The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection is a study collection available to assist students, scholars, and the general public with their studies of textiles. An interactive videodisc allows researchers to view detailed images of textiles in the collection. Textiles can be searched by country of origin, object name, motif, or date via the collection's computerized database.
The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection is located in Room
378 of the School of Human Ecology, University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
Coming to visit us? Please call or email ahead for an appointment and use this handy map.
The collection office is open Mondays - Thursday, 9:30 to 12:30 and 1:30 to 4:30. Visitors should call 608/262-1162 or email hlatc@mail.sohe.wisc.edu to make an appointment. The Collection is closed on major holidays, winter break, and spring break.
Textiles are periodically displayed in exhibitions in the Gallery of Design.
Scholars may also use the Ruth Ketterer Harris Special Collection, a non-circulating library containing more than 4,000 books, pamphlets, and journals on textiles and related topics. Please call or email the textile collection for the library hours as they vary each semester.
The Textile Information Retrieval and Imaging System (TIRIS), an interactive computer videodisc system for collection management and research, is a unique feature of the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection. TIRIS makes the collection rapidly accessible to users and helps them to identify pieces in the collection using several search strategies.
The system allows researchers to search for specific objects and to view full color images drawn from the collection's videodisc. TIRIS enables researchers to preview pieces they may wish to study first hand.
The entire videodisc is also available in a stand-alone format for research and classroom use, as well as at Steenbock Library and the Ruth Ketterer Harris Library. The 21,000 images are completely cross referenced in an accompanying two-volume index. Copies of the videodisc are available for purchase. For further information, call 608/262-1162.
Support this dynamic, educational resource for students and scholars by becoming a Friends of the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection.
Inquiries should be directed to:
Curator
Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection
School of Human Ecology
1300 Linden Drive
UW-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1575
Tel: 608/262-1162
FAX: 608/265-5099
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of Wisconsin System.
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