A Student's Perspective: Behind the Stacks in Manuscripts and Archives

I started in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) as a volunteer during the fall semester of my freshman year at UNCG (2010). I had emailed someone (I can’t remember who now) in the library and asked if there was any need for volunteers in the library. I thought I’d be checking out books or reshelving things. The person replied and told me that there was no need for help in the main part of the library and suggested that I email Kathelene Smith in Archives. I did, and a week later I started as a volunteer. I mentioned this to my older brother, Dr. Joe Sanders, who is a faculty member at Kansas State University. He was surprised to hear this; he had just given a lecture on some research that he had done at SCUA. This was a nice surprise and made me even more interested in the work that goes on here.

Throughout my first year at SCUA, I worked on many different projects. The most extensive was some cataloguing with the State Normal Magazine that I did for Hermann Trojanowski, one of the archivists here. Hermann was a great sport and taught me a LOT about many aspects of archives. I also worked on organizing some photographs, supervised by Kathelene and Hermann. As it turns out, I knew less than I thought I did because after proudly presenting the results of my photograph organizing, Hermann gently pointed out that I had done the notes on the back of the photographs upside

down! Regardless of my stumbling during the first year, Keith Gorman and Kathelene pulled me aside and told me that if I wanted to return the next year, they would allow me to do so as a paid departmental student employee!

During the fall 2012 semester, I had to do a class project. It was a biography of a student who had gone to UNCG when it was still the State Normal and Industrial School, and we were required to use the archives to do it. It was great fun to experience SCUA from a researcher’s point of view, and I definitely had a head start because of my experiences and knowledge of what the archives contain. But I was surprised at how many more resources exist – it never ends!

Over the course of the last two years, I've learned about an amazing world of processing, administration, and project planning that I had no idea even existed. I absolutely love what I do; there are so many great things about working at SCUA. I've worked on some projects with nearly every staff member here and gotten to know them fairly well. I can honestly say that I have never worked with a group of people who are this kind and understanding and hilarious to be with. Every day there is something new to explore within the projects that I’m doing, and every day I learn more about UNCG – an entire history that I never would have guessed was there.

Rachel Sanders

President

UNCG Historical Society

Chairperson

Student Libraries' Advisory Council

Peer Career Ambassador

UNCG Career Services Center

Kappa Delta Pi - Education Honor Society

A Student's Perspective : Behind the Stacks in Archives and Manuscripts

When I first started my graduate career at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), I decided to look for a job with the University Libraries. Directed to the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives department, I learned that they only had a volunteer position available, for which I promptly interviewed.

In the fall of 2011, I began working as a volunteer in the University Archives for a relatively modest ten hours each week. My first exposure to history at UNCG’s Archives came through the personal recollections of prominent local Rotarians through working with the Preserving the Past: The Rotary Club of Greensboro Oral History Project. I proofread transcripts, drafted abstracts, and organized the digital interviews. I was captivated by their first-hand recollections of the history of Greensboro, the Civil Rights Movement, World War II, and the changing economics of the United States. My first few months working with the Project showed me the importance of preserving these valuable memories, which would otherwise be lost.

I enjoyed my experience in the department and found the entire concept of an archive fascinating. While I had experience with using archival resources, I had never really given the academic archive serious consideration. Nestled away in libraries across the country, archivists and librarians were preserving the past – of both institutions and individuals – for future generations.

After a semester as a volunteer, I was offered a student assistant position in the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives. With this new position, I began to tackle more varied and difficult projects. I began processing the records of the International Double Reed Society and the University’s historical photographs and postcards collections. Each new challenge and experience made me more assured that I wanted to pursue a career in archives.

Although I had entertained thoughts of obtaining a Ph.D. in English, my time in the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives showed me that I was better suited to a career as an archivist. I would still be able to teach, assist students and researchers, and maintain a connection to literature within this one wonderful field. Encouraged by my supervisors, I applied to several schools’ Library Science graduate programs, settling on UNC-Chapel Hill’s SILS program which I will begin in the fall of 2013.

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment or experience that altered my life and career plans. Whatever it was, I am remarkably pleased that my family encouraged me to volunteer at the library and that I found such an enjoyable career path.

After personally experiencing the numerous emotional, touching, comical, and just plain outrageous things you can stumble across in University Archives, I would encourage everyone to make a trip to an archive!

Patrick Dollar

New Exhibits on Campus Literary Societies

In the second year of its existence, the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) created two campus literary societies that were intended to provide a social and communal atmosphere for students. All students were inducted into either the Adelphian or Cornelian Literary Society; no one was excluded. These groups hosted many of the events on campus, including plays, debates, socials, and dances. Two additional literary societies were founded as the school grew -- the Dikean Literary Society in 1918 and the Aletheian Literary Society in 1923. These organization served as key sources of entertainment and extracurricular learning from 1893 until they were disbanded in 1953.

Adelphian Society performance of "The Rivals," 1913

To celebrate the 120th anniversary of the founding of these Societies, Kristen Thomas has created both a physical and online exhibit to highlight the activities and development of these groups. Kristen, a senior History major, interned with SCUA during the Spring 2013 semester. During her internship, she conducted research in University Archives and Manuscripts collections, wrote exhibit text, fabricated exhibit materials, and selected and scanned images for online display.

Presidents and InterSociety Representatives
from the four campus literary societies, 1937

The physical exhibit is housed next to the reference desk on the main level of Jackson Library, and will run through the end of June. It features photographs, publications, and ephemera  documenting the 60 years history of the literary societies.

The online exhibit can be accessed at http://library.uncg.edu/collection/exhibits/Campus_Literary_Societies.aspx.

