From the Chair

Library Databases at the Nantucket Historical Association Available on the Web

Ellison Durant Smith Award and William Jennings Bryan Dorn Young Researcher Prize Announced

Literary News from the Huntington Library

Address Update

2000 Election Slate

Leadership and Next Deadline

Contributors to this issue:
Mark Greene, Herb Hartsook, Sue Hodson, Betsy Lowenstein, and Christine Weideman. A special thanks to those individuals who have agreed to run for section leadership offices.

From the Chair

As noted in our last newsletter, institutions with limited resources often find it difficult to offer their finding aids online to the researcher community. NUCMC helps them to describe their holdings in RLIN, but the next obvious step is to mount their finding aids online. The Online Archive of California (OAC) is an interesting example of how institutions of all sizes, types, and kinds of resources worked together to build a statewide database of finding aids. The OAC was created in 1995 by a consortium of special collections libraries affiliated with the University of California system, the Getty Center for the History of Art & the Humanities, the Huntington Library, Stanford University, and the University of Southern California. The goal of the OAC was to encode consortium member’s finding aids, according to EAD standards, and to mount the encoded finding aids on the OAC database. Funding was provided by the University of California Office of the President and the California State Library under the auspices of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).

From its inception, the OAC has reached out to non-University of California institutions to include their finding aids in the database, because it views them as "critical to the OAC’s achieving its objective of building a comprehensive database of the full range of archival resources available in California." Until October 1999, these "affiliates" could send in finding aids to OAC, which would in turn, encode and mount them on OAC’s database, at no charge to the affiliate. Forty-one California repositories took advantage of the services provided by the OAC, including art museums, historical museums, historical societies, independent archives, private colleges and universities, public libraries, state universities, the California State Library, and the California State Archives. Today, the OAC is an integrated part of the California Digital Library (http://www.cdlib.org), and includes more than 4,000 finding aids and associated digital images. Recently, the OAC received additional grant funding from several agencies including the LSTA to create a digital archive documenting the WWII relocation of Japanese Americans; the Institute for Museum and Library Services to encode finding aids from eight, widely differing kinds of museum from around the state; and the Library of Congress to support the creation of a digital archive documenting California’s ethnic diversity. Through grant projects like these, the CDL seeks to expand the OAC to support the role of primary sources in scholarship and public service including K-12 outreach. These efforts will build upon the collection finding aids and create a digital library resource that yields new forms of publications, virtual collections and exhibits.

For four years the OAC offered California repositories with limited resources a way to have their finding aids mounted online. In its current phase of development, the OAC’s ongoing support from the CDL must be complemented by investments from other participants and the OAC must seek but not rely upon grant funding for development. Robin Chandler, OAC Manager, is currently exploring models for the continuation and expansion of this "comprehensive database." Options include developing specialized training for repositories in marking up finding aids and interfacing with the OAC database and developing web-based forms into which repositories would enter finding aids which would then be added to the database. Everyone who has been associated with the project believes it is critically important to continue to offer a means by which all repositories in California with holdings of special collections materials can make their finding aids available online. Hopefully, they will find the means to do so and provide models and standards of which the rest of us can take advantage.

The OAC as a project is also interesting because its finding aids are from California repositories only, and they are available to anyone with access to the Internet. No subscription to a front-end interface is required. This is in contrast to RLG’s database of finding aids from repositories across the country, which can only be accessed and searched by purchasing a subscription to RLG’s service product, Archival Resources. Each represents a different way of presenting finding aids online to the researcher community and each has its benefits and drawbacks. I am hoping that a session comparing and contrasting the two approaches can be developed and proposed for the SAA annual meeting next year in Washington, DC.

Our annual meeting is coming up in August and for those of you attending, your registration packet will have information about the Manuscript Repositories Section meeting, which will take place on Thursday, August 31, 8:00 - 10:00 am. Among other things, we will hold elections for Section chair and steering committee members (information provided later in this newsletter). A special thank you to outgoing chair Mary Wolfskill and outgoing steering committee members Susan McDonald and Susan Hamburger for all of their hard work and good humor. The overall program for the annual meeting is an excellent one and includes several sessions endorsed by this section. I hope to see many of you in Denver.

The Edouard A. Stackpole Research Library at the Nantucket Historical Association has made its in-house databases available on the web. Inventories of the library’s manuscripts, maps, and books can be accessed at www.nha.org. The manuscript collection, which includes more than 400 individual collections, spans the years from 1650 to the present day and includes documents pertaining to local families, businesses, industries, churches, schools, clubs, and organizations, as well as vessels (many of which were involved in the whaling trade). Maps roughly span the same years and show the island, the New England coast, and the distant ports, islands, and locales visited by Nantucket seamen and whalers. Records for 5,000 books, including rare books, can be accessed through the book database. Subjects include whales and whaling, exploration and travel, ships and navigation, Quakers, architecture, art, and lighthouses and lightships. Questions and comments can be addressed to Betsy Lowenstein, Library Director, at (508) 228-1894 or nhalib@capecod.net.

