Hagley preserves American enterprise, design and innovation history

Most of us spend at least half of our waking hours in a workplace.

Depending on the job, this may look like an office cubicle, research laboratory, or even an open field dotted with wind turbines.

Despite all the time we spend at work, the context of our working lives is rarely very transparent. How many of us have spouses or children who barely understand what we do and why we do it? And how often do we ourselves think, why am I doing this and how does this relate to our mission? This is where Hagley Museum and Library steps in.

Tucked in on Hagley’s upper property, north of our museum’s roll mills and gardens, sits the Hagley Library. The main library building was completed in 1961 and the early collection was moved down from Longwood – it began life as Pierre S. du Pont’s private collection and documented family and company papers, with his ultimate goal of setting his family’s story in the context of American industrialization.

Du Pont died in 1954, and after the collection was further developed by historian and director Charles David, the boards of Longwood and Hagley agreed to build an administrative and storage building at Hagley and merge the Longwood collection with the 19th-century DuPont Co. records already at Hagley.

The Library quickly expanded and became a leader in the preservation of American enterprise, design and innovation history. Our research library houses archives and publications from thousands of businesses, trade associations, lobbying groups, corporate R&D organizations, technological innovators, and industrial designers. If we lined up our collections end to end, they would measure over nine miles in length!

To learn more about our collections, check out the Hagley Digital Archives, our online exhibitions, and our research guides. The Soda House Reading Room is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For research card applications, appointments, or further information, please contact Hagley Reference Services at [email protected].

With so many captivating collections, the Hagley Library offers guests a variety of ways to learn about and experience the worlds within our walls.

An aerial view of the Hagley Library building.

Our podcast series, Hagley History Hangout, drops two episodes per month and features interviews between Hagley staff and researchers discussing the fascinating histories found in the stacks. These scholars come to us from around the world to join our intellectual community and study historical topics ranging from railroads and coal to photography and music.

This October, we also launched the Neighborhood Authors podcast, with an interview with Josh Hitchens on his book, "Eerie Delaware.'' The series highlights authors who write histories about the communities surrounding Hagley.

For those interested in the academic works inspired by our archives, the Hagley Center for the History of Business, Technology & Society hosts the Hagley Author Talk series. These are quarterly lectures from researchers who discuss their recent books and their connection to the Hagley archives. Many of these researchers participate in our Research Seminars, monthly virtual discussions about academic works-in-progress, and also join us for the annual Hagley Fall Conference. The most recent conference, “The Power of Energy,” brought together scholars from around the world to discuss themes on energy such as sovereignty and security, mobility, natural and domestic environments, as well as current energy demands and possibilities.

The Hagley Library is also home to an exhibition gallery. On Oct. 3, the interior design exhibition, “Innovation in Miniature,” opened. This installation invites visitors to dive into the history of American interior design and miniaturism careers as shown by a series of room models, created by renowned artist E.J. Kupjack for William Pahlmann, the latter’s papers and models held by Hagley.

These archives are a wealth of information on mid-20th-century design trends, including sample books of wallpaper, carpeting, and upholstery; they even contain the only known color photographs of the original "Seven Lively Arts'' paintings by Salvador Dalí. “Innovation in Miniature” is on display through March 31, during museum weekday hours.

Hannah Spring Pfeifer is library coordinator at Hagley Museum and Library.

There is something for everyone at Hagley Museum and Library! Whether you are drafting a dissertation, investigating an innovative idea, or looking for a new way to learn about the past, we invite you to visit us at our workplace on the Brandywine.

Erik P. Rau, Ph.D., is director of library services at Hagley Museum & Library.

Hannah Spring Pfeifer is library coordinator and Erik P. Rau, Ph.D., is director of library services at Hagley Museum & Library.

Open Call

Open Call is hosted by regional arts and cultural groups on Sundays. If you know a group that would like to be included, please email Tammy Paolino at [email protected] for details.