event.I find myself again, walking down the aisles on my weekly shift, looking straight through envelopes, through long codes of letters and numbers, as each book is rather a story, a person, an entire universe for me to dive into. This is how my shifts are, as a Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center student worker. This blog post can also be viewed on the College Book Art Association blog, Book Art Theory....

Working in the Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center

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