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In the Bentley Rare Book Room
Bentley Rare Book Collection
The Bentley Special Collections Rare Book Gallery houses a unique collection of original texts and documents. The now 16,000-piece collection distinguishes the Horace W. Sturgis Library and is named for principal benefactors Fred and Sarah Bentley. Mr. Fred D. Bentley is a Cobb County attorney and avid book collector who together with his wife decided to make a sizable donation of rare books to Kennesaw State College in 1986.
Since that time, Sturgis Library Director Robert Williams and his able staff have been dedicated to the growth and preservation of this rare book collection in order that it may illustrate the history of the book in the British tradition. Thanks to that dedication, the entire KSU community is given the opportunity to study original works firsthand such as a first edition of the complete works of Chaucer (1542) and fourth folio Shakespeare (1685.)
The Gallery was designed to replicate an eighteenth-century library in an effort to foster respect and appreciation for the intellectual products of the past. According to Assistant Librarian Dewi (J.D.) Wilson, that effort has been successful: "students appreciate being able to handle the artifacts that connect them to the intellectual life of the past." The gallery is:
| * Located on the lower level of the Sturgis Library, to the left of the art gallery |
| * Accessible by stairs or elevator |
| * Open by appointment only |
| * Available for class lectures and group meetings by appointment. Call the Library Associate at (770) 423-6535 at least one week in advance — confirmation of requests is necessary to avoid scheduling conflicts. |
Learn more about the Bentley Rare Book Gallery through the PDF file at
http://www.kennesaw.edu/library/bent.pdf.
Get free Adobe Acrobat Reader here (required to access the file.)
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"When what we strive to achieve has been undone by history, the words we write will remain, and plead for us." - John Updike
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