May222012
museumsandstuff: What a Physics Student Can Teach us About How Visitors Walk Around an Exhibition From the Smithsonian blog which highlights some of the limitations of how we assess the successes and failures of exhibition layout and route design and suggests ways to improve/expand how we evaluate.  This is a fascinating look at how people move through museum exhibits and their different ways of looking at/interacting with the exhibit. (I am really tempted to do some tracking doodles myself, even though our tiny exhibit space (within a library) doesn’t really warrant it. But we’re getting new cases in a new location, so maybe I’ll just sit for a few minutes on random days and do some people-watching and doodling…)

museumsandstuff:

What a Physics Student Can Teach us About How Visitors Walk Around an Exhibition

From the Smithsonian blog which highlights some of the limitations of how we assess the successes and failures of exhibition layout and route design and suggests ways to improve/expand how we evaluate. 

This is a fascinating look at how people move through museum exhibits and their different ways of looking at/interacting with the exhibit. (I am really tempted to do some tracking doodles myself, even though our tiny exhibit space (within a library) doesn’t really warrant it. But we’re getting new cases in a new location, so maybe I’ll just sit for a few minutes on random days and do some people-watching and doodling…)

exhibits design museums doodles 

May152012
It’s a rainy day here, so here’s a child’s rhyme about rain. Transcription below: A DRop of Rain (child rhyme) I knew a little drop of rainIt broke its nose on a window paneAnd all the other little dropsThey stood around like City CopsAnd Tried to fix the rain drop’s noseAnd dress it up in its Sunday clothes From the Joseph McGarrity Papers.

It’s a rainy day here, so here’s a child’s rhyme about rain. Transcription below:

A DRop of Rain (child rhyme)

I knew a little drop of rain
It broke its nose on a window pane
And all the other little drops
They stood around like City Cops
And Tried to fix the rain drop’s nose
And dress it up in its Sunday clothes

From the Joseph McGarrity Papers.

McGarrity Collection poetry rain rainy day poem 

May142012

Handbook for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps

todaysdocument:

WAAC Recruitment Brochure

On May 14, 1942, Congress approved the creation of a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) for women to serve in noncombatant military positions. This 1942 recruitment brochure encouraged women to join. Only the cover of the brochure is shown.

Our Digital Library contains a Handbook for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. This booklet describes what women should expect after joining the WAAC, including how to deal with “feminine” problems, as seen in the pages highlighted below.

This booklet is an autographed presentation copy of Captain Rita A. Ficchi dated January 6, 1943 and includes a photograph of Captain Ficchi. Click here to see the whole handbook.

Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps WAAC women's history Army World War II history military history Americana women 

April302012
Letter, To: “My gentle unknown friend” From: Henry O. Nightingale, April 30, 1865. In this letter to an unnamed friend, Henry O. Nightingale, a soldier in the Union Army, reflects on the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in April 1865. We know not the virtues of a friend, or do not prize them as we should until that friend is gone. I agree with you entirely. I had learned to love him, for he was eminently the Soldiers friend. So just, forgiving, unsuspecting. When the sad news of his Assassination reached us, we had all retired. It seemed like an the sudden opening of a musket battery, we could not believe it. But morning came, bells sounded forth the solemn toll for his departed spirit, + sadness, grief, frenzy, seized us all. Men who had stood before the enemy, their comrads falling around them without shedding a tear wept. Great tears coursed down the cheeks of all. Then for the first time did I understand my comrads. Then I knew who were true. Then I discovered the great affection for “good Old Abe” concealed in the hearts of my fellow Soldiers. Nightingale was actually one of the last people to see President Lincoln alive. He obtained Lincoln’s autograph on the afternoon of April 14: I, the afternoon of the fatal day, had the pleasure of seeing the departed one, my object in going to see him was to get his Autograph in my Album. He, the President took it and wrote with his own hand several lines. I looked in admiration upon the man whose energy, had preserved us, little thinking that before morning he would be a bleeding corpse. One week ago Thursday last I looked upon all that remained of him, as he lay in State in the Capitol. I will not attempt to describe my feelings. You can imagine what they were. I felt as though my best friend had gone, and turned away to weep. Click through to view the full letter. For easier reading, you can access a transcription of the letter under the “Docs” tab to the left of the images.

Letter, To: “My gentle unknown friend” From: Henry O. Nightingale, April 30, 1865.

In this letter to an unnamed friend, Henry O. Nightingale, a soldier in the Union Army, reflects on the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in April 1865.

