Library exhibit showcases Southwestern history

Towards the end of the spring semester, when Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was looking ahead to campus visitors during the annual meetings of the Southern Baptist Convention to be held next door in Dallas, President David S. Dockery approached the library staff and asked if they could create a historical display for visitors to see while they were in town.

“It is a delight to commend Librarian Craig Kubic and the entire library team for their dedicated efforts to put together the marvelous presentation that tells the remarkable story of Southwestern Seminary over the past twelve decades,” Dockery said.

Craig Kubic, interim director of libraries, and other library staff took on that project and have since turned an empty space into an exhibit that displays the history of the seminary and its global impact.

“‘Let’s put a couple little items in there so that it doesn’t look so empty,’” Kubic recalled their thinking when they first began putting things on display. “And then it just kept going. … We’re pretty excited about it.”

His excitement for giving visitors visual reminders of the history of Southwestern is clear as he describes items and points out things he remembers from when he worked his first stint at Southwestern when he was in his 20s.

What started as items and photos showing the physical development of the seminary campus over the years as new structures were built, has grown to include individual displays for each of the Southwestern presidents, including second president L.R. Scarborough’s desk and chair and notes written by first president B.H. Carroll.

Further visits to the library archives and other places on campus by Kubic and others like Kristen Patrick, administrative assistant at the library, resulted in numerous items like books, newspapers as far back as the 1840s, musical instruments, international artifacts, regalia, portraits, and furniture being moved to the display room in the downstairs area of the library. Kubic worked to restore other items and organize some into scrapbooks so they could also be displayed.

The original Southwestern seal, printing plates with an image of early campus buildings, and typewriters that could type Greek and Hebrew are displayed alongside items like the podium used for chapel services in the Truett Auditorium in the 1970s.

Jason Runnels, senior public services librarian, said one of the most popular attractions in the exhibit has been a collection of what he calls the “funny books,” student directories from decades past.

“We’ve had quite a large number of alumni come through, as they periodically visit the campus they just happen to walk in,” Runnels said, adding many of the visitors “look at the funny books to see themselves or their parents or their pastors or people like that. So that’s probably one of the highlights for a lot of people.”

Currently, the exhibit is expected to remain in place through the Board of Trustees meetings in October, but Kubic said they are already considering how they can rotate items off and create new displays.

Dockery encourages Southwesterners to see the exhibit.

“I want to encourage students, staff, faculty, Board members, and Southwestern friends to take time to visit the library to observe this informative display to more clearly see how the Lord has blessed and guided the Southwestern community through the years,” he said.