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Dear Colleagues,
As I write this letter we are busy preparing for our next meeting in San Diego (I can't wait to get there since the temperature in Kansas has been over 100 degrees for days!). We have an excellent agenda lined up beginning with announcements and reports and ending in a presentation by Heather Briston "Best Practices in Fair Use in Academic Libraries".
We have also scheduled a discussion on SAA's diversity strategic initiative. Deborah Torres will be speaking to us as a representative of the SAA Diversity Committee and we'll hear about a survey recently distributed by the Lone Arranger's Roundtable by Alison Stankrauff, our own vice-chair. I'm hoping that this will initiate discussion in our section about what actions we can undertake to contribute toward the greater effort.
During the past year the section Steering Committee has been working on methods to improve communication within the section. You should have recently received a survey from Michelle Sweetser, our newsletter editor, soliciting ideas on ways to share information within the section. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey (I just did and it didn't take long). We are really interested in what you all have to say!
Since this will be my last letter to you all I want to thank the members of the Steering Committee whom I've so enjoyed working with during the past year. Many thanks to Kevin Glick and Heather Briston, who will both be going off of Steering as will Tom Frusciano, our Council Liaison; Cynthia Ghering did a fabulous job as Nominating Committee Chair ably assisted by Ellen Engseth and Aimee Morgan; and Alison Stankrauff, Michelle Sweetser, Daniel Hartwig, Claude Zachary and Jay Gaidmore worked as the Website and Newsletter Committee. An extra special thank you goes to Alison Stankrauff whom I greatly depended upon to keep me up-to-date and on task. Alison is a superb organizer and I feel so lucky to have served with her.
One more piece of business before I sign off -- many of you were not able to be with us in Chicago last year so we've posted the excellent presentations by Jennifer Gunter King, Michelle Belden and Jackie Esposito that were given during the meeting.
Best wishes to all of you during the coming year and I look forward to seeing many of you in sunny San Diego.
Becky Schulte
College and University Section Chair
Following is the agenda for the section's annual business meeting, scheduled for Friday Aug. 10, 2012 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. in the Sapphire KL Room of the conference hotel.
1:00-1:10 Welcome – Becky Schulte, Section Chair
1:10-1:25 Announcements
1:25-1:50 Reports
1:50-2:20 Discussion regarding SAA Diversity Initiative
2:20-3:00 Presentation on Best Practices in Fair Use in Academic Libraries by Heather Briston
3:00 Adjourn
The Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives at Wake Forest University would like to announce that processing is complete on the Harold T.P. Hayes Papers.
Harold Hayes (1926-1989) was a Wake Forest alumnus and notable journalist, author, and editor. After graduating from Wake Forest in 1948, Hayes went to New York to pursue a career in journalism. Arnold Gingrich, publisher of Esquire magazine, hired Hayes as his assistant in 1956. Hayes was promoted to managing editor in 1960, and to editor in 1963. During Hayes’s editorship Esquire was on the forefront of the 1960s New Journalism. Contributors like Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, Susan Sontag, Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, Nora Ephron, and many others captured the essence of the turbulent decade in the magazine’s pages. Hayes’s frequent collaborations with George Lois made Esquire’s design as cutting-edge as its content. Hayes left Esquire in 1974 after a dispute with the publishers, after which he worked as a freelance consultant and writer and pursued his growing interest in ecology and African conservation. He authored two books on ecological issues, worked on several television projects, and served as editor of California magazine. In 1987 Hayes wrote an article on Dian Fossey for Life magazine, which was the basis for the 1988 film Gorillas in the Mist.
The finding aid for the collection is available online. For more information contact Megan Mulder.
Submitted by Megan Mulder, Special Collections Librarian, Z. Smith Reynolds Library, Wake Forest University.
The
Mount Sinai Archives would like to announce the opening of the Records of the Chairman of the Dept. of Community Medicine from 1968-1990, Kurt W. Deuschle, MD. This collection - almost 33 feet of records spread over 43 boxes - reflects a pioneering career in community medicine that spanned from 1948 until his death in 2003. Dr. Deuschle's career had three main sections: his early years working on the Navajo reservation in the American Southwest, his years as Chairman of the first Department of Community Medicine in this country at the University of Kentucky, and his years as head of Mount Sinai's Department. This collection centers around the Mount Sinai years.
