DRP welcomes Rob Shepard!

Digital Research & Publishing is pleased to announce that Rob Shepard has accepted our offer to be the new Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) Librarian for the UI Libraries. Rob comes to us from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Geography.

University of Iowa campus map, ca. 1943
University of Iowa campus map, ca. 1943

We at DRP are looking forward to the talents and experience Rob brings that will further enhance the accessibility and usability of geospatial resources (everything’s spatial!) in the Iowa Digital Library.  Rob will also be working on cross-campus coordination of GIS and support for faculty research and other Libraries partners.

Moving items into Main Library, the University of Iowa, 1951
Moving items into Main Library, the University of Iowa, 1951

Welcome, Rob!

Spring musings

Today is the vernal equinox – the first day of spring.  72 years ago, Nile Kinnick reflected on its meaning from the U.S. Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.  His words about the trajectory of the ongoing war are startlingly prescient, before turning his thoughts to springtime at home.  Thanks to DRP’s Wendy Robertson for finding this letter today, and to the DIYHistory participant/s who transcribed it.

Nile Kinnick letter to his brother, Ben, March 21, 1942
Nile Kinnick letter to his brother, Ben, March 21, 1942

“…today is supposed to be the date of the vernal equinox, when the sun’s center crosses the equator and day and night are everywhere equal. As surely as the world is round the sun will begin to rise earlier and set later, we shall have more light than darkness. Time and season wait on no man. And so it will go with this war. As the stars in their courses indicate the shifting seasons so do they proclaim that goodness shall triumph over evil, hope over despair. There has been so very little sunlight to cheer either America or Britain since the war started, and even now the prospect is dark and foreboding. However, the “spring equinox” is approaching. It will be born of blood and thunder in the year 1942. Fierce will be the fighting against superior odds, and disadvantageous will be the circumstances, but when the smoke and blood have been cleared away, the Allied Nations shall be more nearly on an equal footing than at any time since the adversary set upon them. And then in 1943 the drive will begin. Slowly but surely, gaining momentum with every assault, the foe will be beaten back until once again sunshine & light have gained dominion. The year 1944 will see the termination of this fearful struggle, and once again we shall make an attempt to prevent the recurrence of such an holocaust.”

“But enough of figurative speculation, and on to lighter things. Spring in the midwest, oh, that is a glorious season! Soon the countryside will be green and fresh, the heavy hand of winter will be shaken off – and, yes, the grass will be a grab and a half high, and picnics will displace the afternoon schedule.”

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This year, spring looks about as colorful as this photo, A spring day at Bellevue IA, 1910s, from the Mary Noble Photograph collection.  Click the photo and zoom in, and you’ll still see some smiling faces.  Both the Noble and Kinnick collections are part of the Iowa Digital Library.

"A spring day at Bellevue IA," 1910s
“A spring day at Bellevue IA,” 1910s

 

 

A Monument Man at SUI

Two collections in the Iowa Digital Library, University of Iowa Alumni Publications and University of Iowa Yearbooks include over 40,000 pages of campus history.  Locating a specific name or event would be a challenge, but Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology allows the collections to be full text searchable.

The name George Stout has been in the news a lot lately as the basis for the lead character in the movie Monuments Men.  A 1921 graduate of what was then the State University of Iowa (SUI), he also makes several other appearances in the both the yearbooks and alumni publications.

George Stout, Hawkeye Yearbook, 1921
George Stout, Hawkeye Yearbook, 1921

Stout is listed among the artists of the humor publication Frivol, which while unfortunately not digitized, is available in the University Archives’ Student-produced Publications and Newsletters Collection.

Frivol 1920
Frivol, 1920
Stout - Frivol
Frivol Staff, 1921

Stout is also mentioned in the March 1921 issue of the Iowa Alumnus for delivering a short address for Foundation Day, the UI’s 74th birthday.  While there’s no accompanying picture for this event, the IDL collection Iowa City Town and Campus Scenes includes several photographs from earlier Foundation Days.

Foundation Day speech, The University of Iowa, 1910s?
Foundation Day speech, The University of Iowa, 1910s?

Finding information in Iowa Digital Library text collections is made simple through OCR and word highlighting.

