The Ladislav R. Hanka Book Arts Archive centers on the artist Ladislav R. Hanka (1952-) a graduate of WMU and resident of the city of Kalamazoo. Mr. Hanka's art is primarily concerned with the flora and fauna of forests and lakes. His background in biology and zoology reflects his artistic interests. He received a BA in Biology from Kalamazoo College (1975), an MS in Zoology from Colorado State University (1979), and an MFA in Printmaking from Western Michigan University (1981). In addition, Mr. Hanka was a guest student at the Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universität in Bonn, Germany (1973) and at the Hochschule für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, Austria (1979-1980). He also served a private apprenticeship in Prague with Jindra Schmidt, master engraver of stamps and currency (1979).

Mr. Hanka has had a number of traveling exhibitions including: Visions of a Wandering Naturalist (1997-2001), 50 x 25 Book Arts Exhibit (1993-1999), Boreal Meditations (1995), and County Survey (1989-2001) to name a few. His art may be found at the Fogg Museum of Art in Cambridge, MA., the Princeton University Print Collection in Princeton, NJ, the Kalamazoo Institute of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Library of Congress. His work may also been seen abroad at the National Museum (Prague, Czech Republic), the British Library (London, Great Britain), the Rembrandt House (Amsterdam, Netherlands), The Bookplate Society (Eubonne, France), Huang Zhe Temple (Sichuan Province, China), Jatson Chumig Special School (Lhasa, Tibet), and at the Graphic Arts Institute and Francisco Toledo Museum (Oaxaca, Mexico).

The archive also contains correspondence between Mr. Hanka and writers and publishers, sketches, trials, artist's proofs and numbered copies of his art, reviews of shows, exhibition booklets, and hand-bound volumes of his books printed under the imprint of the Rarach Press.