The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Library and Museum is an extraordinary treasure and one of the few museums dedicated to comics in the world. Started in 1977, the collection has grown to 300,000 original cartoons, 45,000 books, 2.5 million comic strip clippings and newspaper pages, and more than 5,000 cartoonists’ biographical files, including handwriting samples. The library serves students, researchers and teachers, and the library and museum are free and open to the public.
The library contains irreplaceable collections housed in a tightly-secured, temperature-controlled archive. Visitors to the reading room are highly encouraged to call ahead to request materials two days in advance. The library includes the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection with materials dating back to 1893, the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection from the former museum founded by Beetle Bailey creator Mort Walker and the Bill Watterson Deposit Collection…YES! THE ENTIRE COLLECTION OF BILL WATTERSON’S CALVIN AND HOBBES IS HOUSED HERE!
The library and museum’s namesake comes from an influential cartoonist who worked for the Columbus Dispatch newspaper. Billy Ireland stayed true to his roots and never left Ohio while helping advance the careers of others, like Milton Caniff who later helped start Ohio State’s comics collection and once graced the cover of Time magazine. In the image above, Ireland editorialized the blight caused by Columbus’ flood of 1913. Sketches that Ireland created to visualize a new downtown riverfront have been used to inform Columbus’ stunning Scioto Mile, demonstrating Ireland’s continued influence and cartoonists’ importance to civic engagement.
Librarian Caitlin McGurk believes in the transformative power of comics and is a strong advocate for the art form’s appreciation. Caitlin teaches classes on English, history, art, women’s studies, theology, psychology and ESL, pairing the needs of Ohio State’s students with cartoon collections. Previously the head librarian of Vermont’s Center for Cartoon Studies, Caitlin is driven to give greater exposure to the art and artists that may otherwise be forgotten or marginalized. She actively partners with her Ohio State colleagues and the community to extend cartooning’s legacy.
The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum is an indispensable resource for understanding the perceptions of popular culture, societies, nationalism and gender spanning over 100 years across multiple contents. At every turn, the library, museum and staff offer a path to exploration and discovery. We highly recommend visiting their current exhibits, exploring their online exhibitions, meeting award-winning speakers and joining them and others for the four-day, comics expo Cartoon Crossroads Columbus.
Go Big or Go Home – Laura Kissel.
Polar Curator Laura Kissel and the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program certainly go big. The archive includes innumerable papers, records, photographs and historical artifacts concerning explorers, scientists and other figures and organizations prominent in the advancement of knowledge about polar environments.
Admiral Richard E. Byrd pioneered the technology that would be the base for modern polar exploration. According to Ohio State, “No other person in Antarctic history has contributed more to the geographic discovery of the continent than Byrd.” He received the medal of honor for reaching the North Pole and discovered hundreds of thousands of square miles of Antarctic territory for the United States.
Beyond papers and records, the Polar Archive has an amazing collection of artifacts. Board games inspired by Byrd’s exploration, vintage expedition clothing, art, stamps, sample tents and more enrich the collection. Artifacts from the early 20th century to modern equipment used to survey polar landscapes are collected and preserved for the ages. Other materials like fragile photographs have been made available online through OSU’s Knowledge Bank. While artifacts and other materials can’t be checked out, the general public can view and study them by making an appointment with Polar Curator Laura Kissel.
Laura Kissel has been with OSU’s Byrd Polar Archive for nearly 20 years. She helps increase access and awareness to the collection, and she collaborates with OSU’s Byrd Polar Research and Climate Center, libraries and marketing. Laura fields research questions from across the globe, guest lectures in OSU classes and can drive a mean forklift. Additionally, she is a successful grant writer and cultivates outside donors to ensure a diverse collection of polar materials.
The Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program is an amazing resource that we highly recommend you explore.
The A.T. Wehrle Memorial Library serves nearly 225 students and faculty within the Josephinum’s college of liberal arts, school of theology and pre-theology program. Open to the public, anyone in Central Ohio can access the library’s vast and unique resources. Additionally, the Wehrle Library provides access to over 120 higher education institutions through OhioLink and Ohio Private Academic Libraries (OPAL).
The Josephinum was founded in 1888 as the Collegium Josephinum by Msgr. John Joseph Jessing and recognized as the Pontifical College Josephinum by the Holy Catholic Church in 1892. The Roman Catholic seminary’s mission is “to prepare men for the ordained priesthood through human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation.” With 145,000 items in books, periodicals, Catholic publications and diocesan newspapers, archives and rare materials, the Wehrle Library provides an essential service required for intense research.
The current location of the Josephinum was finished in 1931 and the library’s current location was created in 1982. Library patrons enjoy comfortable spaces and generous meeting rooms.
The library fields a variety of questions from a number of sources. From within the college, staff are asked for commentaries and information on Vatican documents, church positions on challenging issues, English translations of Latin or Greek primary sources and research materials for student theses. The general public has asked for resources regarding Catholic Church teachings and practices.
The library holds many unique and rare resources. Numerous manuscripts dating from the 1800s when the college was founded are available upon request. In addition, the library owns a well-preserved, Complete Works of Martin Luther from 1555, highly detailed and colorful illuminated manuscripts and Vatican ephemera possibly not collected anywhere else but at the Vatican.
Associate Librarian Beverly Lane, Library Assistant Michelle Brown and Director Peter Veracka enjoy the versatility of a small library. Beverly thrives on having multiple projects and is excited to start digitization initiatives. Michelle loves the Wehrle Library’s environment and always learning. And Peter finds the partnership with faculty to assist with students’ path to human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation rewarding. Furthermore, serving students from all across the world, including China, Uganda and Myanmar, enriches the library’s word view, provides the library an opportunity to affect change across the earth and demonstrates the universality of the Catholic Church.
