A celebration of Washington State University Libraries’ donor Vernon Gallup, featuring former WSU President V. Lane Rawlins, will take place from 10 a.m.–noon on Tuesday, Oct. 10, in the Terrell Library atrium. Titled “Angling and Adventure: Making Access Possible to the Gallup Collection,” the event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available after the program.
Other speakers include Jay Starratt, WSU Libraries dean; Laura Hill, WSU senior vice provost; Trevor Bond, WSU Libraries associate dean of digital initiatives and special collections; and Corinne Hensley, Gallup’s daughter.
In 2008, Gallup and his wife, Joan, made history at the WSU Libraries by donating the largest single gift of rare books in Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections’ 120-year past — about 20,000 volumes valued at $1.8 million. The Gallup Collection includes books on angling, fishing, outdoor sports, and the environment, ranging from the 1400s to present day. More about Gallup and the collection can be found on the WSU Libraries’ website. Gallup also provided funding for a state-of-the-art book scanner so the collection can be shared more broadly.
“The eye of the Gallups for collecting so carefully and also buying books that were expensive at the time but have only gone up in value, like the first edition of ‘The Compleat Angler,’ really is a testament to their persistence and also something that would be very difficult — if not impossible — to recreate in the future,” Bond said.
For more information, please contact Lipi Turner-Rahman, WSU Libraries’ development director.
