Western Pennsylvania Law Library Association

A chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries.

Postcard Collection

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Where would we be without our daily beSpacific roundup?  On one hand, the latest news in cutting edge tech and legal information.  On the other, sending us to the delicate and lovely corners of the internet – encouraging us to look at something beautiful and gaze upon something charming before it’s lost to time.

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Springfield, Mass. Public Library –  Image Courtesy of the Sjoerd Koopman Library Postcard Collection at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University Archives 

A recent link sent readers to the Sjoerd Koopman Library Postcard Collection housed at the University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  The collection contains approximately 535 different digitized pictures and postcards of both American and European libraries.

Clicking through the images sends an online visitor back in time.  The earliest images are from the beginning of the 20th century, and the color palette from that era evokes a sense of nostalgia.  Check out the bright blue skies, large expanses of verdant green lawns, elongated perspectives that focus on majestic columns and balustrades.  As you race headlong into the later decades, you’ll still see some bucolic images.  But the postcards from the 1960s have some definite “General Electric Theater,” “better living through chemistry” vibes.  And by the time you get to the 1970’s era images, things get pretty groovy: indoor arboretums and hippies lounging on lawns!

Regardless of the decade, exterior views definitely feature a lot of stone masonry and brick facades.  Academic and public libraries seem to occupy an architectural space that exemplify permanence, respect, and classicism.

A jaunt through the Koopman Collection may even inspire a new hobby: collecting antique postcards.  Check out Ebay or Etsy or any number of other websites that promote postcard trading and collecting, or sell rare, vintage, or antique postcards.

The Koopman Collection doesn’t feature any images of Pennsylvania libraries.  If any WPLLA members have antique postcards with Pennsylvania library representations, feel free to share with us or send to University Library!  We’d love to see the pictures and share it here on our website.  Or, if you have any interest in collecting, or have any tips or tricks for how to get started – drop us a line and we’ll do a follow-up blog post.

One thought on “Postcard Collection

  1. Dear WPLLA,

    I came accross the message above, and it gives me great pleasure to let you know that my Library Postcards Collection @ the ALA Archives @ the University of Illinois Library currently contains 30 Pennsylvania libraries. Please have a look at:

    https://digital.library.illinois.edu/collections/811a1c10-e3fb-012f-c5b6-0019b9e633c5-0/items

    Kind regards from the Netherlands, Sjoerd Koopman sjoerdkoopman2@gmail.com

    Like

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