Tours
St. John's Bible Tours
Wednesdays at 3:00 PM by reservation at https://bctrace.com/explore/. Tours may be scheduled at other times by contacting Tim Binkley.
The Saint John’s Bible is a modern masterpiece of art and theology combining the ancient techniques of calligraphy and illumination with an ecumenical Christian approach to the Bible rooted in Benedictine spirituality. In our St. John's Bible tours, participants may handle, view, and contemplate the sacred texts and artworks within all seven volumes of Berea College's Heritage Edition St. John's Bible.
Breaking Silence: The Janis Ian Archives exhibition tours
Fridays at 3:00 PM by reservation at https://bctrace.com/explore/. Tours may be scheduled at other times contacting Peter Morphew.
Berea College Special Collections and Archives welcomes you to experience the Breaking Silence exhibit honoring the life and archival legacy of Janis Ian. Janis Ian’s life is a lesson in the power of one person’s voice to bring about change. Every Friday at 3:00 PM, exhibit curators will guide you through an array of sights and sounds highlighting her work as a creative writer, composer, Grammy award winning performing artist, and activist.
Sharing the foundational values of equality, opportunity, and education for all, Janis Ian and Berea College have partnered to permanently preserve and share her story. The exhibit is located in the Hutchins Library Foyer Gallery.
Social Media Links
Upcoming Events
Research Fellowships and Awards
The Special Collections and Archives Media Archives Fellowship program awards fellowships to one or two researchers annually. Stipends are $1,400 for a one-week study visit. Full details are available on this linked page. UPDATE: The Application Deadline Has Been Extended Until July 15, 2025.
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The Special Collections and Archives Undergraduate Research Awards program recognizes outstanding original papers or projects that make substantive and creative use of SCA's media collections. Winning entries receive $500.
Full details are available on this linked page.
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NEW IN 2025! The bell hooks Papers Residency
NOTE: THE APPLICATION PERIOD FOR THIS PROGRAM HAS CLOSED.
Special Collections and Archives, in partnership with the bell hooks center, now offers travel stipends to scholars, educators, and practitioners in diverse fields who desire to spend a week on campus studying the bell hooks papers.
Full details are available on this linked page.
New Online Resources
Please visit our new Oral History Collections home page. (12/2023)
Southarts: In These Mountains Central Appalachian Arts and Culture
The South Arts In These Mountains collection documents various aspects of folk arts and culture in the central Appalachian counties of Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina through the use of audio / video recording and photography.
Conducted during the period 2019-2021, the interviews document a wide range of artistic expression including pottery, puppetry, hip-hop and rap music, ukulele music, tattoo arts, food preservation, clogging, chair caning, quiltmaking, hair braiding, basketry, preaching, and land use. In addition to the work of individual artists, folk arts education programs are also documented. (12/2023)
Current Exhibitions
bell hooks: global phenomenon. Staff exhibit in the SCA hallway curated by Lizzie Doerr, opened June 2025.
Breaking Silence: The Janis Ian Archives Exhibit. Open October 2024 through August 2025 in the Hutchins Library Foyer Gallery.
B.E.W. (Billy Edd Wheeler), remembering a beloved Berean. Opened October 2024. Location: Special Collections and Archives lobby.
Berea's Early History, 1855-1920, by Alivia J. West, '2023. Student exhibit in the SCA hallway.
