University Libraries

The University of Dayton’s rare book collections provided a unique hands-on history lesson for students in a course on faith traditions in early music history, which is open to all majors. Sam Dorf, professor of musicology and Alumni Chair in the Humanities, included multiple class visits to the Libraries—creatively integrating library collections and expertise into his teaching.

Dorf’s students visited the University Libraries to view and touch rare musical and textual artifacts, such as an illustrated 15th-century Dominican collection of antiphons, part of UD’s rare book collection held in the Archives, and a 1709 collection of antiphons composed by Cajetan Kolberer (1658-1732), held in the Marian Library. 

View a video of the class visit to the University Archives, which included an introduction to archives by Kristina Schulz, university archivist, and Dorf’s overview of the collection of antiphons.

In experiences hosted by archivists and librarians, students connect objects with historical practice. While examining these rare books, the students learned that a church might only have one copy of a choir book due to the resource-intensive publishing process at the time; making the book extra large with big print would enable groups to sing from it together.

For their final project, the students planned a public vespers service for Dec. 9 in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. Department of Music faculty sang from an arrangement of the antiphons.

In the concert program, Dorf’s students referenced their interactions with rare books, noting how these experiences transformed their understanding of the course content and their final project.

— Contributors: Katy Kelly, professor and assistant dean of strategic communication and outreach; Henry Handley, assistant professor and rare books and print collections librarian in the Marian Library; Michele Jennings, assistant professor and special collections instruction librarian; and Kristina Schulz, university archivist.