Special Collections at Murray Library: Engle Collection of Children's Book Illustration

Dedicated in April 2004, this Collection of original picture book art by award-winning illustrators, as well as a circulating and non-circulating copies of the book for which the art was created, was begun with gifts given to Friends of Murray Library in memory of Ruth Engle, a charter member who also served on its Board. New artworks are added to the Engle Memorial Collection purchased with gifts from Friends and donors. The illustrations reflect a variety of media, styles, and subjects, and include works by illustrators from Australia, China, Mali, and Russia, as well as America.

The collection has been useful to the Arts and Education departments. Materials from the collection are on display throughout the library and are open for public viewing. Selection of new items for the collection is the responsibility of the Engle Memorial Collection Acquisitions Committee and must be approved by the board of Friends of Murray Library. The display and preservation of items from the collection will be delegated as appropriate by the Director of the Library in collaboration with the board of Friends of Murray Library. Withdrawal of items from the collection is the responsibility of the board of Friends of Murray Library. A copy of the book for which the illustration was created is archived in a secure location; a second copy is added to the library collection if it is not already included.

The Library Administrative Assistant reports all additions to this collection and the respective costs to update Murray Library's fine art inventory for insurance purposes.

Circulation Policy:

The published works by illustrators represented in this collection regularly circulate under the same terms as juvenile fiction and non-fiction titles. Clarification can be sought at the Circulation Desk.

Where to View the Collection

Select illustrations are on display throughout the library's main and lower levels. These will periodically rotate.

Questions about this collection can be directed to the Library Administrative Assistant

Child of God, daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, educator, entrepreneur, psychologist, consultant.
In addition to this sampling of the diverse roles that defined Ruth Engle’s life, she was a friend to libraries, particularly Murray Library at Messiah College. Both a charter and board member of Friends of Murray Library, Ruth contributed vision and vitality to the organization from its founding in 1993. Further evidence of Ruth’s dedication and support of Friends mission was her selection of the group as a recipient for memorial contributions. The Ruth E. Engle Memorial Collection of Children’s Book Illustration honors her abiding love for children, books, and libraries. It is but one legacy she leaves to Murray Library and to Messiah University.

Ruth E. Engle (1935-2003) was born in Mt. Joy, she was the daughter of the late Harold L. and Orpha Heisey Eckert. She was the wife of J. Harold Engle, with whom she celebrated 47 years of marriage.

She was a graduate of the Messiah Academy, Class of 1953; a 1955 graduate of Messiah Junior College, Grantham, PA; received a B.A. in Education from Upland College, Upland, CA in 1958; and an M.S. in Clinical Psychology from Millersville University, Millersville, PA in 1988.

After graduating from college, Ruth taught 5th Grade in the Middletown Area School District; was a substitute teacher in the EASD for many years; owned and operated (with her teenage children) Conoy Traders, a craft consignment shop and craft instructional firm. For eight years, she served as Educational Coordinator/Senior Psychiatric Assistant at the Hershey Medical Center Psychiatric Unit, where she developed the educational program for inpatient adolescents. At age 50, she earned her graduate degree in Clinical Psychology at Millersville University, serving as a Graduate Assistant in Academic Support Services, where she taught Critical Thinking Lab to high risk students; proctored freshman admission examinations and assisted in the management of the tutorial program. After earning her M.S. in Clinical Psychology, she owned and operated Resources Etcetera, as a consultant for educational and psychological services to the Central Pennsylvania business community, offering personnel assessments and evaluations; seminars in motivation, stress and conflict management; and employee counseling. She was a past member of Lancaster Co. Human Resources Association. She established the Human Resources Department for Engle Business Equipment, Inc., initiating training programs for management, service technicians, etc. She served as Administrative Secretary for Central Pennsylvania Office Machine Dealers Association and represented the National Education Program as SPRINT presenter on the East Coast.

She was a board member of Messiah Village Retirement Community; Elizabethtown Public Library Board; board and charter member of Messiah College Friends of the Library; Kenbrook Bible Camp; Elizabethtown Children and Youth Service; and Beth Shalom Home of Lancaster (agency for teenage single mothers).

Published by Patriot-News on Jan. 15, 2003.

Imagine This: Children’s Book Illustrations
Nov. 4–Dec. 18, 2022
Drawn from the Ruth E. Engle Memorial Collection of Murray Library, Messiah University, these children’s book illustrations celebrate the art we first encountered as a pairing of story and image. The collection honors Engle’s “abiding love for children, books, and libraries.” Supplemented with works from the Lebanon Valley College Fine Art Collection, the selected works introduce stories from across the globe and open up a broad vista of cultures and places, both real and imagined. Illustrations of classic fairytales like Pinocchio and Peter Pan appear alongside the retelling of folktales from Japan (Tale of the Mandarin Ducks) and Cameroon (Sense Pass King). From an Arctic spring to a Christmas in Wales, one can traverse the history of the Silk Route or journey with Joan of Arc.

SUZANNE H. ARNOLD ART GALLERY | LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE®
West Church St. and North White Oak St., Annville, PA 17003
www.lvc.edu/gallery | gallery@lvc.edu | 717-867-6445

GALLERY HOURS

Wednesday, 5–8 p.m., Thursday–Friday, 1–4:30 p.m., Saturday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.