Hop into History!: Guilford County, Slavery, and Freedom recap

On Thursday, February 16th, archivists from UNCG, Guilford College, and Wake Forest came together to create a display for Hop into History!: Guilford County, Slavery, and Freedom. David Gwynn and Richard Cox, both members of the UNCG Libraries' Electronic Resources and Information Technology department, were on hand to discuss their work in digitizing runaway slave ads and in building the Digital Library on American Slavery (DLAS). The Digital Library on American Slavery is an expanding resource compiling various independent online collections focused upon race and slavery in the American South, made searchable through a single, simple interface.

The exhibit is part of an ongoing series of Hop into History outreach events organized by UNCG's Special Collections and University Archives. These events take archival materials of the library and into the community, allowing more and more people to learn about local history and interact with these important and interesting documents.

Thank you to everyone who attended! The next Hop into History event is scheduled for Thursday, March 23rd from 5-7pm at Gibb's Hundred Brewing Company in downtown Greensboro. Hope to see you then!

#AskAnArchivist Day on Twitter, October 1st!

SCUA staff will be available throughout the day on Thursday, October 1st to answer your questions on Twitter as part of the Society of American Archivists' second annual Ask An Archivist Day. We'll be joining archivists from around the country to answer questions about our collections and our work. 

To participate, simply ask your question on Twitter and use the hashtag #AskAnArchivist. If you have a question specifically for us, please remember to use our handle (@UNCGArchives) in your tweet. We can't wait to chat with you!

Presentation on LGBT Outreach at SNCA

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro enjoys the reputation for supporting an inclusive campus “where there is visible and meaningful representation of the diversity present in the wider community.” During this year’s annual conference of the Society of North Carolina Archivists (SNCA) held in Greenville, NC from March 11th to 13th, Stacey Krim from the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) presented on how the department is contributing to the University’s diversity mission through archival outreach to UNCG’s LGBT community.

In the presentation titled, “Outreach to the Invisible: Archivists as Advocates to the LGBTQ Community,” Krim discussed the benefits of advocacy work as a platform for targeted educational outreach and collection development. A Safe Zone Ally since 2008, she has been heavily involved with training relating to the needs of LGBT students and staff, bringing this initiative with her when she began working in SCUA in 2011. Taking inspiration from University Archive’s UNCG African American history outreach, Krim began the development of a UNCG LGBTQ history presentation.

Finding historical records relating to UNCG’s history on the topic was challenging. Although twelve percent of the UNCG student body self-identifies as not being gender or sex conforming (making them one of the largest minority groups on campus), fear of discrimination has kept the LGBT community virtually invisible in the historical record. In fact, the first officially “out” student at UNCG is not documented until 1992, a century after the opening of the institution. After several months of research, enough information was discovered to present an hour long UNCG LGBT history presentation, the debut of which was at the first meeting of the UNCG LGBT Alumni Group during Homecoming in 2012. Since then, this presentation has been requested several times each semester, with supplementary material posted on the University Archives social media outlets.

The outcome of Krim’s outreach to UNCG’s LGBT students and alumni has been wholly positive. The presentation is a staple for UNCG Safe Zone continuing education. Additionally, Krim has collaborated with UNCG’s Queer Student Union in the recreation of a controversial exhibit from 2002 featuring LGBT African American authors. Most importantly, this outreach raises the visibility of SCUA’s primary source materials and promotes the value University Libraries places on supporting diversity and inclusion on campus.

Social Media, Outreach, and SCUA

Through blogs, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, and other outreach activities, University Archives spreads stories from the records of the University's past and promotes our work to preserve and provide access to these important records in new and exciting venues.

In addition to this blog, staff write weekly posts on the Spartan Stories blog, published each Monday morning. These posts, typically about 500 words in length, detail one specific person, place, event, or action in the University's history, from its founding through today. Recent posts have focused on the Darlinettes and Rhythmettes big bands of the 1940s and 1950s, the 1932 Carnegie Library fire, the founding and growth of campus radio station WUAG, and the move of the Chancellor's House in 2003. On the Spartan Stories site, readers can subscribe to receive updates on new postings via RSS feed or email. Since its creation in October 2012, Spartan Stories has been viewed over 14,000 times by more than 6,000 individual readers.

Many of the Spartan Stories readers come to the blog from one of the two social media accounts focused on University Archives. The University Archives Twitter account (@UNCGArchives) has nearly 300 followers. The account is used to highlight collections, anniversaries, events, and resources in SCUA. A recurring trend is participation in the popular Throwback Thursday (#tbt) hashtag, where a photo from the University's past is posted. You can follow University Archives if you have a Twitter account. But if you don't, you can view new tweets by visiting the Spartan Stories site and scrolling through the Twitter box on the right side of the screen (just below the Past Posts).

Below the Twitter blog is a way for folks to keep up with the University Archives Tumblr, the most recent addition to the social media outlets for learning more about University Archives and University history. You can also follow the Tumblr directly if you have Tumblr account. Although we only started the Tumblr in July, we're already up to almost 100 followers -- a large number of whom are current UNCG students. The Tumblr is updated on an almost daily basis, and often focuses on photos, important quotes, or other short highlights from the University's past.

