Talking in the Library

Mind the Gap: What is a primary source?

Primary sources are lovely. Tim Watts, our history librarian, defines primary sources as, "Anything that has been created by a person who witnessed or experienced an event as a contemporary would be a primary source. Examples of primary sources would include letters, diaries, autobiographies, and contemporary documents such as newspaper articles, government documents, and oral histories."

My most engrossing experiences in library school involved days when I delved into the primary source documents of the Japanese-American internment and resettlement files in the National Archives. I read testimony of people who had been interned, studied photographs, and read government edicts like Executive Order 9066, the order that directed the internment of Americans of Japanese heritage.

Unfortunately, as Mary W. George discusses in her blog post: FUNQs: Won't Ask, Won't Tell, there may not be enough conversation between faculty and students about what constitutes a primary source, or how to locate them. And if students are unclear about what a primary source is, the odds of them finding these sources drop to well, just about nil.

Since K-State Libraries is rockin', we have many, many, many primary sources. For those related to K-State, you can check out our University Archives. Students in many classes across campus have already, including Dr. Bonnie Lynn-Sherow's senior history research seminar. You may also uncover primary sources in our Rare Books collections, like the swatch books in the Historic Costume and Textile Collection.

Our microforms collection houses documents like the Papers of Frederick Douglass, the Boston Symphony Orchestra Program Notes,1881-1975, and Albert Einstein's Collected Writings, 1901-1956. 

We've also been adding digitized primary source materials online, through our databases. They're easy to find, just go to the Libraries home page, click on Databases, and then choose "Primary Source" as your subject. 

My current favorite? Well, it's a tie. I'm having fun with the Historical New York Times, especially after working with a patron who recently rediscovered his wife's engagement photo from the 1960s!  But American History in Video has cool features like the ability to watch films like Ken Burn's The Civil War and then to make clips from the video to use in classes, like this one that always gives me chills, the letter from Sullivan Ballou to his wife, Sarah. (Please note, the link will only work for K-Staters.)

If you are introducing primary sources to a class, but aren't sure what resources we have available, please ask your librarian.  Students, if you're searching for primary sources, we're here for you, too! Don't waste fruitless hours, Ask a Librarian! ask your librarian, ask your professor.

Photo Credit: Two Children of the Mochida Family, with Their Parents, Awaiting Evacuation Bus, Dorothea Lange.http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/ / CC BY 2.0

Homcoming Parade--Old School

What this parade needs is more tractors!

The 2009 K-State Homecoming Parade begins in a couple of hours.  Someday, photos from this year's parade will find a home in K-State's University Archives, to join this photo from 1938.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kstatelibraries/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

A Lasting K-State legacy

So, how many families do you know with 15 K-State grads?  How about ones who have endowed K-State student scholarships, lead the Alumni Association, and received multiple alumni awards?  OK, how about ones with not one but three campus entities - a hall, a center, and an institute - named in their honor?

Not a lot of families like that around.  Tomorrow, we'll be celebrating the one we know of - the Boyd family. 

Events start in the morning with the 10th annual Huck Boyd Lecture in Community Media. Given by Scott Kraft, senior editor of the Los Angeles Times and a 1977 K-State journalism alumnus, the lecture begins at 10:30 a.m. in Forum Hall at the K-State Student Union.

Then, beginning at 1:30 p.m., events shift to Hale Library's fifth floor Hemisphere Room with remarks by our Dean, Lori Goetsch; Tony Crawford, University Archivist; other K-State representatives; and members of the Boyd family. The presentation will be followed by the exhibition, "'Kansas -- Say it Above a Whisper': The Boyd Family Legacy," and a reception from 2:30-4:30 p.m. in the fifth floor gallery.  Everyone is welcome to attend, it should be a fascinating glimpse into the lives and times of one of K-State's most illustrious families.

We hope you'll be able to join in our celebration!  If not you can read more about the Boyd family's accomplishments, or drop by Hale Library to look at the exhibit any time between now and the end of the month.

Vintage

I love looking at old pictures and posters. I was at a conference a while back and discovered that the History of Medicine Division (HMD) of the U.S National Library of Medicine (NLM) has tons of digitized pictures and posters available for viewing.

Here are a few of my favorites. Some of these images are copyrighted, so please be aware of that before you do anything crazy like put them on a t-shirt or print off wallpaper for your bathroom.

Reception for the K-State First Ladies exhibit

A vocalist, a Scotswoman, a ballerina, an artist, and eight other accomplished women have been first ladies of K-State.  K-State Libraries' Department of Special Collections & Archives created an exhibit that explores the lives and accomplishments of K-State's twelve first ladies.

The exhibit is on display in the Special Collections gallery on Hale's 5th floor.

But wait, there's more.

The Department of Special Collections & Archives and the Friends of the K-State Libraries are hosting a reception for the exhibit in honor of First Lady RuthAnn Wefald. Remarks will be given by Dean Lori Goetsch, Dr. Michaeline Chance-Ray, author of Land Grant Ladies, Kansas State University Presidential Wives, and Sharon Reagan, President of the Friends of the K-State Libraries.  The opening reception will be held March 25th, in the Hemisphere Room, 5th floor Hale Library, 3:30p.m.