The Community Medicine (Deuschle) collection has 11 series: Correspondence Series, 1960-1996; General Alphabetical Series I, 1956-2000; Reprint Series, 1953-1995; Subcommittee on Ethical Research Practices Series (SERP), 1979-1988; Personal Series, 1966-1995; International Series, 1951-1989; General Alphabetical Series II, 1954-1995; Foundations Series, 1968-1995; Faculty Series, 1948-1993; References Series, 1968-1994; and Slides, 1952-1981.
This collection would be of interest to anyone studying the fields of Community and Preventive Medicine or healthcare in New York, particularly in East Harlem. Dr. Deuschle also took study trips abroad and there are files here on visits to Turkey (1962-65, 1984), China (1978, 1986), Lagos, Nigeria (1977) and other places. The Slides Series includes images from some of his trips, as well as many slides taken around East Harlem in the 1970s.
If you have any questions, please contact Barbara Niss.
Submitted by Barbara J. Niss, Archives & Records Management Div., Levy Library, Mount Sinai Medical Center
The University of Arkansas Libraries’ Special Collections Department recently released two collections from the student group Black Americans for Democracy (BAD). The BAD Times newspaper, a unique digital collection, and a complementary manuscript collection are now open for public research.
BAD was a registered student organization for black students on the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus. The group formed in 1968 after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. The club—which operated under this name through the 1970s—was a political and social group striving to bring awareness to issues black students faced on campus, to promote achievements of black students and faculty, and to provide social interaction.
The BAD Times, also known as the Black Americans for Democracy News, and the Times, was a newspaper written and produced by BAD students, providing a first-hand look at everyday issues occurring during a turbulent time of change in America’s history. Topics in the paper ranged from local issues, such as the color divide in the dorms to national issues, such as affirmative action. The newspaper also brought attention to achievements of black students, such as Gene McKissic, the first black president of the student body in 1972, and Mellonee Carrigan and Jo Lynn Dennis, the first black homecoming maids in 1974. The collection contains articles by and about E. Lynn Harris, who later became a nationally recognized author.
Special Collections owns 20 issues of this newspaper, dating from 1971–1977. The newspapers have been popular for research over the years, but frequent use combined with the age of the newspapers, created preservation problems for this valuable resource. Now all 20 issues have been digitized for preservation and easier access. The digital copies are available online for reading and include full-text searching capabilities. The collection can be viewed on the Special Collections web site.
Complementing the digital collection, the manuscript collection, Black Americans for Democracy Materials (MC1915.UA) contains meeting minutes for the organization during the time period when The BAD Times was written. The collection contains photos and other materials that document the group as it evolved over the decades. The finding aid can be viewed on the Special Collections website.
Submitted by Amy Allen, University Archivist
Mobile apps are ubiquitous, so why not in archives as well? The trick is to select a mobile app that provides a service to patrons while conforming to the limited budgets under which most archives operate. Quick Response, better known as “QR”, codes are an ideal mobile technology for an archives, museum, historical society or library because they are easy to create and use, provide a virtual access point to historic materials and information and are free to make.
QR codes are a compressed means of displaying up to 7089 characters, which allows the creator to store text, images or a URL inside the code. When “snapped” with a smart phone that has downloaded a free reader application (try QRafter for iPhone and QR Droid for Android), the code directs the mobile device to open the web page in the mobile browser.
The codes may be created online at a free QR code generator site (SU Archives uses bitly.com) by simply copying and pasting the desired URL. The unique code generated can be reproduced in any number of places. The SU Archives has used them in our newsletter, in flyers and other advertising materials, exhibition posters and on our collections boxes as links to our EAD finding aids.
The Syracuse University Archives has also recently completed a major QR code project done in conjunction with an update of our campus buildings web pages. A QR code has been created for 83 building web pages; this code has been incorporated into a transparent decal that was placed on the entrances to most academic and administrative buildings on SU’s Main Campus as well as our remote properties in NYC, Washington D.C. and our conference center in the Adirondacks. We have most recently stickered our street addressed buildings adjacent to campus, and our athletics facilities. This allows prospective students and their families, alumni, first year students and upper classman, and those interested in University history to learn more about the origins of each building as they tour campus. For an example of the QR code used by Syracuse University Archives and to see the codes installed see the attached image (the code on the building will direct users here).
Questions regarding this project may be directed to Cara A. Howe, Assistant Archivist.
Submitted by Cara Howe, Assistant Archivist, Syracuse University Archives.
