Rare
Books Room
While accessing these serials online is convenient it is
not as experiential as being able to actually read them in a collection of
print. While doing research and navigating through these serials in the rare
books room it was very cool to be able to look through a piece of work that is
so old and that was so popular during its time. While reading through some of
the published works I came across several interesting pieces that caught my
attention due to the significance it correlated to in my own life.
The first
interesting piece I found was a publication that was printed on March 22, 1862.
In general this date has no specific significance to most people. However, to
me it was a day that I will never forget. This is the day that my daughter was
born; almost 150 years later. It was very cool to think that one of the serials
was published on my daughter’s birthday as it was a weekly publication so that
would not happen every year it was published. It was also interesting that I
happened to choose the volume that contained that specific publication. It was
almost as if it chose me to read it as that was not the only significant piece
that I found pertaining to my personal life.
The second work that I found was in the same volume on
April 19, 1862. This day is not a most significant day as was the previous date
as this was the day before my beloved grandmother passed away; 145 years later.
However, it was interesting what work I would find in this particular serial.
My grandma’s name was Violet and in flipping through the serial I found a poem
with the title of “Violets”. I read through this poem and after reading it felt
the presence of my grandmother with me. It reminded me of her character of
kindness, love and peace and the legacy she left behind to uphold the value of
the golden rule and finding the peace within oneself.
After having the experience to read in the rare book room
and actually be able to interact with these serials it made it much more real
to me that actual people read these and that they had an impact on their lives.
It was easier to imagine why they were so popular and the significance they
played in their time. It was very interesting to be able to look through these
works in print rather than the impersonal way of viewing them on the internet.
It made it much more real to be able to examine them in person.
Emily
Dodd
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