ScholarWorks display in Special Collections and Archives

The ScholarWorks unit, in conjunction with Special Collections and Archives (SCA), has created a display showcasing many different types of Boise State scholarly outputs.

Both ScholarWorks and SCA are concerned with curating the scholarship of Boise State University, as such many of the collections presented have a physical component that is housed within archives and displayed alongside the more digital quality of ScholarWorks content.

The exhibit includes information about Boise State’s first e-Journal BOGA Basque Studies Consortium Journal, which just released its 4th issue. Several articles in BOGA discuss materials in the SCA collection, such as the Nor-Nun book which is also on display. Cabinets and windows feature books and other series written or produced by Boise State, which SCA collects and many are available to read online from the ScholarWorks website.

The purely digital nature of ScholarWorks presented a distinct challenge to create a physical display, which required collaboration with SCA and Library IT. Jim Duran, Cheryl Oestreicher, and Gwyn Hervochon from SCA helped find materials which would complement each window display, as well as provided tips to arrange and present the objects and information. Bill English from Library IT creatively found ways to incorporate digital components in the exhibit.

The unique aspect of this display is it is interactive with iPads and headphones provided to allow visitors to listen to the Idaho LGBTQ Oral History Project. Additional iPads are available for visitors to browse the ScholarWorks website to learn more about the collections on display. The library IT department also used Raspberry Pis to run a slideshow of art images on a 32” monitor.

The items selected for this display were chosen to showcase the wide variety of research from not only faculty and staff, but also students (undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels), and sometimes even the Boise community in relation to Boise State. Since 2009, ScholarWorks has been working to make Boise State’s scholarship openly accessible.

The largest collection is faculty publications and all of the collections combined have been downloaded over 1.5 million times from people all over the world. We hope this display helps provide you the viewer with more context as to what ScholarWorks is, does, and provides.

You can visit the display on the second floor of Albertsons Library anytime the library is open during the Spring 2016 semester, and checkout ScholarWorks online at scholarworks.boisestate.edu. We are also happy to answer any questions you may have in person (Library 217), on the phone (208-426-2581), or through email (scholarworks@boisestate.edu).

Kimberly Holling and Amber Sherman

Student Art Books Now on Display

An exhibit of art books by students taking ART 108 is now on display on the first floor of the Albertsons Library. Art books are different from books about art in that they are original artworks in themselves, sometimes in the shape of books, sometimes using parts of the books to convey an artist’s message.
 

Some of the art books you’ll see in this exhibit are handmade books, while others use books in a variety of techniques including paper-mâché, paper folding, and innovative combinations of books and other materials. The exhibit will be on display through December 2nd.

Elaine Watson

Elizabeth Ramsey

“A is for Arab” Exhibit

Photo credit CC by Tribes of the World, via flickr

A is for Arab: Archiving Stereotypes in U.S. Popular Culture features photographs of objects and materials from the Jack G. Shaheen Archive at Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, and documents U.S. popular culture representations of Arabs and Muslims. Powerful, accessible and compelling, the A is for Arab traveling exhibition reveals and critiques the stereotypical portrayals of Arabs and Muslims from the early-20th century to the present.

The exhibit provides historical context about these images, which range from film stills to comic books to editorial cartoons. Check this link to view portions of the exhibit: http://neareaststudies.as.nyu.edu/object/kc.media.jackshaheen.aisforarab

Exhibit Dates and Location: Opening October 6, 2014, Closing October 31, 2014 in the SUB Transit Center.

Documentary Showing: Reel Bad Arabs: 50 minute documentary on how Hollywood vilifies the Arab race will be shown in the library, room 201C, on Tuesday, October 14th from noon-1pm.

