Kelly Grogg has been an Olson Graduate Assistant in Special Collections for the past two years. In May she completed her Masters in Library and Information Science. Kelly completed her time with us here in Special Collections last week. Our patrons, students, and staff benefited greatly from Kelly’s cheerful dedication. Kelly embodies the philosophy of service at the heart of librarianship. She will be missed.
Here is a list of some of the incredible work and projects Kelly did while in Special Collections:
Mentored and supervised a high school intern.
Mentored and supervised a student from the UI Reach program.
Curated an exhibition
Processed archival collections
Created lesson plans
Worked at the reference desk
Answered reference questions
Created pop-up events in the Learning Commons
Taught class sessions
Contribute to social media and video outreach projects
Kelly recently obtained a position as the Librarian for the United States Peace Corps. In this position Kelly will get to work with a small physical library of training materials, as well as maintaining up updating the digital library the Peace Corps created for volunteers. However, most of her time will be spent training international counterparts on the usage of the digital library and locating materials useful for volunteers as they set out to complete development projects. As an added bonus, she’ll also be able to answer historical reference questions about the Peace Corps through their historical document collection, putting to use the skills she gained as the Olson Graduate Assistant in Special Collections.
Please join us in wishing her the best in her new career as a librarian!
Kelly has left us with a video of her favorite things:
Celebrate Kelly’s success by looking back on her hilarious YouTube series, “Historical Crushes.”
Special Collections librarians can support any aspect of class planning for teaching with rare books and primary source materials.
We had a record-breaking 2015, so sign up early or else our rooms and librarians may already be booked for popular times. Find our classrequest form here.
New Acquisitions
Update from Acquisitions & Collections Management Librarian Margaret Gamm
Pick Yourself Up From off the Ground by Cuba. One of a kind artist’s book with acrylic graffiti paintings, 2014.
From the University Archives
Update from University Archivist David McCartney
A video paging through a 100+ year old scrapbook from a woman from the class of 1915 who attended the very first Homecoming football game.
Staff Awards
Special Collections Instruction Librarian Amy Chen was selected to be featured as a “Bright Young Librarian” by Fine Books & Collections Magazine. Read the feature here.
From the Web and Social Media
In Case You Missed It: A Compilation of Recent Links & Posts
Blog post reporting on a research trip to Special Collections: Marbled Paper Connections by Emily Pazar. See it here.
Article about the Brinton early film collection: 100 Years Later, New Audiences Discover Legendary Outsider. See it here.
Center for the Book/Special Collections commercial that we filmed last August is finished and will air on the Big Ten Network. Article: here Video below:
Exhibitions
“The Humanity in History”
January 8th-March 1st, 2016
Kelly Grogg, graduate student in the School of Library and Information Science and Special Collections senior Olson Graduate Assistant, has completed her capstone exhibition. It is on display now in the cases outside Special Collections on the 3rd floor.
“Every person featured in this exhibit has contributed to make the world a better place. They may not have ever reached the level of recognition they deserved, but despite their humble beginnings and oncoming obstacles, they contributed to the world in a way that cannot be measured in a ‘neatly packaged, sanitized parable’. These are the people who create history.” – Kelly Grogg
Congratulations to John Fifield, Caxton Club Grant Recipient
On Wednesday, November 18, University of Iowa Center for the Book students Ian Huebert, Amy Richard, and Special Collections’ Olson Graduate Assistant John Fifield all accepted grants from the Caxton Club at the Union League in Chicago. John’s grant will fund his return to the Biblioteca de la Recoleta in Arequipa, Peru, in January. He will be continuing research on Colonial Spanish monastic libraries and the Transatlantic Book Trade. You can view photos from the projects at the Recoleta at recoleta2015.tumblr.com.
Join us in congratulating John!
Congratulations to Kelly Grogg, Ella Von Holtom, and Heather Wacha for Being Accepted Into the Obermann Graduate Institute
Olson Graduate Assistant Kelly Grogg, and department employees Ella Von Holtom, and Heather Wacha were all accepted as Graduate Fellows for the seventh annual Obermann Graduate Institute on Engagement and the Academy. Join us in congratulating Kelly, Ella, and Heather!
