ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Grants and Acquisitions

Ann-Christe Young

Portland State University's Branford PriceMillar Library has received funding for the last year of a three-year Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant totaling $32,000. The purpose of the grant is to expand access to the library’s Arabic vernacular library resources. The grant funds retrospective conversion efforts and sharing of selected print material with the public Multnomah County Library System.

The National Historical Publications andRecords Commission has awarded the University of Pennsylvania Library, Department of Special Collections, a grant of $55,675 for the preservation, arrangement, and description of the Elizabeth Robins Pennell Papers, the Margaret Naumburg Papers, and the Wanda Gag Papers. These women, whose lives extended from 1855 to 1983 made significant contributions in the fields of art, writing, education, and art therapy. Nancy Shawcross, curator of manuscripts at the library, said the “commission’s funding will greatly aid in our ability to research and understand the complexities and achievements of American women.”

The William Andrews Clark Memorial Libraryat UCLA has received a grant of $100,000 from the Ahmanson Foundation of Los Angeles to purchase rare books and manuscripts for the library’s collection. This donation has helped the library acquire rare and important items in its areas of specialization, particularly English books of the 17th and 18th centuries, European translations of English books of the early modern period, the 1890s centering on Oscar Wilde and his circle, and fine printing and the book arts.

Southwest Missouri State University(SMSU) Libraries has received a $58,620 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to arrange, describe, and catalog 18 selected collections from the Ozarks Labor Union Archives. The 18-month project will also improve access to the collections by creating and marking up finding aids into the SGML/HTML format for use on the Web. The collections, totaling 430 linear feet, were selected for their regional and statewide significance, comprehensiveness, physical condition, and contents regarding working class history, women’s history, and underdocumented trades. The Ozarks Labor Union Archives, one of five main collections within the SMSU Special Collections and Archives Department, is the largest archive documenting organized labor and working- class history in the Ozarks region.

The Navy Department Library and theNaval Observatory Library received $450,000 in Department of Defense Legacy grants to preserve, catalog, and provide increased accessibility to rare historic and scientific materials. The libraries, both located in Washington, D.C., contain the most comprehensive collections of historical literature relating to the development of the U.S. Navy and its scientific background in the astronomical and navigational sciences. This grant will provide increased access and preservation of more than 3,000 previously identified books, documents, and manuscripts.

The University of Georgia Libraries (UGL)Media Archives and Peabody Collection has received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to preserve and improve access to its television collection that focuses on African American history and culture from 1949 to 1974. The Peabody Award Archive will make accessible a major collection of black-interest television that can be grouped and searched through electronic records. The $96,590 grant will be matched by $142,174 from the UGA Libraries to fund the one-year project.

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

Lilly Endowment Inc. awarded more than$2.2 million to 12 Indiana schools to support faculty development, curriculum improvement, or institutional development. The following schools received grants: Earlham College in Richmond; Franklin College; Huntintgton College; Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne; Oakland City University; Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer; St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame; Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College; Tri-State University in Angola; University of Evansville; and Wabash College in Crawfordsville.

Acquisitions

A col lection from the Ursuline Sisters ofNew Orleans has been acquired by the Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC). This collection of rare books and library materials date back nearly four centuries. The 1,900 books contain many unique items including a collection of southern colonial materials believed to be the only ones in existence. Upon completing the transfer of the collection, the library will begin addressing the conservation and preservation needs of the collection. In addition to customized cataloging to be completed by OCLC’s TECHPRO Unit, the cataloged Ursuline records will be entered into the WorldCat database (the OCLC Online Union Catalog) of nearly 38 million records.

A col lection of U.S. art history educationmaterials from the colonial period through the first decades of the 20th century has been donated by art educator Diana Korzenik to The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. The collection, to be named the Korzenik Collection on the History of American Art Education, contains more than 450 books and 1,000 artifacts and ephemeral pieces that document how art was taught in the United States for more than 100 years. The collection includes drawing manuals, instruction sheets on art forms, paint boxes, crayons, student sketch books, and stencil kits.

“Box of Pictures to Paint," c. 1892, from the Korzenik Collection on the History of American Art at the Huntington Library.

A “Star Trek” collection has landed atBowling Green State University. A toy replica of the space ship is among items in a collection of “Star Trek” memorabilia that has been give to the university’s popular culture library by Marie Wakefield, a librarian for the U.S. Army. The collection includes scripts from the original “Star Trek” television series and three spin-offs, books, sound recordings, games, posters, figures, costume jewelry, a lunch box, and even a McDonald’s Happy Meal box. Many items are still in their original packaging.

U.S. Representative Lee Hamilton willdonate his papers, memoranda, correspondence, and speeches to Indiana University (IU) upon his retirement. These documents will join those of the more than 50 Indiana political figures whose papers are housed at IU’s Lilly Library, which provide an extensive resource for scholars of American politics and government. Hamilton is currently the ranking Democratic member of the House Committee on International Relations. He is also former chairman of several committees, including the Joint Economic Committee, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.