For anyone wondering who actually uses those old books in Special Collections, here are two examples:

I mentioned the Wondershow last month, and the team's most recent blog post offers a nice sense of the kind of questions raised and answered by material like the Percival Collection, our collection of books and periodicals on the topic of magic. And all the research will eventually lead to a fascinating public event and exhibition.

Meanwhile, scientists are right now using special collections material like the whaling logbooks from our collections (and others) to better understand the changing climate. Check out the Historic Sea Ice Data Home Page to find out more about how PPL's whaling collection is helping scientists better understand our world.

(Keep up to date with Special Collections at the Notes for Bibliophiles blog.)