Each summer, Baylor hosts the incoming freshman class for Orientation, Baylor Line Camp, and finally, Move-In and Welcome Week to kick off the school year in August. Many students arrive knowing a little about Baylor’s traditions, from the Homecoming Parade to Diadeloso (the Day of the Bear). But do they know the origins of the traditions, and what makes Baylor’s heritage special?
This year, Baylor Libraries and Student Activities partnered to develop “Baylor Traditions: Learn the Legacy,” a summer exhibit featuring tidbits of history and fun facts about Baylor’s nearly 170 years of traditions. With exhibit cases in the Central Libraries (Moody Memorial Library and Jesse H. Jones Library), as well as the Bill Daniel Student Center, the Baylor community has ample opportunities to learn more about Baylor’s roots.
Baylor museum studies graduate interns researched for the exhibit in the University Archives at The Texas Collection, with guidance from the university archivist in developing the list of traditions and locating resources about them. The newly digitized Lariat student newspaper was a gold mine of information for tracking down the beginnings of traditions and how they changed over time. And new facts were uncovered—in the 1960s, there was a big hoopla over allowing women to be Yell Leaders—but it turns out that there was a woman yell leader in the 1920s, shortly after the spirit organization first began.
Student Activities’ branch of the exhibit covers the same traditions as seen in the Libraries, but emphasizes those with their roots in the Student Center, also known as the Student Union Building.
“Coke Hour/Dr Pepper Hour, Sing, Pigskin, those things were all started here on the second floor of the union building,” Director of Student Activities Matt Burchett said. “Because all those great programs have a foundation and a space [here] we think it's critical to remember the significant traditions of the university throughout the year.”
As incoming and returning students use the Libraries and alumni and visitors explore the campus, all have enjoyed the opportunity to learn a little more about what it means to be a Baylor Bear, while the Libraries and Student Activities have enjoyed a successful collaboration.
Submitted by Amanda Keys Norman, University Archivist, The Texas Collection, Baylor University
The Bank Street College Archives at Bank Street College of Education in New York City is pleased to announce the opening of three newly processed collections; the papers of Lillian Weber, Elaine Wickens and Selma Sapir.
Lillian Weber, a prominent Bank Street College alumna, was the founder of City College Workshop Center for Open Education and author of The English Infant School and Informal Education. Her papers encompass 23 linear feet and contain materials generated and assembled by Weber over the course of her academic and professional life. The papers of faculty members Selma Sapir, founder of Bank Street’s Learning Lab and learning disability specialist, and Elaine Wickens, whose collection of slides and photographs document the history of events at Bank Street and projects beyond its walls for more than forty years, have also been processed and are available to researchers. Guides to the three collections are available on the Bank Street College Archives website.
This project was made possible in part by a grant from the Documentary Heritage Program of the New York State Archives, a program of the State Education Department. For additional information, please contact Bank Street College Archivist & Special Collections Librarian Lindsey Wyckoff.
Submitted by Lindsey Wyckoff, Bank Street College Archivist & Special Collections Librarian.
The Libraries of Western Michigan University are pleased to announce online access to two new digitized collections: the WWII Propaganda and Print Collections, consisting of Nazi German and Allied publications, photographs, and ephemera, and the Costume History Collection, featuring images of 18th and 19th century dress.
WWII Propaganda and Print Collections
The WWII Propaganda and Print Collection combines four
separate collections: The Edwin W. Polk Collection, the Howard Mowen, the Robert C. Anderson Collection, and a collection of miscellaneous items donated by various individuals which have been integrated to form a single collection of Nazi German and Allied publications, photographs, and ephemera.
The Edwin W. Polk Collection contains a wide range of World War II German publications. Mr. Polk's own war experiences as a skipper of a PT boat in the South Pacific prompted his interest in collecting these publications while serving overseas. Mr. Polk was an Alumnus of Western State Teachers College (1937), now Western Michigan University. He was also a teacher in the Detroit Public Schools for 40 years and continued to remain active in several military oriented associations and groups.
The Howard Mowen N.S.D.A.P. (National Sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter Partei) Collection consists of some 50 newspaper titles, photographs, books, and contemporary currency for the period of 1933-1945 in Germany. The collection was donated by Professor Emeritus of History, Howard Mowen (WMU faculty, retired 1982). Certain items in this collection are nearly unique, as much of this material was destroyed after the War during the Denazification programs or has ended up with collectors rather than libraries.
