Save the date! The LSU Libraries Special Collections will host a viewing of the famed double elephant folio edition of John James Audubon’s Birds of America (London, 1827-1838) in Hill Memorial Library's McIlhenny Room on the LSU campus, on Saturday, April 30, 2016, from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. In 2008, the Coypu Foundation made a $99,000 donation to enable conservation of this treasure.   After more than a year of painstaking work, Etherington Conservation Services completed the conservation of all four folio volumes, and the final volume returned to the library on December 28, 2009. Pictures from the first celebratory Audubon Day on January 23, 2010 can be seen on the blog post about it. Audubon Day in 2011 was featured in a Wall Street Journal article entitled "The Joys of Slow Looking," by Willard Spiegelman, who noted the dazzling colors and rich visual texture of the original etchings. Audubon Day is free and the public is invited, but reservations are required. Viewings of the folio volumes are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 noon, and 1 p.m. Only 40 people per hour will be admitted, so that everyone has a chance to view the four folio volumes. To request a reservation, use the online registration form or call 225-578-6544 during business hours.