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Cassie Brand, Curator of Rare Books for Washington University in St. Louis, stopped by to speak with Nancy about the Olin Library and the Rare Books Collections at the University.

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Cassie Brand: Curator of Rare Books\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 Olin Library at Washington University

Cassie Brand\\xa0has been\\xa0Curator of Rare Books at\\xa0the\\xa0Washington University Libraries\\xa0since 2017. She enjoys sharing rare books with others through outreach programs, teaching classes, and\\xa0curating\\xa0exhibits. Her research focuses on the intersection of the book as a physical and cultural object and on the histories of book collecting and libraries.\\xa0Cassie\\xa0received her library degree from Indiana University in 2011 and\\xa0is\\xa0currently\\xa0working on a PhD. Cassie\\u2019s dissertation, which is in progress, is\\xa0tentatively\\xa0titled \\u201cHow Books Became Rare: The History of Special Collections in America 1880\\u20131940.\\u201d\\xa0

Among the topics discussed is the rare copy of the Declaration of Independence held in the library\'s collections.

When the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections opened in 1962, the Washington University Libraries owned a small rare book collection, the finest pieces of which had been donated by St. Louis collector William Keeney Bixby. Now, the Rare Book Collections include over 70,000 printed pieces and represent all the disciplines the University Libraries collect.

The Rare Book Collections include books from all Special Collection areas. The collections\\u2019 primary strengths are in the areas of literature; the material culture of the book, including the history of printing, graphic design, and the book arts; and aspects of American and world history.

Spanning seven centuries of written and visual communication, these collections support teaching and discovery across the University and are freely accessible to students, scholars, and visiting researchers.

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