University Libraries

A University of Iowa faculty member, staff member, student and a clinic started by students are this year’s recipients of the UI President’s Award for State Outreach and Public Engagement, UI President David J. Skorton announced today.

The annual award, created as part of the Year of Public Engagement, honors faculty, staff and students (individuals or groups) who demonstrate exemplary outreach to the State of Iowa. The $1,000 awards are given in four categories — faculty, staff, student and group/organization. Group winners share the $1,000 stipend equally.

The 2006 recipients are Don Coffman, professor and area head in the College of Education’s music education program and faculty member in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences School of Music; Nancy E. Kraft, preservation librarian in UI Libraries; Mark Kresowik, former UI Student Government president; and the Mobile Clinic, an interdisciplinary project that was started by and engages students from the health sciences across the UI.

“I am very gratified at the large number of nominations we received for this award and for the truly impressive amount of creative and generous outreach and service in which our university community engages,” Skorton said. “Our awardees are representative of a remarkable spirit of caring and giving that permeates our entire campus and community. I thank the selection committee for their dedication and excellent work in providing me with a number of wonderful nominations from which to make still-difficult choices.”

Nancy Kraft is being recognized not only for her general contributions to the preservation and accessibility of historical sources in Iowa, but also for two particular initiatives: the Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium (ICPC) and the Iowa Heritage Digital Collections. Ms. Kraft has played an important leadership role in the ICPC in developing and delivering a training program for Iowans (delivered in part through the ICN), especially those who work in small repositories around the state, on ways to take care of historical collections of all kinds. Many attendees work in isolated settings with little or no access to additional expertise and advice. Ms. Kraft has also led the creation of the Iowa Heritage Digital Collections, a statewide project designed to make the wide range of collections pertaining to Iowa that are housed in different types of libraries, museums, and historical societies throughout the state widely available through an online database (http://iowaheritage.lib.uiowa.edu/). Ms. Kraft has helped ensure that Iowa’s cultural assets and cultural memory last well into the future and remain widely accessible.

Although Latinos have been a part of Iowa’s population since the 19th century, nobody has ever bothered to write down their history.

“There have been so many Latinas who have lived and worked and raised their families here, who have really changed the state of Iowa, but we know so few of their stories,” said Karen Mason, curator of the Iowa Women’s Archives in the UI Libraries.

Mason hopes that the Mujeres Latinas project of the IWA will correct that. An oral history project, Mujeres Latinas is collecting stories and documents of Latinos, particularly women, who live in Iowa. Archives staff members have interviewed 38 people since the project started in 2004, some of whom came to Iowa from Mexico or the American Southwest, others whose families have been in Iowa for generations.

So far, the research has led to dozens of riveting stories, as well as boxes of family photographs, letters and other historical items.

“People in the community appreciate the importance we place on Latino history,” said Rachel Carreón, a librarian who is working on the project. “I’ve been welcomed into so many homes and often made to feel like family.”

Many of Iowa’s Latino families can trace their Iowa roots to the first significant wave of immigration to the state in the early decades of the 20th century. Other families came to Iowa in later immigration surges in the 1930s, 1970s and 1990s, a wave that continues to the present time. The earliest immigrants came as railroad workers. The state’s oldest Mexican community, in Fort Madison, formed when the Santa Fe railroad recruited workers in Texas and Mexico to work in its rail yard. One resident of Fort Madison gave the Archives an album with photos of El Cometa, the settlement along the river where residents lived in boxcars or in homes made of boxcar lumber. Later, Mexican-Americans from Texas passed through Iowa each summer to work in the tomato and onion fields of southeast Iowa and the sugar beet and asparagus fields in the north central part of the state. Many migrant workers settled permanently in communities such as Mason City and Muscatine. By mid-century, Latinos were also working in meat-packing plants and a variety of other occupations.

