CONTACT: EMILY SILVERMAN, (413) 545-0995

LIBRARY HOSTS THREE EXHIBITS THROUGH OCTOBER 31

"Paintings from Prison: A Show of Dr. William Chester Minor's Watercolors"
Main Floor, Du Bois Library
William Chester Minor is "the madman" in the book by Simon Winchester entitled "The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary." Minor was also the great grand uncle of Greg Prince, the president of Hampshire College. The exhibit was chosen from the collection of Mr. Prince and is the first time an exhibit of Minor's artwork has ever been displayed. The exhibit coincides with the reading of the "The Professor and the Madman" in the Commonwealth College Dean's Book Course.

"Revolutionary Rage: A Tribute to June Jordan"
Main Floor, Du Bois Library
A tribute to June Jordan was held on campus on October 2. The accompanying exhibit will remain on display in the Library through October 31. An award winning poet, novelist, essayist, professor, orator, performance artist, and political activist, June Jordan was one of the world's most articulate and essential voices for the liberation struggles of the past fifty years. The most published African American writer in history, Jordan's work confronts white supremacy, celebrates resistance struggles, and extols the strength and endurance of African American culture. June Jordan died at the age of 65 on June 14, 2002, in Berkeley, CA after a nearly decade long struggle with breast cancer. The exhibit includes a selection of Jordan's books and writings.

"Baseball Memories; A Historic Look at America's Favorite Pastime, 1860s-1960s"
Floor 25, Du Bois Library
Special Collections and Archives' latest campus history exhibit, "Baseball Memories: A Historic Look at America's Favorite Pastime, 1860s to 1960s," documents the evolution of baseball from the early beginnings of the Massachusetts Agricultural College up to the creation of the campus university system, as well as the activities of local town teams, Negro leagues, and women's leagues of that period. Materials featured in the exhibit are culled from University archives, manuscript collections, rare book collections, and the Library's general collection. Included are histories, letters, unique books, poems, photographs, news clippings, schedules, posters, gloves, and other artifacts, such as Ellsworth ("Dutch") Barnard's 1928 woolen baseball uniform. The exhibit is open weekdays, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., in the Special Collections and Archives Reading Room, Floor 25, Du Bois Library.

All three exhibits are in the W.E.B. Du Bois Library at UMass Amherst through October 31, 2002. They are free and open to the public.