Northern Illinois University’s “You Are What You Eat: Cookbooks as Ingredients to Shape Identity and Community” LibGuide

How can we use the Northern Illinois University’s “You Are What You Eat” LibGuide to learn more about curating an exhibition for culinary ephemera?

This library guide contrasts from the NYPL Simmons Library Guide, as it mainly focuses on its own library resources, culinary ephemera, and regional community cookbooks, especially since this library guide’s purpose is to direct the reader to the resources that were once on display at the Northern Illinois University’s “You Are What You Eat” exhibition (2018). Hence, the library guide can be seen as an archive of an archival showcase, one that was in collaboration with the staff at the university’s Regional History Center (est. 1964). The display was curated to have categories such as ephemera dedicated to the NIU Community, Immigration and Family, and Churches and Organizations. Moreover, a digital archive of the exhibition displays were included in the library guide to document their exhibit for readers to see what their archival materials and excavation looked like.

While navigating through each category, one may notice key themes of Northern Illinois’ food history. The tastes that were prevalent throughout the collected recipes, and the highlighting of churches and Norwegian cuisine indicates that there was a great population of Norwegian Christians at the forefront of shaping the region’s culinary identity. The provenance of collected recipes from its own region, and narrowing it down to organizations provides insight on who the stakeholders were— when it came to the sharing of consumption.

“Cookbooks and recipes often reveal more than just a list of ingredients. Ethnic recipes help preserve a cultural heritage and demonstrate different cultures that exist in an area. Passing along a favorite family recipe helps keep the memory of family members alive.”