A lot of students know the “Ender’s Game” movie was released Nov. 1, but many don’t know the Special Collections in the Harold B. Lee Library has a display dedicated to the comprehensive work of Orson Scott Card.
“We have a really superb collection,” said Robert Maxwell, an adjunct curator at BYU over the Orson Scott Card collection.
In Maxwell’s office, there are boxes covering his desk of recent manuscripts Card sent to the library.
Maxwell said he collects everything relating to Card’s work, which includes hundreds of books in every translation, ranging in genres of science fiction to gothic fiction and much more.
Card has been sending the library manuscripts since the ’70s.
The library decided to display some of the best Orson Scott Card collections on the third-floor exhibit area to correlate with the film’s release.
The exhibit journeys through the beginnings of “Ender’s Game” as a short story in 1977, a novel in 1984 and finally a screenplay.
“I like the translations … the non-English translations have fantastic art,” Maxwell said, referring to his favorite part of the collection. “I think you can see a progression.”
The foreign illustrations of “Ender’s Game” are displayed in the exhibit.
“This was a fun exhibit to design because of the interesting content,” said Eric Howard, the library’s exhibit designer. “We tried to use colors and materials that fit a science fiction theme. Usually our color scheme isn’t quite so bold and ‘out of this world,’ but we got quite excited.”
If students have not read “Ender’s Game” or are not familiar with Card’s work, they can still enjoy the exhibit. Eric Howard, the exhibit designer, also admitted to never reading the book himself, but he enjoyed creating the display.
Howard’s favorite part to design was the space-age illustration section.
“We scanned most of the background graphics from book covers of various “Ender’s Game” translations, and other Orson Scott Card books,” Howard said. “There are many creative illustrations found on the covers of these books from around the world.”
Howard said they had hoped to receive some display props from the “Ender’s Game” movie, but they did not. Instead, they have the “Ender’s Game” trailers playing on a large flat screen television.
The exhibit was set to open Nov. 1 to coincide with the new movie release date but was finished a few days early with the help of Howard, Maxwell and two graphic design student employees.
Students planning to see the “Ender’s Game” movie may want to add the exhibit to their itinerary for some fun background information on the story’s development.
The “Card’s Game: Orson Scott Card at the Library” exhibit is open for students to visit anytime during regular library hours.
