UNCG Special Collections & University Archives

Windows to the World: The Immortal Works of Charles Dickens

2012-01-27T06:07:00.000-08:00

With the possible exception of Shakespeare, no English author is better known than Charles Dickens. Dickens was a household name during his lifetime, and his reputation has not dimmed with the passage of time. This exhibit, which includes twelve of his most popular books—the majority represented in first editions—illustrations from his works, and an assortment of ephemera, celebrates the bicentennial of his birth on February 7, 1812.

Dickens won the admiration and praise of his readers, critics, and fellow authors; and countless books and articles have examined and heralded his life and writings. His grave in the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey represents the highest tribute paid to an English author.
This exhibit attempts to allow Dickens’s genius to speak for itself, in his own words about his work and in the words of his immortal characters.

Illustrations—most of them the original illustrations—are included for each book. Dickens was one of the first authors with the power to select his own illustrations, thus giving them a particular significance as interpreters of his characters and events. He worked with some of the most distinguished artists of his day—George Cruikshank, Hablot Browne (“Phiz”), George Cattermole, and Marcus Stone foremost among them.

The many items in the exhibit that carry his name—commemorative plates, medallions, plaques, playing cards, etc.—show that perhaps no author in history has been commercialized more than Dickens. Although Dickens would undoubtedly have railed against this exploitation,it bears testimony to his immense and enduring popularity.

It is difficult to choose a single comment to summarize this great author’s life and work, but the words of his biographer G. K. Chesterton in 1906 ring true:

“The positive argument for the permanence of Dickens comes back to the thing that can only be stated and cannot be discussed. He made things which nobody else can possibly make.”

Thanks are due to Richard Levy, Norman Smith, and Kimberly Lutz for lending items to this exhibit, and to Carolyn Shankle for devoting time to designing this catalogue and the exhibit poster.

-William K. Finley

Exhibit Catalog
Exhibit catalog is in PDF format. You will need Adobe Reader

Windows to the World:
Immortal Works of Charles Dickens
January 23 - March 30, 2012
Hodges Reading Room
Second Floor, Main Building
Jackson Library
Hours 9AM - 5 PM, Monday - Friday

Annual Women Veterans Luncheon is on Saturday, November 5th

2011-11-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

Making Their Mark: Historical Signatures in the Archives

2011-10-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

Throughout history, signatures have wielded great power and importance. From John Hancock’s elaborate signature on the Declaration of Independence in 1776 to General Douglas MacArthur signing the Japanese’s surrender documents in 1945, a person’s signature has conferred identity and intent. Latin for “to sign,” a signature is a handwritten and sometime stylized description of a person’s name. The way in which a person writes his or her name changes throughout their life. However, just like a thumbprint, each person’s signature has its own unique characteristics.

The history of signatures can be traced back to 3000 B.C. when the Sumerian culture would affix seals to documents as a way to confirm authenticity. As the evolution of writing and the alphabet progressed, the use of handwritten representations of one’s name on documents to denote legitimacy and purpose expanded. To combat forgery, the Roman Empire created public notary’s who were minor government officials responsible for verify the identity of individuals and their signature. The use of signatures expanded beyond just formal documents with the rise of literacy and individualism during the Renaissance era (1300-1600 A.D) when people began to be recognized for their genius and achievement. The result was the artist’s signature and with it a new step in the evolution of the use and meaning of signatures.

While signatures are still used in today’s society to confirm identity, intent, and credit, they have also spawned a new phenomenon: autograph collecting. People who are into philography, the term used to describe the hobby of autograph collecting, seek a variety of signatures including those of Presidents, sports figures, celebrities, and other historical figures. While some people collect autographs simply for their historical value, others do so for profit. One of the most famous signatures in world is Abraham Lincoln’s whose autograph fetched $748,000 in 1991.

In recognition of the importance of signatures to history, The Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives has selected from its collections a sample of historical signatures. Spanning over 220 years of United States history, the signatures touch on such issues as: women, North Carolina, Americana, UNCG, and U.S. Presidents. Some of the highlights from the exhibit include signatures by President Thomas Jefferson, woman suffrage movement activist Susan B. Anthony, scientist Albert Einstein, UNCG founder Charles Duncan McIver, and inspirational figure and advocate Helen Keller. This exhibit will be on display in the Hodges Reading Room from October 10, 2011 – January 16, 2012.

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro: The First Hundred Years, 1891-1991

2011-06-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives invites the UNCG and greater Greensboro community to witness the birth and development of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro through artifacts, documents, and images from the University Archives. This exhibit tells the story of how a small college, founded on ten acres of farmland in 1891, was able to overcome early setbacks to develop into the large, thriving University it is today. Divided into five eras corresponding to the names under which the University operated, the exhibit highlights important historical events including the Brick Dormitory fire of 1904, the death of founding president Charles Duncan McIver in 1906, and the growth of the College under Julius Foust. It also emphasizes the changes in student life including the introduction of college traditions such as Rat Day, the desegregation of the School in 1956, and the enrollment of male students in 1964. This exhibit will be on display in the Jackson Library Lobby from June 1 – September 30, 2011.

Bernard Greenhouse, acclaimed cellist and founder of Beaux Arts Trio, dies at 95

2011-05-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

Bernard Greenhouse, acclaimed cellist and founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio, passed away at his home in Wellfleet, Connecticut on Friday morning. UNCG has the honor of housing his expansive cello music collection in the Cello Music Collection of Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives. On a more personal note, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Greenhouse during the Cello Music Celebration for Luigi Silva in March 2004 as well as the Greenhouse Celebration of 2005 that not only marked his 90th year but also honored his donation of his personal library. On both occasions he displayed his noted warmth and good humor.

Online remembrances:
NPR
New York Times
CelloBello

The photo above is of Dr. William Finley and Mr. Greenhouse taken during the Silva Celebration in 2004.

-Carolyn Shankle

How To Serve Visiting Royalty ... 1970s Style

2011-04-29T06:59:00.001-07:00

Are you getting ready to host a royal celebration? Do you want your party to have that retro feel? From the Purity Cheese Company, who produced the May-Bud brand, comes these party suggestions:

While Purity Cheese Company no longer distributes the May-Bud brand, you can still purchase it since Kraft Foods manages it through Churny Company, one of its subsidiaries.

Perhaps the recipes above will inspire one of your own parties.
Bon appétit!

-Carolyn Shankle

How to serve visiting royalty. Mayville, Wis. : Purity Cheese Co., c1970.
Home Economics Pamphlet Collection TX731 .H5950 1970

North Carolina and South Carolina archivists learn about the WVHP in Morehead City

2011-04-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

WVHP hits the road!

Curator Beth Ann Koelsch, USAF veteran/WVHP oral history interviewer/UNC Greensboro PhD candidate Therese Strohmer, and Navy veteran Pat Childers gave a presentation and conducted a panel discussion at the 2011 joint conference of the Society of North Carolina Archivists (SNCA) and the South Carolina Archival Association (SCAA) in Morehead City, NC on April 1, 2011.

The session Preserving the History of Women Veterans in the Carolinas began with Beth Ann discussing how the WVHP came about and how veteran community involvement helps it grown. Next Beth Ann presented a history of women in the WVHP who served at Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point , the Charleston (SC) Naval Base, and Parris Island.

In her presentation Beth Ann showed photos and used excerpts from oral histories.

Finally, panelists Beth Ann, Therese and Pat discussed their roles and participation in the WVHP, and issues concerning oral history interviews with women veterans. The session was well received and Beth Ann made great contacts with other archivists and friends and supporters of women veterans.

Thank you to Irene Parsons

2011-04-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

Irene Parsons of Wilkes County, North Carolina, passed away on March 10, 2011. Irene spent three years with the Women’s Reserve of the Coast Guard (SPARs) from 1943 until 1946. Afterward, she had a long career with the Veteran’s Administration, retiring after almost thirty years of service.

She was a long time supporter of the Women Veterans Historical Project and she shared her oral history interview with us in 2005.

You can read the transcript here:
http://library.uncg.edu/dp/wv/collection.aspx?col=269

Irene bequeathed an endowment to the WVHP in her will. Her generosity, as well as that of many other veterans who have donated to the Project, is vital. As curator, I am focusing our resources on our oral history efforts. In the last year, we have added the stories of over 30 more women veterans to the collection. We post the full transcripts on line and researchers worldwide are able to learn from these women’s stories. Each oral history costs about $750 to conduct, transcribe, and edit, and support such as Irene’s makes these oral histories possible.

Linda Burr and Irene Parsons at the Women Veterans Luncheon, November 2009

Hodges Reading Room Reopened to the Public

2011-03-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

The heat is on!

The Hodges Reading Room is open to the public and researchers from 9-5 Monday through Friday. There is construction going in in Jackson Library so do be mindful as you make your way to our door.

Thank you for your patience as we continue our renovations.

-Carolyn Shankle

Hodges Reading Room Closed to Public Temporarily

2011-03-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

Burr!

Due to the renovation of Jackson Library, some of the steamlines have been disconnected. The Hodges Reading Room and staff work areas have been without heat for two weeks and this situation will continue at least through the end of March. We have closed our reading room to the public for health and well-being of researchers and staff members.

The Lois Lenski exhibit is closed unless we are contacted in advance. We are encouraging researchers to schedule visits beginning in April. Should a researcher need to use our collections during the remainder of March, please contact us so that we may make arrangements.

We appreciate your patience during this time. We will post updates to this blog. You may read more about the overall renovation project on Mike Crumpton's blog, Jackson Library Renovation Project.

-Carolyn Shankle

Men’s Athletics at UNCG

2011-03-06T12:49:00.000-08:00

Athletics has been an important part of the curriculum at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), since the University opened as the State Normal and Industrial School in 1892. From the beginning, the School was known for its physical education and intramural sports programs for women.

Men’s athletics at UNCG can be traced back to 1932/33 when 75 undergraduate men were admitted as day students for one year during the Great Depression. These men formed a basketball team called the Tomcats and played against local college teams such as Elon College, Guilford College, and High Point College, as well as business teams such as Jefferson Standard Life Insurance.

After the University became co-educational in 1964, men participated in the intramural program, which featured basketball, billiards, bowling, fencing, flag football, golf, soccer, softball, table tennis, and volleyball.

In 1967, the intercollegiate program for both men and women received formal recognition from the University and the “Spartan” nickname was adopted for all teams.

Timeline

1932/33
Undergraduate men gave their basketball team the nickname “Tomcats.”

1967/68
The intercollegiate program for men and women received formal recognition from the University. Men participated in basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling.

During the fall of 1967, the nickname “Spartans” was adopted.

1968
On February 17th, UNCG joined the Dixie Conference.

1980
The men’s basketball team, coached by Larry Hargett, won the Dixie Conference Championship and completed in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

1981
Ryan Fox won the individual national title in Division III men’s golf.

1982
UNCG captured its first men’s national championship in soccer with Mike Berticelli at the helm.

1983
Nelson Bobb was hired as the first full time athletic director.

1985
Men’s soccer player Eddie Radwanski, the first two-time All-American in the program’s history, was the first pick in the Major Indoor Soccer League draft.

1987
Under Michael Parker’s direction, the men’s soccer team became the first in NCAA history to win three consecutive national championships, in 1985, 1986, and 1987.

In February, the University announced plans to elevate the athletic program from Division III to Division I.

1988/89
UNCG joined NCAA Division II.

1991
UNCG joined NCAA Division I.

The Soccer Stadium opened.

