Welcome to the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections!


The Ward M. Canaday Center will reopen to the public on August 3, 2020.
Please take note of the following change to our services: Patrons interested in visiting the Center to access our physical collections MUST schedule an appointment to do so. The Center will be open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We will accept appointments up to 4:00 p.m.

The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections acquires, preserves, organizes, and makes available for research the institutional memory of the University of Toledo as well as the personal and organizational records of the people and industries of Toledo and Northwest Ohio. Our services are available to University faculty, staff, students, and alumni as well as to the general public on Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m.

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News & Announcements

EXHIBIT RETROSPECTIVE: TOUCHING THE SUN

For the 2020-2021 season, the Canaday Center will feature the works of eighteen African-American women novelists, essayists, playwrights, and juvenile authors in a revival of the 1989 and 1998 exhibitions, "Touching the Sun: Contemporary Afro-American Women Writers" and "Touching the Sun, Again: Contemporary African-American Women Writers", respectively. This informal exhibit explores the varied experiences of African-American women through the themes of racial pride, confrontation, and oppression; everyday events of living like domestic duties, interaction of mother and children, wife and husband, and friends; and finally, the pride of being a woman.

The exhibition is open for public viewing Monday to Friday, 8:30 - 4:30. Digital access to the 1998 catalog is available here.

EXHIBITION CLOSED

The 2019 exhibition, PROTEST: Activism and Social Change, 1845-2015, closed on March 6, 2020 after extending it in December. We want to thank everyone who stopped by and supported the exhibit and the Canaday Center!

Details for the next exhibit will be forthcoming.

2019 EXHIBITION

The Ward M. Canaday Center’s 2019 exhibition: PROTEST: Activism and Social Change, 1845-2015, continues to be on display through December. Drop in to enjoy the displays, a free catalog, and the newly-renovated space that includes bright and welcoming walls and new, comfortable furniture in the Reading Room for our researchers.

Exhibit Flyer

PROTEST illustrates demands for social and political change through the historical materials of local and national activist organizations, student groups, and individual artists and advocates. The exhibit explores the theme of protest by focusing on six movements: Women’s Rights, Civil Rights, Disability Rights, Labor Rights, Student Protest, and LGBTQ Rights. An exhibition catalog providing a general overview of each movement is available to guests free of charge.

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