Current Exhibitions

Computer Revolutions

September 4, 2026–March 2027

Location: Bizzell Memorial Library, Main Floor
Opening Event: Join us Sept. 15 to celebrate the exhibit launch! Learn more.

50 years ago, Steve Wozniak designed the first Apple personal computer. Over the last half-century, computers have changed every aspect of our lives. In antiquity, computus referred to calculating dates on the calendar. In the 19th century, computers were skilled mathematicians, often women, who performed scientific calculations. In the middle of the 20th century, a computer occupied a room all to its own, operated by experts at elite institutions. By the end of the century, personal computers could be found in many homes, and the emergence of the World Wide Web was transforming ordinary life. Today the most common computers fit in our pockets. 

How did this happen? What is the story of the personal computer? What revolutions have computers brought about? What lies ahead?

The Computer Revolutions exhibit explores these questions through a curated display of items from the personal computer collection of the History of Science Collections. The exhibit is co-curated by Kerry Magruder, Curator, History of Sciences Collections and James Burnes, Senior Exhibits Coordinator.

A particular strength of the collection is its holdings of Apple computers, although a mix of different PC makers are also represented. Also included are rare books, magazines, articles, and other artifacts that document the evolving role of personal computers on society and their monumental impact on research, learning, creativity, communication, and work.

Russia's Romanovs in War, Revolution, and Exile, 1916-2016: Stories from a Family Archive

September 2025–May 2026

Browse the Featured Collection

The Russian Revolution claimed the lives of Tsar Nicholas II and many members of his immediate family, but other Romanovs (also spelled Romanoffs) managed to escape. They then worked to build new lives in their adopted countries while also trying to preserve their Russian identities and culture. One of these exiles was Prince Nikita Alexandrovich, a nephew of the Tsar; by a strange twist of fate, his descendants donated a substantial portion of their archive to the University of Oklahoma. In this exhibit, we use photos, diaries, and artifacts from the Special Research Collections of OU Libraries to tell their stories. This exhibit was co-curated with Dr. Melissa Stockdale, the Brian and Sandra O’Brien Presidential Professor in the Department of History and co-director of the Romanoff Center for Russian Studies.

News:

• OU News: New OU Library Exhibit Reveals Lives of Exiled Russian Royals

An Age of Dreamers and Storytellers: Media, Mass Communication, and the University of Oklahoma

September 2025–March 2026

Browse the Featured Collection

This exhibit explores the legacy, groundbreaking stories, and transformative role of the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication and the H.H. Herbert School of Journalism. In honor of the 25th anniversary of Gaylord College and 112 years of journalism at OU, this exhibit celebrates the past, present, and future of media. This exhibition was co-curated with the Gaylord College of Journalism.

Costumes from the Helmerich School of Drama

The ongoing display of costumes represents a longstanding relationship between University Libraries, the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, and the Helmerich School of Drama. The costumes rotate periodically and, through partnership with Professor Lloyd Cracknell, showcase the creativity in design and talent in fabrication of the students, faculty, and staff involved in their production. Created here on campus for use in campus productions, these costumes allow us to continue to share the joy of the show even after the final curtain.