The Library of Congress named Stephanie Stillo the new chief of the Library’s Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Stillo joined the Library in 2016 and previously served as the curator of the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection and the Aramont Library — two of the division’s notable collections.
The Rare Book and Special Collections Division is North America's largest collection of rare books. Spanning eras and subjects, its holdings include nearly 1 million books, broadsides, pamphlets, theater playbills, title pages, prints, posters, photographs, and medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. President Thomas Jefferson's library is at the center of the collection, which was sold to Congress in 1815.
As division chief, Stillo will lead the collection's development, stewardship, interpretation, promotion, and service to meet the needs of government officials, scholars and the public.
During her time at the Library, Stillo has collaborated with division staff to launch several engagement initiatives — including the division’s first crowdsourcing campaign and two large symposiums — as well as the Artists and Archives program, which manages an archivist every year to process archival arrearage relating to the contemporary book arts. She also oversees the division’s popular video series “From the Vaults” and co-manages the division’s blog, Bibliomania.
“Over the past seven years as Curator of the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection and the Aramont Library, I have had the privilege of witnessing the incredible knowledge of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division team and the astonishing breadth of our collections,” Stillo said. “I am deeply grateful for those years. I am now looking forward to working with my colleagues in the division and beyond to support Dr. Hayden’s vision to connect all Americans to the Library of Congress.”
Stillo received a doctorate in Modern European History in 2013. After earning her Ph.D., she served as the Andrew Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital Humanities at Washington & Lee University, where she taught classes on digital storytelling, public history and virtual exhibitions.
The ABAA collaborates with the Library of Congress and Dr. Stillo on the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest. We are thrilled for Stephanie and excited to work with her in her new role.