December 07, 2005
Limited-edition library bookends now available
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The bookends feature Saint Anne vein marble hewn from the countertops of the library's information and circulation desks. Workers are replacing those desks as part of the ongoing five-year, $42 million renovation of Morris Library. The University commissioned fewer than 100 of the bookend sets, which will sell for $350 each.
The bronze portion of the piece, created by Richard Mawdsley, visiting professor of metalsmithing and jewelry at SIUC, features a bronze book with the original and future facades of Morris Library. The book's spine depicts the design scheme found in and around the Special Collections Research Center at the library. Richard McGriff, stonemason at SIUC, worked the salvaged marble into shape for the pieces.
"The bookends are an enduring remembrance of the original Morris Library," said David Carlson, dean of library affairs at SIUC. "Their price reflects the charges we've incurred in having them produced."
The University will include a certificate of authenticity signed by Carlson with each set. Funds from the sale benefit a general activities fund for the library.
For more information or to order a set, contact Kristine McGuire at kmcguire@lib.siu.edu or 618/453-1633.
Providing a balanced program of collections and services to meet the needs of library patrons is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint the University is following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.