April 1st - May 31st, 2009 in the Lally Reading room.
This exhibit celebrated the conjunction of three events: the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth in 1809, the 150th anniversary of the first publication of his On the Origin of Species in 1859, and the gift to Union College of a first and sixth edition of On the Origin of Species as well as the first volume of Darwin’s The Descent of Man (1871), all donated to the College by Aaron J. Feingold, Union College Class of 1972.

February 9th - March 31st, 2010 in the Lally Reading room.
The exhibit featured first editions of Dickens’ fiction and non-fiction writings on the United States as well as archival materials from the papers of John Bigelow (Union College Class of 1835), who became personally acquainted with Dickens during his “public readings” tour of the U.S. in 1867/68.

August 12th - November 15th, 2019 in the Lally Reading Room
In the winter of 2017, a lock of George Washington's hair was discovered in the stacks of the Special Collections Department at Union College, triggering an international media storm. The lock of hair was found in a small envelope that was tucked inside a rare book entitled Gaine's Universal Register (1793).

January 3rd - March 25th, 2024 in the Lally Reading Room
Dogs have shared our campus since the earliest days of Union College. This exhibit includes a brief history of Union College canines.

October 19th - February 11th, 2013 in the Lally Reading Room
Schaffer Library Gallery exhibits North-African Postcards depicting Jewish women, children, & families dating from the early twentieth century.

May 14th - July 31st, 2026 in the Beuth Atrium
We invite you to browse some of the treasures from this Government Documents exhibit!

Digital Exhibit: December 5th, 2018
This website showcases themes and material available for further exploration in the John S. Apperson Jr. Papers and the Paul Schaefer Collection held at the Adirondack Research Library of the Kelly Adirondack Center at Union College in Schenectady, New York.

March 11th - May 11th, 2020 in the Lally Reading Room
This exhibit, using Union College as a case study, examines the importance of protests on college campuses during this time period. By shedding light on the various protests at Union during these years, current student visitors will be able to compare and contrast their experiences. What made this era unique? What are campus protests like today?

September 1st - December 31st, 2013 in the Lally Reading Room
This exhibit showcases traditions and innovations that combine Humanities and Engineering perspectives in Union’s curriculum, student and faculty research, campus structures, and co-curricular and student activities.

Digital exhibit and transcription site:
The diaries of John Bigelow's wife, Jane Tunis Poultney Bigelow, make up the majority of the Diaries and Journals series. Just as respected and loved as her husband, Jane was an important figure in the New York literary and social scene. Her diaries detail their life and travels.

Digital Exhibit: May 4th, 2023
This digital exhibit aims to delight audiences by showcasing various trips Bigelow and his family made between 1850 and 1886. Through his letters, family diaries, and other collection materials from the John Bigelow papers (SCA-0022), visitors can accompany Bigelow around Europe and the Caribbean to learn more about global travel during the nineteenth century.

September 5th - December 31st, 2022 in the Lally Reading Room
This exhibit features selections from John James Audubon’s Birds of America, a collection of 435 life-size watercolors reproduced from hand-engraved plates and printed between 1827 and 1838. Eliphalet Nott acquired Union College’s copy of Birds of America directly from Audubon himself in 1844. Originally bound in four volumes, our copy underwent significant conservation treatment in 2006 and the engravings are now housed individually, making for easier and safer display.

September 6th - November 20th, 2014 in the Lally Reading Room
This exhibition features high quality facsimile prints from Abbeville Press and Oppenheimer Inc. of John James Audubon’s Birds of America, as well as prints from the original Havell edition owned by Union College.

March 22nd - June 7th, 2019 in the Lally Reading Room
As part of Union College’s commitment to the celebration of Women’s History Month, we proudly tell the story of Katherine ‘Kay’ Flickinger Dockstader, an outdoors enthusiast, hiker, skier, amateur photographer, and former GE employee. Born in Schenectady in 1910, she was a world-wide traveler who had a lifelong fascination with the Adirondacks. As a member of the Schenectady Chapter of Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) as well as the YMCA/YWCA’s Otyokwa Club, she regularly took weekend hiking trips, often in the High Peaks.

April 7th - May 18, 2008 in the Lally Reading Room
Display presented in conjunction with LGBT: A Union Perspective, Wikoff Student Gallery, Nott Memorial. This exhibit features print, audio, video, and online resources related to lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual issues, on the Union College campus and beyond.

October 8th - December 17th, 2013 in the Lally Reading Room
This exhibit features rare editions from the Schaffer Library collections of two centuries of literary works from England, Scotland, Ireland and the United States, including Union’s first editions of “Pride and Prejudice” and Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.”

On display from 2008 - 2010
According to The Encyclopedia of Union College History, Union College’s first vegetable garden may have been that of Professor Thomas McAuley (1805-1822). While at Union, McAuley lived at the north end of North College in what is now Bronner House, and the later, undated photograph seen here shows a view of where the garden may have originally stood. Isaac Jackson (Professor, 1831-1877) moved the plot in the early 1830s to make space for his flower and shrub garden, though his personal diaries provide evidence of continued vegetable plantings.

March 14th - April 15th, 2011 in the Lally Reading Room
Series II of the Graphic Novel series, LOOK!

July 2nd - July 17th, 2009 in the Lally Reading Room
This new exhibit series is an investigation into the distinctive ways in which graphic novelists/artists construct a narrative. The first installment focuses on the use of color as a storytelling device and showcases sample images from graphic novels in Schaffer Library’s collections.

January 22nd - March 25, 2018 in the Lally Reading Room
Union College’s Permanent Collection of art and artifacts includes an uncommon and exceptional collection of bronze weaponry and horse fittings from ancient Iran, generously donated by Professor Emeritus Carl George.