In places like Fort Madison, where immigration began more than a century ago, many of the Mexican-American residents are third and fourth generation American citizens and the community has reflected their presence for many years. But immigration has changed the face of many other Iowa communities recently. Although they make up only 5 percent of Iowa’s overall population, Latinos make up as much as 10 percent of the population of Sioux City and 30 percent in Marshalltown. Towns such as Columbus Junction and West Liberty have recently seen significant increases in their Latino populations.

“When I walk through downtown Columbus Junction, the people, food, and language all remind me of home,” said Carreón, a native of San Antonio, Texas.

Mason said the project is ongoing. IWA staff members have attended community events around the state and spoken to individuals and groups, encouraging them to donate materials and tell their stories.

“There’s a real urgency to this because so many of these stories were never written down and we want to record them before it’s too late,” said Mason.

More information about Mujeres Latinas is available online at www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa. To participate in the project or to learn more, call the Iowa Women’s Archives at (319) 335-5068 or email at lib-women@uiowa.edu.

Part of the funding for Mujeres Latinas comes from a Year of Public Engagement grant. President David J. Skorton declared 2005-2006 the Year of Public Engagement, during which the University community is intensifying its efforts and sharpening its focus on engagement with the public at the local, state, national, and international levels. More information is online, http://www.ype.uiowa.edu/.

The project also received a 2004 Year of the Arts and Humanities grant from the President’s Office and grants from the Iowa Historical Resources Development Program and the State Historical Society, Inc.

The Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium (ICPC) and University of Iowa Libraries will host a series of day-long preservation workshops held at four locations across the state in June.

The preservation sessions are designed for archivists, conservators, county clerks, curators, genealogists, librarians, museum workers, registrars, volunteers and anyone who cares about conserving and preserving our material heritage. The general public is welcomed.

The hands-on session will be held at the following locations:

• June 1, Indianola, Simpson College, Dunn Library
• June 2, Storm Lake, Buena Vista University, Buena Vista University Library
• June 8, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa Wesleyan University, Iowa Wesleyan University Library
• June 9, Waverly, Wartburg College, Wartburg College Library

Cost is $40 for a member of the Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium, $50 for a non-member.

More information and registration form can be found on the Web at: http://web.grinnell.edu/individuals/stuhrr/icpc/preservation101-102.html

Information is also available by contacting Nancy E. Kraft at 319-335-5286 or nancy-e-kraft@uiowa.edu or Lucy David at 319-338-0514 or lucy-david@uiowa.edu.

Participants will have the opportunity to perform a full book repair, mount and mat a photograph, learn basics of digitizing photographs, repair a wooden object and discover the basics of cataloging and accessioning of museum and archival collections. University of Iowa Libraries instructors includes Nancy E. Kraft, UI preservation librarian, and Susan Hansen, UI book repair supervisor.
The Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium (ICPC) is a membership organization seeking to initiate, encourage, and enhance preservation and conservation activities by providing basic preservation education and training. Funding for the 2006 preservation training program was partially supported through funding from the Resource Enhancement and Protection act through a Historical Resource Development Program grant from the State Historical Society of Iowa.

Irving Weber is going online.

A collection of stories written by Iowa City’s beloved historian and Iowa City Press-Citizen columnist is being digitized by the University of Iowa Libraries’ Digital Library Services Department.

“Irving Weber loved to share his stories of old Iowa City, and I think he would be pleased to share these stories in a new medium and make them accessible to the people of the community, the state and beyond,” said Nancy E. Kraft, UI Libraries preservation librarian.

Weber started writing his Press-Citizen column in 1973, and a collection of his work was eventually published in an eight-volume set by the Iowa City Host Noon Lions Club. That book is now out of print, but the UI Libraries is working with the Lions Club and the Iowa City Public Library to put those volumes online.

As part of the Iowa City Public Library’s celebration of Irving Weber Days, Kraft and Mark Anderson, digital initiatives librarian from UI Libraries, will present a program about this newly digitized collection on Thursday, May 11, at noon in Room A of the Iowa City Public Library.

Each volume contains about 100 stories, including accounts of historic Iowa City homes and their owners, early businesses and factories, Iowa City churches and early modes of transportation into the city, as well as other historical fascinations.

