ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Grants and Acquisitions

Ann-Christe Young

The UCLA University Research Library

Department of Special Collections has received a $500,000 grant from The Ahmanson Foundation to support book acquisitions for the Ahmanson-Murphy Aldine and Early Italian Printing Collections. The collection of the publications of Aldo Manuzio, his family, and imitators was begun in 1961 during the tenure of Chancellor Franklin D. Murphy. The Early Italian Printing collection was established to expand research holdings printed during the period of the Aldine Collection. More than 300 printers are now represented.

The University of North Dakota's Chester

Fritz Library has been awarded grants totaling $18,000 for flood recovery projects. In April 1997, North Dakota’s Red River Valley was inundated by a flood of historic proportions. While the campus did flood, the library building escaped water damage. However 10 percent of the 26,000 library items charged out at the time of the flood were either lost or damaged. The following foundations have awarded grants to replace ruined or destroyed research materials: U.S. West Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation, Elmer L. & Eleanor J. Andersen Foundation, Baker Foundation, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, and the Dakota Gasification Company.

Rider University's Moore Library hasreceived a grant of $31,000 from the John Robert Gregg Fund of the New York Community Trust. The funds will be used to complete the cataloging of the Louis A. Leslie Collection of shorthand and business- education materials. Leslie amassed one of the most complete shorthand collections in existence, which he later donated to Rider.

The Johnson & Wales University Libraryhas been awarded a $50,000 grant from the George L. Alden Trust to purchase new hardware and software for the library’s computer system. The university was invited to become a full member in the Higher Education Library Information Network (HELIN), a consortium of academic libraries in Rhode Island; the grant will make it possible to acquire the equipment to connect to HELIN.

Acquisitions

A collection of approximately 200 rarebooks about the history and exploration of Africa was given to Cushing Memorial Library at Texas A&M University by the family of Rex B. Grey (1921-1980). Grey, a 1941 mechanical engineering graduate of Texas A&M, was president of International Telephone and Telegraph’s African and Middle East operations. He built the collection by acquiring most of the books from Sotheby’s and other distinguished English auction houses and booksellers. The books date from the 17th to the early 20th centuries and include such important works as John Ogilby’s History of Africa (London, 1670), Woodes Rogers’ A Cruising Voyage Around the World (London, 1712), J. K. Tuckey’s Narrative of an Expedition to the River Zaire (London, 1818), and W. Cornwallis Harris’ Portraits of Game and Wild Animals in Southern Africa (London, 1840).

A collection of popular narrative arts,from comic strips to motion pictures, has been acquired by the Ohio State University (OSU) Cartoon Research Library. The collections, approximately 150,000 pounds of boxes and files, were previously housed in the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art (SFACA). The academy’s well-known book editing and writing projects will continue at an accelerated pace, focusing on books featuring the work of Elzie Segar and George Herriman. OSU Libraries intend to maintain the intellectual coherence of the SFACA materials through its computerized cataloging system while the various works are housed in disperse units in order to place them with existing groups of similar materials.

Transcripts of the Westmoreland vs. CBStrial were presented to the Texas Tech University Library’s Vietnam Archive. Larry Berman, a professor and political science department chairman at the University of California at Davis, donated the papers to the archive. In a CBS Television special, which aired on Jan. 23, 1982, CBS Anchor Mike Wallace told how, in CBS’ view, the American military conspired to suppress and alter military intelligence about the North Vietnamese military. “The special implicated Gen. William Westmoreland in the conspiracy and cast doubt on his military honor,” said James R. Reckner, director of the Vietnam Center and a professor of history at Texas Tech. “Having sought, and not received, an apology from CBS, Gen. Westmoreland sued the network to regain his honor. Later CBS settled the case and apologized to Gen. Westmoreland,” said Reckner. Berman served as a consultant to CBS Television, and at the end of the trial obtained the complete transcript of the trial and supplementary materials. These original documents comprise 48 banker’s boxes of materials detailing the U.S. involvement in the Southeast Asian conflict.

Leon Uris, renowned author of Battle Cry, Exodus,and Trinity, announced that the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin is to be the archival repository of his literary manuscripts. In addition to the novels, Uris has written screenplays, coauthored photography books, and contributed stories and articles to many magazines and anthologies. “Uris is one of the most popular and widely read novelists America has produced,” said Thomas F. Staley, director of the Ransom Center. “His extensive contextual research gives his novels a sense of living presence and authority achieved by few contemporary authors.” ■

Ed. note: Send your news to: Grants & Acquisitions, C&RL News, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795; e-mail: ayoung@ala.org.