Additional Resources for this event include:

1. Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (book by Dr. Jack Shaheen) on display at the library
2. Guilty: Hollywood’s Verdict on Arabs After 9/11 (book by Dr. Jack Shaheen) on display at the library
3. The Nation magazine, “Islamophobia: An Anatomy of An American Panic” July 2-9, 2012, available electronically through the library http://goo.gl/lYKvnP [my.BoiseState login may be required]
4. Dr. Jack Shaheen interview clips (available on loan from NYU)

Elizabeth Ramsey,
Reference Librarian

Check Out the Special Collections and Archives Exhibits

The next time you pass through the library be sure to take a look at our exhibits on the 2nd floor celebrating the lives of two fascinating Idaho leaders: Pete Cenarrusa and Bethine Church.

 

Learn about Pete and Bethine’s life and accomplishments through their letters, photographs, books, memorabilia, and other rare materials from their archival collections.

Bethine Church, widow of Idaho Senator Frank Church, was born into a politically active family and remained a prominent figure in Idaho politics throughout her life. In partnership with her husband, she earned the nickname of “Idaho’s third senator.”

Pete Cenarrusa's fifty-two years of service as legislator and Secretary of State makes him one of the longest-serving public officials in the United States. Throughout his life Pete Cenarrusa was dedicated to promoting the Basque cause and helping Basque communities and immigrants.

Bethine and Pete both passed away in 2013. Their collections are available for research here in the library.

For more information just stop by and see us or go to: http://library.boisestate.edu/special/

Gwyn Hervochon,
Archivist/Librarian

New Exhibit: A Look at 40 Years of Special Collections, 1973-2013



A new exhibit in Special Collections & Archives explores the history of the department since its creation in 1973.

Originally a set of rare books kept in a wooden cabinet behind the library's circulation desk, Special Collections & Archives has grown to house more than 300 manuscript collections, the university archives, and a book collection of first editions and signed copies, on state and local history and by Idaho authors, and the oldest book housed by a public institutions in the state, 15th century Historia Scholastica.

A monumental event for Special Collections & Archives was the acquisition of the Frank Church collection in the 1980s. Originally at Stanford University, the collection was transferred to Boise State at the request of Church, a former Senator from Idaho.

The picture above shows the processing team in 1988 that worked to arrange the collection consisting of hundreds of boxes. The collection today has over 800 boxes making it the largest collection in Special Collections & Archives and also the one most frequently used. The exhibit also looks at the history of the library, going back to its beginnings when the university was founded in 1932. The library was first located in the college buildings in downtown Boise, then moved to the Administration building before receiving its own building in 1964.

The library at that time included a smoking room and a typing room where typewriters were available or students could bring in their own. The library was expanded and renamed Albertsons Library in 1995. As the 1965 library handbook states, “Ask questions then. It is the only way to acquire a real education. A good place to start asking questions is the library.” The exhibit will be up through December.

Julia Stringfellow,
Archivist/Librarian and Assistant Professor

Teaching Earth Science One Hundred Years Ago

Before Prezi® or PowerPoint® and even before overhead projectors, teachers used glass lantern slides for educational presentations. In the 1850s the Langenheim brothers developed and patented the technology of transferring photographic images to a glass surface for projection. By the 20th century this medium was widely used for educational purposes, but lost popularity by the 1950s.

Special Collections & Archives holds a set of lantern slides originally used by a Boise High School teacher from 1902 to 1917. Edward F. Rhodenbaugh, geologist and amateur photographer took extensive photos and field notes during his long tenure as an educator throughout Idaho, Oregon and Ohio. The lantern slide set combines international geological teaching examples with scenes of Idaho’s unique geologic attributes.

After teaching at Boise High School, Edward went on to work for the State of Idaho as the state chemist. It was during that time when he submitted forensic evidence to the infamous Lyda Southard murder trial of 1921. After retiring as the head of chemistry and geology at the Idaho Technical Institute (Idaho State University) Rhodenbaugh moved back to Boise in 1940. He quickly returned to the work force – teaching geology at Boise Junior College.

A new online digital collection highlights some of Rhodenbaugh’s photographs, field trip journals and lantern slides. The online collection includes many scenes of Idaho wilderness, unique rock formations, and emerging infrastructure including Arrowrock Dam and the North & South Highway (US Route 95).

