On Thursday, Feb. 21, the closing reception of Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible was held at Elizabethtown College’s Winters Alcove in the High Library. During the reception librarian BethAnn Zambella offered remarks about the unique exhibit and its impact on the Etown community.
The Manifold Greatness exhibition first opened Feb. 2 in the High Library to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first printing of the King James Bible in 1611 and to examine its fascinating history. The High Library showcased four displays of historical texts and bibles. As the days progressed, the bibles in the display cases were replaced with photographs of their covers and pages, in order to protect and keep them secure. Other items displayed were the title page and inscriptions from the Berleburg Bible, title pages from the Saur Bible and Marburg Bible and inscriptions from the 1599 copy of the Geneva Bible. To follow along with the readings, Etown supplied three iPads for visitors to hear commentary provided by some of the great scholars at Oxford.
The College was one of 40 sites across 27 states to display this traveling exhibition offered by the American Library Association. “We think we were chosen because we were a good match for the project since we have our own collections of bibles and our own history of reading the bible in this area,” Zambella said. “We thought we could bring that to play with the idea of the King James Bible, especially thinking about all the people who came from Germany and other parts of the world who brought their German Bibles with them and how that really has cemented families together in the Lancaster area.”
During the closing reception, Zambella started off by thanking all those who were involved and helped put this exhibition together. She continued by stating that it was an incredible overall turnout during the weeks of the exhibition. There were over 1000 visitors. About 500 people came for the programs, 100 people went on guided tours, and 400 people just came to see the exhibit. Zambella said they were very grateful to have such a wonderful turnout, given the cooperation of the weather and Etown’s geographical location.
Access Services Librarian Louise Hyder-Darlington discussed the impact from this exhibition. “We have outreached to retirement homes and I personally provided a lecture to residents of the Mennonite Homes in Lancaster,” Hyder-Darlington said. “We have had visitors representing a diversity of religious denominations, including Muslim and two groups of Old Order Amish and Mennonite who visited the exhibit with Dr. Jeff Bach and Dr. Don Kraybill from the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies.”
While giving tours during the exhibit, there were two stories that stood out in particular for Hyder-Darlington. One was during the Family Bibles discussion led by Jean-Paul Benowitz at the Elizabethtown Public Library. “It was very touching to hear people talk about their father’s personal bible, or a bible that was given to them by a teacher; a bible that they have treasured since childhood,” Hyder-Darlington said. “Books can provide great knowledge, but also a level of comfort and connection that people need with the past. So that was great to experience.”
The other story occurred on the final day of the exhibit. “It was about one hour before I was planning to take down the exhibit when an older African-American gentleman visited. We set him up with one of the exhibit audio tours we had loaded on iPads from the ITS department, but he was struggling with the technology,” Hyder-Darlington said. “So I walked with him around the exhibit. He really wanted to see the image of the Bishops Bible that had belonged to Elizabeth I. He talked about how the Bible had been used to speak both in favor of slavery and also against slavery. He shared some of the most eloquent observations and insights I had yet to hear about the Bible in our lives. I was very grateful to have been able to meet and talk with him.”
Overall, the impact from this exhibit has been immense and exceeded the College’s expectations. There was no specific group of people who felt less benefited from it. “I think this is the beauty of this exhibit and why it was so well-received and highly attended and supported,” Hyder-Darlington said. “This deals with a book that was written over 400 years ago in another country, yet impacts almost every single person. Such a work that is so vast in its connection to people does not only benefit one — it benefits us all.”
The next program coming to campus is the film “Bully” which is being provided by the Women and Gender Studies and the Education Department. There will also be a screening and panel discussion to go along with the film. Beginning fall 2013, the High Library will also partner with International Programs to develop and support the year-long international film festival.