We know not the virtues of a friend, or do not prize them as we should until that friend is gone. I agree with you entirely. I had learned to love him, for he was eminently the Soldiers friend. So just, forgiving, unsuspecting. When the sad news of his Assassination reached us, we had all retired. It seemed like an the sudden opening of a musket battery, we could not believe it. But morning came, bells sounded forth the solemn toll for his departed spirit, + sadness, grief, frenzy, seized us all. Men who had stood before the enemy, their comrads falling around them without shedding a tear wept. Great tears coursed down the cheeks of all. Then for the first time did I understand my comrads. Then I knew who were true. Then I discovered the great affection for “good Old Abe” concealed in the hearts of my fellow Soldiers.

Nightingale was actually one of the last people to see President Lincoln alive. He obtained Lincoln’s autograph on the afternoon of April 14:

I, the afternoon of the fatal day, had the pleasure of seeing the departed one, my object in going to see him was to get his Autograph in my Album. He, the President took it and wrote with his own hand several lines. I looked in admiration upon the man whose energy, had preserved us, little thinking that before morning he would be a bleeding corpse. One week ago Thursday last I looked upon all that remained of him, as he lay in State in the Capitol. I will not attempt to describe my feelings. You can imagine what they were. I felt as though my best friend had gone, and turned away to weep.

Click through to view the full letter. For easier reading, you can access a transcription of the letter under the “Docs” tab to the left of the images.

Americana Abraham Lincoln today in history letters 1865 Abraham Lincoln assassination history U.S. Civil War Civil War 

April242012

ARL Policy Notes: Library Associations File Brief in Defense of Fair Use

arlpolicynotes:

Last Friday, the Association of Research Libraries, the American Library Association, and the Association of College and Research Libraries filed a friend of the court brief to defend the fair use rights of libraries. The brief responds to the Authors Guild’s extraordinary arguments in a lawsuit against the Hathi Trust and several member libraries. The brief demonstrates that if the Authors Guild were to win the day, libraries would be severely curtailed in their ordinary activities, including lending books and providing Internet access to the public.

The Authors Guild has brought a suit against the Hathi Trust and several of its member institutions claiming that these groups violate copyright by accepting, archiving, and making accessible thousands of digitized volumes created by Google in connection with the Google Books project. The libraries have responded that the project is protected by both the fair use doctrine and parts of the specific exception for libraries in Section 108 of the Copyright Act.

AGvHT libraries copyright fair use 

April182012

congressarchives:

The April 18, 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, estimated at 7.9 magnitude, was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, claiming more than 3,000 lives. Congress responded to the disaster in several ways. The House and the Senate Appropriations Committees enacted emergency appropriations. Other congressional action included the House Claims Committee handling claims from owners seeking reimbursement for destroyed property. The Senate also passed a resolution asking the Secretary of War to furnish the Senate with a copy of a report on the earthquake and fire. The report on the relief efforts and accompanying captioned photographs, prepared by the U.S. Army, are now housed with the records of the Senate Committee on Printing and include the above photos.

Visit our featured document article for more information on this tragic event and the congressional response.

Photograph of Union Street Car Line After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 2127302)

Photograph of the Effect of Earthquake on Houses Built on Loose or Made Ground After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 2127357)

Photograph of Souvenir Hunters After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 2127316)

Photograph of St. Francis Hotel Showing the Clean Sweep of Fire in the Business Section of All Except Class A Steel Frame Buildings After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 2127289)

Photograph of a Military Camp on the Fourth Day After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC  2127305)

Photograph of a Typical Bread Line in the Early Stages of Relief Distribution After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Records of the U.S. Senate (ARC 306190)

(via todaysdocument)

San Francisco earthquake California history photos today in history 

April22012

Recent articles from Blue Electrode

I have been remiss in sharing our blog posts lately, so here are links to the articles from the past couple of weeks. We’ve got some exciting projects underway!

March 19 - Digital Library Expands Into Audio With Philadelphia Ceili Group Collection

We’ve gone beyond paper collections and are now digitizing audiovisual collections. We’re super-excited to have our first audio items in the Digital Library — and it’s really great music, too! You can stream the music online or download the mp3s.

March 28 - Proofreading the Digital Library

Another exciting new venture is putting some of our stuff into Project Gutenberg’s proofreading project to improve the text OCR and create an ebook version of some of our materials. Let us know if there are any items you would particularly like to see get the Gutenberg treatment!

April 2 - Villanova history comes alive in the pages of The Villanovan

We recently celebrated our digitization of The Villanovan, the student newspaper at Villanova University. Read about the event and the process. This collection showcases not only the history of Villanova, but also how global events affected the campus and changes in advertising over time. There’s some really interesting stuff, even if you’re not affiliated with Villanova!

digital libraries digitization Blue Electrode Villanova University Digital Library Villanova University Irish music Project Gutenberg 

March142012
This image is an example of a crossed letter. A crossed letter is one in which the writer first writes across the page in one direction, then rotates the page (usually 90 degrees) to continue the letter. This was done to save on postage and conserve paper, both of which were relatively expensive back in the day. We haven’t transcribed this document yet — we’ve been saving these more difficult items for later! —-Letter, To: “Mama” (Ellen Ewing Sherman) From: Ellie, March 14, 1878.

