ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Baltimore ’86

View of downtown Baltimore from a restored neighborhood on Montgomery Street.

and is a vital resource for genealogical projects and historical research. The Peabody Library, originally belonging to benefactor George Peabody, was built in 1866, and both its location in one of the world’s most beautiful squares and its interior, with tiers of iron balconies, take the visitor back in time. Now under the aegis of The Johns Hopkins University, the Peabody contains the 18th and 19th century books deemed necessary for a gentleman’s classical education.

A very different excursion will take visitors to two of the University of Maryland’s libraries, Law and Health Sciences. Both of these institutions offer sophisticated and integrated online services, including electronic data base searching and online catalogs. The Law Library uses Geac, and Health Sciences provided the prototype for OCLC’s LS 2000 system. These libraries are downtown near the Convention Center.

Informal, individual tours will also be arranged to a number of other area libraries. The Milton S. Eisenhower Library on the Homewood campus of The Johns Hopkins University, the grounds of which originally were owned by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, is one of the nation’s great academic research libraries. Its preservation program is one which may help valuable but disintegrating collections everywhere make a transition into the next century. The Eisenhower Library also enjoys the architectural feature of being largely below ground.

Morgan State University, chartered in 1867, was designed to provide higher education to Blacks. Served by the Morris A. Soper Library, the school has evolved over the years into a comprehensive state university from its beginnings as the Centenary Biblical Institute. Soper Library’s special holdings include the Beulah M. Davis collection of African History and Life.

The Loyola-Notre Dame Library jointly serves two private liberal arts colleges, Loyola College and Notre Dame College of Maryland, the first Catholic college for women in the U.S. The Henry A. Knott Fore-Edge Painting Collection contains some of the Library’s special treasures.

The Harbor Campus of the Community College of Baltimore is a new facility straddling Lombard Street in the heart of downtown Baltimore near the Inner Harbor.

The Julia Rogers Library of Goucher College serves a private school whose mission for a hundred years has been higher education for women. Set in a beautiful suburban campus, the Library is proud of its Jane Austen rare editions, its Mencken correspondence, and its first editions of Mark Twain.

Inside the beltway from Goucher is Towson State University, a public institution which has made the transition from normal school to state teachers’ college, to comprehensive state university. Its Albert S. Cook Library has grown over the years with the school and is a fine example of an academic library in a publicly supported university.

On the west side of the metropolitan area in Catonsville, one can visit the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery of the University of Maryland Baltimore County. It is well known for its architectural distinction and its special collections on science fiction and photography, the latter frequently the basis for outstanding gallery exhibits.

Two special trips will go to libraries situated on the outer fringes of Baltimore. A bus and box lunch excursion is planned to the jewel in the crown, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Another bus trip will be to the Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland. Its new Learning Resources Center features integrated service for both print and nonprint material.

Sightseeing trips

Of course, Baltimore would be remiss if its pleasure trips were only to places of professional interest. A city tour will be offered which will include such sights as the new Harborplace, home to over 100 shops and eateries, the U.S. Frigate “Constellation,” the National Aquarium, and the Maryland Science Center and Planetarium. Nearby are the “dollar home” neighborhoods, and the Lexington Market where food is displayed in blessed abundance and variety. Fells Point is a national historic district with portside houses dating back to the 1700’s. On a September night in 1814, it was at Fort McHenry that despite the bombs bursting in air, our flag still flew.

Night life

For a night on the town, a jaunt is planned to a new jazz bistro, Ethel’s Place. Owned by Baltimore’s pride, singer Ethel Ennis, Ethel’s is one of a number of night spots where music lovers can listen and enjoy. Incidentally, Ethel shares the building with the newly renovated showplace of experimental music, dance, and theater—Theatre Project.

Another event on the evening agenda is a pub crawl through Fells Point. With watering holes such as Bertha’s, The Horse You Came In On, The Irish Pub, and the Admiral’s Cup, Fells Point is home not only to history but also to some of Baltimore’s best-loved hangouts.

And finally, for those who just don’t know when to quit, how about an Early Bird Insomniac Tour? Beginning at 8 p.m. and ending after midnight, this mystery trip might feature putting a paper to bed in the newsroom of a major metropolitan newspaper, a stop at the Trolley Car Museum, a glass from a cask of amontillado at Edgar Allan Poe’s grave, dessert at Haussner’s Restaurant, famed for its extensive collection of 19th century art and bric-a-brac, or any of a number of places, depending on the phase of the moon and the position of the planets.

So, why not? Come on to Bawlmer next April. We’re scrubbing down the white marble steps and saving you a seat.—Susan Mower.