In the fall semester of 2023, Princeton University Library (PUL) Special Collections debuted a new initiative: stickers. 

Created from images of items held in PUL’s catalog, the stickers sit in the reception area of Special Collections, located on the C-Floor of Firestone Library. They are free for the taking by anyone who visits the space, whether they stop by to investigate a lingering research question or are just passing through.

“We have stickers,” Reference and Outreach Specialist Emma Sarconi began before Special Collections Assistant Adrienne Rusinko jumped in, “to make Special Collections more fun and inviting. 

“It can be a very intimidating space, and stickers are a very accessible and a fun way to catch people’s eye, to get them in, to offer them something free that they can take with them with no catch,” Rusinko continued. The stickers help to share the types of items Special Collections holds in a “less aggressively academic way.” 

The stickers are just one part of Special Collections' larger outreach plan, which also includes a book club with the Princeton Public Library and the monthly Special Collections Showcase in the lobby of Firestone Library. 

“These efforts to prove that Special Collections doesn’t just have to be about dissertations,” Sarconi said. “There are so many ways you can find delight in Special Collections, and stickers are just one of those ways.” 

The sticker program, named “Decalcomania,” a term that refers to a printing technique used to put images on pottery and other materials, is also a collaboration with the PUL Makerspace — Makerspace Specialist Ariel Ackerly works with Sarconi and Rusinko to produce the stickers in-house. 

The current sticker lineup features dragon marginalia, dolls from a Soviet children’s book, musicians from “The Great Dance of Death,” an Italian printer’s mark, and strawberry embellishments. 

“This is one of those things that you think it’s simple and straightforward and in a lot of ways it is,” said Sarconi. “But also I think it really underlines the mission of the department in a lot of different ways.”

All-Access Book Club

Sarconi and the Special Collections staff have also taken their intimate knowledge about PUL’s collections and parlayed it into a book club. In collaboration with the Princeton Public Library, the book club acts in part as one would expect. Members read a novel selected by the staff at the public library and meet to discuss themes and reactions.

Sarconi, however, injects PUL’s unique collections into the meetings by creating a hands-on showcase that allows members to interact with items related to the club’s book choice. 

One session for the book “Glorious Exploits,” which takes place following the Peloponnesian War, saw Elena Baldi, Byzantine Numismatics Cataloger and Linked-Open-Data Coordinator, bring a set of temporally relevant coins and deliver a presentation on them to the group. 

“That was really exciting for people and generous of the Numismatics staff on a lot of levels,” said Sarconi. “We have a lot of eyes on our collections at all times and Special Collections staff members are willing to share what they see, which is great.”

The All-Access Book Discussion Group meets every six weeks, with the next meeting planned for September 19 over Georgi Gospodinov’s “Time Shelter.” Registration is handled through the Princeton Public Library website. Recaps of each of the meetings are posted to the Special Collections blog. 

Special Collections Showcase

While both the stickers and the book club require visitors to pay a visit to Firestone’s C-Floor, the Special Collections Showcase puts the varied pieces of the department front and center.

The showcase, which debuted in the fall of 2023, will return with Sarconi and her colleagues selecting five items each month to display and discuss with Library visitors. 

“Last year we had a lot of people who didn’t realize we were open to the public, or didn’t realize that you don’t need an appointment, or didn't realize the kind of cool stuff that may be related to their lives, interests, or careers,” Sarconi said. 

This year, save for showing off some of the spookier and occult items for Halloween, the showcase will focus on pulling items from both the personal and professional interests of Special Collections staffers. 

“Special Collections is a very collaborative place to work, and the curators are always very open to questions,” said Rusinko. “For example, Eric White posted an item in Slack and I went to him and asked if we had any other monkey-related manuscripts, of which we have several.” 

She added, “AnnaLee Pauls has decades of institutional knowledge and she’s so easy to tap and ask if she knows about a given item or topic.”

The first Special Collections Showcase is scheduled for Thursday, September 19 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Firestone Lobby. Unlike many Library programs which are open to the public but require prox card access, the Showcase is located before the entrance turnstiles. 

Special Collections also hosts a blog featuring collection highlights and insights, event recaps and more at specialcollections.princeton.edu.