Library Resources for Arts & Sciences Faculty

Even librarians don’t know about every item in our extensive collection! We discover hidden gems every time we review the materials on our shelves. The summer months give us a perfect opportunity to do just that—and this summer, we took a closer look at the “Z” classification for bibliography, library science, and information resources. We’re excited to share some of the items we think could be the most useful for your research.

“I came across the title A bio-bibliography of Andreas Vesalius and realized that it would be a good recommendation for Geisel medical students, Leadership Preventative Medicine residents, and the students in Public Health who visit the Rauner Special Collections to see Andreas Vesalius's (1514-1564) anatomical drawings in De humani corporis fabrica libri septem. The bio-bibliography summarizes the Renaissance physician’s most famous works and can direct the interested student to other masterpieces by Vesalius. These documents are all old enough to be in the public domain, but we are glad that Dartmouth community members can experience them in-person.”

- Lilly Linden, Librarian for Biology, Chemistry & Math

"One work I encountered was familiar and readily available in digital form, but a print copy provides another mode of use for researchers. Known widely as Hill's Guide, the work's actual title is Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians. As a federal government document, Hill’s Guide is in the public domain, and we have access to several digital instances that are great for searching, ready access, etc. At a certain point, scholars doing Indigenous historical research should sit down and read it, not necessarily in whole but certainly in parts. Fundamentally, Hill describes the origin, occasion, and logic of how the United States documented its relationships with Indigenous peoples. Hill's Guide is a work to befriend and visit frequently."

- Wendel Cox, Librarian for English and Creative Writing, Government, History, and Federal Documents 

"For the researcher focused on the history of slavery in Latin America, two scholarly bibliographies are compelling: Horácio Gutiérrez and John Monteiro’s A escravidão na America Latina e no Caribe: Bibliografia Básica, and Regina Célia Lima Xavier’s História da Escravidão e da Liberdade no Brasil Meridonal: Guía bibliográfico, both published by academic presses in Brazil. As the librarian for Latin American studies, I encourage those who have the language ability to read scholarship published in the region, in addition to the sources they can quickly find through JSTOR and Google. A title that might interest those researching the history of medicine is a tiny volume Pour visiter avec profit L’exposition des vieux livres de médecine. Published in 1926 by Docteur Leo Pariseau, a Quebecois physician and instructor, the book amounts to an exhibit catalog of early printed books on medicine with Pariseau’s annotations. The fact that we have some of these books astonishes and delights me. And to me, printed bibliographies like these can bring to light entire worlds and networks of scholarship and publication in ways that a database results page seems less adept at rendering."

- Jill Baron, Librarian for Comparative Literature, French and Italian, LALACS, MALS & Spanish and Portuguese

"Students who want to read Latin manuscripts must become familiar with different kinds of scripts. Like other guidebooks of Latin scripts, Stan Knight’s Historical Scripts: From Classical Times to the Renaissance begins with monumental inscriptions and concludes with the triumph of humanist script in the Renaissance. But Knight, an expert calligrapher, chose photographs that show the details of script in greater detail. Full-page facsimiles of manuscripts are accompanied by enlargements of scripts that show readers much more than most script books, from the strokes that make up each letter to the qualities of the surface the letters are written upon."

- Daniel Abosso, Librarian for Classics, German Studies, Jewish Studies, Linguistics, Middle Eastern Studies, Philosophy & Religion

"I was struck by the unexpected items I encountered, including these three titles on the occult, alchemy and supernatural phenomena. PSI, the other world catalogue : the comprehensive guide to the dimensions of psychic phenomena provides a snapshot of scholarship on what was considered supernatural phenomena from the mid 1970’s. Occult/paranormal bibliography : an annotated list of books published in English, 1976 through 1981 showcases the growth in English language publications on the occult in the late 1970’s. Alchemy and the occult ; a catalogue of books and manuscripts from the collection of Paul and Mary Mellon given to Yale University Library provides a comprehensive list of Paul and Mary Mellon’s collection of rare alchemical texts at Yale."

- Laura Graveline, Librarian for Art History & Studio Art

Lucinda M. Hall is Dartmouth Libraries' Research & Learning Librarian for Film and Media Studies and Geography, and she runs the Evans Map Room on the second floor of Berry Library. Lucinda was recently featured in the “100 Days of Baldwin” trailer produced by filmmaker Iyabo Kwayana, an assistant professor in the Department of Film and Media Studies. It kicks off the Institute for Black Intellectual and Cultural Life’s celebration of James Baldwin until November 2024.

What is your favorite thing in our collection?

I can get lost looking through our various streaming collections. It reminds me there's a lot to watch and not a lot of time to do so.

What is your favorite place you've visited?

Washington, DC.

Have you read anything good recently?

I finally finished Just Call Me Mike by the actor Mike Farrell. I always like him as an actor and found his story interesting.

What are you currently watching?

The TV show Will Trent. It's about a detective who has a severe learning disability but still can solve crimes. I also discovered that Rod Serling created his own version of A Christmas Carol. I've only watched half of it and that part was unsettling.

And finally...what's your favorite food?

Fried chicken! (Wings and dark meat)