University Libraries

Building on the foundational content in the first volume, Ethnographic Video Online: Volume II introduces high-value archival material while also focusing on the state of the discipline today. Current issues such as environmental crises, refugee migration, and endangered languages are well documented, and every sub-discipline of anthropology will be represented, including cultural, linguistic, applied, social, visual, urban, medical, and physical anthropologies, as well as archaeology.

The collection includes contemporary films from partners such as ZED, the BBC, and RAI, as well as targeted content from Documentary Educational Resources and key archives including the Grenada Centre of Anthropology at the University of Manchester.

Please send additional comments to Chris Africa.

Learn more about Scifinder during a 30 min Library Xpress class tomorrow, March 28 at 10:00am and again at 2:30pm in 2001c Seamans Center Computer classroom.

Celebrate Women’s History Month with the Iowa Women’s Archives

In collaboration with the UI Council on the Status of Women, IWA will welcom Susan Birrell for a talk and Janet Schlapkohl for a dramatic reading on Thursday, March 28 starting at 4pm in the Iowa Women’s Archives (3rd floor south of the Main Library).

University of Iowa is a recognized leader in women in sport and physical education. Four years ago, the University of Iowa Libraries celebrated that legacy by digitizing a collection of the UI Department of Physical Education for Women. Below is more information about this remarkable digital collection.

Almost 1000 historic photographs of University women’s physical education classes – from archery and synchronized swimming to basketball and dance – are now publicly available online. In celebration of Women’s History Month, the University of Iowa Libraries has released the UI Department of Physical Education for Women digital collection: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/wpe .

The photographs, spanning almost 100 years (1906-2004), are part of a larger manuscript collection that documents the rise of women’s athletics at Iowa from the one-member Department of Physical Culture and Athletics to the dawn of women’s intercollegiate sports. The Department of Physical Education for Women at the University of Iowa was a pioneer in the development of graduate study and professional training as well as athletic opportunities for women.

“These photographs offer a fabulous window into women’s sport—and campus life—over the past century.  They’re very appealing, from the expected team portraits and sports action shots to the more surprising images of laboratory experiments, rifle enthusiasts, and slumber parties,” says Kären Mason, Curator of the Iowa Women’s Archives. “The digital collection provides easy access to these photos, and I hope it will inspire people to explore the equally fascinating records of the Department of PE for Women that are available in the archives.”

Intercollegiate athletics for women at The University of Iowa originated in the Department of Physical Education for Women in the late 1960s and early 1970s and maintained that association until 2000.  This relationship stemmed from the philosophy of the women physical educators and the value they placed on education and women-centered and -controlled sport.

“Those two key, related notions are still at the heart of the current Department of Health and Sport Studies: that sport and physical activity should be part of a liberal arts education and that they can contribute greatly to both individual well-being and the social good,” says Catriona Parratt, Associate Professor in the Department of Health & Sport Studies. “We are delighted that the Iowa Women’s Archives digital photographic collection will make it easier for many more people to appreciate this aspect of the University’s mission.”

This historic image collection is the latest edition to the Iowa Digital Library — http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu — which contains more than 225,000 digital objects, including photographs, maps, sound recordings and documents from libraries and archives at the UI and their partnering institutions as well as faculty research collections.

To explore the vast digital holdings from the Iowa Women’s Archives, a portal that allows users to browse by subject, time period or artifact type is available online at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa . It will be continually updated with new items drawn from the IWA’s 1100 manuscript collections, which have provided valuable primary source materials for books, articles, theses and class projects on women’s history.

For more information about the collection, contact Kären Mason, Curator of the Iowa Women’s Archives, at 335-5068.

Scopus is a multidisciplinary database with substantial international coverage.  All citations that are in EMBASE are also in Scopus.

Scopus also allows you to measure an author’s scholarly impact and to track an article’s cited and citing references. Come to this hands-on session and learn more!

Our next session is Thursday, March 28th from 11:00am-12:00pm at Hardin Library, Information Commons East, 2nd floor.

• Register online at: http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/workshop/  or by calling 319-335-9151.

Pontiac March 26th 1863

Dear Sister Mary

Your very welcome and long looked for letter was gratefully received this morning. You probably have received Mother’s letter by this time giving an account of her journey and sickness. I am with her today and every day when the weather and walking will permit. Mother is at present sitting up in bed trying to sew a little. The sore on her back is not like the one she had on her neck. At present the hole on her back is about the size of a half dollar; but all around the Dr. can put a prob. more than half a finger under the flesh. I shall be thankful if it does not injure her spine. The Dr. says he never had so bad a case of the same description. He washed it out this morning with suds made with castile soap, then injected Castic into it, and will go through with the same prosses every morning. Sammy has been her nurse, cook, and maid of all work. had it not been for bringing you away from Frank I would have written for you to come home immediately after she came. I would have done it under almost any other circumstance. I did not see her until a week after she came home.