Marie Mattingly Meloney, the creator of this album, gifted it to Laird C. Addis in 1926. It contains many autographs and small mementos from famous figures of the early 20th century, collected during Meloney’s time as an award-winning reporter and editor. She was close friends with Marie Curie, and was responsible for a nationwide campaign to purchase radium for Curie and her laboratory. More information about the album is available here. Donated by Laird Addis Jr.
Medieval Quill Cutting & More: If Books Could Talk Video Series Returns
How does a Medieval manuscript tell its story? If you look closely enough the marginalia, bookplates, library stamps, dirt marks, and page numbers tell a story of how a manuscript was made, who used it, and where it has been. If Books Could Talk is a video series exploring the questions to ask to investigate a manuscript by examining the physical traces that tell its story. If Books Could Talk is a collaboration between the UI Libraries and History Corps.
Delve in and you will be surprised with what you can learn when you listen to an artifact closely.
From the University Archives
Civil rights activist donates rare material to UI: UI archivist cultivates friendship with key player in 1964 voter registration effort
Civil rights activist Eric Morton’s story is the feature in this month’s Old Gold column from University Archivist David McCartney.
On the left you see Eric Morton in 1951, one year after enlisting in the U.S. Armed Forces. (Eric Morton Civil Rights Papers MsC 0999).
Iowa Women’s Archives Curator Kären Mason shared her memories of former Department Head Bob McCown on what would have been his 76th birthday this week. Read more on the Iowa Women’s Archives blog.
Staff Profile: Meet Annie Tunnicliff
Annie Tunnicliff joined the Iowa Women’s archives this semester as the Dorothy Wirtz Graduate Research Assistant. When this versatile performer is not working, she wears many faces. Stop by the IWA Tumblr to read the whole feature.
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Looking for a fun way to celebrate the University of Iowa’s Homecoming week? Check out our Historical Hawkeyes series, compiled by our Olson Graduate Research Assistant, Kelly Grogg.
Staff Changes
We are all very pleased to announce that Lindsay Moen has been hired as our LAIV in Special Collections, taking over Department Liaison responsibilities from Kathy Hodson, following her retirement. Lindsay has worked in Special Collections since she was an undergraduate, and she brings to the position years of experience with all manner of projects, collections, and circumstances. She has spent the past year as a temporary librarian working with our implementation of ArchivesSpace for finding aids.
New Acquisitions
Firrufino. El Perfeto artillero. Madrid 1648
While the focus of this book is on artillery, we selected it because of its interesting assortment of illustration styles. With 30 engravings and 131 woodcuts, the publisher’s focus on economy, while still maintaining a high quality of work, will start many discussions in classes on book and printing history.
Student Scrapbooks in the University Archives. 1912-1916.
Alveda (Eva) and Jennie Markle, sisters from New Hampton, attended the State University of Iowa between 1912 and 1916. The liberal arts majors were also meticulous record-keepers of their time as students. Recently their family donated the sisters’ scrapbooks to the University Archives, a collection that gives us a closer look at student life from a century ago. Iowa Fights!
Upcoming Events
John Fifield talk, “A Summer at the Recoleta”
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
6:30PM: Please join us for conversation as light refreshments are served
7PM – Talk by guest speaker, John Fifield
The newly-appointed Olson Graduate Assistant in Special Collections will recount his experience at the Convent of the Recoleta in Arequipa, Peru, where he assisted with identifying and cataloging early printed books in the monastery’s collection in the summer of 2015. He will describe the collection and comment on its place in the history of the transatlantic Spanish book trade.
Special Collections Reading Room, 3rd Floor Main Library, 125 W. Washington, Iowa City, IA.