Additionally, on May 27th, the Spartan Stories blog will feature a guest post from Kristen with additional information on the literary societies.

“A Fine Suit of Clothes” Exhibit about Book Bindings Opens in Jackson Library: Noted Book Artist and Historian to Speak April 16

When the anonymous author of Commercial Bookbindings, a historical sketch and description of an exhibition at the Grolier Club, New York, wrote in 1894, “Nobody thought of expecting the publisher to throw in a fine suit of clothes with the book,” he was commenting on the early years of what was to be the golden age of American book cover design.  The period from 1880-1920 saw the rise and decline in the use of artist/designers, and the astonishing results they could achieve with colored cloth, a few colors of ink, gold and silver, and a canvas the size of a book cover.  The Charles Adams American Trade Binding Collection at the University Libraries has a large selection of bindings concentrating on this period and particularly its zenith, from 1890-1910.

To celebrate its collection and to accompany the new exhibit entitled "A Fine Suit of Clothes: American Publishers' Bindings, 1880-1920: A Progressive Exhibition,"   the University Libraries are sponsoring a presentation by Richard Minsky on the art and commerce of 19th and 20th century American trade bindings. The presentation will be held in the Hodges Reading Room (on the second floor of Jackson Library) on April 16 at 4 PM.  The talk and reception following are both free and open to the public.  

Richard Minsky is an internationally known book artist, author, historian, curator, and bibliographer. Minsky is the author of American Decorated Publishers' Bindings 1872-1929, The Art of American Book Covers 1875-1930, The Art of the American Book, The Golden Age of American Book Design, and The Book Cover Art of Thomas Watson Ball. In 1974 he founded the Center for Book Arts in New York City, the first organization of its kind.

The exhibit will run from March 18 through August 30. It is open to the public, Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Bindings on display will change throughout the exhibition period.

-Barry Miller 

What They Were Wearing While They Were Reading: 1940s

The events of the 1940s utterly transformed the foundations of American society. Impelled by World War II, the influx of immigrants fleeing Europe and the relocation of American soldiers to European and Asian war fronts led to the dissemination of new ideas, encouraged technological innovation, and altered traditional gender roles within American culture.

Forcing the United States from isolationism on to the world stage, WWII motivated the advancements of science and technology to support the war effort, both in terms of enhanced weaponry and modernized medicine. On the home front, the availability of automated home appliances liberated women to fill jobs previously only performed by men who had left to war, subsequently changing the overall structure of the American family.

With the return of service personnel at the end of the war, the repercussions of these changes were not fully understood. As the population began to recognize it could not restore its pre-war way of life, the conflict arising from the realization continued into the following decades.

A collaborative exhibit presented by Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections & University Archives and Dr. James V. Carmichael, Library and Information Studies Depratment, UNCG.

New Exhibit! Spartan Evolution: A History of Basketball on the UNCG Campus from the 1890s to Today

Woman's College versus Guilford College, 1963

Just in time for March Madness, the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives presents "Spartan Evolution: A History of Basketball on the UNCG Campus from the 1890s to Today." This exhibit is housed next to the reference desk on the main level of Jackson Library, and will run through April. Featuring images ranging from the women of the Athletic Association in 1900 to current head coaches Wes Miller and Wendy Palmer, this exhibit highlights key events and people in the development of intramural and intercollegiate basketball on campus.

An online exhibit also features a number of images used in the exhibit: http://library.uncg.edu/collection/exhibits/History_of_Basketball_at_UNCG.aspx.

And, stay tuned to Spartan Stories! The March 4th post will also delve deeper into UNCG basketball history.

A Few Items of Romance from the Cello Music Collections

The Cello Music Collections at UNCG are filled with classical masterpieces of music that can woo the most frigid heart, but we also preserve manuscripts and artifacts equally stirring, though of a more personal nature. On this Valentine's Day, we would like to share with you a few of the more romantic items from the Janos Scholz Cello Music and Personal Papers Collection.

Above is the diary of Therese Russ (picture on the left from the front of the diary). Written on pink paper, the journal covers the daily accounts of her life in the Austro-Hungarian Empire before her marriage. The lock of her hair was given to her husband, as was the common courting practice at that time. The journal dates from some time in the late 1800s and was to be buried with Therese, but it was lost in the family papers. As the family story goes, the maternal line of Janos Scholz' lineage was of inspiration to many composers of their day, including Franz Schubert, Franz Liszt, and Karl Goldmark.

In processing archival collections, we read a lot of mail, and love letters always rouse the imagination (especially since we only see one side of the conversation). To the left we have two letters, the first letter, undated but signed by "Alice" begins, "Your departure from this section of the country left a great void - I can't find words to describe it."  The second is an excerpt of a text reminiscent of Robert Herrick's "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time." The first part of the Scholz letter reads, "Gather the roses bravely. God has given them to you so as to delight your heart and mind..." We do not know who the admirer is, as the letter is unsigned, but included within the envelope is a pressed rose.

Of course, this being an archival music collection, we must leave you with this very special Valentine message. Composed for voice and piano, the title of this short piece is "A Valentine," and it appears to be written in the hand of Janos Scholz. The song verse is as follows:

"Little Love sat sobbing, sighing, 

Bitter winds about him flying.

'I have come a weary way,

Not a rose bud blooms this day'!

Good old Winter heard him crying,

Smoothed his curls and smiled replying:

'Gather up my snowflake showers.

They are ghosts of true love's flowers.'"

If you would like to find out more about UNCG's Cello Music Collection, visit our website or email us. Happy Valentine's Day!