Historically Yours Podcast: Warren G. Harding letter with guest Ben Schmidt

The third episode of Historically Yours is here and this time we’re joined by School of Library and Information graduate student Ben Schmidt.

Ben reads a letter from Warren G. Harding responding to a request for a memorial for World War I.

Do you know anything about the movement to make a memorial? Or about Mrs. Henry F. Dimock?

Type in the comments, email us colleen-theisen@uiowa.edu or write to us:

Colleen Theisen

Special Collections

100 Main Library

Iowa City, IA 52242

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See the letter below:

Video: Make a Continuous Flexagon with Emily Martin

Center for the Book faculty member and book artist Emily Martin chooses a format for each work that assists in telling the story she wants to tell with the content. This exciting new video introduces her work, especially the pieces that have a focus on circular story telling that draw upon the continuous flexagon as a format for telling that story. Stick around as Emily then demonstrates how to make the continuous flexagon format.

The pattern is below. Give it a try yourself and share the results with us by emailing colleen-theisen@uiowa.edu or tagging us @uispeccoll and using the hashtag #uiflexagon on Twitter.

Emily Martin’s continuous flexagon seen below:

Download Continuous Flexagon Pattern

Watch the whole video:

Stop by Special Collections to see more of Emily Martin’s work, or check out her website: http://emilymartin.com/

Script and host: Colleen Theisen

Artist and guest: Emily Martin

Video: Keaton Fuller

Editing: Farah Boules

Fourth Annual Shakespeare Livestream – TOMORROW (Wednesday 4/26) 11AM-1PM

FOURTH Annual Shakespeare Livestream
Tune in live Wednesday April 26, 11:00am-1:00pm CST [Central time in the USA is GMT -5:00]

We’re back! Celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday week by joining us – live on the internet! – for our FOURTH annual Shakespeare’s Death Anniversary & Birthday Week Commemoration Livestream, featuring University of Iowa Shakespeare professor Adam Hooks, alongside Colleen Theisen, Special Collections Outreach & Engagement Librarian.

Now is your chance to Ask a Shakespeare Scholar anything about Shakespeare, about being a Shakespeare scholar, and maybe even about your least favorite Shakespeare plays. We will also have a selection of historic, unusual, beautiful, and forged editions of Shakespeare’s works from Special Collections which we’ll be showing and telling stories about LIVE!

Use the hashtag #shxlive to ask a question, or type one here in the comments, or tune in live to ask a question. The event will be added to the UISpecColl YouTube channel as a video after the completion of the event. (See past livestreams).

Tune in here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHEgdueFNHM

Special Collections News & Updates 4/20/2017

Newsfeed:

Tom Brokaw’s ‘stuff’ in Iowa is a window into his life. Kyle Munson, Des Moines Register. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/columnists/kyle-munson/2017/04/10/tom-brokaws-stuff-iowa-window-into-his-life/99805406/

Upcoming Events:

Final Mellon Sawyer Lecture Friday, April 28. 8:30AM-2:30PM

Marina Rustow
“Fatimid State Documents, Serial Recyclers and the Cairo Geniza”
Khedouri A. Zilkha Professor of Jewish Civilization in the Near East, Princeton University
8:30–10:00am

Erik Kwakkel
“Aristotle and the Medieval University: The Birth of a New Book Format”
University Lecturer, Universiteit Leiden
10:30 a.m.–noon

Katherine Tachau
“Piece-work and Medieval University Book Production: The Pecia”
Professor of History, University of Iowa
1–2:30 p.m.

April Iowa Bibliophiles Recap

Instruction Librarian Amy Chen presented about her game, Codex Conquest: The Game of Book History at the April Meeting 4/12/2017. The Iowa Bibliophiles, including a group of students from Scattergood Friends School, tested the game in three groups.

Amy Chen will be a guest all next week at Columbia University presenting about the game and play testing. More information: https://blogs.cul.columbia.edu/rbml/2017/03/07/codex-conquest/

Follow along on the game’s website for all the updates: http://codexconquest.lib.uiowa.edu/

Congratulations:

Elizabeth Riordan is one of the winners of the library student employee scholarship. Congratulations, Elizabeth! Liz is a graduate student in the School of Library and Information Science and has worked in Special Collections all of the 2016-2017 academic year. Elizabeth welcomes the chance to work in the archives where every person and item has a story.

From the Web and Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BS6ipekDR9u/?taken-by=uispeccoll

Historically Yours Podcast Episode 2: Heroic Deeds with Liz Riordan

SO. MANY. BIBLES. @UISpecColl #biblionerd #PedagogyFTW pic.twitter.com/COCtG9gxdR

— Adam G. Hooks (@adamghooks) April 13, 2017

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Historically Yours Podcast Episode 2: Heroic Deeds with Liz Riordan

I beg leave to express my admiration for your gallant coduct in extinguishing the fire at the Park Theatre last night. I am certain that but for your gallantry and courageous risk of your own life the theater with its contents and perhaps many valuable lives would have been lost. I can never forget the spirit with which you thrust your body into the burning space and choked the consuming gas until the danger was past, such deeds illuminate monuments of human heroism. Truly your friend, Lawrence Barrett.

