Calendars for Sale

2025 Nickels and Dimes Calendar

About the Dime Novels Collection

Northern Illinois University Libraries is home to the Albert Johannsen and Edward T. LeBlanc Collections, named for the two leading bibliographers of the dime novel format. Containing over 50,000 dime novels and story papers, these collections are among the largest of their kind in the world. Since 2013, NIU has been digitizing its dime novel holdings in collaboration with Villanova University and other libraries, with over $1.1 million in funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Nickels and Dimes is the largest collection of digitized dime novels anywhere, with more than 12,000 volumes freely available to download. The Libraries were recently awarded additional funding for the project through the NEH’s special initiative, A More Perfect Union, as part of an effort to help Americans commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026 by exploring, reflecting on, or telling the stories of our quest for a more just, inclusive, and sustainable society throughout our history.

2025 Michael Day Wildlife from the NIU Campus and Along the Prairie Path Calendar

Michael Day’s Artist Statement

My daily ritual these days is to walk along the Kishwaukee river through the NIU campus and Prairie Park, watching and listening, trying to capture in light, color, and form in what I see. I have a special affection for wild creatures, especially birds, whose colors, shapes, and poses captivate me, and I have worked hard to identify the birds around me even through their songs. Through my work, I want to share the many faces of nature, the wildness of spirit, and the interplay of light and shadow woven into the tapestry of the natural world.

Please note that the photographs in this calendar are hyperlocal, that is, they were all taken within about a mile of the NIU Founders Memorial Library. The collection is a tribute to the wonderful diversity of the place we live, work, and play in.

Thanks to my mother, Rosemary Day for encouraging my engagement with the natural world, to my wife, Takako Day for supporting my avocation, to my daughter, Emi Day, for her keen eye for design, to my photography mentors Phil Hopper, Arno Loessner, and Rodney Neace for expert coaching on cameras, editing, framing, and display, to the members of DeBlois Gallery, Middletown, Rhode Island for hosting my 2021 and 2023 exhibits, and to Dean Fred Barnhart and NIU Libraries for making my 2022 exhibit, talks, and this calendar possible.

Purchase for $10, or $15 (with Shipping and Handling)