Nelle Krise was a professor of English at West Liberty. She was fond of the origins of the written word, and she often taught that you only have what you give away. Upon her passing, Krise donated her rare book collection, which is housed in the upstairs floor. While the relics are under protection of lock and key, the room is, in fact, open to the public. Contact one of our librarians for the opportunity to see these treasures. A few interesting articles of note would be the Babylonian clay tablet, Egyptian papyrus, and Chinese rice paper. The darling of the collection is the Dutch Book of Hours from 1460 with its illumination and detailed illustrations. If illustrations are of interest, there are several antique children’s books from several renowned illustrators.