Robert C. Anderson served in the US Army during WWII. His son donated a small collection of Yank and Stars and Stripes magazines and additional ephemera.
Through the generous investment of Bill and Maggie Donohoe, a portion of the items in the Howard Mowen Collection were digitized and are now available through LUNA.
A full finding aid for the WWII Propaganda and Print Collection is available online through WMU’s Archon site.
Costume History Collection
The Costume History Collection is a new digital collection consisting of ill
ustrations from books housed in the Special Collections and Rare Books Room of WMU’s Waldo Library. Nearly 100 color illustrations have already been scanned by the Digitization Center of Western Michigan University Libraries. Miranda Howard, former Art Librarian and head of the Technical Services, provided detailed descriptive metadata for each image, offering an intimate look into dress from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century.
Images were scanned from four books held by Special Collections. Hand-
colored lithographs of Parisian fashion were taken from Le Conseiller des Grâces, a nineteenth-century women’s journal. Two mid-eighteenth-century books provided colorful examples of Persian dress. Justin Perkins, a Presbyterian missionary to the Persian region, described local dress in his 1843 published journal, A Residence of Eight Years in Persia. Twelve hand-colored engraved plates were scanned from the 1845 publication of Persia: Containing a Description of the Country with an Account of Its Government, Laws, and Religion, and of the Character, Manners and Customs, Arts, Amusements, etc. of Its Inhabitants by English journalist Frederic Shoberl, who provided careful observations of Persian garments, including lovely engravings of a camel artilleryman’s military uniform and Futteh Ali Shah: King of Persia. The next addition to the collection will be the complete digitization of the book L'Art de la Lingere by Antoine de Garsault.
To view the Costume History Collection, please visit the library website and follow the link in the top right corner to see the images within the LUNA content management system.
Submitted by Neil Chase, Special Collections Coordinator, and Marianne Swierenga, Coordinator, Metadata and Digital Resources, Western Michigan University Libraries
Boston College is on the verge of celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding in 1863. Coincidentally, 2013 is also the centennial anniversary of the university’s relocation from Boston's South End to its current main campus in Ch
estnut Hill. The University will officially begin the sesquicentennial celebration in early fall of 2012, but the Boston College Libraries got the party started early, putting many of the resources documenting BC’s history online. This work has been a great opportunity for collaboration, both within the Libraries and across campus. Digitization projects are being done through a combination of in-house work, the use of consortial efforts, and by outside vendors. The newly-created digital resources are available in BC’s own digital repository, on Flickr, in the Internet Archive, and via a vendor-hosted platform.
The Boston College University Archives holds a large collection of photographs of buildings, people, and events. These photographs are heavily used by offices on campus and by outside researchers, all of whom have been discouraged by the labor intensive nature of photograph research. As one of our sesquicentennial projects, we have been selecting images from this collection for in-house digitization and ingest into our digital repository, then posting them on Flickr to make them more accessible to users. This has had the added benefit of allowing us to crowdsource some of our metadata.
A year-long project funded by the Office of the President resulted in a fully searchable, downloadable, printable, and email-able digital version of The Heights student newspaper spanning from the first issue in 1919 through 2010. Digitization and indexing for this project were outsourced, and the content is presented through a hosted interface. Previously, The Heights – an excellent resource for the Boston College student perspective on issues of local, regional, national, or international import – was un-indexed and primarily available only through worn microfilm. In addition to the online use images, high-quality original scans are available and can be provided to researchers for publication purposes upon request.
The student yearbooks of Boston College and Newton College of the Sacred Heart – a women’s liberal arts college that merged with Boston College in the 1970s – were digitized at the Northeast Regional Scanning Center in the Boston Public Library as part of the Boston College Libraries contribution to the Open Content Alliance (OCA). Following that same model and working with the Office of Marketing Communications and the Office of Student Services, all the iterations of the alumni magazine are now online, and the Boston College catalogue (Bulletin) is online for the years 1868 through 1950, with more being added all the time.
These projects have been very rewarding in their impact. Offices are aware of and interested in partnering with the Libraries’ digital program and with the archives; researchers (especially staff and alumni) have remote access to Boston College primary sources; and the materials themselves are enjoying a break from physical use. That’s cause for celebration!
The Boston College University Archives are held by the John J. Burns Library, Boston College.
Submitted by Amy Braitsch, Head Archivist, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.