1992
UNCG joined the Big South Conference.

1993
Brian Moehler became the first Spartan to sign a professional baseball contract.

Men’s soccer won the 1993 Big South Championship. Shawn Mahoney was
named the tournament’s most valuable player.

1994
Men’s soccer won its second straight Big South Championship on November 5th. Larry Feniger was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

UNCG Baseball claimed the Big South title and won two games in the NCAA Regionals. Mike Gaski was named Big South Coach of the Year.

1995
On April 15th, men’s tennis captured the Big South Championship.

1996
Men’s basketball won Big South regular season titles for second year in a row.

On March 2nd, men’s basketball won the Big South Tournament Championship.

1997
On May 18th, men’s baseball won the Big South Tournament Championship.

Mike Gaski was named Big South Coach of the Year.

Wrestling, in its first year in the Southern Conference, tied for the 1997 SoCon title. Joe Stanton became the first and only three time NCAA qualifier in UNCG history.

Siggi Eyjolfsson became the first First-Team All-American in UNCG men’s soccer Division I history.

1998
Men’s soccer claimed it first Southern Conference title and first NCAA Division I Tournament win.

1999
The UNCG Baseball Stadium opened on February 12th.

2000
Wrestler Dax Pecaro records his second straight undefeated season in the Southern Conference.

2001
On March 4th, the men’s basketball team won its first Southern Conference Championship.

2002
On February 11th, men’s soccer player Alejandro Moreno was selected by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the third round of the 2002 MLS SuperDraft.

On March 13th, the men’s basketball team received their first ever invitation to the National Invitation Tournament.

2003
On May 30th, pitcher/outfielder Ryan Gordon was named first team All- American by Louisville Slugger.

2004
In March, Darren Burns was named the Southern Conference Freshman Wrestler of the Year.

On October 17th, UNCG received its first No. 1 national ranking since moving to Division I.

2005
In May, Charles Jones became the first Spartan to qualify for the NCAA Track and Field Championships.

2006
In February, Jeff Williams earned his second consecutive conference title in the 800 meters at the Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.

UNCG alumnus Andy Bare qualified for the 106th US Open, becoming the first Spartan to qualify for a major golf tournament.

2009
On September 27th, Kim Record was appointed Athletic Director.

2009/10
UNCG Basketball began playing home games in the Greensboro Coliseum.

The Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to have an exhibit about men's athletics at UNCG on display in the Jackson Library/Elliott University Center Connector from January 7 – April 7, 2011.

NPR radio series on U.S. Military "Women in War"

2011-02-25T06:29:00.000-08:00

photo: Ingrid Ruffin in bomb shelter in Iraq, 2003 (WV0400)

There is a fascinating 5 part series that examines women's experiences in the U.S. Military:
http://www.npr.org/series/133869535/women-in-combat

There is also a time line of Women on the Front Lines:
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/24/133870632/timeline-women-on-the-front-lines

The Elizabeth Cowling Celebration

2011-02-22T08:56:00.001-08:00

The Elizabeth Cowling Cello Celebration March 24-26, 2011

UNCG School of Music, Theatre & Dance
Greensboro, NC

Honoring cellist and scholar Elizabeth Cowling

Cello choir showcases and master class performance opportunities available to registered participants.

Direct all inquiries to Alexander Ezerman

aezerman@gmail.com / 336 334 5518

Event Website
Elizabeth Cowling Collection
Cello Music Collection

Lois Lenski: Voices of Children

2011-02-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

February 7 - March 18, 2011
Hodges Reading Room

Lois Lenski (1893-1974) was one of the most popular and most gifted among children's authors and illustrators of the twentieth century. This small exhibit is an attempt to document her talent and to show, in her own words, her intense feelings for the proper literature and education for children.

Born and reared in Ohio, Lenski gravitated early to a career in art. Although she majored in education at Ohio State University and prepared for a career in teaching, she took many art courses in college, decided on art as a vocation, and pursued this career at the Art Students' League in New York, furthering her art studies in England and Italy. At the Art Students' League,she became an assistant to the muralist Arthur Covey and married him in 1921. Advancing from part-time jobs designing greeting cards and drawings for advertisements, Lenski spent the decade of the 1920s illustrating the works of others, primarily for children's books. In addition to illustrating works such as Padraic Colum's The Peep-Show Man and Kenneth Graham's The Golden Age and Dream Days (which allowed her to exercise her passion for medieval costume and culture), she developed an association with the New York publishing firm Platt and Munk, illustrating such well-known works as Cinderella and The Little Engine That Could.

At the suggestion of an editor, Lenski decided to try her own hand at writing for children, publishing in 1927 Skipping Village, based on her own childhood experiences in Anna, Ohio. In her long and illustrious career as both writer and illustrator, Lenski authored more than eighty books for children of various ages, including the immensely popular "Davy" and "Mr.Small" series for younger readers and the influential and provocative "Roundabout America" and "Regional America" books for older children, as well as historical novels and poetry. In addition to providing riveting entertainment, her books invariably made a plea for tolerance and understanding among all people. Among her many awards were the Newbery Medal for 1946 for Strawberry Girl, one of her fifteen regional novels for young readers, and the National Child Study Association Award in 1948.

Special Collections & University Archives, Jackson Library, has many signed first editions, translations, manuscripts, original art work, artifacts, and ephemera in its Lois Lenski Collection, as well as a collection of miniature and early children's books collected by Lenski.

For her many contributions to children's literature, Lois Lenski in 1962 was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

-Dr. William K. Finley

What They Were Wearing While They Were Reading; The 1920s

2011-02-08T12:50:00.000-08:00

January 24 – March 31, 2011
First Floor Lobby, Jackson Library

The 1920s was one of the most exciting decades in US history. It was a time of prosperity and excess when Americans embraced a modern culture, which included dancing to the “Charleston” and joyriding in Ford Model T automobiles. Women won the right to vote, attended colleges in droves, and sought out careers outside the home.

Prohibition began on midnight, January 16, 1920, making “intoxicating liquors” illegal to transport, consume, or sell. Prohibition created an underground bootlegging industry, which fueled widespread criminal activity. Men like Al Capone rose to power, ordering the largest gangland hits in crime history known as “the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.”

Jazz was hot! Singers such as Charles Peterson, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, and Rudy Vallee were popular and could be heard on a new invention, which allowed entertainment to be broadcast into America’s living rooms - the radio. Americans were also flocking to movie theaters to see popular stars as Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson.

Other important milestones of the 1920s included Babe Ruth setting the home run record in 1927, celebrity pilot Charles Limbergh flying solo across the Atlantic in 1927, and archaeologist Howard Carter discovering the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922.

The decade came to a screeching halt on October 29, 1929, with the most devastating stock market crash in US History. The panic of 1929 sparked the Great Depression and the economic downturn of the 1930s.

This exhibit focuses on the fashions, literature, and cultural aspects of the 1920s. It features the textile collection of Dr. James Carmichael, professor of the UNCG’s Library and Information Studies program.

-Kathelene McCarty Smith

Celebrating the Cello Music Collection: The Greenhouse Legacy

2011-01-26T06:27:00.000-08:00

Among the most distinguished cellists of the 20th and early 21st centuries, Bernard Greenhouse, now in his 95th year, continues to teach at his home on Cape Cod and to inspire music lovers the world over, largely through his many recordings with the Beaux Arts Trio. As the founding cellist of this legendary trio, Greenhouse joined forces in 1955 with pianist Menahem Pressler and violinist Daniel Guilet (later followed by Isidore Cohen) to perform and record the entire standard piano trio repertoire before retiring from the group in 1987. However, as Greenhouse is ever quick to point out, his career on the international chamber music stage represents only one dimension of a richly varied musical life. This exhibit of materials from his personal library, now part of UNCG’s monumental Cello Music Collection, throws welcome light on the range of Greenhouse’s activities—as a virtuoso cello soloist, as a student of Casals, as a collaborator with composer Elliott Carter, and as the long-time cellist of New York’s Bach Aria Group.

- Mac Nelson

Exhibit dates : January 24 - February 3, 2011

2010 Women Veterans Luncheon

2010-12-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, November 6th, the Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project hosted our 13th annual women veterans luncheon.

Our speaker this year was Command Sergeant Major Teresa S. King, the first female commandant of the U.S. Army's Drill Sergeant School at Fort Jackson, SC. CSM King, a North Carolina native,spoke about her life and career and was given a standing ovation.

UNCG Chancellor Linda P. Brady gave remarks. The Chancellor comes from a military family and always makes very insightful comments.

The luncheon is a great chance to catch up with all of the women who have donated their oral histories to the collection and to meet and greet other women veterans.

More photos of the event are on flickr. CLICK HERE.

North Carolina WWII Experience Documentary includes WVHP veteran

2010-12-06T07:48:00.000-08:00

WUNC-TV has produced a two-hour documentary North Carolina's WWII Experience about North Carolinians during World War II.

The film includes The Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project's "very own" Virginia Russell Reavis, who served as an air evacuation nurse for the U.S. Army Air Force, telling her story.

Virginia Russell Reavis' Papers: http://library.uncg.edu/dp/wv/collection.aspx?col=286

Information about the film: http://www.unctv.org/pressroom/wwII/mediaadvisory.html

Website for the film: http://wwii.unctv.org/

Promoting Archival Material

2010-12-01T07:27:00.000-08:00

One of the goals of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives is to promote its many collections to University classes. In early November 2010, Reference Librarian Jenny Dale, sent Interim University Archivist Hermann Trojanowski an e-mail requesting an exhibit tailored especially for the History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Education (KIN 351) class. Jenny said the class's instructor Pam Kocher Brown wanted to integrate University Archives material into the session and asked that we display vintage items for the class to view.

On November 23rd, fourteen students and two instructors from the KIN 351 class visited the University Libraries' Conference Room where Kathelene Smith and Hermann Trojanowski displayed items from University Archives including twenty-eight photographs of athletics and sports, five yearbooks, and six vintage athletic uniforms such as a 1913 black wool gym suit and 1931 red athletic vest with archival photos of early students wearing the items. The yearbooks from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s gave the students a visual touchstone with early campus sports.

When the students arrived, Kathelene and Hermann gave an overview of the textiles and other items on display. Then the students viewed the items and asked questions.

At the end of the session, Jenny asked the students to pick one artifact and talk about why it was their favorite. After the students left the Conference Room, they went to the CITI computer lab where they reviewed the UNCG Timeline, which had been created by University Archives staff. Their assignment was to pick two dates and give their reason for those dates being important to them.

This is an excellent example of outreach that the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Department has been conducting in the past few years to promote its collections.

A student's perspective...

2010-11-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

I’m Katie Whetzel, a graduate student in the Library and Information Studies program and while loving to read is not a requirement to be a librarian that is how I got interested in working with the NC Literary Map. I work in Special Collections and Archives as a graduate assistant. I research basically anybody remotely related to NC and enter their biography/published literature into the map.

Clyde Edgerton, Margaret Maron, Kathy Reichs and Timothy Tyson are all among my favorite authors. One reason is that they’re all fantastic writers. The other is because I’m connected to North Carolina and its people when I read about the characters. I’m a North Carolinian all the way- love the bbq, am spoiled by having the mountains and beach so close, and am a basketball fan only when the NCAA comes around.