The Irving Weber collection is part of the Iowa Heritage Digital Collection (IHDC). IHDC is a collection of 8,000 documents, photographs, images, maps and other media about Iowa’s history and culture. This online collection was developed by libraries, museums, archives and historical societies across the state. To access the Weber collection as well as any of 30 other collections of the IHDC, check online at http://iowaheritage.org.

Using Optical Character Recognition software, the UI Libraries was able to create images of the article pages that are full-text searchable.

It’s important to start drying or to freeze your items within 48 hours or mold may begin to develop. Be gentle with your items, especially the soaked items as they are weak and may fall apart. You don’t need to clean and dry everything all at once. Prioritize. Buy time and put things in your freezer.

Items that are damp should be air-dried. Place them in a cool, dry space equipped with fans. Items that have been completely soaked and cannot be air-dried within 48 hours, should be frozen. (A home frost free freezer works just fine.) Separate them with paper sheets or waxed paper, and store them in a freezer. Freezing stalls the growth of mold and, most importantly, buys time.

If items are wet, rinse with clear, clean water or a fine hose spray. Clean off dry silt and debris from your belongings with soft brushes or dab with damp cloths. Try not to grind debris into objects; overly energetic cleaning will cause scratching. Dry with a clean, soft cloth. Use plastic or rubber gloves for your own protection.

Air dry objects indoors if possible. Sunlight and heat may dry certain materials too quickly, causing splits, warpage, and buckling. If possible, remove contents from wet objects and furniture prior to drying. Storing damp items in sealed plastic bags will cause mold to develop. If objects are to be transported in plastic bags, keep bags open and air circulating.

The best way to inhibit the growth of mold and mildew is to reduce humidity. Increase air flow with fans, open windows, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers. Moderate light exposure (open shades, leave basement lights on) can also reduce mold and mildew.

If objects are broken or begin to fall apart, place all broken pieces, bits of veneer, and detached parts in clearly labeled, open containers. Do not attempt to repair objects until completely dry or, in the case of important materials, until you have consulted with a professional conservator.

Buildings: Remove water-soaked insulation from the attic and, if possible, from behind walls. Allow plaster to dry gradually, because forced drying may cause further damage. Ventilate to dry rugs and interior surfaces.

Framed artwork: If condensation is noticed, remove frames from paintings (but not the stretcher) in a clean, dry place. Keep wet paintings horizontal and paint-side up. Air dry, face up, away from direct sunlight. For art on paper or photographs: If image appears stuck to glass, leave in frame and dry glass-side down.
Photographs: Rinse mud off photos (using gentle water stream or by immersion and gentle agitation). Dry or freeze within 48 hours. Freeze or air dry damp or partially wet photographs.

Wet or partly wet books: Separate with paper, pack spine down, and freeze.

Damp books: Air dry–stand upright on paper towels about every 50 pages. Replace paper toweling frequently.

CD/DVD: If the disc has a heavy accumulation of dirt, rinse it with water. You can use commercially available water-based detergent formulated for cleaning or alcohol wipe with cotton cloth, for additional cleaning. If disc is already dry, try an air puffer or use a soft cotton cloth or chamois to wipe the disc. Do not wipe in a direction going around the disc. Wipe from the center of the disc straight toward the outer edge. Avoid using paper products, including lens paper, to wipe the disc.

Clothing/textiles: Air dry if at all possible. Shaped objects, such as garments or baskets, should be supported by gently padding with toweling or uninked, uncoated paper. Renew padding when it becomes saturated with water. If don’t have time to air dry, bag wet textiles in plastic and freeze. For historical items consult a conservator. Everyday items may be dry cleaned or laundered as you normally would.

Furniture (wood): Dab dry with clean cloths. If mud-covered, rinse immediately with clean water. Furniture finishes and painting surfaces may develop a white haze or bloom from contact with water and humidity. These problems do not require immediate attention; consult a professional conservator for treatment.

Furniture (upholstered): Try to dry a bit more slowly than plain wood furniture.

