New Library Exhibit Tells the Story of Money

The Libraries' new exhibit, Gold to Gigabytes: The Past, Present, and Future of Money, explores the anthropology of money by tracing the evolution of currency from ancient beginnings to its present state and broadly illuminating new trends in the exchange of money and alternative currencies. Topics portrayed in the exhibit include the rise of credit cards and cashless transactions, the development of alternative currencies like Bitcoin, and the creation of new technologies for electronic payment and banking, such as "mobile money." Library materials are on display, as well as research materials from UCI's Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) in the School of Social Sciences. The exhibit was curated by staff in the UCI Libraries and IMTFI.

On October 5th, the exhibit opened with a talk by Catherine Eagleton, Ph.D., titled "Collecting the Past, Present, and Future of Money." As Curator of Modern Money at The British Museum in London, Eagleton oversees a collection of more than 150,000 objects, including coins, paper money, tokens, credit cards, and other money-related objects from the last 300 years. The opening



program also included remarks by Bill Maurer, UCI Professor of Anthropology and Law and Director of IMTFI, a clearinghouse for research on mobile money and poverty alleviation worldwide. Maurer is a cultural anthropologist who conducts research on law, property, money, and finance. He is also the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate studies in the School of Social Sciences, and Co-Director of the new Intel Science and Technology Center in Social Computing at UCI.

Gold to Gigabytes will be on display through April 2013 in the Langson Library Muriel Ansley Reynolds Gallery during regular library hours.