This image is an example of a crossed letter. A crossed letter is one in which the writer first writes across the page in one direction, then rotates the page (usually 90 degrees) to continue the letter. This was done to save on postage and conserve paper, both of which were relatively expensive back in the day.

We haven’t transcribed this document yet — we’ve been saving these more difficult items for later!

—-
Letter, To: “Mama” (Ellen Ewing Sherman) From: Ellie, March 14, 1878.

Sherman Thackara letters crossed letters today in history 

March92012
Letter, To: [Philadelphia], From: Eamon De Valera, March 9, 1920.“May Philadelphia ever remain worthy of its title as the Cradle of Liberty and the Home of Brotherly Love.”

Letter, To: [Philadelphia], From: Eamon De Valera, March 9, 1920.

“May Philadelphia ever remain worthy of its title as the Cradle of Liberty and the Home of Brotherly Love.”

Benjamin Franklin Eamon de Valera Philadelphia Republic of Ireland letters today in history McGarrity Collection 

February142012
preservearchives: A Valentine’s Day Challenge for Conservators: How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?  Airplane linen and PVA for Crash and Burn Victims Stainless Steel Staples for Those Who Fall In and Out of Love Frequently Carefully Toned Japanese Paper to Fill the Void from Loss of Love Heat-set Tissue to Melt Your Cold, Cold Heart (with apologies to Hank Williams) Deacidification to counteract an Acidic Paper Heart By Steven Loew with contributions from Anne Witty and anonymous source Happy Valentine’s Day!

preservearchives:

A Valentine’s Day Challenge for Conservators:

How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?

  •  Airplane linen and PVA for Crash and Burn Victims
  • Stainless Steel Staples for Those Who Fall In and Out of Love Frequently
  • Carefully Toned Japanese Paper to Fill the Void from Loss of Love
  • Heat-set Tissue to Melt Your Cold, Cold Heart (with apologies to Hank Williams)
  • Deacidification to counteract an Acidic Paper Heart

By Steven Loew with contributions from Anne Witty and anonymous source

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine's Day National Archives conservation 

February72012
Today marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens. Read about our small Dickensian collection and some of the celebrations around the web at our Blue Electrode blog: Celebrating Charles Dickens.

Today marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens. Read about our small Dickensian collection and some of the celebrations around the web at our Blue Electrode blog: Celebrating Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens World Collection signatures letters 

February62012
Decorative illustration in an Irish manuscript of Ossianic verse (1836). [Page 77.]

Decorative illustration in an Irish manuscript of Ossianic verse (1836). [Page 77.]

manuscripts dogs illustrations irish 

January62012

"YES WE SCAN"

ellenbee:

“Locked in our federal vaults is a tremendous storehouse of information that if digitized would form a core for our digital public libraries in America with huge benefit for our country: cutting costs in the Federal government, creating jobs throughout America, and revolutionizing how we educate our citizens, how we practice the law, and how we create news, art, and scholarly works.

Imagine if the riches contained in the National Archives, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, Government Printing Office, National Library of Medicine, National Agricultural Library, National Technical Information Service, and scores of other federal organizations were made available, becoming the core of a national effort to make access to knowledge a right for all Americans. The dream is a big one, but if we do not begin the questions of what it would take to get there, we will never start down that road.”


HEY EVERYBODY! read this and sign the petition, please

i care about this a lot NOT JUST because of my job (even though i REALLY LIKE being a government documents librarian) but because i am a human person with ideals about how government affects everyone’s lives daily and think this is a really big deal. also i am delighted by puns and the title of this is the best

also also also john podesta is a fellow alum of knox college and i love him

Digital is the future and it’s also important to preserving our past. Definitely something that needs to be considered at the federal level!

digitization govdocs 

1PM
From: Missale Romanum : Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini Restitutum S. Pii V. jussu editum, Clementis Viii et urbani papae octavi auctoritate recognitum (1773), page 48.

From: Missale Romanum : Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini Restitutum S. Pii V. jussu editum, Clementis Viii et urbani papae octavi auctoritate recognitum (1773), page 48.

Catholica illustrations Epiphany 

January32012
“To come back after a nice restful vacation and be exposed to some of the classic Christmas neckpieces hereabouts is rather trying on one’s eyes.” The Villanovan, Vol. 2. No. 13, January 14, 1930, p. 2.

quotes The Villanovan 

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