ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


C&RL News ■ M arch 2004 / 167

Gr a n t s  a n d  A c q u i s i t i o n s Ann-Christe Galloway

The Mortenson Center for International 
Library Programs at the University of Illinois at 
Urbana-Champaign has received a $42,600 grant 
from the Carnegie Corporation of New York for 
the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa 
program. The partnership supports innovative pro­
grams that are revitalizing seven universities and 
their libraries in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and 
Uganda, equipping them to educate future coun­
try leaders and administrators. Staff from the 
Mortenson Center will visit the Carnegie grantees 
to assess the capabilities of their libraries, focus­
ing on user access to information and the libraries’ 
available resources in areas such as technical infra­
structure, delivery of services, ease of access to 
and strength of collections and databases, staff 
development training, bibliographic instruction for 
users, new  technologies, understanding of inter­
national standards, and related services. The 
Mortenson Center specializes in providing short­
term training for librarians from outside the United 
States. Founded in 1991 ‚ the center has welcomed 
more than 600 librarians from 85 countries. To 
learn more about the project, visit www.library. 
uiuc.edu/mortenson.

A c q u i s i t i o n s

The personal collection of author William 
Jay Smith has been donated to the Wyndham 
Robertson Library at Hollins University. Hollins 
has received more than 560 titles over the past 
two years from Smith, adding to the more than 50 
works authored or edited by Smith already in the 
collection. A noted poet and translator, Smith has 
written for both adults and children. Two of his 
13 volumes of adult poetry were finalists for the 
National Book Award, and he served twice on the 
jury for the National Book Award for Children’s 
Literature. Smith has a long association with 
Hollins, having served first as writer-in-residence 
during the 1965-66 session and as a professor in 
the English Department (1967-80); he also taught 
the first course in children’s literature offered at 
Hollins. From 1968 to 1970, Smith took a leave 
of absence from Hollins to assume the position

of consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress 
(a position now called poet laureate). Smith re­
tired from Hollins in 1980. Approximately one 
third of this gift collection consists of juvenile 
poetry, which substantially enhances the library’s 
resources to support the study of children’s litera­
ture. Books of fiction, folktales, ABC books, text­
books, reference materials, and nonfiction works 
are included. The publications span from early 
19th century to present (1828-2000), with the 
bulk of the collection falling between the years 
1950 and 2000.

The archive of fashion designer Bonnie 
Cashin (1908-2000) has been acquired by the 
UCLA Library. This comprehensive archive of 
one of America’s foremost designers from the sec­
ond half of the 20th century encompasses com­
plete documentation of her fashion and costume 
designs, including sketches, photographs, and 
slides. It also contains her writings on fashion and 
other design-related subjects; notebooks, sketch­
books, travel books, and idea books; audio- and 
videotapes of her interviews; and business corre­
spondence, contracts, and other documents from 
and to the companies that produced her designs. 
The archive is accompanied by a gift of $1.5 mil­
lion from the Bonnie Cashin Estate, which will be 
used to enhance its accessibility. In 1950 Cashin 
became the first designer to earn the industry’s 
two highest honors, the Neiman Marcus Award 
and the Coty American Fashion Critics Special 
Award. Cashin became the first designer of Coach 
handbags in 1962. Inspired by the hardware on 
the convertible top of her sports car, she created 
the brass toggle that became Coach’s hallmark 
and revolutionized the handbag industry with 
designs that could be folded flat and employed 
shoulder straps, in contrast to contemporary rigid, 
hand-held designs. She went on to earn numer­
ous prestigious honors, including the London 
Sunday Times International Fashion Award in 
1963 and was inducted into the Coty American 
Fashion Critics Hall of Fame in 1972.

Ed. n o te : Send y o u r news to: Grants & Acquisitions, 
C&RL News, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795; e- 
mail: agalloway@ala.org.

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