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Nicholas Basbanes

Nicholas Basbanes

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News Release

Contact: Tom Parisi, NIU Office of Public Affairs
(815) 753-3635

March 24, 2005

Noted writer of books about books to speak
at library's 2 millionth volume celebration

DeKalb, Ill. — Acclaimed writer Nicholas A. Basbanes, famous for writing books about books, will present the keynote address at an upcoming celebration of University Libraries' acquisition of its 2 millionth volume.

The public is invited to the celebration, which will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the Altgeld Hall Auditorium.

The event will include a reception with music, door prizes, hors d' oeuvres and refreshments. In addition to Basbanes' address, University Libraries Dean Arthur Young will name a representative 2 millionth volume to mark the occasion.

“We're very pleased to welcome Nicholas Basbanes to campus,” Young said. “He is the premier writer about the world of books, book collectors and libraries.”

Basbanes was an award-winning investigative reporter during the early 1970s. Later he wrote a nationally syndicated column on books and authors. The Washington Post calls him “our leading chronicler of the printed word and book culture.”

Basbanes' first book, “A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books,” was a finalist for the 1995 National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction. It also was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. His most recent work, “A Splendor of Letters: The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World,” focuses on efforts to preserve books and other printed matter from the ravages of time.

The acquisition of its 2 millionth book volume earlier this academic year places University Libraries in the top 3 percent of academic libraries nationwide.

The library has grown immensely since its origins in 1895, when barbed wire baron Jacob Haish provided a $10,000 gift for its creation. A major expansion occurred in December 1952, with the opening of the Swen Franklin Parson Library (now the law school). Founders Memorial Library opened in 1977 and celebrated the acquisition of its millionth volume four years later.

Today University Libraries supports all academic areas on campus and acquires about 26,000 new volumes annually. The library also holds an impressive collection of rare books (see related story). In addition to Founders Memorial Library, University Libraries operates a number of branches, including the Faraday Science Library, Music Library in the Music Building, Map Library in Davis Hall and libraries at NIU campuses in Naperville , Rockford and Hoffman Estates.

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