Newswise — "Meet Me at the Fair" has been the favorite saying for millions of people around the world since the mid 19th Century. World's fairs - often called international expositions - are held to show off the latest in technology, the arts, even agriculture. The fairs are entertaining and educational as well. They allow visitors to see the world in a unique and wondrous way. Now, thanks to the University of Maryland, those who love world's fairs, and researchers who want to know more about them, will have a wonderful resource just a click away.
Architecture Library Curator Patti Cossard, along with the University of Maryland libraries, has been working for five years to digitize photographs, graphics and essays in the library's special collection of world's fair materials. "Starting in 2001, we began a process of digitizing our collection comprehensively," says Cossard. "It focuses on the 1876 (Philadelphia Centennial Exposition) and the 1904 (St. Louis "Louisiana Purchase Exposition") fair."
The new digital library - A Treasury of World's Fair Art & Architecture - will offer cataloging data, known as "metadata," so that "people can come in and access more and more parts of our collection," says Cossard. This digital library is just part of a growing resource of digital collections offered by the University of Maryland's libraries. See the entire collection at http://www.lib.umd.edu/dcr/collections.html.
U.S. fairs are a particular strength of this Maryland special collection. But beyond the large number of books, the Architecture Library curator says there are many primary materials like "graphics, photographs, postcards, posters, trade cards... as well as some pamphlets and materials."
Cossard says that while other universities have world's fair collections, most focus on just one particular fair. "What makes us unique is that we are the only authoritative collection... that does all the fairs. So if you want a comprehensive view, we are the research place to go."
Along with the digital library project, a proposal is also on the table to create a national traveling show to highlight the collection. Art Librarian Louise Greene is working with Cossard to make that a reality.
Read more about the World's Fair Special Collection, the new Treasury of Art and Architecture - World's Fairs digital archives, and more online at http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/culture/2006/Fair/Cossard.cfm.
About the University of Maryland
From its pre-Civil War roots as Maryland's first agricultural college and one of America's original land grant institutions, the University of Maryland today is the flagship campus of the University System of Maryland and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. Ranked No. 18 by U.S. News & World Report, it also has 31 academic programs in the Top 10 and 92 in the Top 25. The current faculty includes three Nobel Laureates, six Pulitzer Prize winners, 40 members of the National Academies of Science, and scores of Fulbright scholars. Maryland is committed to excellence as the state's premier center of research and graduate education and the institution of choice for undergraduate students of exceptional ability and promise. For more information about the University of Maryland, visit http://www.umd.edu.
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