Updates from Instruction
This week, we had ten classes visit Special Collections and University Archives. One of these classes was Stephen Voyce’s New Media Poetics, a graduate course in English. This visit was the second of three they are making over the fall semester. First, they came to learn about the Dada Archive from curator Tim Shipe on September 10. On October 6, this Tuesday, they enjoyed hands-on time with objects within the Fluxus collection under the supervision of Amy Chen, the instruction librarian. On October 13, they’ll return for their final session, during which the students will help Jacque Roethler, processing coordinator, arrange and describe Fluxus periodicals. We’re glad to have classes come in for multiple trips to gain a wider understanding of our holdings as well as to complete different types of assignments and learn from variety of expertise we offer.
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1. Saying Farewell to Olson Graduate Assistant Jillian Sparks
Jillian Sparks will complete her two years as Olson Graduate Assistant here in Special Collections this week. The Olson GA’s participate in the department as junior staff for twenty hours a week; working at the reference desk and answering email reference questions, teaching classes, planning events, writing about collection items for social media, and assisting with a myriad of other duties that come up in day to day life here in Special Collections. Above and beyond those duties Jillian worked on a project adding copy specific notes about types of bindings, marginalia, and provenance information to our catalog records for the earliest English language books in the collection and prepared an exhibition about her work that can still be seen in the cases outside Special Collection on the 3rd floor of the Main Library, or online here. Jillian recently completed her Masters of Library Science here at the University of Iowa along with a certificate in book studies from The Center for the Book, and is seeking employment in the field. Her contributions to this department over the past two years cannot be measured. It was an honor and a privilege to work with such a talented librarian.
Upcoming Events:
1. Special Guest Lecture, Alison Altstatt, University of Northern Iowa
“Re-membering the Wilton Processional: a Manuscript Lost and Found”
Friday, September 4, 2015
1:30PM-2:30PM
2032 Main Library, 125 W. Washington, Iowa City, IA
This talk concerns a notated leaf of an English medieval manuscript held in the Special Collections of the University of Iowa Libraries. Musical, textual and codicological evidence supports the identification of the leaf as a fragment of a processional from Wilton Abbey, an important center for women’s Latin learning from its tenth-century foundation to its sixteenth-century dissolution. The recovery of the University of Iowa leaf, along with more than thirty others, provides a window into the abbey’s musico-poetic tradition, its processional liturgies, and its dramatic rituals.
2. Iowa Bibliophiles First Meeting for 2015-2016, Wednesday September 9th
The first Iowa Bibliophiles meeting of the 2015-2016 season will feature University of Iowa Center for the Book calligraphy instructor Cheryl Jacobsen speaking about calligraphic hands featured in Medieval manuscripts held in Special Collections.
6:00PM – Stop by to view a repeat showing of the livestream video of Alison Altstatt’s September 4th talk
6:30PM – Refreshments served
7PM – Cheryl Jacobsen’s talk
Special Collections Reading Room, 3rd Floor Main Library, 125 W. Washington, Iowa City, IA
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the sponsoring department or contact person listed in advance of the event.
Recently on the Web and Social Media:
1. Olson Graduate Assistant Kelly Grogg’s IFLA Conference Report
Jillian wrote a farewell Tumblr post about the History of Hydraulics collection that you can see here. You can also view all of the posts she made for our Tumblr in her time in Special Collections here.
3. U. Iowa Curriculum Featuring Special Collections Materials Featured in “In the Library with the Lead Pipe” Article
Tom Keegan, Head of the Digital Scholarship and Publishing Studio in the UI Libraries, and former Undergraduate Services Librarian Kelly McElroy published an article about Archives Alive!, the primary source based curriculum for the Rhetoric Department that has students transcribing, analyzing, and interpreting historic documents from Special Collections in DIY History, the University of Iowa Libraries volunteer-based document transcription site. The curriculum was originally developed in partnership with a campus curriculum development project, Iowa Digital Engagement and Learning (IDEAL).
4. “Weekly Squint” On Tumblr
Several libraries on Tumblr this week featured a “Weekly Squint” which includes a close up view of a collection item. The Huntington Library Tumblr began the “Weekly Squint” feature on Tumblr and invited other libraries and institutions to participate. Our post was a close up view of the Columbian Press in the 3rd Floor hallway.