Clementine Paddleford and Hometown Appetites on NPR

As a faithful listener to Weekend Edition Sunday, I cannot believe I didn't listen this Sunday because Liane Hansen interviewed Kelly Alexander, co-author with our own Cindy Harris, of Hometown Appetites.  Hometown Appetites is the story of the once-renowned food writer, Clementine Paddleford.  Paddleford graduated from K-State and donated her papers to the university archives. 

Apropos of nothing, while I know Clementine Paddleford looked like this:

Image credit: Life, 1958.

this is what flashes in my mind's eye when I hear her name:

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Image credits: clementine sc by Muffet and 8459 by NatalieTracy, both on Flickr.

Holiday Hours Round Up

Staying in town for the holidays?  Thinking of getting a head start on Spring semester, or just looking for a warm place to hang out with a good book and an internet connection?   Here are holiday hours for K-State Libraries.   

Hale Library

• Sat 12/20 & Sun 12/21: 1pm-5pm
• Mon 12/22 & Tues 12/23: 8am-6pm
• Wed 12/24: 8am-2pm
• Thurs 12/25 - Sun 12/28: Closed
• Mon 12/29 - Wed 12/31: 8am-6pm
• Thurs 1/1: Closed
• Fri 1/2: 8am-6pm
• Sat 1/3 & Sun 1/4: 1pm-5pm

While Hale is open, some services have limited hours during the break.

• The Morse Department of Special Collections will be closed 12/29 - 1/4.
• Love Science Library reference service will be closed 12/24 - 1/4.
• Interlibrary Services will be closed 12/25 - 1/4. Interlibrary loan requests submitted from 12/23 - 1/4 will be processed on 1/5. Loans with due dates falling while the office is closed don't need to be returned until 1/5.

All branch libraries (Fielder, Math/Physics, Veterinary Medical, and Weigel) will close at 2pm on Wednesday 12/24 and remain closed until 8am Monday 1/5.

Wondering about January hours?  See the hours page.

Image credit: Calendar by Ollie-G on flickr.

To the Mountaintop

40 years ago, on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.  The night before, he gave his last public address.  Below is a two part audio recording of that speech, set with images from Dr. King's life.

If you'd like to read more about his life and work, you can check out this bibliography of Dr. King's writings, stop by the Dow Chemical Multicultural Resource Center desk with a question, or visit the Special Collections department to look at documents from his Convocation Lecture at K-State in January, 1968, just a few months before the speech above.

Read what K-State Faculty Wrote: 1863-1963

Curious as to what Tony Crawford, our University Archivist, unearthed in his search for books in K-State Libraries' collections that were written by our faculty between 1863-1963?  A "work in progress" bibliography is now available.  "Work in progress" means that as new titles are added to the collection or come to light, they'll be added to the bibliography.

This bibliography supports the exhibit, K-State Faculty Writes: Books, 1863-1963, which has its grand opening tomorrow, February 14th.  An opening reception will be held from 3:30-5:00pm with remarks at 4:00 by Lori Goetsch, Dean of Libraries, and Tony Crawford, University Archivist. Everyone is invited!  Hope to see you there.

Spend Valentine's Day your way--an exhibit opening!

Here at K-State Libraries, we know that Valentine's Day isn't everyone's box of chocolates.  To help you ignore the silly red valentines, we're opening a new exhibit, “K-State Faculty Writes: Books, 1863-1963,” in the Richard L. D. and Marjorie J. Morse Department of Special Collections gallery on the fifth floor of Hale Library.

A reception will be held Thursday February 14th from 3:30-5:00, with remarks at 4:00 by Lori Goetsch, Dean of Libraries, and Tony Crawford, University Archivist. Everyone is invited!  No flowers or chocolates are required but are always accepted, especially dark chocolate.

The exhibit features selections from over 400 titles and editions of books in our collection published by faculty during K-State’s first 100 years. Many of the books were, and remain, authoritative works in their field.  They represent the impressive number of scholarly publications of over 50 K-State faculty members contributed to their respective academic disciplines during this period.  Photographs, manuscripts, and memorabilia will also be displayed. A bibliography, which will continue to be a work in progress as titles are identified, will be available on the University Archives home page on February 14.      

In a case of, "we couldn't plan it better if we'd tried," the earliest book Tony found as of this posting was written by entomologist Charles Valentine Riley.  Yep, his middle name is Valentine and we're opening the exhibit on Valentine's Day, a confluence that was not planned but sure is cool.  What romance imbued book did Mr. C.V. Riley pen in 1876?  Potato pests. Being an illustrated account of the Colorado potato-beetle and the other insect foes of the potato in North America. With suggestions for their repression and methods for their destruction. Yep, nothing says forget about Valentine's Day like the potato beetle.  (Photo source: "Riley at his microscope" Charles Valentine Riley Papers Collection 143. National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture.)

The exhibit, reception, and bibliography also celebrate the founding of Kansas State Agricultural College on February 16, 1863, 145 years ago! Everyone is encouraged to attend the reception and view the exhibit in order to gain an appreciation of the legacy that K-State faculty of all disciplines provided the scholarly world through their books, 1863-1963.

The exhibit runs through May 30, 2008