I enjoy coming across authors who live or wrote about a place that I’ve actually been. I even end up looking at original manuscripts that Special Collections has since I’m already here. It is awesome looking at original illustrations and handwritten notes made by the author. The NC Literary Map allows me to do research on stuff that I would never do in my spare time. I’ve learned that the famous line from Sunset Boulevard, “All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up” refers to Cecil DeMille (the father of Hollywood) who grew up in Washington, NC (It’s east of Greenville, for those of you who would have to look it up on a map like me). Another interesting fact about North Carolina is the experimental college started in 1933 in Asheville. Black Mountain College was open for only 23 years and yet people still talk about it. It seems like something that lasted only that long should have faded away by now, but the number of people who went on to be extremely influential is unbelievable. From my research, everyone keeps saying that the works of ‘Black Mountain writers’ are so varied from each other that they can’t be grouped together. I find it kinda crazy that NC can lay claim to something so radically different and out of the box.

It’s that connection between me, history and that quirky Southern culture which I love (and the latter which I’m slightly fearful is disappearing) that keeps my interest. I consider this research to be pretty much like reading People magazine or being obsessed about celebrities’ lives. These people just live closer and some details are just as scandalous! If you’re interested, you can check out the NC Literary Map here: http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/

Don Etherington and Monique Lallier

2010-11-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

Among the most renowned bookbinders and conservators practicing their craft today, Monique Lallier and Don Etherington have produced scores of beautiful and creative bindings, among them award winners in major competitions.

Monique Lallier has served as director of the American Academy of Bookbinding and as chair of the Standards Committee of the Guild of Book Workers. Her binding designs have been featured in many prominent exhibitions throughout the world, and among her awards was the De Golyer Jury Prize for Design in 2003. Monique has conducted many seminars and workshops on binding and tooling in the U. S. and abroad and maintains a binding studio at her home in Summerfield, where she continues to train apprentices in the art of custom binding.

Don Etherington is renowned as both a leading conservator and a creative bookbinder and has conducted numerous seminars and workshops in both areas. The founder of Etherington Conservation Services and a major consultant on such projects as the Florence reclamation project of 1966 and the restoration and housing of such precious documents as the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution, Don has his bindings represented in major public and private collections in the United States and abroad, including the British Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Library of Congress.

University Libraries is proud to display its seventeen custom bindings by Don and Monique, a small showcase of the art of two very talented and creative binding designers.

~William K. Finley

Bound to Please : Custom Bookbindings by Don Etherington and Monique Lallier
November 15 - December 22, 2010
Hodges Reading Room

A Gentleman's Library : The Classic Book Collection of Norman B. Smith

2010-10-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

George Catlin, ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND CONDITION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS
London: Henry Bohn, 1850

First published in 1841, ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND CONDITION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS is George Catlin's best-known work documenting the life and customs of numerous Indian tribes. Catlin's illustrations and notes on Indian life provide an incomparable record of what was even in 1841 a rapidly vanishing culture.

Fascinated from boyhood with Indian life and lore, Catlin began his journeys among Indians in 1830 when he accompanied General William Clark up the Mississippi into Indian territory. He eventually visited sixty-eight tribes, sketching and taking notes on all aspects of Indian life and culture. Catlin ultimately amassed some 600 paintings and a huge assortment of artifacts, which became his famous Indian Gallery.

This early text contained over 300 line-drawings based on Catlin's pictures; his later North American Indian Portfolio (1844) added additional sketches. Two later related volumes were Last Rambles Among the Indians of the Rocky Mountains and the Andes and My Life Among the Indians. Catlin's superb Indian Gallery was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1879.

- William K. Finley

A Gentleman's Library : The Classic Book Collection of Norman B. Smith

2010-10-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

Thomas Hobbes, LEVIATHAN
London: Andrew Crook, 1676

The full title of this work—LEVIATHAN; OR THE MATTER, FORM, AND POWER OF A COMMONWEALTH, ECCLESIASTICAL AND CIVIL—gives an indication of its focus. First published in 1651, LEVIATHAN was from the first a controversial work in its insistence on the subordination of the individual to the State.

The four parts of this work are titled "Of Man," "Of Commonwealth", "Of a Christian Commonwealth," and "Of the Kingdom of Darkness." The last two chapters discuss Scripture at some length and make a pointed attack on what Hobbes saw as attempts by papists and Presbyterians to challenge and curb the rights and power of the king.

In LEVIATHAN, Hobbes analyzes conditions he felt were necessary for the peace and security of the State, then provides a program for organizing an ideal state.

Although the title page of this edition gives the publication date as 1651, a handwritten correction states that this printing is actually 1676. The handsome later binding is treated calfskin with an interesting blind-stamp design.

Detail of binding

- William K. Finley

Collector's Talk and Reception
October 19th, 2010
4 -6 PM

A Gentleman's Library : The Classic Book Collection of Norman B. Smith

2010-10-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

GOSPEL OF ST. MARK
Armenia: c. 1655

The second book of the New Testament, Mark's Gospel portrays the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and dates from roughly 70 A.D. Throughout history, the Gospels have frequently been printed separately, often with elaborate artistic highlights.

This copy of Mark's Gospel is Armenian in origin and dates from around 1650. Little is known about this particular production, though the small book is a gem, with its exquisite miniature paintings and intriguing marginal designs on numerous pages.

- William K. Finley

Collector's Talk and Reception
October 19th, 2010
4 -6 PM

A Gentleman's Library : The Classic Book Collection of Norman B. Smith

2010-10-17T04:00:00.001-07:00

THE GENEVA BIBLE
Christopher Barker, 1584

First printed in Geneva in 1560 by the "Marian Exiles," this version of the Holy Bible was never sanctioned by the Church of England; but in 1575 the so-called "Breeches Bible" was openly printed and remained the unofficial Bible for most of the congregation until the ascendancy of Oliver Cromwell. The Scottish Church adopted the Geneva Bible as its official version in 1579.

The Geneva Bible was the first English Bible printed in Roman type and the first English text divided clearly into verses.

Detail of binding

The leather and intricate brass-trimmed binding on this copy is a striking example of the late sixteenth-century bookbinders' art.

- William K. Finley

Collector's Talk and Reception
October 19th, 2010
4 -6 PM

A Gentlemain's Library : The Classic Book Collection of Norman B. Smith

2010-10-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

THE KORAN
Shiraz, Persia, 1687

THE KORAN is the official compilation of the teachings of Muhammad in the years 609-632 A. D. and is the central religious text of Islam.

Although some verses of the KORAN were written down during Muhammad's lifetime, the main body of text was compiled during the reign of the third successor (caliph) to Muhammad.

Detail of binding

The KORAN consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths and on various themes. The chapters are arranged according to length (long to short) rather than chronologically. The earlier chapters emphasize a call to religious dedication and obedience, while the later chapters give directions for a proper moral life as dictated by God. Throughout, the KORAN pictures God as the only creator and sustainer of a well-ordered universe. The doctrine states unequivocally that humanity is wholly responsible for its actions.

Leather paste-down

Detail

The beautiful pages of this 1687 Persian printing are striking, with their gilt embellishments and ornamental marginal descriptions. Striking also are the handsome "medallion" covers and paste-downs.

- William K. Finley

Collector's Talk and Reception
October 19th, 2010
4 -6 PM

A Gentleman's Library : The Classic Book Collection of Norman B. Smith

2010-10-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

Ovid, METAMORPHOSIS
Oxford: John Lichfield, 1632

Banished from Rome by the emperor Augustus and his work banned from public libraries after his erotic Ars amatoria, Ovid (43 BC-18 AD) apparently completed his best-known work, the narrative poem METAMORPHOSIS, before going into exile.
A series of poetic tales from ancient mythology, METAMORPHOSIS is a supreme example of dactylic hexameter verse sustained over fifteen books (totaling some 250 tales in 12,000 verses), each tale concerned with a change in shape, as the book's title indicates. All of the tales have literary antecedents. The arrangement is essentially chronological, from the creation of the world to the emperorship of Julius Caesar.

Book I opens with an account of the creation of the universe and the growth of civilization. Book II examines the relationship between the gods and mortal man. Book V narrates the varied mythical adventures of Perseus. Most of the subsequent books recount further tales of mythical heroes such as Jason and Medea, Aeneas, Hercules, Ulysses, Theseus, and Orpheus.

A brilliant epigrammatist and wit, Ovid created in METAMORPHOSIS an enduring entertainment and inspiration.

The full title of this 1632 edition as it appears on the title page is Ovid's Metamorphosis Englished, Mythologiz'd and Represented in Figures by G. S. [George Sandys].

- William K. Finley

Collector's Talk and Reception
October 19th, 2010
4 -6 PM

A Gentleman's Library : The Classic Book Collection of Norman B. Smith

2010-10-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Lucretius, DE RERUM NATURA
Oxford: Anthony Stephens, 1683

Called by critic David Furley "the most complete analysis of the atomic composition of matter prior to twentieth-century nuclear physics," DE RERUM NATURA is a brilliant poetic rendering of the Epicurean philosophy of natural science and the moral responsibility of man.

Written in hexameters with an emphasis on alliteration and assonance, DE RERUM NATURA was published in an unfinished state shortly after Lucretius' death (c. 55 BC).

In DE RERUM NATURA, Lucretius attempts to show (as did Epicurus) the path to an ideal life. The only way to attain the ideal life is to understand the true nature of things. A basic assumption of Lucretius is that all things are attributable to
natural causes.

Early in the poem Lucretius expounds the Epicurean system of "primordia rerum," the "first things"; i.e., atoms. Divided into ten books, DE RERUM NATURA denies supernatural control of man's life and speaks out against organized religion, which
Lucretius saw as instilling unrealistic fear in man's mind. Books I and II deal essentially with the basic nature of matter—atoms. Book III considers the nature of man's soul. Book IV concerns experience through the senses, while Books V and VI deal with the formation of the world and the universe, the origin of life, and such natural, explainable phenomena as thunder and earthquakes.

This 1683 Oxford printing is the second edition in English.

- William K. Finley

Collector's Talk and Reception
October 19th, 2010
4 -6 PM

A Gentleman's Library : The Classic Book Collection of Norman B. Smith

2010-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

The twenty-six books in this exhibit represent but a small sampling of Norman B. Smith's library, a choice collection of the most significant and most influential books of many nations, dating originally from before the Classical Age through the twentieth century.

Included are such well-known titles as The Wealth of Nations and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Also included are lesser known but highly influential works such as James Harrington's Oceana and Juliana Berners' Treatyse of Fysshynge. Important religious texts include the Geneva Bible, The Koran, a 1435 Book of Hours, and an Armenian Gospel of St. Mark from the seventeenth century. Important political texts include a 1556 printing of the Magna Charta, Hobbes' Leviathan, and Rousseau's Social Contract.

Choosing representative titles from among so many gems was a difficult task. The only guiding principle behind the choices for this exhibit was to show the wide spectrum of Norman Smith's library, representing the best thoughts of the best thinkers and writers through the ages.

- William K. Finley

Collector's Talk and Reception
October 19th, 2010
4 -6 PM

Happy Birthday Charlie: Celebrating the 150th Birthday of President Charles Duncan McIver

2010-09-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

Charles Duncan McIver

Charles "Charlie" Duncan McIver was born on September 27, 1860, to Henry McIver and Sarah "Sallie" Harrington McIver in Moore County, North Carolina.

He began his formal education following his 8th birthday at a local one-room schoolhouse in Moore County. McIver enjoyed hunting rabbits, fox, squirrels, opossums, and raccoons and did regular chores on his father's farm during the summer and after school until he entered the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill in 1877. While at UNC, he made good grades and won a medal for Greek studies the spring of his sophomore year.

