The Flight and Return of the Audubons

This exhibit features four prints selected by emmbers of Schaffer Library's instruction team. Purchased by Eliphalet Nott in 1844 as instruction tools, Union's double elephant folio prints continue to serve this purpose one hundred eighty years later. 

The famed "Audubon Heist" of the 1970s is featured in this year's Library Escape Room activity, an innovative approach to library instruction. Following clues throughout the building and the story of Union College's prized Audubons, students learn to: 

• Use Primo
• Navigate the Building 
• Chat with a Librarian
• Visit Special Collections & Archives
• ...and more!

For more information about Library Services and the Audubons, visit union.edu/schaffer-library.

 

Location:

This exhibit can be found in during the dates above in the Lally Reading Room, which is on the 1st floor of Schaffer Library. It's located just behind the current reading area and beyond the glass doors. 
 

Selected images from the exhibit:

The Blue-Yellow Backed Warbler

Joe Luck, Outreach and Reference Archivist, chose the Blue Yellow Back Warbler primarily for the bird's superior colors. Not to be overlooked, the Iris on which the Warblers perch serve as a reminder to students to look at context when doing research in Special Collections & Archives, Schaffer Library, or online.

The Carolina Parot

Though extinct, the Carolina Parrot remains a frequent flyer in the Special Collections & Archives Reading Room. The curators chose the Carolina Parrot as a nod to both the bird's lost tradition of mischief and the present-day interest to researchers from all walks of life.

The American Magpie

Lindsay Bush, Reference and Instruction Librarian, chose the magpie because of its contradictory meanings. While some cultures link this bird to joy and happiness, others say it symbolizes mischief and attribute it to witchcraft! This conflicting symbolism reminds Lindsay that some things are not quite as they appear, which strikes her as the perfect fit for the Audubon heist.

The Puffin

 

Jenna Pitera, Instruction Librarian, chose the puffin as a nod to one of her favorite childhood poems: "There Once Was a Puffin" by Florence Page Jaques. This print is particularly enjoyable to Ms. Pitera, who likes the little hiding puffin facing the artist, and the vibrant puffin beak.

 

 

 

Exhibit Acknowledgements: 

 

Curators:
Joe Lueck, Outreach & Reference Archivist;
Lindsay Bush, Research and Instructional Services Librarian;
Jenna Pitera, Instruction Librarian.

 

Special thanks to the Schaffer Library instruction team and the creators and facilitators of the Library Escape Room activity.