Chalmers Library, Kenyon College

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Chalmers Library, Kenyon College

Chalmers Library at Kenyon College Library Hours: https://library.kenyon.edu/about-the-library/library-hours/

08/01/2026

While we marked the official anniversary of last month, the state of Ohio's monthly themes aren't over yet! August's theme is Ohio Goes to the Fair: the Ohio State Fair, County Fairs & Festivals.

Last summer, our college archives received a donation of photographs by Dan Younger (1953-2016), former director of the Knox County Historical Society and former director of the Olin Art Gallery at Kenyon College. Included in this donation was Younger's project documenting Knox County farm life and county fairs. As a longtime resident of central Ohio, Younger sought to bring a respectful lens to his documentation of county fairs, rather than an "outsider's view" that can be typical of the fine art tradition of county fair photography.

Photos in this collage are from 1994, 1995, 2013 and 2014. View the whole collection here: https://digital.kenyon.edu/rurallife_tcfp/

07/01/2026

As we enter the month of the official anniversary of , the State of Ohio is celebrating Ohio Gathers: Statewide Homecoming & Picnics. This photo was taken in the 1880s or 1890s by members of the Kenyon Camera Club, an organization of the Kenyon Military Academy, which was a preparatory school for boys in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Gambier. Women were not admitted to the Military Academy or Kenyon at this time, so it is likely that the young women the students are picnicking with are affiliated with the Harcourt School for Girls, a secondary school for girls affiliated with Kenyon during the same time period.

What will you be doing to mark the ? Will you be going to one of the statewide picnics in Ohio? Perhaps reflecting on things you learned in your coursework at Kenyon about the legacy of this country, however complicated? Comment below your plans, or a favorite book or article that taught you something about this country's 250 year history.

See this photo and more from the Kenyon Camera Club at https://digital.kenyon.edu/exhibit/kenyon-camera-club-collection/

06/01/2026

In June we celebrate through the theme Ohio Outdoors: Exploring Ohio's Natural Resources. Pictured here is Honey Run Falls, just east of campus, photographed by the Kenyon Camera Club circa 1895 (top), and by library staff in 2026 (bottom).

Have you ever been to Honey Run Falls?

See the top photo and others taken by the Kenyon Camera Club in the late 1890s on Digital Kenyon: https://digital.kenyon.edu/exhibit/kenyon-camera-club-collection/

05/20/2026

Chalmers Library will be open the following hours this weekend for Reunion:

Thursday 5/21: 7am-6pm
Friday 5/22: 7am-6pm
Saturday 5/23: 7am-6pm
Sunday 5/24: Closed
Monday 5/25: Closed

Special Collections & Archives (located on Chalmers lower level 1) will be open Thursday & Friday from 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm. We will have the Matriculation Books out for viewing and signing.

For materials from all celebrated class years, stop by the Special Collections & Archives open house on Saturday, 5/23 from 10am-12pm in Chalmers L150! We will have materials from class years ending in 6 and 1 as well as other highlights from our collection. We hope to see you there!

05/01/2026

For the month of May, we're celebrating through the theme of Ohio Creates: Arts, Culture, & Literature. Today, we're highlighting (just some!) notable Kenyon alumni authors and poets. Books in this collage were published by alumni from 1940 (Robert Lowell, Peter Taylor) to 2016 (Riley Redgate). Kenyon College sure knows how to produce fantastic writers!

Have you read any of these books? What's your favorite book by a Kenyon alumnus? Who did we miss in this collage? Let us know in the comments below.

04/23/2026

Happy , Kenyon - are you ready for Summer Sendoff tomorrow? Check out what students did to celebrate the end of the school year in 2008 (featuring some very early 2000s font choices...)

What's your favorite Summer Sendoff memory?

The Newscope was a newsletter circulated from 1970-2009, and can be found at digital.kenyon.edu/newscope.

04/14/2026

Thanks to the Institute for Museum and Library Services and the State Library of Ohio for funding the conservation of the Matriculation Book vol. 1, plus four photo albums created by Kenyon students in the 19th century!

Want to see the before pictures next to the newly repaired objects? Stop by Special Collections & Archives on lower level 1 of Chalmers TODAY, 4/14, from 1-4pm to take a look. And no -- you don't have to wear gloves! As long as your hands are clean and dry and you don't touch the photographs themselves, it is safe for you to handle these materials.

Happy Honors Day, Kenyon!

04/06/2026

In 1944, the U.S. Government chose Mount Vernon as the prime filming location to depict life in a typical American town.

04/01/2026

April's theme is Ohio Moves: Transportation. Today's highlight from the archives is the Gambier Railroad Station, which originally opened in 1873. For the College's Centennial in 1924, special rail lines were opened to bring alumni and visitors to Gambier for celebrations (middle image). Crowds gathered at the station to greet Lord Kenyon when he arrived for the Centennial weekend (bottom image).

The station was demolished in 1955, and today lies along the Kokosing Gap Trail.

03/19/2026

We at the library are hoping the first week back from spring break has been treating you well -- how about that snow this week?! We're counting down the days until Middle Path starts to look more like it did on this sunny day in 1986! ☀️

Address

103 College Drive
Gambier, OH
43022

Website

https://library.kenyon.edu/

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