News from the Field

David Free

Purdue acquires Dorothy Kilgallen collection

Purdue University’s Archives and Special Collections, home to the largest collection of papers that once belonged to Amelia Earhart, is now home to the collection of another 20th-century female icon, Dorothy Kilgallen. An intrepid investigative reporter, journalist, and television star, Kilgallen’s probe into the JFK assassination is essential to our understanding of U.S. history. She climbed to the top of the journalistic world when her New York Journal American columns were syndicated across America, and she gained fame as a star panelist on the CBS program “What’s My Line.”

A reporter known for her integrity and pursuit of the truth, Kilgallen covered such high-profile cases as the Dr. Sam Sheppard trial and Charles Lindbergh baby kidnapping trial, the former of which became the movie The Fugitive. She died under mysterious circumstances in 1965.

The collection, which includes Kilgallen’s columns and articles about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the plot to kill him, is made possible by Purdue alumnus and bestselling author Mark Shaw. Learn more at https://bit.ly/3oOn1qp.

MLS funds five pandemic response, professional development, digital inclusion projects

The Institute of Museum and Library Services recently announced five FY 2020 out of cycle awards totaling more than $2.4 million that will help libraries to build diversity and inclusion programs and provide resources for their communities in the wake of the pandemic. The University of Arizona, New York University, and their partners received Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian awards that will facilitate professional development for Native American and other underrepresented communities in the library, archives, and museum fields.

The Salt Lake City Public Library, LYRASIS, and the Califa Group received grants to fund the expansion of digital and health-related programs in response to the pandemic. More information is available at www.imls.gov/news/imls-funds-five-pandemic-response-professional-development-digital-inclusion-library-projects.

ANSS seeks feedback on draft Framework for Information Literacy in Sociology

The Instruction and Information Literacy Committee of the ACRL Anthropology and Sociology Section (ANSS) is seeking input on a draft sociology companion document to the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Please consider providing feedback on the draft by completing the ANSS IIL Framework for Information Literacy in Sociology Feedback survey at https://depaul.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b7a54RiEFmBsriZ between December 1, 2020, and January 31, 2021. This study has been approved by the California State University-San Bernardino Institutional Review Board. Contact ANSS-IIL Co-Chairs Gina Schlesselman-Tarango at gschlesselman@csusb.edu or Krystal Lewis at klewis48@depaul.edu with questions.

Law Library of Congress becomes GPO preservation steward

The Law Library of Congress has signed an agreement with the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) to become a preservation steward. Through the agreement, the Law Library of Congress will preserve its collection of the daily Congressional Record and Federal Register, which are produced by GPO. This agreement comes in addition to the Library of Congress’ 2017 Preservation Steward agreement with GPO to preserve Congressional Hearings. The Library of Congress and GPO also have a digital access partnership to provide permanent public access to digital publications within the scope of the Federal Depository Library Program available through the Library of Congress website.

Project MUSE announces new books collections

Project MUSE will offer five new subject collections, along with titles from eight additional publishers, in its book collections for the 2021 calendar year. The 2021 Complete Collection is expected to be 7% larger than the prior year—offering nearly 3,000 newly published books, about 200 more than the 2020 Complete. By the end of 2021, the Book Collections on Project MUSE will offer well over 68,000 titles, from more than 200 distinguished university presses and related not-for-profit publishers, providing a wealth of essential, vetted, reliable digital scholarship to libraries, researchers, instructors, and students worldwide.

In addition to the Complete Collection of new titles each year, books on MUSE are offered in collections by a wide variety of academic subjects and several regional area studies. New subjects available for the first time in 2021 include Art and Architecture; Gender Studies; Music; Education and Rhetoric; and Science, Technology, and Media. Descriptions of the collections, along with further details, are available on the Project MUSE website at https://about.muse.jhu.edu/librarians/.

Gale Case Studies focus on social justice issues

Gale, a Cengage company, is helping college and university instructors develop and strengthen students’ critical thinking skills around contemporary social justice issues using historical content. Gale Case Studies, a new online instructional tool, provides faculty with teaching resources to help students critically analyze culturally relevant social justice issues through the lens of primary sources on topics such as LGBTQ+, race, political extremism, and public health concerns. This new resource promotes the student growth of transferable, 21st-century skills through an interdisciplinary approach that fosters the use of primary sources to interrogate social issues and develop inferences for the future. Learn more at www.gale.com/case-studies.

The HAT Archive highlights haberdashery

Denford Publishing and Exact Editions recently announced the launch of The HAT Archive, a fully-searchable archive of issues available to institutions around the world. Spanning 18 years from 1999 to 2017, the resource documents the evolution of the hat trade over two decades and will serve as a prominent reference point for professionals and students wishing to expand their knowledge of this unique industry.

Each issue of The HAT Archive allows readers to explore, learn, and understand how all aspects of the manufacturing chain work together to reach the crafted end product. Designed for hat buyers, retailers, designers, and milliners alike, the magazine’s pages feature industry news, visits to factories and renowned designers, headwear shoots, designer sketchbooks, workroom processes, and a directory of makers, constituting a fascinating snapshot of a worldwide industry as it worked. More details are available at https://institutions.exacteditions.com/the-hat-archive.