Ruth R. Rogers

As Curator of Special Collections in the Clapp Library, Rogers administers a collection of over 40,000 items, including rare books, medieval and renaissance manuscripts, modern fine press books, and contemporary artists' books. Specializing in the evolution of the book as material culture, visual communication, and artistic form, she is responsible for strategic collection development through purchases and gifts. She prepares lectures for visiting classes in consultation with faculty throughout the curriculum. As Visiting Lecturer in the Art Department, Rogers teaches a hands-on intensive seminar, History of the Book from Manuscript to Print. Rogers is a co-founder and collaborator in the area of Book Studies at the College, a cross-disciplinary approach to past and future forms of textual communication. 

Among the exhibitions she has curated are Beyond Words (Sewanee University), Reading with the Senses (Lesley University College of Art and Design) and Seductive Alchemy (Texas Woman’s University).  In her public speaking and writing, her focus is on the critical reading of international contemporary artists’ books as a resource in academic libraries. In August 2022, she convened Collecting Artists’ Books in Academic Libraries: Perspectives for the 21st Century, a hands-on seminar for librarians to develop approaches for acquisition and teaching within a liberal arts curriculum.

Rogers is a frequent juror for exhibitions and awards in book arts, and is an invited essayist for the recently published Materialia Lumina exhibition catalog (Stanford University, 2022) and sponsored by the Codex Foundation.

Special Collections at Wellesley College

Book Studies at Wellesley College