The Lilly Library, Indiana University

Barney Wood recently visited to talk about the Lilly Library's copy of the New Testament of the Gutenberg Bible with Erika Dowell, Executive Associate Director and Curator of Modern Manuscripts. Check it out!

Out and About with Barney | Rare Gutenberg Bible New Testament at Indiana University's Lilly Library Discover the rare Gutenberg Bible at Indiana University's Lilly Library, a historic volume that revolutionized access to books and knowledge.

Curatorial assistant Kylee Green showcases some eye-opening comics and scrapbooks of optometric interest from the collection of Henry W. Hofstetter, who was the first president of IU's optometry school.

Keeping an Eye on Comics Curatorial assistant Kylee Green showcases some eye-opening comics and scrapbooks of optometric interest from the Hofstetter Collection! These scrapbooks don’t contain family photos or memorabilia. Instead, they contain cartoons about optometry from the years 1900-1993. Well, most are about optome...

The Lilly Library's Curator of Puzzles, Andrew Rhoda, has been writing a blog series on the incredible mechanical puzzles in the Slocum Collection. His latest post shares some amazing puzzle vessels!

Mechanical Puzzle Category Spotlight #7: Puzzle Vessels Welcome to the seventh spotlight of the Lilly Library’s Mechanical Puzzle blog series, written by Andrew Rhoda, the Lilly Library’s Curator of Puzzles! Puzzle vessels are objects where the solver drinks from, pours from, or pours into the vessel without spilling or otherwise losing the contents ...

You shouldn't judge a book by its cover... but sometimes it might be the wisest course of action! Learn all about The Poison Book Project at this year's annual Ruth C. Engs Lecture on Public Health.

Join us at the Lilly Library on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 as we welcome this year’s speakers, Dr. Melissa Tedone and Dr. Rosie Grayburn, Lead Conservator and Conservation Scientist for the Poison Book Project. The speakers will discuss their research focusing on identifying potentially toxic pigments used in bookbinding components and how to handle and store potentially toxic collections more safely.

Along with refreshments, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the history of science and healthcare through a hands-on pop-up exhibition of some of the Lilly Library’s renowned historical medical materials.

See comments below for RSVP link. 📚☠

https://libraries.indiana.edu/davidben

No April fooling around here but we still have plenty of tricks up our cardigan sleeves here at the Lilly Library! We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of magician and scholar David Ben's remarkable collection chronicling the art and history of magic, illusion, and performance. Read more about it and listen to a podcast interview at the link!

Hieroglyphs, pillars with eyes, hearts on scales…Egyptian mythology is brimming with religious imagery. Curatorial assistant Jake Gentry gives a brief overview of some of these symbols, in this tomb-multuous blog!

Scarabs and Sun-Disks: Symbols of Ancient Egyptian Religion Hieroglyphs, pillars with eyes, hearts on scales…Egyptian mythology is brimming with religious imagery. Curatorial assistant Jake Gentry gives a brief overview of some of these symbols, in this tomb-multuous blog! The polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt has long fascinated both professional Egy...

Conservation assistant Aveyah Craver gives us some tips and tricks on traditional bookbinding in this exciting conservation-centric blog!

How to Make a Japanese Accounting Ledger (daifuku cho) Conservation assistant Aveyah Craver gives us some tips and tricks on traditional bookbinding in this exciting conservation-centric blog! I recently made an enclosure for a set of three, blank, Japanese accounting ledgers. The books were bound in a style that I had never seen before, and I took some...

What We Keep: An Exploration of Personal Archives Through Harriet Thayer’s Album

Curatorial Assistant and Social Media Manager Jake Gentry spotlights personal archives with the multigenerational album of Harriet Thayer and her daughter Henrietta Malvina.

What We Keep: An Exploration of Personal Archives Through Harriet Thayer’s Album Curatorial Assistant and Social Media Manager Jake Gentry spotlights personal archives with the multigenerational album of Harriet Thayer and her daughter Henrietta Malvina. Archival science may not seem like it on the surface at times, but it is incredibly personal. The papers, books, and realia pr...

For generations, The Lilly Library, Indiana University’s collections have helped people explore how belief, culture, and daily life shape one another. 📖🌍 With a new $2.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., this work will continue to grow in meaningful ways.

The grant endows a cataloger of religious materials and supports a traveling exhibition that will bring rare texts and cultural artifacts to communities across Indiana and beyond. This new position strengthens how the library preserves, organizes, and shares materials that help us understand the human experience in all its depth and diversity.

Building on an earlier $2.5 million award that endowed the curator of religious collections, this support reflects a continued commitment to expanding access, fostering curiosity, and helping people connect with stories that have shaped history.

Learn more about the impact of this generous support: https://bit.ly/4oFnwk0