By Emma Paoleschi, UF Libraries Communications Intern
At the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida, students often pass by exhibitions while studying, walking to class, or grabbing coffee. But behind those carefully designed displays is a meticulous process of storytelling, collaboration, and research. Much of that work is led by Lourdes Santamaría-Wheeler, the Exhibits Director at UF Libraries, whose role focuses on bringing the university’s collections to life through engaging exhibits.
Ms. Santamaría-Wheeler did not originally plan to work in libraries. Her academic background was in the arts, beginning with a bachelor’s degree in creative photography and art history. She later earned a master’s degree in museum studies. Photography first drew her toward the idea of preserving and sharing stories visually, and that interest eventually led to working with digitization projects. Through digitization, she became more involved with archival collections and library materials, which ultimately led to a career within the UF Libraries system.
At UF, Ms. Santamaría-Wheeler holds a unique position. She was the first person hired specifically to manage exhibitions across the Smathers Libraries; before her role existed, exhibits were still created, but they were mainly handled by a small group within Special Collections. Her position was created to formalize the process and expand it across all of the Libraries.
Because of that, she had the opportunity to shape the program from the ground up! One of the biggest changes she introduced was opening the exhibition process to Library employees. Instead of only Special Collections curators developing exhibits, librarians and staff members from different departments can also propose ideas. According to Ms. Santamaría-Wheeler, “This allows people who normally help others access information to also become creators themselves.”
When someone wants to create an exhibit, they bring their idea to her. From there, she explains she “helps guide the process. And often, the conversation starts with a simple question: what story is this exhibit trying to tell?” While many people begin with a topic or collection they find interesting, she helps them think more deeply about why that topic matters and how it connects to visitors.
The goal is to move beyond simply displaying interesting objects. Instead, every exhibit is designed to tell a story using materials from the Libraries’ collections. Sometimes that story centers around a specific archive or donor collection, and other times it explores a larger theme using materials from many different sources in the UF collections. In either case, Ms. Santamaría-Wheeler works closely with all curators throughout the writing, editing, and design process.
Her personal background has also influenced the way she approaches exhibitions. As a first-generation Cuban American and the daughter of immigrants, she says she “did not grow up regularly visiting museums or cultural institutions. Language barriers and unfamiliarity with those spaces often made them feel distant or intimidating,”, and because of that experience, she focuses heavily on making exhibits welcoming and accessible to a wide range of audiences here at UF.
Part of that accessibility comes through the way exhibits are written. Academic writing, especially at universities, can sometimes feel overly formal or difficult to understand. Ms. Santamaría-Wheeler helps curators adjust their writing style so exhibit labels are clear, engaging, and easy to absorb for someone who might only spend a few minutes reading them. The overall goal is to make the exhibit informative without overwhelming visitors.
Over the years, she has worked on a wide range of exhibits covering many different topics. One of her personal favorites was an exhibition called Diaspora Dishes, which explored how food connects families, communities, and cultures. The exhibit grew out of conversations between several librarians who shared similar experiences as Latina women and reflected on how cooking and recipes played important roles in their lives.
The exhibition combined cookbooks from the Libraries’ collections with personal stories contributed by the curators themselves. For Ms. Santamaría-Wheeler, the exhibit stood out because it blended academic research with personal experience, creating something that felt both educational and relatable.
Another aspect of her work that stands out is the collaborative nature of the exhibition process. While she helps guide each project, the exhibits themselves are created by many different people across the library system.
She often describes her role as similar to a peer reviewer.
Curators bring their research and ideas, and she helps shape the narrative, refine the writing, and plan how everything will be displayed.
Her work has also been recognized through awards and professional recognition. For Ms. Santamaría-Wheeler, the University of Florida division-level Superior Accomplishment Award was especially meaningful because it came from colleagues who understand the effort behind her exhibition work. Being nominated by fellow employees reflects the strong collaborative environment within the Libraries and across UF.
Despite the recognition, she emphasizes that exhibition work involves much more than displaying interesting items. Each exhibit requires months of planning, writing, editing, and designing. Curators must carefully select objects, develop narratives, and think about how visitors will experience the display in the physical space.
There are also practical challenges. Library buildings are designed primarily for studying and research, not for gallery displays. With limited exhibition space and a small team, Ms. Santamaría-Wheeler and her colleagues must be creative about how they plan and schedule exhibits throughout the year.
Even with those challenges, the exhibitions program continues to grow. New displays appear regularly throughout the Libraries, giving students and visitors opportunities to encounter history in unexpected places.
As Ms. Santamaría-Wheeler says, “the most rewarding part of the job is helping bring new stories to light. The collections within the Smathers Libraries are vast, and many of those stories have not yet been fully explored.”. Through exhibitions, she helps transform those materials into experiences that spark curiosity and encourage people to see history from new perspectives.
In the end, her work shows that exhibitions are about much more than showcasing objects. They are about connecting people to stories; sometimes familiar, sometimes surprising, and stories that might otherwise remain hidden within the archives at UF.