Sarah went to live with her sister the day before and I was alone for two weeks, besides Mary still coughed very hard and the roads were almost impassable. Mother said this morning “tell Mary to stay as long with Frank as she can, but I do want to see little Frankie” of course she dont care to see you. I expect to see a great boy, when you return. I looked for his dress that I gave him to wake it, but could not find it. I told Mother that I wanted to buy some of your small linen “Dipa” as Baby says, if you would take your pay in sewing or some such work. She thought you would be glad to make the exchange so I have cut out a chimise and am at work on that. I took one of the curtains you had cut off. If you do not come home at present and have anything in particular that you want me to do, let me know “[immajently?].” The Pipes are for a very particular friend of mine. Little Mary’s cough is almost well. She had it very hard, would whoop so that you could hear her from our room in the kitchen, when all the doors were closed, her face would turn purple and would strangle so that at times I would have to put my finger in her throat and blow in her face to make her catch her breath, I feel very thankful that she is so well. She runs all over and can say a good many words, she says, “Autie” for Auntie “How do a,” how do you do, “Tattoo”, thank you, “Pe” please, “A-a-a Papa” where is papa, &c, ask her who made the moon, she saws “Gawky.”

Leander left home two weeks ago last Monday for Bureau Co, he went from that place to La Grange Ohio, I received a letter from him yesterday, he was well, had spent the most of a day with Brother Thomas in Cleveland, found him at work on one of the propellars, left him quite well, Mother received a letter from F. one day this week, with $15, enclosed. He expects to commence to sail very soon,—-As for town news I know of but little, have been at church but twice since small pox season. I commenced going, then Mary coughed so hard that I did not leave her at all for 6 or 8 weeks, and since Mother came home I feel it my duty to spend any Sabbaths with her, Last Saturday Mrs. H. Norton buried a babe, A great many children are sick with lung fever and inflamation on the lungs. Albert Babcock still lingers, I never saw such a living skeleton, he has 10 or 15 running sores, on his body, his parents gave him up some time ago, Mrs. Strevell is convalescent, the spot that was on her right eye has gathered and broken so that the pain is much less, The Remick girls have gone to Evanston to school. L. Russell is going as soon as her Father comes home; he has gone after Jerome, he is not expected to live, and in all probabity was not alive when his father reached him

Mother wants you to be sure and remember her to Dr. Moore and wife, and also that she will send the indigo that she promised the first opportunity. She thinks Mrs. Cotton might have sent you the letter and what she sent you before this time, she has written to you several times since she came home and has received no answer to any of them, therefore is very anxious to hear from you I must close for I do not know as you will be able to read half of what I have already written, I writ poorly at best but when I am writing on a book in my lap it is worser, tell Frank that I will answer his letter very soon, I ought to have written to him first. Give him my next best love. Kiss little Frankie for me and write very soon. I must go and make a boiled custard for Mother, before I go home. Accept much love from your Aff. Sisters [Maggie & Hetty?]

I had a few lines from Johnie last week, he was enjoying good health, and was in excellent spirits. Robert is coming from Decatur next week, is going on to see Sarah in Chicago. Anna health is so far improved that she is in the schol room again.

MCM

Mother send much love to both F and you also a kiss for Frankie

“Europe’s Planck spacecraft has obtained the most accurate and detailed map ever made of the oldest light in the universe. The map results suggest the universe is expanding more slowly than scientists thought, and is 13.8 billion years old, 100 million years older than previous estimates. The data also show there is less dark energy and more matter in the universe than previously known.”

From Science@NASA Headline News

Chinua Achebe (1930–2013) never came to Iowa City, so our connection with him in our collection is slight. However, since he recently died and given the importance of his work, I wanted to highlight a few items in our digital collections.

Pictured are: (from left) Louis Lomax, Bill Kelley, Esther Walls, John Killens, Chinua Achebe, Leroi Jones

The Esther Walls papers include 3 pictures of him at the Countee Cullen Branch of the New York Public Library in May, 1963. He was part of a black writers panel, moderated by Esther Walls. Other panelists were Louis Lomax, Bill Kelley, John Killens and Leroi Jones.

Esther Walls moderating a panel of black writers. Pictured are: (from left) Bill Kelley, Chinua Achebe, Louis Lomax, Esther Walls, Leroi Jones (obscured), John Killens

We of course also have many books written by him; reading his works is the best way to remember his legacy.