Library Readies for Special Lincoln Exhibition

A traveling exhibition celebrating the life and times of Abraham Lincoln has made stops in Chicago, San Francisco and a number of other cities across the country so far. Now, after more than a year of planning, the Scotch Plains Public Library will share the honor.

The library is one of 40 sites nationwide to host "Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times," which was organized by the Gilder Lehrman Institute to mark the 2009 bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Scotch Plains is the only New Jersey stop on the tour.

The free exhibition traces Lincoln's path from a self-educated, rough-hewn lawyer with virtually no administrative experience, to the president who guided a divided nation through the crises of slavery, secession and Civil War. It's intended to show how Lincoln transcended his age and left a constitutional legacy for all Americans.

"Lincoln" makes its official debut in Scotch Plains this Sunday, so on Tuesday afternoon, library director Meg Kolaya and reference librarian Pamela Brooks were busy working to get everything ready for unveiling. In the children's area, the center of the room has been transformed to resemble Lincoln's log cabin, where "fireside" storytimes will be held for local school children and families. Down in the basement, display cases hold a variety of Civil War-era mementos. Apparel and two American flags from that time sit in one corner. Cartoons by Thomas Nast, a lithograph of the Emancipation Proclamation and maps of New Jersey from the Civil War days are among the historical pieces lining the walls.

"What we tried to do is reach out to local collectors," Brooks stated, naming the Scotch Plains Historical Society, the Drake House, the Newark Museum, the Osborn Cannonball House and private citizens among the groups who have lent pieces of their collections.

Those local items will complement the main show: a 48-panel display expected to arrive Wednesday that features graphic reproductions of rare documents, images, and interpretive text.

In addition, the library has lined up a number of well-known speakers over the coming weeks, including Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer and New Jersey notable Clement Price. The library will also host a Lincoln-inspired concert this Sunday featuring Juilliard-trained flutist Shawn Wyckoff and violinist Maria Millar. Re-enactors from the 43rd New York Volunteer Infantry will even stop by on May 15.

"We're so excited," Kolaya said of the exhibition, which will have a three-week run in Scotch Plains. While the library is honored to be one of the select sites to host "Lincoln," Kolaya said what's special about the Scotch Plains stop is the incredible involvement the schools have had in the process.

The library has worked closely with the school district over the past year in anticipation of the exhibition's arrival. Several local classes developed Lincoln-inspired artwork and essays for display. Nineteen high school junior and seniors have also been training to serve as docents for when the district's third, fifth and seventh graders tour the exhibition with their classes in the coming weeks.

"It's been quite the creative process," Brooks acknowledged. "The kids we have here have done excellent work. They certainly energize us."

As a thank you to the district, the library will host a special teachers reception on May 5, giving local educators a special look at what's on display.

The entire exhibition is being funded through grant money that the library has been awarded over the past year-and-a-half. It was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional funding has been received from the New Hersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State, through a grant administered by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, a grant from the Investors Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, and support from the Friends of the Scotch Plains Public Library.

"I can't even imagine someone suffering as much as he did, and yet he never let himself feel sorry, he got up and kept going," Kolaya said, reflecting on the lessons already learned from the displays. "Could there be a more inspiring man? Who cares what his politics were? He was able to evolve as a thinker, and as a person."

"The purpose of the exhibition is to look beyond the stereotypes and easy clichés," Brooks added. "It's to see Lincoln as a full person, to see somebody whose ideas grew and developed over time."

The library will host a gala celebrating the opening of "Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man of All Times" this Sunday at 1 p.m. The exhibition runs through May 20. To see a full list of the activities planned, go here.