Wesleyan University Library curates and supports the creation of online or multi-format exhibitions, many of which are collaborations between Wesleyan students, faculty, and staff. The highlights below represent the Wesleyan community's commitment to providing digital access to the university's collections and intellectual output.

We use several digital exhibition and visualization tools to build online exhibitions. As such, those listed below may link to external platforms where the exhibit was built. If you are interested in learning more, please contact wesscholar@wesleyan.edu.

Art History in the Analog Age

Curated by Fiona LaCamera '27

Art History in the Analog Age provides a historiography of art historical teaching methods before the internet. Drawing from the Seymour-Paoletti Photograph Collection, this exhibition emphasizes the importance of physical media in art historical study by presenting various case studies of analog teaching methods.

Finding the Spirit of Inanga

Curated by Chance Kinyange, MA '25

Finding the Spirit of Inanga takes visitors on a spectacular journey through empires, technologies, and traditions, featuring the inanga, a unique and significant musical instrument played by people from across the Great Lakes region of Africa, as well as other instruments from around the continent. The online exhibit was built in conjunction with a physical exhibition in the library installed in 2024.

The following online exhibits are legacy projects that were created with web tools that may be outdated or no longer supported. While these projects are no longer updated, the library is committed to preserving and maintaining access to them where possible. For more information about any of the below projects, please contact wesscholar@wesleyan.edu.

Born in Obscurity, Reared in Strife: A Short History of the Trials, Travels and Travails of the Douglas Cannon

Created by Jeffrey Makala

This website on the history of the Douglas Cannon at Wesleyan accompanied a physical exhibition hosted in Olin Library from May 23-September 10, 2000. The site chronicles the origin of the Douglas Cannon in 1867 to its last sighting in 1988.

Cross Street A.M.E. Zion Church: Struggle, Jubilee, Vision

Created by Suzy Taraba, Jeffrey Makala, Kwame Ocansey, and Reverend Moses Harvill

This online exhibit from Wesleyan University's Special Collections & Archives traces the history of Cross Street A.M.E. Zion Church, Middletown's oldest African-American church, from its founding in the 1820s through the Civil Rights era to its present-day 175th-anniversary celebrations. It highlights figures like pastor Jehiel Beman, who was a key activists in the abolition movement.

Henry Merritt Wriston (1889-1978)

Created by the Wesleyan University Academic Media Studio

This webpage traces the life and work of Henry Merritt Wriston a Wesleyan University alumnus who went on to become the president of Lawrence College and then Brown University before being appointed to various roles within the the State Department.

Old Books, New Pedagogy: Special Collections and Archives in the Curriculum

Created by Suzy Taraba and several faculty members

This online exhibit is an electronic version of a 2002 Olin Library exhibition showcasing how Wesleyan faculty across disciplines use rare books, manuscripts, and archival materials as teaching tools. Organized into seven sections mirroring specific course assignments—from poetry broadsides to queer periodicals to a study of Othello—it highlights Special Collections & Archives' role in giving students hands-on encounters with primary sources. 

President's Row

Created by the Office of the President and University Archives

President's Row was a project collating the history of Wesleyan University's leadership, with information about each of the university's presidents since the institution's origin in 1831.

The American Context of China's Christian Colleges Project

Created by Ellen Widmer, Suzy Taraba, and Martha Lund Smalley

The American Context of China's Christian Colleges project investigated the interaction between the China Christian colleges and American liberal arts colleges between 1900 and 1950 using archival materials that are collected on this online exhibit.