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Beyond Glass Cases: The Library Company of Philadelphia’s “Collections Lab”

Supported by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Beyond Glass Cases represents the Library Company’s ongoing commitment to boldly, honestly, and thoughtfully interpret challenging, and at times harmful, collection items. An independent research library founded in 1731 and specializing in American society and culture from the 17th through the early 20th centuries, the Library Company has collected books and graphics throughout its almost 300-year history. Today, the Library is faced with the task of finding new and better ways of advancing understanding and engaging public awareness of the complex histories of these challenging collection items, while still holding space for their historical significance. Throughout 2024, Beyond Glass Cases showcased the work of our project partners: speculative historian Tafari Robertson; musician Zachariah Julian; anthropologist and historian Paul Wolff Mitchell; and visual artist Mark Thomas Gibson as they created art works, curate exhibitions, and composed music in dialogue with Library Company material. Their projects transcended the traditional exhibition model of a staff curator selecting items and putting them under Plexiglas vitrines in a gallery accompanied by authoritative labels telling visitors why an object is significant. The work of the project partners was documented in a professionally produced video that was included in the culminating exhibition exploring the lessons learned as the Library Company navigated the three-year Beyond Glass Cases project with our partners.

Watch the full 16-minute introductory video to Beyond Glass Cases here:

To learn more about each of these projects, click on the links below:

Reflections

Beyond Glass Cases
https://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/Screenshot-2025-02-26-154249.png 652 568 Grace Harrington https://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/lcp_print.png Grace Harrington2025-04-02 11:42:012025-05-14 15:45:00Reflections

The Black Historians’ Department

Beyond Glass Cases
https://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/Tafaris-Collage-JPEG-scaled.jpg 2046 2048 Dan Shiman https://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/lcp_print.png Dan Shiman2023-10-23 16:37:442025-06-09 12:09:03The Black Historians’ Department

Crania Americana / Project Obtuse

Beyond Glass Cases
https://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/CA-PO-image-scaled-e1720711866191.jpg 347 1021 Dan Shiman https://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/lcp_print.png Dan Shiman2023-10-23 16:36:062025-06-09 12:08:27Crania Americana / Project Obtuse

Lineage

Beyond Glass Cases
https://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/lineage-Mark_Thomas_Gibson_2024_Sketch_for_Weathering_The_Storm_ink_on_paper_15x22-e1720711930337.jpg 347 685 Dan Shiman https://librarycompany.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/lcp_print.png Dan Shiman2023-10-23 16:30:542025-05-14 15:30:28Lineage

Beyond Glass Cases: The Library Company of Philadelphia’s “Collections Lab” has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

Beyond Glass Cases

  • Beyond Glass Cases: The Library Company of Philadelphia’s “Collections Lab”
  • Advisory Committee
  • Project Team
  • Project Partners
  • Reflections Survey Responses
  • Beyond Glass Cases Videos
© Copyright 2024 - The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. TEL (215) 546-3181
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