In 1881, McIver graduated from UNC and accepted the assistant headmaster position at the Presbyterian Male Academy in Durham, North Carolina, making $45.00 a month. McIver was elected principal of the newly established graded high school in Durham in 1882. After two years, he resigned his position in Durham for a teaching position at the Winston Graded School in Winston, North Carolina, where he met his future wife, Lula Martin. They were married on July 29, 1885 and had four children.

McIver at Peace Institute, 1886

McIver accepted the position of head of the literary department at Peace Institute, a girl's school in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1886. While in Raleigh, he lobbied for a normal or teacher training school for women.

In 1889, he and Edwin A. Alderman were chosen by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to conduct a series of teacher institutes to instruct teachers and enlighten the public about the need for a normal school in North Carolina.

McIver in his office located in the Main (now Foust) Building

With an annual salary of $2,500.00, McIver was appointed the first president of the newly established State Normal and Industrial School in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1891.

Unfortunately, he died on September 17, 1906, at the age of 45; however, he did see his dream of founding a college to educate women in North Carolina realized - that institution is now known as The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

An exhibit celebrating McIver's birthday will be on display in Jackson Library next to the Reference Desk until October 11, 2010. From October 11th until the end of the year, the exhibit will be on display in the Jackson Library/Elliott University Center Connector.

UNC Greensboro Veterans and Military Expo

2010-09-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, September 7, UNCG sponsored a Veterans and Military Expo. 130 veterans, military personnel, university officials, and local business and community leaders listened to a panel discussion about Education, Jobs and Workforce Development and met with representatives for veterans resources.

U.S. Senator Kay Hagan introduced the panel discussion and Beth Ann Koelsch, the curator of the Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project managed to get a photo with her!

Besides posing with political luminaries, Beth Ann presented an exhibit of Women Veterans Historical Collection materials.

She enjoyed talking with all of the people who stopped by to learn more about women veterans history and about the Project.

Keith Gorman, Assistant Head of Special Collections & University Archives

2010-07-14T06:58:00.000-07:00

Keith Gorman has always been interested in how people relay their individual and collective history to others. Growing up in an academic family in Chicago, he was encouraged to pursue his interest in American history, urban architecture, and oral history. Gorman was fascinated by how history was remembered and conveyed within his large extended family and within his diverse urban North Side neighborhood of Rodgers Park.

This interest led Gorman to pursuing a degree in history at Loyola University in Chicago. But, his interest in history carried over into the fields of political science and art history. His decision to spend a year in Rome, Italy sparked a new interest in European history, art, languages, food, and politics. Upon graduating from Loyola, Gorman was accepted into a PhD program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His interest in European history deepened. Gorman decided to focus on 20th century European history. This interest in Europe lead to extended research trips to France and the completion of both a MA and PhD. While living in Paris, Gorman’s research focus broadened to consider how national memory is shaped and contested. It also led to a new research area in Holocaust Studies.

In taking a position at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, Gorman was introduced to a region that prided itself on its local history and its connection to the American Revolution. When not in the classroom, Gorman spent a great deal of time exploring colonial cemeteries and towns and hiking New England’s mountains. While continuing to focus on modern European history, Gorman did begin to develop and teach courses in public history and archives. This interest in how people were accessing historical information lead to Gorman’s decision to pursue a MLS. He decided that his mix of skills could help bring history to a wider audience.

In his drive to make history more accessible, Gorman accepted a position at the Smithsonian Institute Archives in Washington, DC. His position as a reference archivist required him to interact with a global audience. Walking along the Washington Mall to get to work, he witnessed the impact of how museums, archives, and monument shaped how visitors understood their shared past. On weekends, Gorman spent a great deal of time exploring the diverse neighborhoods of the District.

Gorman was pulled back to New England and Cape Cod. He accepted the position of Special Collections Librarian at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. He was asked to increase the use and access of the paper and photo collections of the Museum. Living on Cape Cod and commuting by ferry, Gorman experienced first-hand the continuing impact of the region’s maritime heritage and history. The daily commute on Vineyard Sound sparked an interest in life on the water. After two years of commuting by ferry, Gorman moved to the Island and explored its ancient footpaths, quiet ocean beaches, and wooded ponds. At the same time, his responsibilities at the museum grew. In 2007, he was promoted to the position of executive director of the museum. He was tasked with increasing the Museum’s programming and engagement with the six towns on the Island.

Keith Gorman (and his wife Cheryl Roberts) moved to Carrboro, NC to settle and start a family. His wife Cheryl is pursuing a PhD in sociology at UNC-Chapel Hill. Both of them are passionate gardeners and are discovering the joys of an eleven month growing cycle! Gorman continues to delve into his interest in local history and culture. Keith and Cheryl spend many weekends hiking trails in the Piedmont or in the western part of the state. Keith is an accomplished cook and is very interested in the local Slow Food movement in NC.

Teaching the Teachers

2010-06-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

On June 18, 2010 Women Veterans Historical Project curator Beth Ann Koelsch and former University Archivist Betty Carter hosted a workshop for forty 11th grade Guilford County High School Teachers.

Beth Ann and Betty discussed the holding of the archives and ways to use archival materials to teach their students history.

They even were given a tour of the archives!

Oral Historian and UNCG PhD student Therese Strohmer spoke about using women veterans oral histories and digitized recruiting brochures in her scholarly work.

Beth Ann gave a presentation about using digitized resources. She showed the teachers posters, photographs, documents and oral history transcripts from our website and then gave them ideas about how to use the materials in their instruction. Beth Ann talked about how the digitized materials could be used to teach about a wide range of topics such as world historical events such as World War II, local North Carolina events such as the Greensboro sit-ins of 1960, and how depictions of women on US Army recruiting posters reflected shifting cultural attitudes of gender.

Finally, the teachers were given an “in-class” assignment in which they filled out document analysis worksheets about:

a WWII Allied Expeditionary Forces telegraph form;

a WAC songbook; and

Special Orders issued about German-American relations in 1945.

Betty Carter, University Archivist

2010-05-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 7 2010, the University celebrated Betty Carter's contributions to preserving and promoting the history of the institution. From her first day on February 1, 1974 through April 30, 2010, Betty processed, organized, and promoted the records of the presidents/chancellors from Charles Duncan McIver to Patricia Sullivan. Now, she was not at UNCG for the entire time but she was the archivist for most of that time.

Over a hundred people attended the event and all had an opportunity to say words of appreciation to Betty. Those who shared their comments with all were: Rosann Bazirjian, Bill Finley, Barry Miller, Grace Alexander, Lee Evans, Linda Jones, and Linda Burr. Betty, we all value your contributions and look forward to seeing you!

Betty Carter with her sons, Jonathan and Christopher

Betty with Ella Ross, Class of 1965

Betty with former Library Director, Doris Hulbert

Tom Martin, Class of 1970

Betty with Barbara Tookey

What a crowd!

Grace Alexander, WAVES 1951-1953 and MEd 1980, gave remarks about Betty's importance for Women Veterans.

Lee Mahan Evans (Class of 1950) and her husband, Bill Evans, with Betty. Lee spoke about the Class of 1950's gift to University Archives and the genesis of the Women Veterans Collection.

Betty flanked by Linda Jones and Linda Burr.

Betty and Linda Burr

Betty receiving a photo montage from Rosann Bazirjian, Dean of University Libraries.

Emmy Mills, former Special Collections Librarian, talking shop with current Special Collections Librarian, Bill Finley.

Tom Martin and Hermann Trojanowski, Assistant University Archivist, share a laugh.

Cherry Ames Nurse Stories

2010-05-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

The popular "Cherry Ames" series created in 1943, in the midst of World War II, and was one of several patriotic series among girls' books. While the early titles centered on the war efforts of nurse Cherry and her colleagues, the series lasted through twenty-six titles until 1968, the post-war volumes showing "Nurse Cherry" in a variety of civilian nursing roles ("Dude Ranch Nurse," "Department Store Nurse," "Jungle Nurse," etc.). Although not the first "nursing" series, "Cherry Ames" is unique in having so many volumes devoted to a single occupation. Clearly the publishers believed in the enduring nature of their publicity claim for the series,

"It is every girl's ambition at one time or another to wear the crisp uniform of a nurse. The many opportunities for service, for adventure, for romance, make a nurse's career a glamorous one."

-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

The Airplane Girl

2010-04-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

And the Mystery of Seal Island

Although not the first of the "flying girls" series (the "Girl Aviator" series appeared in 1911, and there are other earlier series involving a female aviator), the "Airplane Girl" books (four titles, all in 1930) demonstrated the continuing fascination with flying and the increased independence of daring women. The books concern the airborne exploits of Roberta Langwell, the "Airplane Girl."

"Her exploits are those of a modern young aviatrix who knows no fear. She will keep you tense with excitement. . ."

This series is one of the few girls' series in which a woman writes under a male pseudonym; a number of males (L. Frank Baum being one) wrote girls' books under a female pseudonym.
-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

Nancy Drew, Girl Detective

2010-04-23T03:00:00.000-07:00

No other girls' series can match the popularity and durability of "Carolyn Keene's" Nancy Drew books. So endearing are these books to generations of young readers that many even today believe that a single author by the name of "Carolyn Keene" wrote the more than 170 titles that have appeared since 1930. Not so! "Carolyn Keene" was a "syndicate name" used by the many writers who penned these volumes. Wikipedia states that twenty-eight authors accounted for the series up until 1984, but this number may be low. The earliest ones were ostensibly written by Edward Stratemeyer, the founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate that produced so many of the most popular series books for boys and girls in the early twentieth century. Stratemeyer's daughters, Harriet and Edna, also wrote a number of early titles. The name most commonly linked with "Carolyn Keene" and Nancy Drew is that of Mildred Wirt, who probably wrote more of the Nancy Drews than any other single author, though it is not entirely clear just how many titles she authored. It is probable that some titles had joint authors.

-Dr. WIlliam K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

Pollyanna's Jewels

2010-04-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

Like "Miss Minerva" and "The Wizard of Oz," "Pollyanna" represents a popular series begun by one author and continued by others. The first two books of the series (1913-1915) were written by Eleanor Porter; the next four (1924-1929) were penned by Harriet Lummis Smith; and the final eight (1931-1951) were by three other writers. Thus the series was sustained over thirty-eight years, one of the longer runs of any girls' series.As the cover announces, the "Pollyanna" books (the name featured in every title) formed L. C. Page & Company's "Glad Books" series. Pollyanna is very similar to Anne Shirley of "Green Gables" fame: both are orphans sent to live—unhappily at first—with strangers or distant relatives. Both quickly charm their adopted families and aid all in need of comfort, and both age from young girls to middle-age wives and mothers. The name "Pollyanna" has come to represent unstinted optimism in the face of great difficulties. As the dust jacket for the first "Pollyanna" book proclaims,

"Take away frowns! Draw up the window shades! Put down worries! Stop fidgeting and disagreeing and grumbling! Cheer up everybody! Pollyanna is here!"

-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

The Building of Jackson Library, 1948-1950

2010-04-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

This exhibit is on display in the
Jackson Library Lobby from March 22 - September 10, 2010.

On June 5, 2010, Jackson Library will celebrate sixty years of service to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Founding President Charles Duncan McIver once said, "a great library is the very heart of the literary life of a great institution" -- a statement even more true today than it was in the 1890s when the student population numbered several hundred.

