Skip to content
Skip to main content
University of Iowa

University Libraries

Feb 11 2009

Lincoln Collection Online

In celebration of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, the University of Iowa Libraries has digitized over 1,000 artifacts related to Lincoln and his time for its new Abraham Lincoln Digital Collection that explores the life and legacy of one of the nation’s most notable presidents.

The digital collection at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/lincoln provides integrated access to a variety of Lincoln materials across three manuscript collections held in the University of Iowa Libraries’ Special Collections department.. Highlighted are two defining issues of Lincoln’s presidency—the Civil War and railroad expansion—as well as his tremendous legacy revealed in materials amassed during the last 100 years by noted Lincoln collectors.

Over 800 items drawn from the James W. Bollinger collection are are featured in the digital collection. Bollinger (1867-1951) was a lawyer and judge from Davenport who spent a lifetime amassing books, journals, letters, pamphlets and memorabilia by or about Lincoln. Upon his death, the collection was bequeathed to the UI Libraries, where it has been continually developed.

“This digital collection allows us to bring some of the many fascinating pieces collected by Judge Bollinger to a much wider audience,” says Greg Prickman, assistant head of the Libraries’ Special Collections Department. “The items Bollinger collected show how Lincoln has been depicted over the years, but rather than simply focus on this visual legacy, we decided to include items from two other collections to provide a more detailed look into Lincoln’s era.”

One example the items in the Lincoln Digital Collection is a hand-written 1856 letter by Lincoln and addressed to an abolitionist group in Muscatine:

“…It would be very pleasant to strike hands with the Fremonters of Iowa, who have led the van so splendidly, in this grand charge which we hope and believe will end in a most glorious victory — All thanks, all honor to Iowa!! But Iowa is out of all danger, and it is no time for us, when the battle still rages, to pay half-day visits to Iowa . I am sure you will excuse me for remaining in Illinois, where much hard work is still to be done .”

The collection also includes items documenting major historic events of Lincoln’s time:

  • Letters and diaries featuring contemporary, first-hand accounts written by Iowans who served as soldiers, nurses, and administrators during the war.
  • Photographs and documents concerning important early railroads in Illinois and Iowa, and the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad and its expansion westward from Iowa.

The Abraham Lincoln Digital Collection was made available through the generosity of Mary Calkin, in memory of Homer Calkin, in recognition of his life-long interest in Abraham Lincoln. With her support, the Libraries was able to purchase specialized equipment with which many of these fragile artifacts could be digitized.

This collection is part of the Iowa Digital Library (http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/ ), more than 225,000 digital photographs, maps, sound recordings, and documents from libraries and archives at the University of Iowa and their partnering institutions.

Feb 2 2009

Conservation Lab Restores Artifacts from African American Museum of Iowa

The Conservation Laboratory at the University of Iowa Libraries has completed restoration of 23 flood-damaged artifacts from the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa in Cedar Rapids.

The media is invited to be the lab at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, when Susan Kuecker, museum curator, comes to the Conservation Lab to accept the items, which will also be on view before packing up for safe return to the museum. Kuecker will be available to provide background information on the cleaned items.

The artifacts include a collection of buttons was from the Mason’s Dry Cleaners in Cedar Rapids owned by Elmer Smith, Jr., coins, baskets, gourds, feathered fans, and a mat woven by George Washington Carver.  

Nancy E. Kraft, head of preservation at UI Libraries, says her staff logged over 100 hours to clean the items, which were retrieved the week of June 16, 2008 after flood waters receded from the museum at 55 12th Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids. The length of time for cleaning each item ranged from 15 minutes to 35 hours, depending on the amount of damage and intricacy, Kraft said.

The return of the collection coincides with Black History Month, a popular time to visit the museum.

The Conservation Lab is also restoring flood-damaged collections from the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids and the Johnson County Historical Society.  For background on these efforts see http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2008/december/121608restoration.html

Jan 29 2009

1,000 Leigh Hunt Letters Online

We are very pleased to announce a milestonetemp just passed:  the thousandth letter has been added to the Leigh Hunt Online .  While we have about 600 to go, the project has already been offered a few letters held by other institutions – and even some that remain in private hands.