The University of South Carolina's South Caroliniana Library recently announced the endowment of two new research awards designed to stimulate scholarly interest in holdings dating from 1900 regarding government, politics and society. The Ellison Durant Smith Research Awards provide financial support to undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate scholars seeking to conduct research at the South Caroliniana Library on government, politics, and society since 1900. At his death, Ellison Durant "Cotton Ed" Smith (1864-1944) had served longer in the U.S. Senate, 1909 to 1944, than any prior member. Awards are available to underwrite travel, lodging, photocopying, and other research expenses. Primary consideration will be given to projects involving the substantive study of issues of general interest and doctoral and postdoctoral studies. Applications will be accepted through October of each year and made in December for expenditure during the following calendar year.

The William Jennings Bryan Dorn Young Scholar Prize of $500 will be awarded annually for the best paper submitted by an undergraduate student, enrolled at any college or university, based on research in the holdings of the Library's division for Modern Political Collections. It was established to encourage the study of contemporary society and government as well as research in primary source materials by undergraduate scholars. William Jennings Bryan Dorn represented South Carolina's Third District in the United States Congress for thirteen terms between 1948 and 1974 and served as an eloquent advocate of South Carolina's interests. He was a noted champion of both the Southern textile industry and the interests of America's veterans. Each application is evaluated upon the originality of its thesis, the research strategy adopted by the author, the import of the research in Modern Political Collections in proving the paper's thesis, and the quality of the writing itself. Applications must be postmarked on or before May 31. The Dorn Prize recipient will be announced annually in July.

For more information, contact Modern Political Collections, 720 College St., The University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208; (803) 777-0577. The Library's holdings are described on its web site at http://www.sc.edu/library/socar/mpc/.

This spring, the Huntington Library hosted a conference entitled "The British Novel, 1950-2000," in which speakers assessed the past, present, and future of the British novel. Proceedings began with an evening lecture by Martin Amis, in which he spoke about and read from not his newest book, a volume of memoirs entitled Experience, but about another unpublished memoir. Among the 400-person capacity audience was Salman Rushdie, a surprise visitor. The conference featured a panel discussion by novelists Amis, Ian McEwan, and Hilary Mantel, readings by McEwan and Mantel, and papers by such speakers as Christopher Hitchens, Elaine Showalter, Christopher Ricks, and Lindsay Duguid. The event received notice internationally, with media coverage in the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain.

Just over a year ago, the Huntington also made international news by acquiring the archive of Anglo-American author Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986), perhaps best known for his Berlin Stories, on which the Broadway musical and film Cabaret are based. The archive includes drafts of most of Isherwood’s works, including A Single Man (one of the first gay novels to be widely read), Down There On a Visit and many other novels, plays, screenplays, lectures, and other writings. There are also extensive correspondence files featuring letters by W.H. Auden, Stephen Spender, W. Somerset Maugham, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, and many others, as well as audio and videotapes, photograph albums, and his personal library of nearly 2,000 volumes.

The library has announced October 1 of this year as the date for opening the Isherwood archive to scholarly research. On December 2, the first of a projected series of symposia on Isherwood will feature speakers Katherine Bucknell, Peter Parker, Edward Mendelson, Edmund White, and Humphrey Spender, with a special appearance by Michael York, who starred in the film version of Cabaret. A major exhibition on Isherwood is planned for 2004, the centenary of his birth.

Address Update

Section member and former chair Mark Greene is now the Head of Research Center Programs at the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Michigan. He may now be reached at the following phone number and e-mail address: (313) 982-6075 and markgr@hfmgv.org.

2000 Election Slate

At the Manuscript Repositories Section meeting during this year’s SAA Annual Meeting, attendees will vote for Vice Chair/Chair Elect and three members of the section Steering Committee. The section meeting will take place Thursday, August 31, 8:00-10:00 am, in the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Denver. Ballots will be distributed at the meeting. What follows is the election slate (Note: These statements have been edited for publication. More complete statements will appear in the ballots):

Peter J. Blodgett. Curator, Western Historical Manuscripts, Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, since 1985.
Education: MPhil, Yale University, 1979; MA, Yale University, 1978; BA, Bowdoin College, 1976.
Previous Employment: Teaching Assistant in the History Department, Yale University, 1979-1984.
Professional Activities: SAA: Member since 1995; Member, Manuscript Repositories Section since 1995, Steering Committee, 1997-1999; Member, Reference, Access and Outreach Section since 1995; Member, Privacy and Confidentiality Roundtable since 1995. Society of California Archivists: Member since 1986; Member, 1992 and 1998 Local Arrangements Committees; Member, 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1999 Program Committees; Chair, Publications Committee, 1987-1994. Western History Association: Member since 1985; Member, 1994 Program Committee; Membership Chair, 1995-1998. Faculty member for the Western Archives Institute, a two-week program sponsored by the Society of California Archivists; co-taught session on Manuscripts Acquisitions with Sara Hodson, 1994-1996, 2000. Recipient of Sustained Service Award from the Society of California Archivists, 1999. Various session presentations.