Today Jackson Library, as part of the University Libraries, serves a student population of approximately 18,000 with a collection of over a million books, more than 47,000 electronic and print journal subscriptions, over 500 electronic databases, and 640,000 federal government documents.

When the school first opened in 1892, the library was located in a room of Main (now Foust) Building. The 1898 president's report stated that one of the most pressing needs of the school was a "library room and more literature. The former is a more serious need than the latter, as we have now more books than can be placed in our library room."

Main Building

In 1905, Andrew Carnegie donated $15,000 for a new library building and $3,868 for furniture and stacks. Soon this building was too small and in 1921 the North Carolina General Assembly appropiated a little more than $59,000 to enlarge the building. The Carnegie Library (now Forney Building) was partially destroyed by fire on September 15, 1932. During the reconstruction, the building was enlarged and was reopened in 1933.

Carnegie Library

By the late 1930s, there was a movement to build a larger library to meet the needs of a growing campus. This movement was interrupted by World War II.

The 1947 North Carolina General Assembly appropriated funds to erect a new library building and on September 27, 1948, Chancellor Walter Clinton Jackson broke ground for the new building, which would be named in his honor in 1960.

Chancellor Walter Clinton Jackson
breaking ground for the new library

Northup & O’Brien, of Winston-Salem, designed the new library in a traditional style using sand-finish colonial face brick and Georgia marble for exterior materials. Construction began on October 2, 1948, and was completed in March of 1950 at a cost of approximately $1,232,118.

Unpacking books in the new library

In May 1950, the books were moved from the Carnegie Library to the new building, which opened its doors on June 5, 1950.

Aerial view of the new library

Our Newest Acquisition, or; What is old is new again

2010-04-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

While the scope of the typewriter’s use contracted, it remains a vital part of our everyday work lives. We rely on it for typing file labels, addressing envelopes, and completing the odd form that is not available online. When our trusty old typewriter froze, never to move again, we were in a quandary – Do Typewriter Repair Technicians still exist? How do you find one? Do they still make typewriters?

We weren’t able to find a Typewriter Repair Technician – perhaps they’ve gone the way of the Maytag Repairman – but were relieved to find typewriters still for sale. Here is our newest purchase, able to do all the things we need it to do.

Here it is, in its new home. Welcome.

Campfire Girls & Radio Girls

2010-04-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

The Campfire Girls at Camp Keewaydin

Undoubtedly the most complex entry among girls' series, there were at least ten separate series about the "Campfire Girls," all by different publishers, representing the work of at least eleven different authors. The ten Hildegard Frey titles were published by A. L. Burt between 1916 and 1920; the titles in the other series—totalling sixty books—appeared between 1912 and 1935.

As one might gather by the titles, the various publications espoused the outdoor life and camaraderie among young girls while generally introducing mystery, adventure, and problem relationships into the plot.

The Radio Girls of Roselawn

Like the many series focused on the modern inventions of the automobile, the airplane, and motion pictures, this series, a spinoff of the "Radio Boys' series, exploited the fascination with radio in the early years of the twentieth century. The series was short-lived (four titles from 1922 to 1924), indicating how quickly the novelty of radio wore off. Surprisingly, these books, originally published by Cupples & Leon, were reprinted word for word by Goldsmith in 1930 as titles in its version of the "Campfire Girls" series!

-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

The Masters Tournament 2010 Exhibit

2010-04-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

The Masters, "A Tradition Unlike Any Other"

The Masters Tournament is one of the four major championships in professional golf. It has been played every year since 1934 at the Augusta National Golf Club in August, Georgia. The Masters is considered one of the premier sporting events in the world with its famous list of champions and renowned traditions. This year the Masters Tournament will be held from April 8th-11th with over one hundred golfers from around the world competing for a green jacket and a cash prize of $1,350,000.

UNCG University Archives and Manuscripts has put on display materials from the Joseph M. Bryan Collection related to the Masters Tournament. Items include his Augusta green jacket, his Augusta hat, commemorative books, pins, buttons, letters and photographs. They will be on display in the vertical connector case from April 5-12, 2010.

Ruth Fielding

2010-03-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

In the Great Northwest

One of the longest and most diverse of the early twentieth-century girls' series, the "Ruth Fielding" books (thirty titles between 1913 and 1934) have Ruth mature from a young girl of twelve to a young woman with a husband and child. Many of the stories are mysteries; others focus on school, travel, new inventions such as motion pictures, or patriotic participation in war. Like the Moving Picture Girls, Ruth is fascinated by the world of film and produces her own movies, which forms the plot of several stories. Ruth's character and the mystery element in most of the titles inspired the Nancy Drew books (a later Stratemeyer series) and later mystery / adventure series.

-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

WASPs are awarded Congressional Gold Medals

2010-03-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

The surviving World War II era WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) were presented with Congressional Gold Medals on March 10, 2010. These women test flew and ferried planes, towed targets for target practice, and instructed male pilots. Over 1,000 women served from the creation of the WASPS in 1943 to the abrupt dismantling of the program in 1944. These women performed a great service to our country, but they never received military status or benefits.

Here are some links to stories about the awards:

US Air Force: WASPs awarded Congressional Gold Medal

Associated Press/NPR: Female WWII Aviators Honored With Gold Medal

C-SPAN: Video and transcript of entire Gold Medal Ceremony

Bonus links:

NPR: Radio Diaries Oral Histories of the WASPS

Greensboro News & Record story about former Greensboro-ite Susie Winston Bain

The Women Veterans Historical Project houses the collections oral histories and materials of 16 WASP veterans (including Susie Winston Bain):

Dorothy Avery

Susie Winston Bain

Meredith Rolfe Campbell

Violet Thurn Cowden

Mildred Davidson Dalrymple

Mildred Jane Baessley Doyle

Elaine Danforth Harmon

Dorothy Post Hoover

Joan Whelan Lyle

Nancy Mayes

Ruth Mary Petry

Dolores Muerer Reed

Nancy Featherhoff Sendelbach

Margaret L. Chamberlain Smith

Marjorie S.Sanford Thompson

Ann K. Watters

The Outdoor Girls

2010-03-25T03:15:00.000-07:00

in Army Service

The twenty-three titles in the "Outdoor Girls" series (1913-1933) offered young readers a mixture of travel and mystery / adventure stories. The stories' subtitles often reveal a mystery that is at the heart of the plot.

"These are the tales of the various adventures participated in by a group of bright, fun-loving, up-to-date girls who have a common bond in their fondness for outdoor life, camping, travel and adventure." The Stratemeyer Syndicate's series for girls were generally advertised for girls twelve to sixteen. "They are clean, and wholesome and free from sensationalism," the publisher claimed.

-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

The Red Cross Girls

2010-03-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

Afloat with the Flag

One of many patriotic series spawned by World War I, the "Red Cross Girls" was the earliest and most prolific, with ten titles appearing between 1916 and 1920. Despite the images on the cover, the endpapers of this series depict a world curiously detached from the horrors of war.

-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

Walter Clinton Jackson and the History of Jackson Library

2010-03-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

The UNCG Archives has recently unveiled a new archival exhibit documenting the life of Chancellor Walter Clinton Jackson and his connection to Jackson Library. It is on display in the vertical connector case and will be visible from March 15, 2010 until September 2010.

Walter Clinton Jackson was born in Hayston, Georgia on June 18, 1879. In 1909, he joined the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) faculty as a professor and then later became head of the Department of History. In 1934 he was appointed the third Chief Executive of the College and served 16 years as Chancellor. In 1948, ground was broken for the construction of a new library on campus. It was completed in 1950 and was officially named Jackson Library in honor of W.C. Jackson in 1960.

The Girls of Central High

2010-03-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

at Basketball : or The Great Gymnasium Mystery

Several among the seven titles in this series (1914-1921) broke new ground in promoting sports for girls. While boys' sports books proliferated and were extremely popular, books advocating athletics for young girls were sparse in the early twentieth century. All but two of the books in this series focus on various sports; the first title, Rivals for All Honors, even stresses the formation of a Girls' Athletic Association. Not surprisingly, the main character, Clara Hargrew, has a boy's nickname, "Bobby."

-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

Miss Minerva

2010-03-08T03:00:00.000-08:00

and William Green Hill

Frances Boyd Calhoun's book created a minor sensation when it introduced the world to crotchety but warm-hearted Miss Minerva and her rambunctious nephew William Green Hill. Miss Minerva is initially described as a "sober, proper, dignified, religious old maid unused to children."

Sadly, Calhoun died before she could add a sequel to this first book (which went through eleven printings in less than two years); but the characters proved too popular to die; and the publisher Reilly and Lee turned the series over to Emma Speed Sampson, who turned out eleven more titles between 1918 and 1939. Although the heavy dialect and racial stereotyping deterred many readers, the characters proved so lovable that the success of the series was guaranteed. Many of the titles in the series remain in print today.

-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

University Archivist, Betty Carter

2010-03-03T08:19:00.000-08:00

UNCG Campus Weekly's Five Spot features Betty Carter in the March 3, 2010 edition. Here's a teaser : CW asked her about some of the campus’ historical figures – in particular, those who deserve a little more of the spotlight. Want to know more? Read to entire article here : The Five Spot | UNCG Campus Weekly

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

2010-02-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Undoubtedly the best-known title of a series (along with Louisa May Alcott's Little Women) is this first offering of the Oz books from the pen of L. Frank Baum. Baum wrote fourteen Oz books between 1900 and his death in 1919; Ruth Plumly Thompson added nineteen more between 1921 and 1939; and numerous others have appeared by various hands since then, including several by Baum's great-grandson.

Although never intended solely for a female audience, the early Oz books centered on the adventures of the young girl Dorothy. The popularity of these books and their many characters has resulted in an "Oz" industry—films, games, toys, and other artifacts.

-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

Five Little Peppers

2010-02-18T07:58:00.000-08:00

and how they grew

Few nineteenth-century series are familiar to readers, young or old, today. One series that is recognized today is the "Little Peppers," twelve titles published from 1880 to 1916. The first book, shown here in facsimile, appeared first in installments in the popular children's magazine Wide Awake in 1880.

The series chronicles the tribulations and triumphs of the five Pepper children and their mother after the untimely death of their father. The "Little Peppers" series is one of a number in the Girls' Books in Series Collection at UNCG that can qualify as both a boys' and a girls' series, both genders being equally represented.

-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

Brave New Worlds

2010-02-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

Re-Imaging in Girls' Series Books

From the earliest, highly moralistic examples in the 1840s to the twenty-first century examples echoing the lifestyles and values of today's youth, girls' books in general and girls' series in particular have shown a marked evolution. Many of the most popular series in the nineteenth-century—Jacob Abbott's "Lucy" series, Joanna Mathews' "Bessie" books, and Martha Finley's "Elsie" books, to name but a few—had heavy religious undertones and could much more readily be called fictional "etiquette books" than captivating adventure stories for young readers.

For boys, this scenario changed even before the end of the nineteenth century, with series such as the immensely popular Horatio Alger titles. This change was signaled by Alger sub-series such as "Brave and Bold," "Frank and Fearless" and "Luck and Pluck." For girls, the change would come later and more gradually. The pathway to a more daring literature had perhaps been paved by Louisa May Alcott's timeless Little Women, which in 1868 had presented a new image of an emancipated woman in the character of Jo March. By the end of the century, major publishers of girls' series realized that girls insistently were becoming more liberated and were generally bored with the constant "thou shalt, thou shalt not" instruction of their literature, to the extent of surreptitiously reading their brothers' more exciting adventure stories.