Baskets: Pad basketry with uninked newsprint; keep lids on; dry slowly.

Wood, ceramics, metal: Rinse in a mild solution of water and gentle, non-detergent cleaner. Air dry. Allow heavy mud deposits on large metal objects, such as sculpture, to dry. Caked mud can be removed later. Consult a professional conservator for further treatment.

Please note that exposure to molds can have serious health consequences such as respiratory problems, skin and eye irritation, and infections. The use of protective gear, including a respirator with a particulate filter, disposable plastic gloves, goggles or protective eye wear, and coveralls or a lab coat, is therefore essential.

For more detail consult The Flood Recovery Booklet at http://www.neilsa.org/flood_recovery/flood_cover.html

“The Tortilla Curtain” (Viking Penguin 1995) by T. Coraghessan Boyle has been selected by “One Community, One Book-Johnson County Reads” for its 2006 reading project promoting new insights on human rights in the United States. The University of Iowa Center for Human Rights (UICHR) coordinates the project in conjunction with representatives from other sponsoring organizations from Johnson County and the UI.

“The Tortilla Curtain” explores Topanga Canyon, home to two couples on a collision course. Los Angeles liberals Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher lead an ordered sushi-and-recycling existence in a newly gated hilltop community: he is a sensitive nature writer, she an obsessive realtor. Mexican illegals Candido and America Rincon desperately cling to their vision of the American Dream as they fight off starvation in a makeshift camp deep in the ravine. From the moment a freak accident brings Candido and Delaney into intimate contact, these four and their opposing worlds gradually intersect in what becomes a tragic comedy of error and misunderstanding. In the United States, which defines itself as a nation of immigrants, the novel questions who gets to slam the door on whom?

Boyle is the author of 17 books of fiction. He received a Ph.D. in 19th Century British Literature from the UI in 1977, his MFA from the UI Writers’ Workshop in 1974 and his B.A. in English and history from SUNY Potsdam in 1968. He was the 1997 winner of France’s Prix Medicis Entranger for “The Tortilla Curtain” as the best foreign language novel illuminating the many potholes along the road to the elusive American Dream.
The book project will run Sept. 17 through Nov. 11. Teachers, students, librarians, book groups and others are encouraged to participate. By announcing the selection now, the project sponsors hope to allow time for groups to plan to read the book, participate in fall community discussion forums and for teachers to plan discussions around the book.

The goal of the Johnson County Reads project is to encourage people to read the selected book and, through public and private discussion, to develop a greater community awareness of human rights issues locally, nationally and internationally. Discussion questions will be available online at http://www.uiowa.edu/~uichr/conferences/jc_reads_2006.html at the start of the 2006-2007 academic year.

A new sponsor this year, the UI Alumni Association (UIAA), will provide a university online resource site linked to other project websites for the 18,000 UI alumni and readers who live in Johnson and nearby counties. UIAA also plans to include the project in its Lifelong Learning Series and highlight the project in the August issue of Iowa Alumni Magazine. The public community forum discussions of the book — scheduled at different locations during the project’s eight-week period — will be announced in early September.

In addition to UICHR, other project sponsors are the UI International Writing Program, Prairie Lights Books, Coralville Public Library, Hancher Auditorium, Hills Bank & Trust Company, Iowa Book LLC, Iowa City Human Rights Commission, Iowa City Public Library, Iowa State Bank & Trust Company, UI Alumni Association, UI Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, UI Charter Committee on Human Rights, UI Department of History, UI International Programs and University Book Store. City High School and the West High School Library are also participating.

What can you do with one million old library cards?
How about make a crown out of them. Or a small Buddhist temple. Or weave them into a tie. Or string them together to make a mobile that will stretch across the ceiling of an entire exhibit hall.

These are a few of the ideas that artists came up with when the University of Iowa Libraries announced its cARTalog project last fall as part of its sesquicentennial celebration. Faced with stacks of obsolete catalog cards, the Libraries invited the community at large to participate in a giant public found-art project; and hundreds of thousands of cards were sent to anyone who asked for them.