James Edward Cross. Manuscripts Archivist, Special Collections, Clemson University Libraries, since 1997.
Education: MA in History and MLS, Case Western Reserve University, 1982; BA, Cleveland State University, 1979. Certified Archivist 1989; recertified 1997.
Previous Employment: Strom Thurmond Archivist, Special Collections, Clemson University Libraries, 1987-1997; Archivist, Richard B. Russell Memorial Library, University of Georgia Libraries, 1984-1987.
Professional Activities: SAA: Member since 1984; Congressional Papers Roundtable Steering Committee, 1992-1996; Nominating Committee, 1995-1996; Committee on Archival Information Exchange 1993-1996; Reference, Access and Outreach Section—Chair 1995-1996, Vice Chair 1994-1995, Chair of Nominating Committee 1996-1997, Steering Committee 1993-1996 and 1998-2000; Key Contact for South Carolina since 1996. Academy of Certified Archivists: Member since 1989; Recertification Petition Review Team D Leader, 1997; Recertification Petition Review "Second Look" Team Leader since 1998. South Carolina Archival Association: Member since 1999; Steering Committee to form Association, 1998-1999; Chair, 1999 Program Committee; Chair, Nominating Committee, 2000. South Carolina Library Association: Member since 1988; Archives and Special Collections Roundtable—Chair 1991-1992, Vice Chair 1990-1991. Society of Georgia Archivists: Member since 1984; "Washington Beat" column, SGA Newsletter, since 1994. Other memberships: Midwest Archives Conference (MAC), Society of Southwest Archivists, South Carolina Historical Association, South Carolina Historical Society. Various session presentations.

Candidates for Steering Committee (Vote for three)

Susan E. Dick. Director of Library and Archives, Georgia Historical Society, since 1999.
Education: MSLS with archives concentration, Simmons College, 1996; BA, Smith College, 1992. National Archives and Records Administration Modern Archives Institute, 1997.
Previous Employment: Senior Archivist, Georgia Historical Society, 1999; Processing Archivist, Modern Political Collections Division, South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, 1996-1999.
Professional Activities: SAA: Member since 1998. Society of Georgia Archivists: Member since 1997; Newsletter Editor, 1998-1999; Managing Editor, Provenance, The Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists since July 1999; Program Committee, 1999. South Carolina Archival Association: Charter Member since 1998; Steering Committee, 1998-1999. Editor, Caroliniana Columns, South Caroliniana Library Newsletter, 1997-1999. Assistant Editor, South Carolina Historical Magazine and Carologue, 1994-1995.

Kathryn Allamong Jacob. Johanna-Maria Fraenkel Curator of Manuscripts Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, since 1999.
Education: PhD, American History, Johns Hopkins University, 1986; MA, American History, Georgetown University, 1975; BA, Goucher College, 1972.
Previous Employment: Deputy Director, Library and Archives, American Jewish Historical Society, 1997-1999; Assistant Director, American Jewish Historical Society, 1996-1999.
Professional Activities: SAA: Member since 1995 (most recently); Manuscript Repositories Section, Breakout group presenter, 1999. Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC): Co-Instructor, Grant Writing Workshop, 1994; Editor of Technical Leaflets, Publications Committee, 1990-1996. Association for Documentary Edition: Membership Committee since 1999. Archives Advisory Council, Center for Jewish History: Member since 1999. National Endowment for the Humanities: Panel member and outside proposal reviewer for archival projects, since 1998. Academic Advisory Council, Jewish Women's Archives: Member since 1997. Historical Society of Washington DC: Editorial Board member since 1991; Book Review Editor, Journal of Washington History, 1994-1996; Collection Development Committee, 1980-1996. Other memberships: New England Archivists, Organization of American Historians, Association for Documentary Editing. Various session presentations.

Louis Eugene Jones. Archivist II, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University, since 1998.
Education: MA in American History with a concentration in Archival Management, University of Delaware, 1992; Master of Professional Studies, African and Afro-American Studies, Cornell University, 1985; BA, Morehouse College, 1983. Currently pursuing PhD in American History, Wayne State University.
Previous Employment: Archivist I, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University, 1993-1998. Served as Interim Associate Director, 1995-1996; Processing Intern, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1991.
Professional Activities: SAA: Member since 1992; Mentor, 1996-1998. MAC: Member since 1993; Nominating Committee, 2000-2001; Minority Scholarship Committee, 1996-1997. Michigan Archival Association: Member since 1993. Academy of Certified Archivists: Member since 1994. Memberships in Michigan Archival Association, Michigan Oral History Association, Labor and Working Class History Association, and Michigan Labor History Society.