In 1900 L. Frank Baum sent Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas, on a series of exciting adventures in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and on subsequent exploits in the mythical kingdom of Oz. More importantly, Dorothy—bright, resourceful, and above all, essentially independent--provided a new role model for girls. Although not all heroines in new girls' series broke the traditional mold of docility and obedience, many did. Some of the earliest such series were clearly spinoffs from popular boys' series, with essentially the same characters changed from male to female; but the obvious borrowing hardly mattered. Girls now had new role models of their own sex who often demonstrated the same traits—courage, spunk, rational thinking, and quick wits—that characterized the juvenile heroes of boys' books.

The evolution of girls' series books continues today. While some of the most popular early series continue to be written ("Nancy Drew," "Bobbsey Twins," "Oz Stories"), new series appear every year. The number of series created since 1960 is legion. While mystery and adventure stories continue to be popular, many of the old genres have all but disappeared. Today's girls' series seem, on the whole, to be more oriented to romance and group acceptance and popularity.

The books included in this exhibit were chosen to exemplify the many genres of girls' series that have appeared in more than 170 years.

-Dr. William K. Finley

An Exhibit
Hodges Reading Room
February 15 - May 15, 2010

The Greensboro Sit-Ins

2010-02-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro Sit-Ins, the Hodges Special Collections and University Archives mounted an exhibit honoring the Bennett College, North Carolina A&T, and Woman's College (now UNCG) students who participated in the protest.

A&T Poster

Bennett College Poster

Woman's College Poster

The exhibit will be on display from February 1 - March 1, 2010 in the Main Foyer of Jackson Library.

The Sit-Ins: Woman's College Perspective

2010-01-29T11:43:00.000-08:00

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro Sit-Ins, University Archives has created an exhibit to honor the Woman's College (now UNCG) students who participated in the sit-ins.

Woolworth

On Monday, February 1, 1960, four North Carolina A&T students initiated what would become a nationwide protest when they demanded the right to sit and be served at the Woolworth’s lunch counter on South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro.

Woman’s College students Ann Dearsley, Claudette Graves, Marilyn Lott, and Eugenia Seaman joined the protests later in the week.

Ann Dearsley

Claudette Graves

Marilyn Lott

Eugenia Seaman

The presence of three white women on Thursday, February 4th was particularly noteworthy. The three women felt that it was their “moral obligation” to join the protest in spite of possible reprisals from the gathering white crowd.

The exhibit is on display in the Jackson Library/Elliott University Center Connector from January 12 to March 15, 2010.

The Integration of Woman's College

2010-01-29T10:53:00.000-08:00

JoAnne Smart (left) and Bettye Davis Tillman (right)

In recognition of Black History Month, University Archives has installed an exhibit honoring JoAnne Smart and Bettye Davis Tillman who were the first two African-American students to attend the Woman’s College (now UNCG).

Entering on September 13, 1956, the young women were first housed on the first floor of the west wing of Shaw Residence Hall. By the time of their graduation in 1960, there were approximately twenty African-American students attending the Woman’s College.

The parlor of Shaw Residence Hall was named in honor of these two pioneers in 1992; and in 2008, the Smart-Tillman Distinguished Professorship in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance was created.

The exhibit will be on display in the main lobby of Jackson Library from January 12 to March 15, 2010.

Cool Exhibit

2010-01-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

Inspired by the unseasonably cold temperatures outside, Special Collections is exhibiting artists books relating to winter. Take a walk in Winter air : a journal, written by Linda Hoffman. Hoffman, an anthropologist, studied the Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea. Winter air . . . is selections from her journal, illustrated with photographs.

Three poets, Ardyth Bradley, Brenda Hillman, Keith Ratzlaff, also inspired by the season, created Three winter poems. Taking inspiration from an essay by Henry David Thoreau, originally published in the October 1843 issue of The Dial, A Winter Walk is rendered anew with woodcuts by Michael Alpert. Morris Cox of the Gogmagog Press provides An impression of winter : a landscape panorama. This is the first of his seasonal landscape panoramas - he also created one for Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

For contrast, Ruth Fine created linocuts for Summer day, winter night. Each linocut is on one side of the 32 page accordian fold - only Winter Night is displayed.

Shake the chill and stop by to view the books.

Winter : an exhibit
Second Floor Lobby, Main Building
Jackson Library
January 5 - early February 2010

2009 Annual Women Veterans Luncheon

2009-12-07T09:44:00.000-08:00

The 11^th annual 2009 Annual Women Veterans Luncheon was a great success! On Saturday, November 14 over 125 people gathered in the EUC ballroom at UNC-G to celebrate women veterans and the Women Veterans Historical Project.

The keynote speaker was Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender, U.S. Army, Retired. Adams-Ender is a graduate of North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro and served in the Army Nurse Corps from 1961-1993. In 1991 she was appointed commander of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, which made her the first nurse in army history to become the commanding general of a major military base. General Adams-Ender was both very inspiring and funny as she spoke about "The 3 C's: Telling the Stories of Women Veterans."

The program also included a number of other events:

A tour of the collection stacks by Betty Carter

Presentation of Colors: Army ROTC, NC A&T State University

Greetings sent from U.S. Senators Richard Burr and Kay Hagan

Remarks from U. S. Representative Howard Coble

Musical Entertainment by the UNCG male a cappella group, the Spartones

Exhibits of uniforms, hats and recruiting materials

The only note of sadness was that Betty Carter announced that she was retiring in May 2010. Carter founded the Project in 1998 and transformed it into the world renowned repository it has grown into. The WVHP has been a labor of love for Carter and she will be greatly missed by both the veterans and her colleagues.

You can see all of the photos of the luncheon here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uncgspecial/sets/72157622829925411/

** All photographs taken by Dean Rhoades**

One Day Til T-Day

2009-11-24T02:30:00.000-08:00

Count Down to T-Day

The first check box says it all : Don't Panic. Swift & Co., owners of the iconic Butterball Turkey brand, offered this guide to help the harried cook survive Thanksgiving preparations.

Great American dinners : turkey with all the trimmings : the Butterball planner, step-by-step directions for a truly great holiday meal.

item facsimile on view :

Holiday Celebrations
an exhibit
November 16, 2009 - January 4, 2010
First Floor Lobby, Main Building
Jackson Library

Two Research Grants Available from SCUA

2009-11-23T07:41:00.000-08:00

More detailed information on the research grants

The 2009 recipient was Joe Sutliff Sanders who utilized the Girls' Books in Series, Early Juvenile, and Woman's collections for his research project.

T-Day

2009-11-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

Count Down to T-Day

In 1983, Swift & Co. owners of the iconic Butterball Turkey, published this guide to surviving Thanksgiving preparations. This guide provides a plan for the cook to follow as well as recipes so that the meal will be a success.

Great American dinners : turkey with all the trimmings : the Butterball planner, step-by-step directions for a truly great holiday meal.

item facsimile on view :

Holiday Celebrations
an exhibit
November 16, 2009 - January 4, 2010
First Floor Lobby, Main Building
Jackson Library

Celebrate Native American Heritage

2009-11-10T13:23:00.000-08:00

Special Collections & Rare Books is pleased to exhibit materials from various collections depicting the history and culture of Native Americans.

The history of the American Indians; particularly those nations adjoining to the Missisippi [sic] East and West Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia: containing an account of their origin, language, manners, religious and civil customs, laws, form of government, punishments, conduct in war and domestic life, their habits, diet, agriculture, manufactures, diseases and method of cure ... / James Adair. London, E. and C. Dilly, 1775.

James Adair was born in County Antrim, Ireland and journeyed to America by 1735 where he became a pioneer, Indian trader, and author. He lived with and traded with the Catawbas and Cherokees; finally establishing himself among the Chickasaws of Mississippi.

Detail of Map:

original on view :

Celebrate Native American Heritage
an exhibit
November - December 2009
Second Floor Lobby, Main Building
Jackson Library

Trade Binding Images Now Available Through Public Catalog

2009-10-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

The American Trade Bindings Digital Library ContentDM database has been up for over a month. [See earlier post.] Users can now access images through the public catalog now that code to the live database is moved to the public catalog. Images are shown in both the brief and full record displays.

If you want to see all trade binding images available in the public catalog, search "American trade bindings" in the "subject begins with" field on the basic search screen.

We’re now beginning the second phase of the project, adding images (and records to ContentDM) from the Girls Books in Series Collection, so the project will be growing over the next few months.

Special message from Paul Hessling :

Heartfelt thanks to the Cataloging Department’s intrepid student assistants, Callie Moss and also Keonna Harrison, for their work with editing the catalog records and adding genre terms, and to Terry Brandsma, SIRSI master, for making this all work in the public catalog.

Happy searching!

A Cloud of Death Engulfs a Campus: Typhoid Fever and UNCG in 1899

2009-10-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

In November and December of 1899, the State Normal and Industrial College [now UNCG] faced a major crisis that almost shut down the school permanently after existing for only eight years. On November 15, 1899, Linda Toms, a student from Shelby NC, died suddenly from typhoid fever. Following her death, twelve more students would contract the illness and die prompting President Charles McIver to shut down the school in an attempt to stop the sickness from spreading.

At the time, the deaths of 13 students accounted for 3% of the total student population. Based on today’s enrollment numbers, a 3% death rate would equal 558 students! Also, roughly 12% of the students became ill in 1899 meaning over 2,234 students would take ill today based on the same percentage. Amidst the current worldwide scare of H1N1, the University Archives invites you to view its newest exhibit A Cloud of Death Engulfs a Campus: Typhoid Fever and UNCG in 1899 and look back at UNCG’s first pandemic and learn about the scare it faced 110 years ago.

- Sean Mulligan

Exhibit Dates and Location
October 7, 2009 - January 4, 2010
EUC Connector

Robert Watson : Retrospective

2009-09-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

An Exhibit
September 14 - November 16, 2009
Hodges Reading Room

Bob Watson was born in Passaic, New Jersey and educated at Williams College (B.A.) and Johns Hopkins University (M.A., Ph.D.) after serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve in World War II; in addition he attended the University of Zurich as a Swiss-American exchange student. In 1952 he married Betty Rean and the next year joined the English faculty at the Woman's College of North Carolina for his first full-time teaching position. He remained on the UNCG faculty until his retirement in 1987, having obtained the rank of Professor in 1964.

An organizer and director of the formal MFA Writing Program at UNCG, he also was co-founder in 1966 (with Lawrence Reynolds) of the nationally acclaimed Greensboro Review.

The author of five collections of poetry, two novels, and two plays, as well as numerous other publications, Watson has received many honors for his work. In 1962 he was the first resident of North Carolina chosen to read on the Poetry Circuit, established by the UNC Press. His 1966 collection of poems, Advantages of Dark, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. In 1972 he was invited by the Library of Congress to participate in their series of Poetry Readings under the auspices of the Gertrude Clarke Whittall Poetry and Literature Fund. In 1974 he received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and in 1977 a grant from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters "for literary excellence and promise of important work to come."

11th Annual Women Veterans Luncheon on Saturday, November 14, 2009

2009-09-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

This year our guest speaker is Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender,U.S. Army, Ret. Adams-Ender is a graduate of North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro and served in the Army Nurse Corps from 1961-1993. In 1991 She was appointed commander of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, which made her the first nurse in army history to become the commanding general of a major military base.

