Month: January 2014

2014-01-29

The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, part of the University of Illinois Library, has acquired two archival collections that document the legacy of Champaign-Urbana’s landmark Pogo Studio and its owner/operator Mark Rubel.

Pogo Studio operated in downtown Champaign for almost 30 years, and recorded albums by musical artists such as Adrian Belew, Alison Krauss, Amasong, Hum, Menthol, Shiner, Starcastle, and the Vertebrats, as well as capturing performances by ensembles from the University of Illinois, Eastern Illinois University, and Parkland College. Pogo discontinued recording sessions in January 2014, in preparation for a move to Nashville, TN later this year. In December 2013, the Sousa Archives took custody of 2,600 audio reels and digital tapes recorded and stored at Pogo Studio, as well as documents describing the contents of each tape and the details of each recording session.

“The historical significance of the Pogo Studio recordings is quite remarkable because these materials provide a vivid snapshot of the dynamic and vital music scene that has distinguished the Urbana-Champaign community from all other communities in America’s Midwest,” according to Scott Schwartz, director of the University of Illinois’ Sousa Archives and Center for American Music.

In January 2014, the Sousa Archives acquired a second collection of materials related to Mark Rubel, his family, and the Champaign-Urbana rock music scene, from his sister, artist Sasha Rubel. The collection includes photographs, t-shirts, and albums released by local artists. These materials will supplement the Pogo recordings, as well as other collections related to local popular music located at the Sousa Archives.

After processing is completed by the staff of the Sousa Archives and the Library Preservation Department, both collections will be preserved in climate-controlled Library storage, and made available for use by researchers at the Sousa Archives.

“These recordings, business records, and photographs of the many music ensembles and performers that were recorded by Pogo Studio will provide scholars with tremendous primary source information about America’s popular music culture between 1983 and 2013,” according to Schwartz.

The Pogo Studio Records and the Sasha Rubel Papers have enabled Mark and Sasha Rubel to continue in a family tradition. Mark and Sasha’s father, Lee A. Rubel, was on the Mathematics faculty at Illinois, and his papers are held by the University Archives. Their mother Nina Rubel was a prolific feature writer for the Urbana Courier and Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette . Nina Rubel’s papers were donated by Sasha to the Champaign County Historical Archives in 2009 and 2010.

The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music acquires and preserves significant archival records and historical artifacts in multiple media formats that document America’s local and national music history and its diverse cultures. Part of the University of Illinois Library and University Archives, the Sousa Archives arranges, describes, and makes its collections accessible through on-line databases, finding aids, and other publications in support of scholarship, exhibitions, publications and education. The Sousa Archives’s collections are used for scholarly research, exhibitions, journalism, documentary productions, school programs, music performances, and other research and educational activities. It actively pursues alliances inside and outside the university community and, where necessary, financial support. For more information, visit www.library.illinois.edu/sousa/ .

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For more information about this topic, or the University’s local music preservation efforts, contact the Sousa Archives at (217) 244-9309 or sousa@illinois.edu .

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

2014-01-23

The Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP) at Illinois awards building upgrades on campus in facilities which have produced top energy conservation results. Each year eight campus buildings receive ECIP awards in two separate categories. Those selected have demonstrated the greatest percentage of energy conservation over a one-year period.

In 2013, three of eight awards went to Urbana campus libraries. The Undergraduate Library won 1st Place in the Occupant Action category; in the Energy Advancement category, the Main Library took 3rd Place while the Grainger Engineering Library took 4th Place. These libraries will work with the Utilities & Energy Services Division within Facilities & Services at the University to implement upgrades to their appearance or functionality.

The Energy Advancement category is for campus buildings whose energy reduction is the result of central funding from a significant energy conservation project. The Occupant Action category is for those buildings which have not benefited from such projects in the last fiscal year.

To learn more about the ECIP, please visit go.illinois.edu/ecip .

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

2014-01-23

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has received a large collection of materials documenting the history and practice of the art of crochet. The collection was donated by Gilbert Witte, long-time employee of the University Library. Named the Tennyson Library of Crochet for Witte’s great-grandmother Flora Emily Tennyson, the collection documents the history and practice of the craft through journals, patterns, samples, and manuals.

The Tennyson Library of Crochet consists of some 7,000 items in all, ranging in date from 1843 to the present. Most items come from the United States, but there are also pieces from Canada, England, Scotland, Australia, France, Japan, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Russia, Sweden, and Argentina.

Witte began collecting in earnest after receiving copies of Workbasket magazine belonging to his great-grandmother and other materials from his grandmother Flora Dell Adams. He was inspired in his search for rare and often ephemeral crochet literature by his own interest in learning the craft. Witte’s own library training led him to look for answers in books and journals. He has been systematic in his acquisitions, at one point acquiring another large collection, that of Betty Lou Claussen of Iowa, to merge with his own.

“Although my collection now resides in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, I still plan on collecting and filling in gaps,” said Witte, who learned to crochet in 1987. “It is my hope that it will interest and be of value to not only sartorial savants, but also students and scholars of arts and crafts, art history, theater studies, photography, and cultural history.”

“The Tennyson Library of Crochet came with the added bonus that Mr. Witte, a consummate cataloger himself, cataloged and prepared every item for addition to our collection,” said Rare Book & Manuscript Library Director Valerie Hotchkiss. “Not many donors can make such a claim!”

While the origins of crochet are unknown, the first printed crochet instruction materials appeared in women’s magazines of the late 1800s, such as Godey’s Ladies’ Magazine , Frank Leslie’s Ladies’ Gazette , Peterson’s Magazine , and, somewhat later, Harper’s Bazaar , Ladies Home Journal , and Ladies’ National Magazine . Needlework instructions are also found in household management books such as the famous Mrs. Beeton’s series. But the earliest publications devoted solely to specific needle arts were published in 1843; authored by artists such as Mrs. Gaugin, Mrs. Gore, Miss Lambert, Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, G. Curling Hope, and Mdlle. Riego de la Branchardiere.

The Tennyson Library of Crochet will be featured in a “Knot Forgotten: The Tennyson Library of Crochet at Illinois” exhibition in Summer 2014. For more information, visit www.library.illinois.edu/rbx .

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

2014-01-09

Update: Illiad Interlibrary Loan (loanshark.library.illinois.edu) is once again available for use

Starting at 6AM on Monday, January 13, 2014 we will be performing necessary maintenance on the Illiad Interlibrary Loan System (loanshark.library.illinois.edu). This maintenance may continue until as late as 5PM. During this time, the ILLiad Interlibrary Loan System will be unavailable.

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).