Brenda M. Lawson. Associate Librarian/Curator of Manuscripts, Massachusetts Historical Society, since 1994.
Education: Dual Degree in Archives Management, Simmons College: MSLIS, 1988; MA, History, 1996
Previous Employment: Curator of Manuscripts, Massachusetts Historical Society, 1989-1994; Manuscript cataloger, Massachusetts Historical Society, 1988-1989.
Professional Activities: SAA: Member since 1988. New England Archivists' Representative to the Committee on Regional Archival Activities, 1992-1994. New England Archivists: Member since 1985; Local Arrangements Committee, 1985, 1991; Program Committee, 1992; Printing Coordinator, 1990-1993; Task Force on Research and Development Chair, 1993-1996; Presenter, 1996, 2000. Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, Preservation/Collections Management Advisory Board: Member, 1993-1999. Guest lecturer on cataloging manuscript collections in the MARC format for the course Administration of Archives and Manuscript Collections, Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science since 1990.

Mark L. Shelstad. Assistant Archivist/Information Manager, University of Wyoming, since 1993.ff
Education: MA, Public History with concentration in Archives Administration, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1992; BA, University of Minnesota-Morris, 1990.
Previous Employment: Archives Intern, Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1992; Archives Intern and Processing and Acquisitions Librarian Projects Assistant, Minnesota Historical Society, 1990-1991.
Professional Activities: SAA: Local Arrangements Committee, 2000; Forms Manual Editorial Team since 1999; Committee on Ethics and Professional Conduct since 1999; Key Contact Representative since 1997; Presentations at the 1996 and 1997 Annual Meetings. MAC: Membership Committee since 1996; ArchivesListserv columnist for the MAC Newsletter, 1995-1999; Presenter/Moderator at the 1995, 1998 and 1999 Conferences; Program Committee for the MAC/Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists (SRMA) Fall 1995 and Fall 1999 Conferences. SRMA: Web Site Coordinator since 1999; President, 1998-1999; Presentation at the Spring 1998 meeting; Spring 1994 Meeting Local Arrangements Committee.

Karen Spicher. Archivist, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, since 1999.
Education: MLS, archives concentration, University of Maryland, 1995; BFA, State University of New York at Purchase, 1987.
Previous Employment: Manuscript Catalog Librarian, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 1996-1999; Student Intern and Independent Contractor, Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Reading Room and Preparation Section, 1995.
Professional Activities: SAA: Member since 1995; Manuscript Repositories Section Website Development Committee 1999-2000, Section Webmaster since 2000; Member, Description Section, since 1998. New England Archivists: Education Committee since 1999; Local Arrangements Committee for meeting in New Haven, 2001. Volunteer Archivist, Yale Music Library.

MANUSCRIPT REPOSITORIES SECTION

News items, articles, letters to the editor, and comments are welcome.

Next deadline: October 1, 2000

Send to Kathryn M. Neal (see address below)

Chair (1999-2000)
Christine Weideman
Manuscripts and Archives
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven, CT 06520-8240
(203) 432-1740
FAX: (203) 432-7231
E-mail: christine.weideman@yale.edu

Past Chair/Chair of Nominations (1999-2000)
Mary M. Wolfskill
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540-4680
(202) 707-1104
FAX: (202) 707-6336
E-mail: mwol@loc.gov

Vice Chair/Chair Elect (1999-2000)
Newsletter Editor
Kathryn M. Neal
Givens Collection of African American Literature
Special Collections & Rare Books
University of Minnesota
111 Elmer L. Andersen Library
222 21^st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 624-3855
FAX: (612) 625-5525
E-mail: nealx008@tc.umn.edu

Steering committee

1998-2000

Susan Hamburger
Special Collections Dept.
Pattee Library
Pennsylvania State University
(814) 865-2067
sxh@psulias.psu.edu

Susan McDonald
Woodruff Library
Emory University
(404) 727-5034
libspm@emory.edu

1999-2001

Beth Bensman
Thomas Jefferson University
(215) 503-8097
beth.bensman@mail.tju.edu

Cynthia Pease Miller
Office of Senator Daniel P. Moynihan
(202) 224-4451
Cynthia_Miller@dpm.senate.gov

Craig Wright
Minnesota Historical Society
(651) 296-7989
craig.wright@mnhs.org

This document maintained by Web Liaison
Material Copyright © 2000. Last revised 2/27/2007