General Adams-Ender will be speaking on "The 3 C's: Telling the Stories of Women Veterans."

Entertainment provided by the UNC Greensboro Spartones!

Schedule:

9:30 Hodges Reading Room, 2nd Floor Jackson Library: Doughnuts and Coffee and Collection Tour
11:30 Cone Ballroom, Elliott University Center: Exhibit and Social, UNCG
Noon Cone Ballroom: Luncheon and Speaker

Cost:
— Women veterans: $10 —
(if you can afford it, if not please be our guest!)

— Guests: $15/person —

For information call (336) 334-4045

American Trade Bindings now Online

2009-08-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

The American Trade Bindings Digital Library presents over 1100 book covers which chronicle the development of book binding in the United States. The ATB project contains a variety of both fiction and non-fiction titles, primarily from the Charles M. Adams American Trade Binding Collection, published between the 1830s and the 1920s.

American Trade Bindings Digital Library

The American Trade Bindings project primarily contains books from the Charles M. Adams American Trade Binding Collection, named in 1987 for the former UNCG librarian largely responsible for the collection’s establishment. The Special Collections & Rare Books Department of the UNCG University Libraries contains several other collections documenting book arts, include Artists' Books and Livres d'Artiste, Athenaeum Press Collection, and the Way & Williams Publishers Collection. Some selections from the Early Juvenile Literature Collection and the Woman's Collection are also available online through the ATB website. The project was managed and produced by the Digital Projects unit of the University Libraries.

Thank you to all staff who made this project a success!

The Ghosts of UNCG

2009-08-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Tales have long circulated about the ghosts that allegedly haunt the campus. UNCG’s most well known ghost reportedly inhabits Aycock Auditorium.

Aycock Auditorium

Raymond Taylor, who taught drama and was the director of dramatic activities on campus from 1921 until 1960, recounts his personal experiences with the ghost of Aycock Auditorium.

According to Taylor, an elderly lady once lived in a large house where Aycock Auditorium now stands. Lonely and unhappy, she one day went up to the attic and hanged herself with a rope from the rafters. When the house was torn down, she haunted the area until Aycock Auditorium was built in 1927, and then she adopted the auditorium as her home. Taylor told of an incident that happened on a hot day when he and the Aycock Auditorium janitor were working on a set for a play.

In order to be more comfortable he and the janitor removed some of their clothes. When Taylor went upstairs to dress he found his clothes disarranged and his watch chain arranged on the table in the form of a cross.

Students have given the Aycock spirit a name, they call her Jane Aycock, and say she is the daughter of the man for whom the auditorium was named; but Governor Charles Aycock had no daughter by that name.

Mary Foust Residence Hall

A ghost also allegedly haunts Mary Foust Residence Hall, which is named for Mary Foust, the daughter of the College’s second President, Julius I. Foust.

Mary Foust died during childbirth in 1925 and rumors have floated around for years about random “unexpected crying” and “funny noises” on the hall’s second floor.

Also, an unproven rumor circulates that in the 1950s, three nursing students hanged themselves from the attic rafters.

In the late 1960s, the Spencer Residence Hall ghost was known simply as “The Blue Ghost” or “The Woman in Blue.”

Bell Towers of Spencer Residence Hall

Students later gave her the name “Annabelle.” Annabelle is supposedly the spirit of a student who hanged herself years ago in one of Spencer Residence Hall’s bell towers; however, no suicide has ever been documented.

In the 1970s, Annabelle allegedly appeared as a blue shadow to staff members in the Spencer parlor, and there have been reports of a blue haze passing by a laundry room and of objects being flung across rooms.

Woodstock 1969 : Photographs by Arnold Doren

2009-08-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Arnold Doren Photograph Collection was acquired by the University Libraries in 2009. Doren, an award-winning photographer, was a member of the UNCG art department faculty from 1978 to 2002. Doren died in 2003.

Doren traveled around the world taking photographs of places, people, things and events. Traditional, Polaroid and digital photographs are included. Also there are landscapes, portraits, and still lifes. The Collection consists of over 70 boxes of varying sizes and is proving to be a treasure-trove of artistic and historical images.

The “Woodstock 1969” exhibit includes 20 images. Actually, Doren took 10 rolls of film at the Woodstock Festival and printed just over 35 images. The images of Jimi Hendrix are perhaps the most memorable—although photographs of those attending the Festival are quite revealing. The photographic contact sheets for all of the images are a part of the Collection.

The Woodstock Festival was held on the 600 acre farm of Max Yasgur, located in Bethel, NY, 43 miles southwest of the village of Woodstock. (Some of the photographs are identified as “Bethel 1969.” Only later were they identified as Woodstock.) Thirty two performers sang to approximately 500,000 people during the three-day festival which began on August 15, 1969, at 5:07 p.m. with Richie Havens. Other performers included The Who, Sly and the Family Stone, The Grateful Dead, Arlo Guthrie, Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix—the last performer of the Festival and perhaps best known for his rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.”
-Betty Carter

Woodstock 1969 : Photographs by Arnold Doren
August 11 - September 18, 2009
Lobby, Second Floor Main, Jackson Library

University Archives Outreach

2009-07-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

As part of our outreach at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s University Archives, Hermann Trojanowski offers two programs for the University Studies (UNS) students. UNS is a one-semester course designed to help students make a successful transition to the University and covers topics such as adjustment and expectations, time management, learning styles, personal responsibility, goal setting, choosing a major/registering for classes, wellness, leadership and citizenship; and skills such as writing, note-taking, studying, test-taking, and learning about the history of the University.

Jane Aycock, the ghost of Aycock Auditorium

The first program is a presentation titled “The History of UNCG and Campus Ghosts” and is taught in the Hodges Reading Room located on the second floor of Jackson Library, Main Building. During the presentation, UNS students learn about the history of UNCG as well as the three ghosts that allegedly haunt Aycock Auditorium, Mary Foust Residence Hall, and Spencer Residence Hall.

Charles Duncan McIver Death Mask

In addition to the presentation, Hermann sets up a small display for the students consisting of the 1906 Death Mask of our founding president Charles D. McIver and several items from the University Archives Textile Collection such as a 1906 Marshal Dress, 1913 Gym Suit made of black wool, and a 1917 World War I military uniform worn by former campus physician Dr. Anna Gove and made by Abercrombie & Fitch.

UNS Summer Launch Class in front of the Charles Duncan McIver Statue

The second program is a 50-minute historic walking tour of the campus. During the tour, students learn about the founding of the school in 1891, the typhoid epidemic of 1899 during which thirteen students and one staff member died, the burning of Brick Dormitory in 1904, and brief historical facts about the buildings on the tour as well as the three campus ghosts that allegedly haunt Aycock Auditorium, Mary Foust Residence Hall, and Spencer Residence Hall.

Hermann also offers historic campus walking tours to faculty, staff, and visitors as well as parents during the annual Parents Weekend each September.

How Does Your Garden Grow

2009-07-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

An exhibit featuring gardening trends from
World War I through the 1970s highlighting
materials in the World War I and
Home Economics Pamphlet Collections

July 6, 2009 – January 4, 2010

EUC Connector

WORLD WAR I

Inspired by the devastating food shortages in Europe, Charles Lathrop Pack promoted gardening on the homefront. The National War Garden Commission was established in March 1917. Pack’s essay “Make Your War Garden a Garden of Victory” describes the genesis of the victory garden program.

WORLD WAR II

During World War II, the Victory Garden was promoted as both a patriotic duty and thrift measure. The Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services was joined by such companies as Kerr Glass Manufacturing to advertise the Food For Victory campaign.

1970s

Throughout the 1970s, the energy crisis, inflation, and political upheaval fueled a desire for thrift and self-sufficiency. The individual, or “Victory Garden” returned and the community garden movement took hold in more urban areas. Even the threat of nuclear war was a motivation to learn how to produce, prepare, and store one’s own food.

Take a moment as you pass through the EUC Connector to discover how the War Garden of World War I became the Victory Garden of World War II and how the events in the 1970s inspired a resurgence of the victory garden as well as the creation of the community garden movement.
You can search within the World War I Pamphlet Collection and Home Economics Pamphlet Collection through the library catalog.

Women Veterans Historical Project featured on local NBC affiliate WXII

2009-07-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

On July 2, 2009, Curator Beth Ann Koelsch was interviewed live by Wanda Starke, co-anchor of the WXII Channel 12 local NBC affiliate. The station is involved in the "Triad Flight of Honor". Beth Ann set up an exhibit of WWII uniforms and posters and spoke with Starke about women's contributions to WWII and the Women Veterans Historical Project." Wanda Starke also interviewed on of "our" Greensboro-area WWII veterans, WAC/Army Air Force veteran Reva Ingram Fortune.

WASPs Honored by President Obama

2009-07-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

(From the Dorothy Hoover Collection)

On July 1, 2009, the WWII WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) were given their long overdue recognition when President Obama awarded the 300 surviving WASPs the Congressional Gold Medal.

Here is the story from CNN: Obama awards WWII-era women pilots congressional medal

NPR interviewed WASP Deanie Parrish and current Air Force Major Nicole Malachowski about the WASPs:

Decades After WWII, Female Pilots Finally Honored.

Kemp Collection Exhibit on Display in Hodges Reading Room

2009-06-08T06:25:00.000-07:00

The writings of spiritual author and poet, Roy Zell Kemp, are currently on display in the Hodges Reading Room at Jackson Library. Kemp, a Greensboro native, published thousands of poems in spiritual and inspirational publications, as well as five books solely of his own work. The exhibit will run through September 11, 2009.

Here is an example of one of Kemp's earlier poems from October 1932:

Women Veterans Historical Project Travels to Fort Bragg

2009-04-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

On March 19, 2009 Beth Ann Koelsch, the Curator of the Women Veterans Historical Project, and Jennifer Motszko, Manuscripts Curator, drove down to Fayetteville, NC to exhibit a selection of our materials at the Women's History Month Celebration sponsored by the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg.

This was our second year attending the commemorative event. The WVHP was joined by approximately 20 other organizations and institutions including the American Red Cross, the Women’s Center of Fayetteville and the U.S. Army Women’s Museum. It was great meeting the archivist and education curator of the U.S. Army Women’s Museum (http://www.awm.lee.army.mil/) and we look forward to collaborating with them in the future.

Our exhibit was: “Army Recruiting Materials for Women”, and included uniforms, digitized reproductions of posters and recruiting materials for the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), original recruiting pamphlets from the 1940s-1970, and Gretchen Davis’ (http://library.uncg.edu/dp/wv/collection.aspx?col=80) circa 1970s mint green polyester summer uniform dress (Unbelievably, the U.S. Army Women’s Museum also brought the same uniform!)

A couple of the images from recruiting materials we used:

1952

1964

Over 200 military personnel, their families and members of the local community attended and it was really wonderful to have the chance to meet women veterans and talk about their experiences as well as having the opportunity to teach people about women’s contributions to the U.S. Army and to promote The Women Veterans Historical Project.

Beth Ann and Sergeant First Class Craig B. Tuttle, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Equal Opportunity advisor, who organized and managed the event. We are BIG fans of Sgt. Tuttle. He does an AMAZING job:

Jennifer receiving a 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade “Certificate of Appreciation” from Command Sergeant Major Richard S. Clem:

A link to more information about the event (since it is still listed as “upcoming”, I’m not sure how long this link will be accurate.): http://www.bragg.army.mil/eo/Upcoming_Events.htm

Pictures from Cool Jazz Family Fun Day!

