Month: April 2014

2014-04-21

The University Library has acquired the extensive collection of astrology journals and books belonging to Michael Erlewine, an American musician, astrologer, photographer, TV host, and Internet entrepreneur. The collection includes many videos, calendars, kits, and tarot card decks, and more than 16,000 books and periodicals—4,000 of which no other library appears to hold.

Erlewine contacted the University Library in 2009 about possibly donating his collection. His ultimate goal was to make it available, in its entirety, to a research university for permanent retention. Today, his collection is housed in a climate-controlled environment within the Oak Street Library Facility . Erlewine’s materials complement the Mandeville Collection of Occult Sciences already at Illinois.

Part of the Erlewine collection includes papers from Gary Duncan (Neil Llewellyn Bloch), an important research astrologer.

“The Rare Book & Manuscript Library already owns some material from Astrologer Sybil Leek,” said Nancy O’Brien, head of the University’s Social Sciences, Health and Education Library and curator of the Mandeville Collection. “This acquisition makes the University Library a nexus for astrology research.”

“The size, scope, uniqueness, and the complementary nature of this collection to our Mandeville Collection make this a great addition to our holdings,” concurred Associate University Librarian for Collections and Technical Services and Assistant Dean of Libraries Tom Teper.

The collection comes to Illinois from the Heart Center Astrological Library in Big Rapids, Michigan, where it resided for many years. According to Erlewine, the Library of Congress was interested in the journals within his collection; however, he opted to donate them to Illinois to keep all of the materials together.

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

2014-04-18

The Archives’ Student Life and Culture Archival Program at the University of Illinois will sponsor and play host to its third National Archives Conference for Fraternities and Sororities on June 12-14, 2014, on its Urbana-Champaign campus. Building on the success of the 2010 and 2012 conferences, this event will bring together experts on archival management, planning, preservation, and outreach with an emphasis on fraternity and sorority records.

One purpose of the conference is to provide archival training and support to headquarters staff members who are charged with their organization’s archives. Speakers will include Angela Waarala , digital collections project manager at the University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Noraleen Young , archivist at Kappa Alpha Theta and archival consultant for Past to Present; Christa Deacy-Quinn , collection manager at the Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Meg Miner , university archivist and special collections librarian at Illinois Wesleyan University; and Gaby Kienitz , head conservator at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. A special plenary address will feature Willard Broom , Illinois’s retired associate dean of students, and Ashley Dye , director of fraternity and sorority affairs, concerning archives roles in their work with student chapters.

“I found the speakers extremely knowledgeable and very informative about a wide range of subjects. Perhaps even more importantly was the opportunity to meet so many of our fellow archivists/curators/historians who toil so often without much in the way of resources to preserve the rich history of our fraternal organizations,” said Bob McCully, Sigma Nu historian and 2010 and 2012 conference participant. “The time spent swapping ideas and sharing problems and solutions was invaluable. There is no way I’ll miss the upcoming conference—it’s just too valuable to pass up.”

Shirely Gee, Kappa Delta Sorority, also a two-time attendee, commented, “Your workshops inspire me. Thank you for the time spent making the event worthwhile. I look forward to future seminars.”

The Archives’ Student Life and Culture Archival Program at Illinois documents national fraternity and sorority life. Program benefactor Stewart S. Howe ’28 provided publicity and record-keeping services for fraternities and sororities across the country and created and collected fraternity publications and materials from over 300 American colleges and universities in the process. His collection, the collection of William Levere of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and the Program’s national holdings, including the archives of the National Panhellenic Conference, North-American Interfraternity Conference, Alpha Tau Omega, and the Fraternity Communications Association, among others, have made the Program a research center for the study of the national fraternity and sorority.

“It was Howe’s deep desire to foster the study and preservation of fraternity and sorority history,” said Ellen Swain, the Program’s archivist for student life and culture. “This conference is one of the best ways to accomplish this objective.”

The conference is open to all who are interested. Registration deadline is May 16, 2014.

For more information and to register, visit the conference website at www.archives.library.illinois.edu/slc/conference14 or contact Ellen Swain, archivist for Student Life and Culture, at eswain@illinois.edu or (217) 333-7841.

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

2014-04-15

In conjunction with National Library Week in the United States (April 13-19), the American Library Association has released its report on the 2014 State of America’s Libraries, detailing library trends of the past year.

The University Library is spotlighted within this report as having particular impact on students. The excerpt reads:

“The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is carrying its pre-eminence in collections and services into the new endeavors of the profession. Their achievements, Conner says, “are too many to name.” Highlights include a vast reorganization of the traditional decentralized departmental research library into a new organization based on “hubs” of activity; managerial methods for bringing change to a vast, complex organization in an extremely short time that can serve as a model for any library reorganization; radical new advances on the learning commons idea that has evolved into a media commons in the undergraduate library and a scholarly commons serving advanced researchers in the main library.”

To read the full report, visit www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/issue/state-americas-libraries-2014 .

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

2014-04-15

From CNN iReport …

The University Library is one of 27 fascinating libraries in the world:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/14/travel/irpt-library-fascination-travel/index.html

The Undergraduate Library is a favorite library:
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1116573

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

2014-04-08

The History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library introduces a new website for the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections (IDNC) at http://idnc.library.illinois.edu .

The IDNC is a free online archive of digitized historic newspapers and trade journals organized in four different collections. Using Veridian Digital Library software, the IDNC offers a modern and user-friendly way to access unique research tools and engage with the past. The new website will replace Olive Active Paper which will be retired over Summer 2014.

The website includes interactive features allowing users to tag articles, correct OCR text, and share their findings on social media. In order to provide the most accurate content, the History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library is seeking the public’s assistance in correcting headlines and article text; please send corrections to idnc@library.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 ).