Two centuries after Abraham Lincoln's birth in 1809, he is one of the most revered figures in our nation's history. Lincoln's life, accomplishments, and legacy are the subject of a new traveling panel exhibition on display at the David Adamany Undergraduate Library April 8 through May 1. "Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, a Man for All Times" explores how Lincoln transcended his age and left a constitutional legacy for all Americans.

The exhibition tells the story of how Lincoln, a self-educated, rough-hewn lawyer with virtually no administrative experience, guided a divided nation through the crises of slavery, secession and Civil War. The exhibition makes extensive use of Lincoln's own words to encourage a deeper understanding of his principles and his legacy. Drawing on documents, broadsides, and ephemera from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, the six panels examine the legacy of slavery and emancipation and Lincoln's commitment to every American's "right to rise."

An opening ceremony for the exhibit will begin at 1 p.m. April 8 in the Undergraduate Library atrium with remarks by Marc Kruman, professor and chair of the Wayne State history department. On April 13, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Kruman will lecture on the life and times of Abraham Lincoln in the Purdy/Kresge Auditorium.

"We are pleased to have been selected as a site for this exhibition," said Cindy Krolikowski, Wayne State librarian and exhibition coordinator.

"Through reproductions of documents, photographs, and posters, the exhibition invites visitors to learn about the challenges Lincoln faced and his accomplishments."

The Undergraduate Library is one of 40 sites nationwide selected to host the Lincoln exhibition. The Gilder Lehrman Institute developed the exhibition to mark the 2009 bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth and was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available on the Internet at www.neh.gov.

For more information, contact Cindy Krolikowski, Wayne State librarian, at (313) 577-3311 or e-mail ac4979@wayne.edu.

The Wayne State University Library System consists of the university's five libraries: The David Adamany Undergraduate Library, the Purdy/Kresge Library, the Shiffman Medical Library, the Arthur Neef Law Library and the Science and Engineering Library, the Library and Information Science Program and the Office for Teaching and Learning.

Wayne State University is a premier institution offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 33,000 students.