2009-04-02T12:02:00.001-07:00

Art activities for the kids:

Carole Weatherford spoke to those attending and then graciously signed copies of her books:

Then the UNCG Jazz Quartet played:

Thanks to everyone for making this event a success!

UNCG Honors Children’s Book Writer … With Jazz!

2009-02-26T08:08:00.000-08:00

Press Release by Michelle Hines
2-26-09

Carole Boston Weatherford writes about jazz. Her recent books for kids include “Becoming Billie Holiday” and “Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane.”

Now Boston Weatherford, a University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumna who has given her papers to UNCG’s Jackson Library, is being honored by her alma mater during Cool Jazz Family Day, Saturday, March 28.

Cool Jazz festivities run from 1-4 p.m. at UNCG’s Weatherspoon Art Museum.

Boston Weatherford will read from her books and talk about her writing beginning at 2 p.m. in the Weatherspoon Auditorium. She will sign books afterwards in the museum’s atrium.

A quartet from the UNCG Jazz Band will perform in her honor at 3 p.m.

Boston Weatherford, a Baltimore native, wrote her first poem in first grade. She has written more than 20 books, including “Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom,” winner of a Caldecott Honor, the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration and an NAACP Image Award.

Her papers, which she recently began transferring to Jackson Library, include manuscripts, proofs, clippings, photographs and cd’s. The collection supplements existing collections on youth literature, alumni authors, creative writing and African-American women.

Boston Weatherford teaches at Fayetteville State University. She lives in High Point with her husband, Ronald, and a college-age son and daughter.

The UNCG University Libraries and the Weatherspoon Art Museum are co-sponsoring the Boston Weatherford celebration.

Kay Hagan Gives N.C. Senate Papers to UNCG

2009-02-25T12:47:00.000-08:00

By Dan Nonte, University Relations

Posted 2-16-09

GREENSBORO, NC — U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan has donated the papers from the decade she spent in the North Carolina Senate to UNCG.

The Greensboro Democrat was elected to the state Senate in 1998 and served as co-chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee for four years starting in 2003. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in November and took the oath of office Jan. 6.

The University Libraries received the papers in more than a dozen boxes on Jan. 12. A single stack of the correspondence, schedules and other documents would be about 15 feet tall.

“Senator Hagan’s generous gift further enhances the university’s impressive collections related to the history of the Piedmont Triad,” said Dean of University Libraries Rosann Bazirjian. “We’re extremely grateful she chose to keep these important papers in her hometown by giving them to UNCG.”

Receiving papers from a leader like Hagan raises the profile of University Archives and Manuscripts and should help attract additional historically significant collections, said Betty Carter, university archivist. In addition to this most recent gift, UNCG is home to the papers of businessman Joseph M. Bryan and U.S. Rep. Howard Coble.

Bryan, who died in 1995, was an insurance executive, broadcasting pioneer, philanthropist and hugely influential community leader in Greensboro. The university’s School of Business and Economics bears his name.

Coble, a Greensboro Republican, has represented North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, since 1985. He announced in 2007 that his papers would be preserved at UNCG. Much of his collection has already been sent to the university; the remainder will be transferred when he retires.

Created in 1942 as the College Collection, University Archives and Manuscripts has grown to about 2,500 linear feet of material. It includes documents related to the university’s history, hundreds of manuscript collections and the Women Veteran’s Historical Project.

Life Magazine Images of Women in the Military

2009-02-19T10:04:00.000-08:00

LIFE Magazine has added many of their photographs to the Google Images database. You can enjoy (and copy for your own personal non-commercial use.) There are some REALLY great high-resolution images and hours of time-wasting fun.

LIFE Photo Archive Hosted By Google

If you do a search for "WACS", "WAVES", "SPARS", "Female Marine", "American Red Cross", "Women Air Force", "Army Nurse", etc. you can see some really great images from the 1940s-now. (Plus, if you search for "WAVES", you can also see an image of Frank Sinatra waving.)

New WWI American Red Cross/Army Nurse Uniform

2009-02-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

This World War I American Red Cross/U.S. Army Nurse’s Outdoor Uniform is a new addition to the Women Veterans Historical Collection. We are pretty excited about it because these uniforms are very rare.

During World War I, The American Red Cross supplied military service branches like the U.S. Army and Navy with extra nurses during World War I. It was prescribed that military, as well as auxiliary, medical units (such as the American Red Cross), wear some sort of standard wear outside of medical facilities and this uniform was worn by a nurse serving in France. It is constructed of olive green whipcord fabric.

The uniform was made by Abercrombie and Fitch in 1917 or 1918!

The fleur-de-lis patch on the left shoulder indicates that the nurse served overseas in the District of Paris as part of the U.S. Liaison Services to the French Army. The trim on the collar of this nurse’s coat is tan, telling us that as well as being a nurse, she also worked in the capacity of a clerk.

The chevron patch bordered in golden thread at the cuff on the left sleeve indicates that this nurse also served overseas for a period of six months.

And here is the accompanying wide-brimmed felt hat:

Here is a photograph from our Dr. Mary Emily Lapham Letters (WV# 0418) of Miss Correz, American Red Cross, Prague, 1919 wearing a similar uniform:

2008 Women Veterans Luncheon

2008-11-24T06:49:00.001-08:00

The 10th Anniversary Women Veterans Luncheon of the Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project was held on Saturday November 15, 2008.

Approximately 160 people including 74 veterans attended the luncheon, including World War II veterans! Branches represented were the Army/WAC, Navy/WAVES, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, Army Nurse Corps, Navy Nurse Corps, Army Medical Specialist Corps, Cadet Nurse Corps and the Red Cross.

The keynote speaker was UNC-G alumna Lieutenant Colonel Kathryn T. Wirkus, U.S. Air Force, Retired. She spoke about her long and varied career, including about her service in Panama and Bogota, Columbia.

Chancellor Linda P. Brady also attended and spoke about the history of military service in her own family.

There was also an exhibit of uniforms, hats, boots and artifacts from all of the branches from WWII to the present day.

The final part of the program was musical entertainment by the swing trio Martha and the Moodswingers and a swing dance demonstration by The Piedmont Swing Dance Society.

To see more photos of the luncheon. Please click here: Irma Minerva on Flicker

Roy Z. Kemp Papers donated to Manuscripts

2008-11-18T08:09:00.000-08:00

17.75 linear feet of published and unpublished materials relating to the poet Roy Zell Kemp have been donated to SCUA. Kemp (1910-1980) was raised in Greensboro, NC and spent most of his life writing religious and inspirational poetry.

Writings by Kemp include the following published items:

Measure of a Heart, and Other Poems, Golden Quill, 1962.
Shining Towers of Faith, and Other Poems, Johnson Publishing Co. (Murfreeboro, NC), 1966.
Measure for Living: Devotions and Poems of Affirmation, C.R. Gibson, 1967.
Testaments of Faith (poems), C.R. Gibson, 1970.
The Shield of Faith, C.R. Gibson, 1973.
Represented in several anthologies, including This Singing Earth, edited by Lilith Lorraine, Flame Press, 1961.
Rhyme Time for the Very Young, edited by Jeanne Hollyfield, Young Publications, 1964.
Gold Star Anthology, edited by Marie H. King, Revell, 1970.
Today, Well Lived, edited by William Arthur Ward, Droke, 1971.

Kemp also contributed poems to religious periodicals of various denominations, was a free-lance feature writer for newspapers in Maryland and North Carolina and reviewed books for the Greensboro Daily News, Greensboro, NC.

Kemp spoke about poetry to Contemporary Authors:
"Since poetry moves on the higher levels of power and emotion, it must be the product of a maker of ideas. The truly creative artists of the written word are gifted with the ability to take the common facts and experiences of life and invest them with epic and enduring qualities. Also, since the heart and core of inspirational poetry is a spirit of devotion and reverence, being idealistic in nature, spiritual in quality, and moral at its center, its writer must be constantly aware of the eternal secret of friendship with God. He must also be possessed with what has been termed `religious insight.' He must not let himself be limited to any one nation or people, nor to any one age, for to do so would admit to a partiality. The appeal of inspirational poetry is universal, since universality must be expressed in its writing. Eternal vertities will ever remain the same, regardless of the change made in other things. Inspirational poetry is the true language of the heart. It is composed of emotional feeling, deep and sincere."

Halloween Campus Tour

2008-11-12T07:36:00.001-08:00

I gave a Halloween tour for library staff on Friday 10/31. To listen to a podcast of the tour, go here.

Women Veterans Project Podcast!

2008-11-12T06:26:00.000-08:00

Listen to the Women Veterans Project podcast in which curator Beth Ann Koelsch discusses the collection and the annual Women Veterans Luncheon on Saturday 11/15.

podcast link

Manuscript Collections on Flickr

2008-11-12T06:10:00.000-08:00

Images from three manuscript collections have been uploaded to the library's flickr account.

You can browse scanned images featuring American suffragettes, the Leila B. Tuttle Collection of Chinese Artifacts, and the photographs of Robert Neal Adams, whose subjects include Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.

New Website for Women Veterans Historical Project

2008-11-12T05:59:00.001-08:00

The Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project (WVHP), established at UNCG in 1998, documents the contributions of women in the military and related service organizations since World War I. The collection offers a wide range of source material, including photographs, letters, diaries, scrapbooks, oral histories, military patches and insignia, uniforms, and posters, as well as published works. Through active acquisition and educational outreach the project continues to expand its research collection and to explore the cultural, social, and military changes in American society that were fueled by the gender integration of the armed forces.

UNCG's University Archives and Digital Projects teams are proud to announce a new website for the WVHP. The new site features a database searchable by branch and conflict and hundreds of images scanned from the collections.

http://library.uncg.edu/dp/wv/

Our annual women veteran's luncheon will be this Saturday, November 15. Check back soon for pictures!

University History Online

2008-11-12T05:48:00.000-08:00

The University Archives has launched an online timeline featuring significant events and pictures from over 100 years of the UNCG's history.

Thanks to Collections Assistant Dean Rhoades, you can also browse an online exhibit of university postcards, and another exhibit of artifacts from UNCG's history.

Two Research Grants Offered from Special Collections & University Archives

2008-11-12T05:46:00.000-08:00

The University Libraries of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro are pleased to offer two research grants for researchers utilizing the outstanding resources of the Special Collections and Rare Books and University Archives and Manuscripts Department. The goal of the research grants is to promote scholarly research utilizing the resources of this Department. Collections include the Woman’s Collection, Rare Book Collection, Cello Music Collections, Manuscripts Collection, Women Veterans Historical Collection, and University Archives.

Eligibility
The grants are open to graduate students, faculty, and independent scholars. The applicant must live outside a 75-mile radius of Greensboro, NC and must make at least one in-person research visit to Jackson Library.

Awards
Two awards, up to $1000 each, will be awarded for the time period, July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.

Application Information
The applicant should complete the Research Grant Application Form. The completed application and one letter of recommendation from an advisor or colleague should be sent to betty_carter@uncg.edu. While electronic submission is preferred, the application may also be mailed (see address below). The application must be received or postmarked by February 28, 2009.

We suggest that applicants speak with a staff member in the Special Collections and Rare Books and University Archives and Manuscripts Department before completing the application. The staff member may be able to suggest potential research possibilities of which the applicant may not be aware.

Awards will be announced no later than April 30, 2009.

Contact Information and Mailing Address
University Libraries Research Grant
UNCG University Libraries
P. O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170