Syracuse University Library and Library Associates celebrate grand opening of Antje Bultmann Lemke Seminar Room

Syracuse University Library and Library Associates celebrate grand opening of Antje Bultmann Lemke Seminar Room April 21, 2008Pamela McLaughlinpwmclaug@syr.edu

On Friday, May 2, at 10 a.m., Syracuse University Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric F. Spina will preside over a ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the Antje Bultmann Lemke Seminar Room in the Special Collections Research Center on the sixth floor of E.S. Bird Library.

Over the past two years, Syracuse University Library and Syracuse University Library Associates raised $150,000 to build this room in honor of Lemke, information studies professor emerita, who has been a member of SU Library Associates since 1960.

Special collections are the primary source materials for studying society and culture. With this new room, faculty will be able to share the University’s priceless treasures in the classroom setting. SU’s special collections include ancient objects such as cuneiform tablets, illuminated medieval manuscripts and Gutenberg Bible leaves. Faculty can also excite students with more modern materials, like Margaret Bourke White’s cameras and photographs, Henry Miller’s letters, correspondence from the Harlem Renaissance, handwritten first drafts of Joyce Carol Oates’s novels, and drawings by architect Marcel Breuer.

The Lemke Room provides an ideal environment for instruction involving these materials. The room is equipped with state-of-the-art audiovisual technology that enhances the educational experience. Using a high-definition video camera and 65-inch high-resolution display, even the smallest artifact can be examined by a group of students. Interactive SmartBoard technology makes it possible to annotate these images with digital ink and upload or e-mail the resulting image files.

The room now stands as a permanent tribute to Lemke. The daughter of an eminent German theologian, Rudolf Bultmann, Lemke was part of the underground resistance in Nazi Germany. She came to the United States in 1949, becoming a fine arts librarian at SU Library in 1952, then a faculty member in the School of Information Studies until her retirement in 1986. Lemke is much admired for her inspirational teaching, love of the arts and humanitarianism. A world renowned Albert Schweitzer scholar and translator, she was instrumental in bringing America’s largest collection of Schweitzer papers to SU, where they remain available to scholars today.

In addition to remarks by Spina and University Librarian and Dean of Libraries Suzanne Thorin, the event will feature a demonstration of the room’s features and technical capabilities by Sean Quimby, director of the Special Collections Research Center, and Tom Sherman, professor of transmedia studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

The event is free and open to all. To R.S.V.P. or arrange for parking, contact Susan O’Brien at suobrien@syr.edu or 443-2573.