Exhibit Space

Located on the third floor of Kenneth Spencer Research Library, the Exhibit Space features changing exhibitions that highlight library collections. It is open to visitors whenever the building is open; visit the library hours page for more information.
Exhibit graphic with a black-and-white headshot illustration of William Shakespeare with the exhibit title, "To the Great Variety of Readers: Celebrating the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio."

Current Exhibition

To the Great Variety of Readers: Celebrating the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio
September 18 through December 22, 2023

This is the inaugural exhibit in a new series of exhibitions co-curated by KU faculty and Spencer librarians. The series is funded by a major gift from David Bergeron and Geraldo Sousa.

Upcoming Exhibitions

University of Kansas Olympians
Spring 2024

Watson Library Centennial
Fall 2024

Recent Exhibitions

Photographic Treasures of Historic Leavenworth, Kansas
A traveling exhibit from the Leavenworth County Historical Society with supplemental materials from Spencer Research Library
February through July 2023

Keeping the Books: The Rubinstein Collection of the Orsetti Family Business Archive
September 2022 through February 2023

Mary Huntoon: Artist and Art Therapist
August through November 2021

Imagined Worlds: Writers and the Process of Speculative Fiction
January 2020 through January 2021

Past Exhibitions

In the Shadow of Cortés: From Veracruz to Mexico City
A traveling exhibit from Indiana University Bloomington with supplemental materials from Spencer Research Library
September through December 2016

Easter 1916: Rebellion and Memory in Ireland
February through July 2016

Achievement of a Dream: The Birth of the University of Kansas
September through December 2015

All Creeping Things: A History of Herpetological Illustration
An exhibit by graduate students in KU's Museum Studies program
May through August 2015

Free Speech in America: The Wilcox Collection at 50
February 6 through April 18, 2015

Ornithological Illustration in the Age of Darwin: The Making of John Gould's Bird Books
September through November 2014

Legacy of the White City: Revisiting the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893
An exhibit by graduate students in KU's Museum Studies program
May through August 2014

The Magic of Oz: A Collection Celebrating a Classic
Materials from the collection of KU alumna and lifelong Oz collector Jane Albright
January through April 2014

Plainly Spoken
A traveling exhibit sponsored by the Midwest Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers
November 2013 through January 2014

Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence: Stories of Loss, Destruction and Survival
August through October 2013

River City Rebels: Beat Poetry in Lawrence
An exhibit by graduate students in KU's Museum Studies program
May through July 2013

100 Years of Jayhawks: 1912-2012
December 2012 through March 2013

Riddle Me This: A History of Games and Puzzles
An exhibit by graduate students in KU's Museum Studies program
May through August 2012

Discover Kenneth Spencer Research Library
November 2011 through April 2012