Iowa Digital Library Image & Text Viewer
Iowa Digital Library Image & Text Viewer

Enjoy more than a million digital objects created from the holdings of the University of Iowa Libraries and its campus partners. Included are illuminated manuscripts, historic maps, fine art, historic newspapers, scholarly works, and more. Digital collections are coordinated by Digital Research & Publishing.

Remembering the Gettysburg Address

Today is the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The Iowa Digital Library includes over 1000 items digitized from the archives of Lincolniana collector James Wills Bollinger.

View additional items from the Bollinger-Lincoln digital collection.

This is Abraham Lincoln, Page 14
This is Abraham Lincoln, 1941, Page 14 | The James W. Bollinger Digital Collection

This is Abraham Lincoln, Page 15
This is Abraham Lincoln, 1941, Page 15 | The James W. Bollinger Digital Collection
Page_05_cropped
Lincoln, a story in poster stamps, 1939 | The James W. Bollinger Digital Collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wall-gettysburg
The Gettysburg Speech, Bernard Wall etching, 1924 | The James W. Bollinger Digital Collection.

Bon Voyage, Christine!

We in Digital Research & Publishing sadly bid fond farewell to Christine Tade. Christine’s involvement in DRP extends back almost to the beginning of the department, to a 2006 professional development internship, where Christine learned the ins-and-outs of applying descriptive metadata to Iowa Digital Library materials. Afterward, Christine was the point person for digital collection metadata in the Cataloging department, training and supervising staff there, finding ways to bend the software to her will and making more archival collections usable online.

"A thoroughbred" 1907

Christine officially joined Digital Research & Publishing in 2012, six months after the launch of DIYHistory, the Libraries crowdsourcing transcriptions project. While continuing her digital collection work, Christine transitioned into the role of chief correspondent with transcribing participants, answering questions and also transcribing and reviewing many manuscripts herself. In July, DIYHistory reached a major milestonetemp, 35,000 pages transcribed.


Automobile crossing a bridge on a dirt road, Iowa, 1922

Christine has contributed greatly to the success of many projects and collection initiatives. We wish her the very best in her retirement!

Arbor Day, 2012

Today is Arbor Day, the last Friday of April.  Take a stroll through the Iowa Digital Library.

Two Trees = Five Doors by Naomi Kark Schedl (2002) | University of Iowa Daily Palette Collection
Two Trees = Five Doors by Naomi Kark Schedl (2002) | University of Iowa Daily Palette Collection

 

Old Capitol among trees, The University of Iowa (1920s?) | Iowa City Town and Campus Scenes
Old Capitol among trees, The University of Iowa (1920s?) | Iowa City Town and Campus Scenes

 

What we get from trees (1978) | U.S. Government Posters Collection
What we get from trees (1978) | U.S. Government Posters Collection

 

Women inside tree, Iowa City, Iowa (1910s) | Mary Noble Collection
Women inside tree, Iowa City, Iowa (1910s) | Mary Noble Collection

 

Will lightning strike twice? (1984) | Richard Baker Geosicence Slides
Will lightning strike twice? (1984) | Richard Baker Geosicence Slides

 

 

 

 

Mauricio Lasansky, 1914-2012

Mauricio Lasansky, the innovative printmaker and founder of the printmaking workshop at the University of Iowa School of Art and Art History, died last week at the age of 97.  Lasansky studied and worked at the Atelier 17 workshop prior to his arrival in Iowa City where he continued to influence the course of printmaking in the United States.

Many of Lasansky’s works appear in the UI Museum of Art, and he is also represented in several Art Festival Programs and Alumni Publications in the Iowa Digital Library.

Self-portrait by Mauricio Lasansky (1948) | University of Iowa Museum of Art
Self-portrait by Mauricio Lasansky (1948) | University of Iowa Museum of Art
Dedication week exhibit, 1955 | University of Iowa Alumni Publications
Dedication week exhibit, 1955 | University of Iowa Alumni Publications
Firebird by Mauricio Lasansky (1955) | University of Iowa Art Festival Programs
Firebird by Mauricio Lasansky (1955) | University of Iowa Art Festival Programs