New Acquisitions:
1. Early 20th Century Astronomy Slides
With the July 14 New Horizons flyby of Pluto, there has been a surge of interest in astronomy. A recent acquisition by the Special Collections department shows that interest in the heavens has been with us for a long time.
These slides were used by Bishop Simeon Arthur Huston (1876-1963), Bishop of the Episcopal Dioceses of Olympia, WA from 1925 to 1947. He had a life-long love of astronomy and after his retirement, he wrote a regular astronomy column in his local newspaper on Bainbridge Island, Washington. He gave frequent talks on astronomy, using these slides to illustrate his talks. There are approximately 50 slides in the collection.
These slides were generously donated by Simeon Huston’s grandchildren Matt Huston, John Huston, Jr., and Elisabeth LeLion.
2. The Gazetteer
The Map Collection’s merge with Special Collections in 2013 has resulted in a heavier focus on the history of cartography. Although Labbé didn’t advertise this work as a gazetteer, it is one of the earliest works on place names in France. Nicolas Sanson, a famous cartographer, heavily criticized the book for plagiarism; perhaps that explains why this was the only edition!
Contestants in the Szathmary Collection of Historic Recipes competition, judged Tuesday at the 2015 Iowa State Fair, were part cook, part historian and part detective. Entrants were challenged to interpret a recipe from 1874, maintaining the original recipe’s integrity, while filling in the gaps and adapting to modern measurements, equipment and ingredients
Celeste F. Bremer of Urbandale won first place. Natalie Ridgway of Johnston earned second place and Lindsey Pepper of Boone claimed third place.
See this item, MsC 533, EN32, in the Iowa Digital Library: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm/ref/collection/cookbooks/id/12876
“Put two eggs into the scale, then take their weight in flour, butter and lump sugar; first beat the butter in to a cream, powder the sugar and mix with it, beat in the eggs and lastly the flour, butter some little moulds and take ½ an hour in rather a quick oven.”
The Iowa State Fair Food Department is the largest of any state fair in the country. There are 228 divisions, 850 classes and over 10,600 entries at this year’s Fair. Food Department judging is held in the Elwell Family Food Center sponsored by Wells Blue Bunny.
The judges for the contest were members of the “Historic Foodies” group in Iowa City.
Congratulations to all the winners!
2. A Final Reminder to Sign Up for Fall Semester Class Sessions or Group Visits
Special Collections and University Archives already has 40 professors scheduling classes with us this fall. You should bring your students too! We have a staff of librarians with expertise in areas ranging from medieval manuscripts to science fiction, all available to help design curricula to complement your learning objectives. Submit your request here to learn more: http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/forms/speccoll_class/
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This week I’m finishing up my summer internship at Special Collections. I’ve had so much fun here this past month and no two days have been exactly the same. I’ve done all sorts of things, from helping with reference questions and pulling materials, to listening to Oral History interviews and exploring the collections. One of my favorite things I had the opportunity to do was create a series of Tumblr posts featuring postcards from the World’s Fair Collection. I even got to create a display for the display case in the reading room with the postcards from my posts.
Another thing that I really enjoyed was getting to meet with all the people in the department individually. Through these meetings I learned so much about what each person does and how they got here. I loved hearing everyone’s stories and I have a much greater appreciation for all the work everyone does here.
I also had the opportunity to pull items for the upcoming comics program for the Iowa City Public Library summer reading program. The nerd in me loved going through the boxes of old comics to help chose what to show at the event, (I especially loved the Dazzler comics). Everyone here must have really strong arm muscles though, because some of those boxes are very heavy.
This internship has given me a greater appreciation of all the work that goes on behind the scenes, that most people never see, and all the amazing people that work here. I’m so thankful to have had this opportunity and I’m going to miss coming in every morning. Have a wonderful summer everyone.
-Emily
We certainly enjoyed having Emily with us this summer, and we miss her already! If you’d like to check out Emily’s wonderful tumblr series, follow this link!