This project was funded by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and got underway a year ago.  Through June, it was headed by Nana Holtsnider, then Ruth Bywater Olson Fellow, and since July it has been headed by Juli McLoone, Robert Olson Fellow.  A highly productive group of student assistants have scanned letters and transcriptions, edited transcripts, and built CONTENTdm records.

Jan 15 2009

Music Library Relocated

Over the winter break, the Rita Benton Music Library (RBML) was moved from Voxman Music Building to the Main Library to provide greater access to the collection for music faculty, staff and students.

Ruthann McTyre’s, head of the RBML, office is located in the Main Library, Information Arcade, Room 1015E. The rest of the RBML staff is now located at the south end of the Fifth floor of the Main Library. Course reserves, rare books, CDs and DVDs are also located at the south end of the Fifth floor. The bulk of the music collection is located on the west side of the Second floor.

Online access to materials is still available through the RBML website.

For any questions about the Music Library or it’s collection, please contact Ruthann McTyre at 319-335-6407.

Jan 8 2009

Art, Fact and Artifact: The Book in Time and Place

The first biennial conference, Art, Fact and Artifact: The Book in Time and Place, of the College Book Art Association begins today, January 8 and runs through Saturday, January 10 and is hosted by the University of Iowa Center for the Book.

Conference activities include talks, artist presentations, exhibits, demos, professional development and tours over the three days. A complete schedule is available on the conference website.

Many of the activities including registration and the keynote address take place in the Main Library.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Graduate College, the English Department, the School of Art and Art History, the UI Main Libraries, and the School of Library and Information Sciences.

Jan 7 2009

Book Delivery to Campus Offices

You asked for an easier method of getting access to library materials, and we were listening. Beginning for the spring semester, the UI Libraries is partnering with Central Mail Services to deliver books to your UI campus office, including Oakdale Campus and the UIHC.

Once you find a book you would like to check out, a request for delivery can be made in InfoHawk by logging in with your HawkID and password.  You will have the option to request a book to be delivered to another library or to your office on campus.  Materials will be available within five working days (excluding weekends and holidays) and an email notification will be sent when the book leaves the owning library. 

There are a few exceptions to this new service. Materials from the Curriculum Resources Laboratory in the College of Education, State Historical Society of Iowa, Law Library in the College of Law are excluded. Reserve items, media material, and materials that circulate for short time periods (7 days or less) are also excluded from this service.  However, Law Library materials and media materials from the Main Library Media Services can still be requested through the library to library delivery service.

Jan 6 2009

The Big Belch at Yellowstone

Garrison Keillor has written an entertaining piece (search Access World News—U.S. Newspapers for “Keillor” and “Yellowstone”) about the more than 250 earthquakes that have occurred in Yellowstone National Park during the past several days recommending that, if this is the Big One, the view would be safer from a distance—say, Paris.  Although Yellowstone is an active volcano with minor tremors a common occurrence, the recent cluster of larger earthquakes is uncommon. If the Big Belch occurs, something like a nuclear winter could impact a good portion of the U.S. including Iowa.

Anyway, the Government Publications collection is a good resource for information about Yellowstone including the wolf reintroduction program;  the bison-cattle war; forest recovery from wildfires and fire ecology (Gov. Pubs. I 29.2:Y 3/16); the history of Yellowstone (Gov. Pubs. I 29.9/5:150); river rafter’s guides (Gov. Pubs. I 53.7/2:Y 3/6); maps (many!);  and, of course, geosciences studies of the world’s greatest boiling-hot geyser collection.

Jan 5 2009

Special Collections on Display at Old Capitol Museum

Old Capitol Museum will present an exhibition of handmade artist books from Tuesday, Jan. 6, to Sunday, Feb. 1, in the museum’s second-floor rotunda.

The exhibit, The Book in Time and Place, was organized by the University of Iowa Center for the Book in conjunction with the first College Book Art Association biennial conference, which will be hosted by the Center for the Book in Iowa City Thursday–Saturday, Jan. 8–10.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. Regular hours at Old Capitol Museum are 10 a.m.–3 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday; 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursday and Saturday; and 1–5 p.m., Sunday. Old Capitol is closed Mondays and national holidays.

Curated by UI Libraries’ assistant conservator Kristin Baum and Center for the Book lecturers Sara Langworthy and Julia Leonard, The Book in Time and Place features 30 artist books from the UI Libraries Special Collections dating from the 1960s to the present.