Those artists have since returned hundreds of pieces of original art, artist books, collage, poetry and sculpture, all made from old library cards. Their work will be on display starting March 27 in the Main Library’s North Hall exhibit space. The exhibit will be open through June.

“Participants of all ages made this project what it is; their enthusiasm and love for libraries clearly shows in the innovative and remarkable pieces they created,” said Kristin Baum, curator of the exhibit. “It is truly a testament to how influential libraries are; how they fill our hearts and minds with ideas bigger than a 3 x 5 card. Each participant took these cards in and made their own heartfelt mark upon them, thereby paying homage to all of the things which those cards represent. It is amazing what one can create out of a humble library catalog card.”
Some of the projects are fairly simple, such as cards with little more than scribbles returned by pre-school children. But many are complex and elaborate, such as a three-dimensional puzzle, a knit pillow or a crown “jeweled” with small bells and baubles, made out of cards listing the publishing information of books about royalty.

Once a mainstay of libraries, card catalogs have become extinct because of advances in technology. The information once kept on a card for the library’s holdings of books, periodicals and other volumes is now maintained on a searchable computer database so the paper cards have been destroyed and the massive wooden catalogs that held them sold. The cards adopted by the cARTalog project represent the libraries’ last cards, Baum said.

The cARTalog exhibit will be open during regular Main Library hours. Online you can see a selection of submitted cARTalog projects.

The Preservation Department of the University of Iowa Libraries will preserve historical documents damaged by Hurricane Katrina, starting with documents and manuscripts from the Jefferson Davis Library in Biloxi, Miss., and the Biloxi Public Library.

Library officials hope the project will provide a template for other preservation departments that want to assist Gulf Coast cultural institutions still struggling to clean up after Katrina. Already the department has conserved and returned correspondences from the Davis family. Later projects will include the local history collection at the public library, which suffered serious damage and needs to be cleaned and restored.

The idea for Project CALM (Conservation Attention for Libraries of Mississippi) came from Gary Frost, a conservator in the library’s preservation department who visited the Gulf Coast region in September as part of a team assessing post-hurricane damage. Frost said libraries and archives of the Gulf Coast of Mississippi were extensively damaged by the strong right side of hurricane Katrina. A tsunami-like storm surge drove inland up to six miles destroying coastal communities. Cultural collections of family history and municipal records were particularly devastated.

Frost has remained in touch with several contacts in Mississippi. Frost said more assessment will be performed in June, when the American Library Association holds its annual conference in New Orleans. Frost and Nancy E. Kraft, head of the UI Libraries’ preservation department, will travel to Biloxi following the conference and arrange for additional preservation projects that the UI Libraries can perform for the Davis library and the Biloxi library. Frost said the work is badly needed because the Gulf Coast region is still devastated and little of the massive restoration and reconstruction has even begun.

“The news cycle may be over but the need is still there,” Frost said. “The social, economic and municipal recovery will require many years of national resolve and assistance. Cultural renewal depends in part on the survival of historical records.”

He said the relationship with the Davis and Biloxi libraries will last for three years. Frost said the UI may create similar relationships with additional Gulf Coast organizations in the future, but the real value in Project CALM may be in showing other preservation departments how to establish similar relationships.

“We’re doing this one library at a time, one manuscript at a time,” Frost said. “It’s something that any preservation department at any major research library could do.”

In addition, he said several professional organizations have taken the lessons of Katrina to heart and are formulating rescue plans for historic documents after potential disasters in other parts of the country.

“For instance, what if there’s an earthquake on the West Coast?” he said. “These plans will mean there’s a timely and efficient response using national organizations and resources.”

Those who wish to support organizations that are helping reclaim damaged manuscripts and documents in the Gulf Coast region can donate through the American Library Association’s Adopt-a-Library Program. More information on the program can be found on the Web at http://www.ala.org/ala/cro/katrina/katrina.htm.

To make a gift to Project CALM, visit www.givetoiowa.org/calm