Constitution Day Celebrations at the University of Oklahoma
Celebrate Federal Constitution Day Sept, 17, 2015 by attending the annual lecture sponsored by OU’s Institute for the American Constitutional Heritage (IACH). This year, Dr. Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy will speak on “The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the Revolutionary War and the Fate of the Empire” at 4:30 in Meacham Auditorium, Oklahoma Memorial Union. Dr. O’Shaughnessy is Professor of History at University of Virginia and Saunders Director of the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. For more details see the IACH website.
You are also invited to celebrate the 122nd anniversary of Government Documents at their Open House, 2pm-4pm, on the 4th floor of Bizzell Memorial Library. The first 100 attendees will receive complimentary mini-Constitutions. Punch and refreshments will be served. See here for more information, including images from previous celebrations.
Law, History, Government & Constitutional Studies in the Collections
Each year on this day we take the opportunity to promote awareness of books and materials related to law, government, political science, the classical tradition, American and British history which are held within the four special collections in Bizzell Memorial Library: Bass Business History Collection, Bizzell Bible Collection, History of Science Collections, and the John and Mary Nichols Collections. Relevant materials in the collections include American and European books from the 15th through 20th centuries.
For a glimpse into these holdings, see the following links to some of our past exhibits and blog posts:
- Crossing Cultures (See especially, exhibit case 12: “Viewing America”)
- Civil War Teach-In
- Constitution Day
- July 4, 1776
Using Special Collections Materials for Teaching and Research
In addition to rare books and primary source materials, the Collections have significant holdings in non-rare materials: modern scholarly works, critical editions and facsimiles, introductory texts, and reference books. For these materials, browse Guide to Resources in History of Science, Technology and Medicine and Galileo’s World Resources Guide
Both rare books and recent works held in the special collections are included in OU library’s online catalog. For help searching for materials see Guide to Searching
Interested in using Collections materials for teaching or research? Need help identifying items to use for a class assignment, capstone project, thesis or dissertation topic? Please contact our staff for assistance (405) 325-2741.
- Dr. Kerry Magruder, Curator kmagruder@ou.edu
- Dr. JoAnn Palmeri, Research Coordinator palmerij@ou.edu
- Dr. Melissa Rickman, Registrar mrickman@ou.edu
See the Collections blog for more information on resources, activities, and events relating to OU’s 5th floor special collection libraries. See the Galileo’s World website for a virtual view of our campus-wide exhibit and related programs and events.
Beyond the Collections
Want to dig deeper into these topics? See the following online guides to resources beyond the 5th floor special collections:
