BATON ROUGE – The LSU Libraries will once again host a viewing of the famed double elephant folio edition of John James Audubon’s “Birds of America (London, 1827-1838)” during its annual Audubon Day event on Saturday, June 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The viewing will be held in the McIlhenny Room of Hill Memorial Library. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

In 2008, the Coypu Foundation made a donation of $99,000 to enable conservation of this treasure by Etherington Conservation Services. After more than a year of painstaking work, conservation of all four folio volumes was completed and the final volume returned to the library on Dec. 28, 2009. A celebratory Audubon Day showing was held on Jan. 23, 2010. Pictures from that event can be seen on the LSU Libraries Special Collections blog at http://hill.blogs.lib.lsu.edu.

LSU’s 2011 Audubon Day event was the focus of a feature article in the Wall Street Journal titled “The Joys of Slow Looking,” by Willard Spiegelman, who noted the dazzling colors and rich visual texture of the original etchings.

Viewings of the folio volumes are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 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, visit www.lib.lsu.edu/special/audubon/reservations.html to reserve a time online, or call LSU Libraries Special Collections at 225-578-6544 during business hours.