University of St. Francis Library Archives

The USF Library Archives has been awarded the Connecting to Connections Bookshelf Award from IMLS (The Institute of Museum and Library Services) and AASLH (American Association for State and Local History) . The IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf is a set of resources selected by conservation and preservation experts throughout the country. It contains informative, practical materials to help institutions sustain the country's heritage by improving the care of their collections. The USF Library Archives will be receiving books, DVDs, and other resources that address such topics as the philosophy and ethics of collecting, collections management and planning, emergency preparedness, and culturally specific conservation issues. The Bookshelf was awarded through a competitive, expert reviewed, on-line application process where applicants demonstrated an urgent need for this permanent resource. The USF Library Archives is excited to add these materials to our resource collec

The USF Library Archives has been awarded a 2009 LSTA grant to complete the project titled "Sharing Our Past: Digitally Archiving the History of the University of St. Francis". We received word of our acceptance (and our giant check) in 2008 and have been steadily working on finishing the project. We are about 3/4 done and as we near the end, we have prepared a small article that describes the project and gives a quick overview of the history of USF. “Sharing Our Past: Digitally Archiving the History of the University of St. Francis” is a project that will create an online collection of digitized photographs, brochures, newspapers, posters, and other materials related to the history of the University of St. Francis, the City of Joliet , and Will County . This collection will provide access to information and materials that are an important part of the history of higher education in Illinois . It will also greatly increase the USF Library Archives’ current outreach ef

John Masefield (1878-1967) was the author of the children's books The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights , approximately 35 other novels (including Sard Harker , Gallipoli , and A Tale of Troy ), and numerous memorable poems and poetry anthologies (including Salt Water Poems and Ballads , Midsummer Night and Other Tales in Verse ). He was the Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1930 until his death in 1967. The John L. Raymond Special Collection has 77 of John Masefield's books, a large portion of his complete works. A number of the books are first editions while others are limited editions. Two books in particular are very rare. A copy of Minnie Maylow's Story and Other Tales and Scenes is a limited edition (#203 of 350) and is signed by the author. The JLR Collection also has a copy of Philip the King and Other Poems which is a limited edition (#287 of 375) and is signed by both the author, John Masefield, and the illustrator, Laurence Irv