Library Closed for Easter

The library will be closed March 26, 27 and 28 in celebration of Easter.


We hope everyone has a lovely, blessed holiday with friends and loved ones.


The library will re-open on Tuesday, March 29 for regular hours.

The Albert Casey Irish Collection

Some of our Irish Collection on the shelves in the Special Collection stacks.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, Special Collection would like to take a moment to share about Albert E. Casey’s generous gift of his Irish collection to the Samford University Library. This resource is one of the gems of the Special Collection.

According to this 1877 guide to Ireland, this is Wicklow near the Bray River where St. Patrick may have first landed.

Samford’s Irish collection, donated by Casey, is a rare and unique one. The only other Irish collection in the United States on par with Samford’s is located at Yale University. The Casey Collection is so unique that people have even visited Samford from Ireland in order to access the information found there.

The collection contains maps, periodicals, and books. According to Annie Ford Wheeler, the Head of the Library in 1976, “The Casey gift contained many rare volumes and many titles which now would be difficult, if not impossible, to acquire.”

One of the oldest pieces in the collection is this Irish history printed in 1633 and inset with woodblock print maps like this one.

Today, the Irish collection is still helping students. Juliana Kendall, a freshman, was working with some of our Irish materials recently, so we asked her what she thought of the Irish Collection, which she is currently using to work on a paper for her Irish-themed CA class.

“The books I found were incredible!” she told us. “Not only did I find all the information I needed, but I also learned to appreciate the beauty of old books … I’m thankful that the Irish Collection is here to help students like me learn more for Irish topics in class.”

Not all of the collection is in English. This is a bilingual book about Ireland in Gaelic and English.

We hope other students will be similarly inspired to come down to the Lower Level and check out our rich holdings of Irish materials in the Special Collection.

While all the books are listed in the Library Catalog, a bibliography was published of materials in 1976. Here it is on the Special Collection website.

Some of the books in the collection are directories like this postal directory from 1845. Before telephones, these were published every year.

Thanks to Rachel Cohen and the Special Collection and University Archives for text and images.  

Erin go bragh!- JD

Portrait of Julia Tarrant Barron, a founder of Howard College, returns to Samford

Among the earliest proponents of a college for young men in Marion, Alabama, Julia Tarrant Barron (1805-1890) was instrumental in the foundation of Howard college.  She worked with Baptist leaders and donated time and funds to the establishment of the school, even donating the land upon which the school would be rebuilt after the campus was destroyed by fire in 1854. 

Julia after the recent preservation work.

Julia's granddaughter, Olive Barron Becker, was commissioned by then president of Howard College, Dr. John C. Dawson, to paint a portrait of Julia.  The portrait was presented to the school in December of 1945.

Fast forward about seventy years, and the portrait of Mrs. Barron (affectionately referred to as "Julia") needed an upgrade.  After consulting with professional conservators, Julia was sent to the Atlanta Art Conservation Center.  The portrait had been framed most recently (we're not sure when) with a plexiglass covering which had become scratched and warped over the years.  The painting itself needed to be professionally cleaned, too.

Julia before cleaning, without plexiglass.

Julia after.

Last week, Julia returned to campus, and the difference is amazing.  The colors of the painting are brighter and more saturated, and details that had been obscured by grime are now visible, such as her brown hair and green eyes. We're glad she's back and in better shape than ever.

Julia with Larry Shutts, art conservator for the Birmingham Museum of Art and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

Julia is no longer covered in plexiglass, and "it will be important to find a way to display and house her securely," says Jennifer Taylor, director of the Special Collection and University Archives.

For more information about Julia Tarrant Barron, you can read a short biography from the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame, here.

To learn more about the portrait before the recent work, visit the Special Collection Treasures article, here.

None of this could have happened without the amazing librarian archivists in the Special Collection and University Archives. Thank you, Jennifer, Rachel, and Becky!

Campus Life in 1936

Aerial Photograph of the East Lake Campus, undated.

Today, Special Collection wanted to share some photos from 1936.

From 1884 until 1957, Howard College, now known as Samford University, was located on a property in the Birmingham area of East Lake. Known today as the East Lake Campus, it was home to the campus for over seventy years. 

One small collection of photographs (SCAV 929) the Special Collection does have is from 1936 illustrating major events on campus like the graduation, registration and stunt night. Unfortunately, many of these photographs are damaged. Even so, they offer a window into campus life in the 1930s.

Five female graduates from Howard College in regalia in 1936.

Students performing in Stunt Night, 1936.

Registration day at Howard College, 1936.

Graduation exercises in 1936.

Eleven female students pose for a photo on the grass in 1936.

Despite the long period of time that Howard College occupied East Lake, there are few photographs of the campus. In part due to the fact that there was not a campus photographer on staff.  So, the Special Collection is extra grateful to have these photos of campus activities in the 1930s.

Text and photographs are from Rachel Cohen in the Special Collection. 

Thanks, Rachel, for all of your work.  

Why whiteboards? Why not!

The Samford University Library has introduced new whiteboards in open library spaces. The boards can be moved around to almost anywhere in the library.  The boards can be used by any Davis Library user or users.

The whiteboards in their native spaces, roaming around the reading room.

 If you need to brainstorm, alone or with a group, whiteboards can be handy.

And a fantastic Friday to you, too!

We hope that these whiteboards will improve the way you study.  Enjoy!

A Look Back to Step Sing 1976

The Wright Center is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The official dedication of the new auditorium took place on January 22, 1976. In March, students competing in Step Sing were the first to perform on Samford’s new stage. Six hundred students participated with 16 groups competing.

Step Sing that year was considered a bicentennial celebration in honor of our nation’s 200th anniversary. Many of the competing groups used the bicentennial as a theme for their program.
The awards were divided into divisions.

The winners were Alpha Delta Phi in the Sorority Division, the Ministerial Association won the Organizational Division, and the Freshmen received top honors in the Class Division.  Sigma Nu won the Fraternity Division and took home the Sweepstakes Trophy by performing original songs written by fraternity members Rex Hammock and Racy Evers.

Text and photographs supplied by Jennifer Taylor, Director, Special Collection.