Historically Yours is brought to you by the wacky folks who wander in and out of the University of Iowa Special Collections. Your host is Colleen Theisen, today’s guest is Liz Riordan.

Our theme music was composed by Will Riordan.

Download this episode (right click and save)

(Subscribe on Podbean, iTunes, or Pocket Casts. Let us know where we should syndicate.)

Do you know anything about the letter from today’s episode? About the clipping mentioned in blue pencil on the letter? About the Park Theater or Mr. Smith?

Write to us!

Historically Yours

c/o Colleen Theisen

University of Iowa Special Collections

100 Main Library

Iowa City, IA 52242

Letter from this episode:

Lawrence Barrett to James H. Smith Esq.

September 26, 1873.

MsL B274

Special Collections News and Updates 3/30/2017

Newsfeed:

Travel Grant Applications due April 15, 2017

https://www.tumblr.com/iowawomensarchives/158778861035/every-girl-has-a-voice-every-woman-has-a-story

Instruction:

Play testing began on Amy Chen’s second game, Mark! Check out the development on Twitter through #markthegame.

Exhibitions:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BR59sMIA6dg/?taken-by=uilibraries

From the Web & Social Media:

New Podcast Historically Yours Launches

https://www.tumblr.com/uispeccoll/159229043493

Donate to the University Libraries’ Special Collections Fund

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New Podcast Historically Yours Launches

The University of Iowa Special Collections has a new podcast, Historically Yours which will be a biweekly podcast. In each episode Outreach Librarian Colleen Theisen and a guest will read one historic letter, research the context, and discuss the role of letter writing past and present.

Episode 1 features Digital Project Librarian Laura Hampton reading a letter from April 15, 1942 from Horace Ainsley Vachell of Bath England to Mr. Corder. (MsL V1183co).

Do you know anything about Mr. Corder? Or Mr. Vachell? Or anything else in this letter? Let us know.

Write to us with information, feedback, stories or comments and we’ll read them on the podcast:

Historically Yours

c/o Colleen Theisen

University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections

100 Main Library

Iowa City, IA 52242

New episodes will premiere bi-weekly on Tuesdays.

Episode 1:

Here is the letter from episode 1:

You can also follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

Special Collections News & Updates 3/22/2017

Iowa Bibliophiles browsing new acquisitions

March News & Updates:

Old Gold: 1962 campus concert featured both Al Jarreau and Simon Estes https://now.uiowa.edu/2017/03/old-gold-1962-campus-concert-featured-both-al-jarreau-and-simon-estes
Johnson County Historical Society event puts focus on historic and rare films and slides http://www.thegazette.com/subject/life/people-places/johnson-county-historical-society-event-puts-focus-on-historic-and-rare-films-and-slides-20170307
Uncovering hidden history of Latinos in Iowa http://www.thegazette.com/subject/life/people-places/uncovering-the-hidden-history-of-latinos-in-iowa-20170304
History of Iowa City by Christopher Jones for the Rare Books and Manuscripts Conference to be held in Iowa City in June. http://conference.rbms.info/2017/655-2/

Instruction Update:

In February 2017 we had 40 class sessions!

Staff Awards & Updates:

University Archivist David McCartney was elected president of the Midwest Archives Conference for a two year term. Read more.

Event Recap & Photos:

Book artist David Esslemont visited Special Collections for the opening reception for “Open * Set.” This traveling exhibition from the American Academy of Bookbinders is on display on the third floor of the Main Library outside Special Collections until April 19th.

The evening of the exhibition opening, Acquisitions and Collections Management Librarian Margaret Gamm presented new acquisitions to the Iowa Bibliophiles on March 8th.

Margaret Gamm presenting to the Iowa Bibliophiles

From the Web & Social Media:

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David McCartney Elected President of Midwest Archives Conference

University Archivist David McCartney has been elected president of the Midwest Archives Conference for a two year term.

MAC is one of the nation’s largest regional professional associations for archivists. Founded in 1972, MAC now has more than 800 individual members. MAC’s institutional members include a variety of corporate, government, religious, and university archives, as well as historical societies and other manuscripts repositories and special collections.

The MAC region is the 13 heartland states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

David has been a member of MAC since 2001 and has previously served as secretary and also as vice-president.

Join us in congratulating David for this honor and join us in thanking him for his willingness to serve and make an impact on the field.

YouTube Video: Book Anatomy by Hannah Hacker

Members of the Internet Creator’s Guild who are makers of educational video have come together this week to collectively release work on the theme “Create.” The University of Iowa Special Collections’ contribution to this effort is a two and a half minute hand drawn video about book anatomy.

Hannah Hacker put her pen to paper to make drawings of the parts of a book as part of her two year position in Special Collections as an Olson Graduate Research Assistant. Hacker is also a graduate student in the School of Library and Information Science and the Center for the Book, and is a prolific artist. This is the first time Special Collections’ staff have utilized hand drawings as part of an educational video. Her efforts have been assisted by the talents of undergraduate video assistant Farah Boules.

The Book Anatomy video can be seen on Special Collections’ YouTube Channel where you can leave praise, feedback, questions, or ideas for new videos in the comments.

Follow along by subscribing on YouTube: http://youtube.com/user/uispeccoll/subscribe

Watch all of the #createICG videos as they are added to the playlist March 20-26, 2017.

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