To read more about the history of lantern slides visit the Library of Congress website


Jim Duran,
Special Collections & Archives

Special Collections and Archives collaborates with Idaho History Museum

Last night was the opening of the Idaho History Museum's new exhibit, http://history.idaho.gov/museum-exhibits. Special Collections and Archives collaborated and provided a few photographs and other items to help with the exhibit. Attached are a photos showing some of our contributions. The exhibit is up through December.

Cheryl Oestreicher,
Head, Special Collections and Archives/Assistant Professor

Exhibit Celebrates 150 Years of Writing in Idaho

Albertsons library is celebrating the 150th year anniversary of the founding of the City of Boise AND the Idaho territory with an exhibition about the history of writing in Idaho and Boise.

Come see the exhibit, which will run through the summer, on the second floor. Some topics include: Famous Idaho Authors, Unique Idaho Fiction, Boise Environment, Boise Communities and more! All books, magazines and manuscripts used in the exhibit are from the Library’s Special Collections and Archives, which collects books and manuscripts about Idaho.

 Jim Duran,
Special Collections & Archives

Albertsons Library Hosts the Eighth Annual Boise State University Author Recognition Reception

Albertsons Library will host the 8th annual University Author Recognition reception on Thursday, February 28, 2013. The reception will honor several hundred Boise State University faculty and staff who have published books, articles, book chapters, and creative works during the period of September 1, 2011 – December 31, 2012. Research topics range from digital storytelling to the effectiveness of Bikram Yoga; DNA elements in the human genome to the migratory turkey vultures; mass extinction to mystery novels.

The reception will be from 3:30 to 5:00 pm in the McCain Room, with the recognition program beginning at 4:00 pm. The McCain Room is located on the Library’s second floor. Authors and all members of the University community are invited to attend. An exhibit featuring the books and articles published by the faculty is currently on display in the first floor of the Library. An author bibliography is available online at the Library’s website at http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/uar/. 

Faculty and staff are encouraged to review the bibliography, as well as all the content in ScholarWorks, and to submit any works published between September 1, 2011 – December 31, 2012. Publication information can be sent to scholarworks@boisestate.edu.

Please join us in celebrating and recognizing the scholarship and accomplishments of Boise State University faculty and staff.

Michelle Armstrong,
Librarian, Asst. Professor

Photos from Robert Limbert Collection now online

Robert Limbert with a horse and saddle.
MSS 080 Robert W. Limbert Papers Photo # 11032

Author, explorer, guide, lecturer and taxidermist Robert W. Limbert wrote about and photographed his explorations of the Idaho wilderness and traveled the country giving talks about his adventures.

His photographs and papers are preserved in the Archives and Special Collections Department of Albertsons Library at Boise State University.  An online collection of 250 digital items is now freely available to researchers at Albertsons Library Digital Collections at http://digital.boisestate.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/Limbert.

Robert W. Limbert was born in 1885 and raised by his adoptive family in Omaha, Nebraska. He worked for the Smithsonian Institution as a field naturalist for two years before moving to Boise, Idaho, in 1911 to enter the taxidermy business.

In 1915, he designed Idaho's medal award-winning exhibition for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and there are several pictures of this exhibition in the collection.  

A few years later he began writing about Idaho's scenery and wildlife for newspapers and magazines, including National Geographic. In 1921, after several preliminary visits, he led an exploring party into the vast lava fields of south-central Idaho; the resulting article in the National Geographic brought this little-known area to the attention of the nation and led to its designation as the Craters of the Moon National Monument .

Mrs. Margaret Limbert (Robert Limert’s wife) skiing through the Sawtooth Wilderness. 
MSS 080 Robert W. Limbert Papers Photo #24

Limbert also searched for and found Native American petroglyphs along the Snake River, explored the inaccessible Bruneau River region, and travelled throughout the Sawtooth Mountains, naming the then uncharted mountains and lakes.

During the 1920s he and his family moved to the Sawtooths, where he worked as a hunting and fishing guide, later establishing Redfish Lake Lodge, which is still a popular Idaho resort.  Limbert died in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1933, returning from a speaking tour in the East.

