Exhibits at Kelvin Smith Library enhance the library’s programming initiatives featuring the library’s collections, partnered efforts with Case Western Reserve University departments supporting student learning and faculty research, or furthering connections to the surrounding community.
FAQs:
- Members of the campus and community are invited to develop an exhibit and program partnership with the library by contacting: kslexhibits@case.edu
- The library’s exhibits and programs are scheduled with a minimum of six months of planning, some exhibition spaces are scheduled a year or more in advance.
- Submit a request for a partnered exhibit project through the Exhibit Request Form.
Exhibit spaces:
The KSL Art Gallery is an open-plan space featuring modular wall-only display space. Located on the 1st floor of the library, this exhibition space is devoted to exhibits with a campus or community focus. Exhibition frequency is three times a calendar year.
KSL Features is a pop-up exhibit space for books near the library's main entrance. The themes of these book pop-ups coincide with current programming, showcase diversity, and highlight new titles in the collection. Library patrons are encouraged to interact with and check out these titles. Each pop-up is on view for an average of two to three weeks during the academic year.
Located on the 2nd floor of the library, The O’Neill Reading Room consists of wall display space in a space with a lot of student use. Exhibition frequency is two times a calendar year, with preference for exhibits connected to KSL programming or partnerships.
The Henry R. Hatch Reading Room Special Collections exhibit space, located on the 2nd floor of the library, is devoted to exhibiting rare and unique items from KSL Special Collections or items related to these collections, mostly in exhibit cases. These exhibitions and related programming are critical to connecting Special Collections to a broader audience. Exhibit frequency is twice a calendar year in this space.
Exhibits on view now:
Case Western Reserve University traces its start to the founding of Western Reserve College in 1826 in Hudson, Ohio. Get ready for CWRU’s Bicentennial in 2026 with a series of upcoming exhibits at KSL showcasing this history, starting with Western Reserve College 1826-1882. See some of Western Reserve College’s founding documents, what the campus looked like, and what students were doing. This exhibit was developed by the University Archives in addition to their digital exhibit, Celebrating 200 Years of CWRU.
A popular art form in Mexican culture, Alebrijes are colorful, imaginative creatures made from a mix of different animals— real or fantasy. Organized by Elena Fernandez during the 2025 spring semester, the CWRU Department of Modern Languages and Literatures hosted a workshop where CWRU students and staff made their own Alebrijes with guidance from local artist Héctor Castellanos Lara. On view now to mid-August 2025.
This is an exhibit of cover art from the Cleveland Bystander, a local monthly publication from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Discover what people were wearing and what people were doing in early 20th-century Cleveland.
Earlier this year, KSL Digital Collections Student Assistant, Tharun Viswanathan developed the Bystander Chatbot. Designed to bring this region's rich social and cultural history to life, the Bystander Chatbot utilizes digitized volumes of the Cleveland Bystander available in Digital Case. See a recording of the Bystander Chatbot in action!
In 1936, Elizabeth Bingham Blossom generously donated a selection of exquisite plates from John James Audubon's renowned Birds of America as a Christmas gift to the University. Birds of America is a landmark work in ornithological illustration, first published between 1827 and 1838.
Selections include the Eider Duck, the Goosander, the King Duck, and the Great White Heron. On view now to October.