We have also begun posting a number of film clips from University Archives to YouTube. These include some promotional videos for the University from the mid-1970s as well as some shorter clips from events and activities in the 1940s and 1950s. Since posting began in July, the videos have had nearly 1000 views total. The most popular has been a video showing various buildings on campus in the 1950s. This video has been seen by over 300 people.

SCUA staff are also teaching classes, conducting campus tours, developing lectures and other special events, and creating exhibits in the library and around campus in an effort to ensure that the history of the University is known by students, faculty, staff, alumni, and others. If there are people or events in the University's past that you would like us to focus on in future blog posts or social media activity, please let us know!

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October is Archives Month, an annual observance of the agencies and people responsible for maintaining and making available the archival and historical records of our nation, state, communities and people. As part of the month-long celebration, this blog is highlighting some of the innovative and exciting work being done in Special Collections and University Archives.

Save the Date(s): October is Archives Month!

October is North Carolina Archives Month, an annual observance of the agencies and people responsible for maintaining and making available the archival and historical records of our nation, state, communities and people. Throughout October 2014, the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) will host numerous exhibits and events aimed at promoting awareness of the importance of our profession to our state’s citizenry and public leaders.

Field Day at State Normal, 1914

Beginning October 1, two exhibits focused on the 2014 North Carolina Archives Month theme of “North Carolina at Play: Health and Leisure in Our State” will be displayed in Jackson Library. The first will be housed at the College Avenue entrance and will highlight resources held by SCUA that tell the history of health and leisure in North Carolina. The second exhibit, which will be next to the library's reference desk on the first floor of Jackson Library, will focus on the history of health and leisure at UNCG since its founding as the State Normal and Industrial School in 1891. These exhibits will be available for viewing at any time the building is open.

The Hodges Reading Room in Jackson Library will host a lecture by Dr. Joy Kasson of UNC Chapel Hill on Lois Lenski and her career as a documentary writer for children on October 8 at 4pm. Much of Kasson's research was done using the Lois Lenski Papers in SCUA. You can read more about the talk here: http://uncgfol.blogspot.com/2014/09/getting-books-from-life-lois-lenski.html. 

On October 9 at 10:30am in the Hodges Reading Room, SCUA staff will present a talk on "Interpreting College Scrapbooks as a Microcosm of Institutional and Social History." Archivists Kathelene Smith and Jennifer Motzsko will chart the evolution of the scrapbook, from its origins as a commonplace book to the commercially produced album found on 19th century college campuses. They will also explore the similarities, differences, and overall themes shared by scrapbooks held in SCUA as well as their potential use by scholars, and the importance of preserving them for future generations of historians. A number of scrapbooks related to health and leisure will be displayed.

Stacey Krim, curator for SCUA's Cello Music Collection, will present a biographic overview of Lev Aronson, whose manuscript and annotated music is among the most recent additions to the collection. Lev Aronson (1912-1988) was an established performer and teacher of the violoncello and Jewish survivor of the German and Russian labor camps of World War II. After immigrating to the United States in 1948, Aronson continued his career as principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in addition to holding teaching positions at Baylor University and Southern Methodist University. In addition to the presentation, original works composed by Aronson around the time of his imprisonment during WWII will be displayed.

Students in the South Spencer Gymnasium, 1907

SCUA will also offer two walking tours of campus focused specifically on the history of health and physical education on campus. Tours will be offered at 2pm on Wednesday, October 15 and Wednesday, October 22. Each walking tour will take approximately 45 minutes and will be limited to 15 participants. The tours are open to any UNCG student, faculty, staff, or alumni. To reserve a place on the walking tour, please email SCUA@uncg.edu and indicate which tour you would like to take part in. Specifics on meeting location will be emailed to participants prior to the tour date.

Throughout October, SCUA staff will share additional information and materials via various social media outlets. Follow University Archives on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/UNCGArchives) or Tumblr (http://UNCGArchives.tumblr.com) for daily features on the topic of health and leisure in North Carolina, links to web exhibits featuring SCUA materials, and details on a temporary "pop up exhibit" that will take place on campus at a time and location to be determined. Additionally, the Spartan Stories blog (http://uncghistory.blogspot.com) will publish weekly posts highlighting the history of health and leisure activities at UNCG.

***** FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS *****

Wednesday, October 8, 4pm, Hodges Reading Room, Jackson Library
"Getting Books from Life: Lois Lenski, Documentary Writer for Children" lecture

Thursday, October 9, 10:30am, Hodges Reading Room, Jackson Library
"Interpreting College Scrapbooks as a Microcosm of Institutional and Social History" lecture

Wednesday, October 15, 2pm
Campus Walking Tour (RSVP to SCUA@uncg.edu, limited to 15 participants)

Wednesday, October 22, 2pm
Campus Walking Tour (RSVP to SCUA@uncg.edu, limited to 15 participants)

Tuesday, October 28, 2pm, Hodges Reading Room, Jackson Library
"A Biographic Overview of Lev Aronson" lecture

Ongoing, October 1 through October 31, 1st floor, Jackson Library
Exhibits focused on "North Carolina at Play: Health and Leisure in Our State"