Photograph of a grizzly bear taken by Robert Limbert. He then hand-colored the
photograph and sold copies as postcards. 
MSS 080 Robert W. Limbert Papers Photo # 13042

In addition to the 500 images that are online, Boise State University Albertsons Library Archives and Special Collections also holds 15 linear feet of paper material Guide to the Robert W. Limbert Papers, including his newspaper clippings and other writings, a taxidermy sketch book, and other related ephemera.  In 2005 Steve Wursta created a documentary titled Among the Craters of the Moon:  the life and adventures of Robert W. Limbert.

Kent Randell,
Assistant Professor/Librarian/Archivist

Special Collections: Bronco Branding

“Fight Broncos, celebrate the orange and blue!” The first line of the Boise State fight song highlights the importance of the colors and mascot to the identity of the Boise State University. Blue and orange have always been a key part of school history and tradition and so has the school’s mascot, Buster Bronco. The colors and mascot were picked by the school’s basketball team in the very first school year in 1932. Preston Hale, a student athlete at the time recounts:

We checked the colors of all the schools in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon before we picked blue and orange…We didn’t want to double up on another school, and there was no other school with those colors. The same goes for [choosing] the mascot. There were a few schools along the Pacific Coast with the bronco as their mascot, but none [in the region] outside of California. 

In 1935 Boise Junior College students proudly showed their support for the Broncos with a wood and paper horse, nearly twenty feet high. The bronco was named Elmer, after Elmer Fox, one of the two yell leaders that built him. Elmer was paraded through downtown Boise during homecoming week and was left at city hall overnight. The tradition continued for at least another year when students made another bronco that was again paraded downtown. In 1936 the tradition expanded to a burning of the bronco the night before the big game. “Each year, ‘Elmer,’ symbol of Bronc prowess, is cremated and from his ashes rises the spirit of new conquests and victories.”

Idaho Statesman Photo. November 21, 1935. BJC students
parade Elmer, an enormous bronco through downtown Boise.

For many years Boise Junior College never had an official bronco logo. Students often created their own bronco character for publications and promotions. In 1955 a student organization created an insignia that caught on and was used widely for both athletic and academic purposes.

Insignia created by the Pi Sigma Sigma service organization.
See the BJC Roundup, October 4, 1955, page 1.
http://digital.boisestate.edu/cdm/ref/collection/archives/id/2215

When the school entered the Idaho state system as a four year university, additional attention was given to the branding of the school’s colors, mascot, and logos. A new “BSU” logo appeared on most academic and athletic items around campus. The Athletic Department also created its own unique mascot which was only used for athletic publications.  All of these new symbols of Boise State University made perfect branding symbols for the university bookstore.

Before the 1970s, most Boise State merchandise was either created by students and staff, or only used the Boise State seal as a symbol for the university. When the Student Union expanded into its current location, the bookstore was added to in both size and capacity. For decades the students bought their text books out of the basement of the Administration Building. In 1967, when the bookstore moved into the new Student Union, the bookstore also drastically expanded its Boise State University merchandise, for sale to both students and the public.

Students posing with Bronco merchandise. University Archives photo AR 013897.

From then on, the bookstore has continued to sell t-shirts, hats, bags, and other merchandise to promote the university and help students and supporters show school spirit. Boise State University has continued to establish its brands and marks for its unique identity – including the Blue Turf -- one of the most recognizable sports complexes in the country.

Today the Boise State brand receives the full attention of the University Administration. “The Office of Trademark Licensing and Enforcement serves the University by promoting and protecting its name, marks, colors, brands, and all identifiable properties.”  The university uses most of the revenue generated from selling merchandise for student scholarships. In 2011, the Boise State bookstores raised approximately $2 million for the general scholarship fund.

To view historic examples of Boise State Broncos click here.

To read more about the Office of Trademark Licensing and Enforcement click here.

Click here to view Bronco merchandise.

Jim Duran,
Special Collections