Lloyd Library and Museum

Lloyd Library and Museum Receives Artist-in-Residence Grant From Ohio Arts Council

Alternative Field Guide Created by Community Participants under the Guidance of Local Artist Kate Kern

Exhibition Dates: September 13 through December 30, 2008

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 13, 4–6 p.m.

Through a generous grant from the Ohio Arts Council, Lloyd Library and Museum was able to host an Artist-in-Residence program this past July.  Guided by local visual artist Kate Kern, Lloyd’s choice for Artist-in-Residence, community participants from a variety of local institutions, organizations, and walks of life created marvelous artworks, inspired by Lloyd’s collections.  These will be brought together in a public exhibition inventively titled, by Kern, Alternative Field Guide.  The diversity of Lloyd’s collections offered a vast array of topics for the artists, who used resources on subjects such as botany, travel and exploration, insects, historical medical treatments, midwifery, shells, mushrooms, horticulture, and pharmacy.  The artworks will be displayed in Lloyd’s Art Gallery and a complementary exhibition of a selection of books used as inspiration, including the name of the participant, the title of their creation, and their artist’s statement, will be displayed in the Exhibition Alcove.

This exhibit will be the second display of newly-created original art to use the Lloyd’s scientific collections to demonstrate the natural alliance between the visual arts and science, both of which are about creativity and discovery.  The first exhibit was the 2003-2004 Mining the Lloyd: Book Artists Reveal Secrets and Treasures from the Lloyd Library and Museum (now available as an online exhibit) for which regional and national book artists were invited to explore Lloyd’s collections and create a new bookwork inspired by one of the hundreds of thousands books held by the Library.  What makes the Alternative Field Guide refreshing and unique is that the creators were self-selected participants who are not widely-regarded as artists and came from a variety backgrounds and professions.  Librarians, educators, gardeners, retirees, and young students all came together to make art under the expert tutelage, outstanding assistance, and inspiration of a professional artist.  Kern had previous knowledge and experience at the Lloyd when she participated in the Mining the Lloyd exhibit.  Of that participation, Kern wrote, “I was impressed by the helpfulness of the staff and the aesthetic promise of the collection.”  She was, therefore, the perfect choice to guide community participants and introduce them to the wonders of Lloyd’s collections.
           
The exciting artworks created and the exhibition in which they will be displayed will have broad appeal and will be of great interest to many people.  The public is invited to attend the opening reception and exhibit, both free, to see a remarkable example of community art created in and inspired by a scientific research library.  At the reception, there will also be opportunities to meet Kate Kern and many of the Residency participants.             

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Lloyd Library and Museum Launches New Initiative: Historical Research Center for the Natural Health Movement

Saturday, March 1, 2008 from 4-7pm the Lloyd Library and Museum kicks off a new endeavor in its long tradition of collecting, maintaining, preserving, and making accessible historic and current books and journals, as well as archival materials, on a wide variety of disciplines that fall under the subjects of natural history, botany, pharmacy, and medicine—an endeavor critically needed to balance and enhance the documentation of medicinal botany—the creation of the Historical Research Center for the Natural Health Movement. This initiative will position the Lloyd to become the central repository for the archives and personal papers of those involved in both scientific and grass roots efforts to bring natural health into the mainstream.

The March 1 st event will feature speakers Rosemary Gladstar, herbalist, author, and instructor, presenting “A History of Late 20th Century Herbal Pioneers;” A. Douglas Kinghorn, Jack L. Beal Professor and Chair in Natural Products Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, presenting “The Development of Pharmacognosy in 20th Century United States;” Mark Blumenthal, Founder and Executive Director, American Botanical Council, presenting “ The Importance of Documenting the History of the Natural Health Movement;” and Anna K. Heran, Archivist, Lloyd Library and Museum presenting “A Case in Point: The Varro 'Tip' Tyler Papers.” Other activities include the formal opening of Tip Tyler’s papers for research, an exhibit from the Tyler Papers, and Lynn Carden’s art exhibit “It Began at the Lloyd: An Artist’s Journey.”

The Lloyd Library is prepared and equipped to offer its facilities and services to house, maintain, preserve, organize, and make accessible in one location this crucial body of knowledge for the scholars of today and tomorrow who will be investigating the natural health movement. Not only does the library have a professional archivist on staff with more than ten years experience, but it is also in the process of developing a space plan to accommodate new archival collections. New collections will be added to the library’s existing archival collections, covering names and institutions in the fields of pharmacognosy, herbalism, chemistry, and pharmacy. They will join already existing collections such as those of John Uri Lloyd; Lloyd Brothers, Pharmacists, Inc.; Varro E. Tyler; George Hocking; Alex Berman; Stephen Buhner; Susun Weed; Clarence Meyer (author of Herbalist Almanac); the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati; John Milton Scudder; and Robert F. Raffauf, among many others.

The Lloyd’s new initiative is significant in that currently there is no other known institutional endeavor to collect such materials as widely as the Lloyd Library will with the establishment of this research center. The Lloyd is seeking cooperation from all participants in the natural health movement to help establish a centralized location for the study of the ongoing development of medicinal botany and other alternative healing practices. This center will assist researchers by reducing the amount of travel needed to complete their studies, as well as provide an indispensible contextual environment complete with a vast collection of current and historical works, both published and unpublished.

In addition, the library is the optimum site for this project because in many respects, the Lloyd already is the “Historical Research Center for the Natural Health Movement.” An increased effort to add archival collections to its many other significant resources will enhance its goal of comprehensive documentation in the fields of naturopathic healing and alternative medicine. In addition, this project continues and honors the legacy of founder John Uri Lloyd, who was relentless in his investigation and advocacy of medicinal botany. He and his brothers not only built the library, but also provided for its future, because they understood the critical need to acquire historic and current resources and preserve them for posterity. The establishment of this research center underscores their commitment and embodies their belief that the past is the path to the future.

Download the press release as a PDF

Go to the Historical Research Center webpage

Learning and Service Scholarships Available at the Lloyd Library and Museum

The Lloyd Library and Museum is pleased to announce the availability of a Learning and Service Scholarship. Graduate students in library science and graduate and senior level students in history are eligible. The award is $500 per term and requires 15 hours per month of service (for the duration of the term) during which time recipients will receive hands-on training and experience in areas of either library or archives practice and theory in a special library setting. To read more about this opportunity and how to apply, download this informational flyer.