New Digital Theatre Arts Costume Collection

Millie, Act II, Scenes iv-viii
by Darrin J. Pufall
doi: 10.18122/B2VC7T

Kimberly Holling, Library Assistant III for the Data Management and Scholarly Communications unit recently helped launch a new Theatre Arts Costume Collection in ScholarWorks. The collection was organized and implemented by Ms. Holling for her 2016 Master of Library and Information Science Capstone Project with the University of Washington. As a growing number of institutions are creating digital collections of historical clothing, the same cannot be said for theatrical costumes.

This form of non-traditional academic scholarship continues to go unmarked in the world of repositories with the exception of small collections of production stills. While theatre is a collaborative effort, there are technical elements (ex. scenery or costumes) that need to be documented with context in order to support the study and ongoing recognition of their corresponding designers. Constructed garments are often altered and reused for subsequent performances making these pieces ephemeral in nature.

This collection increases awareness not only of the designer’s work, but also to Boise State University’s contributions to the theatre arts. Initially intended as a form of archival collection, it quickly presented itself as a digital publishing opportunity for the library. The collection currently houses 63 digitally published records containing the costume designs of Darrin J. Pufall for the 2013 Boise State production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. These records are a combination of Mr. Pufall’s personal costume renderings and Ms. Holling’s photographs of selected garments from the show.

Finished garment of
displayed rendering
doi: 10.18122/B2S88J

To add further value to these records a statement from the designer himself provides additional context to understand why certain features were chosen and the overall premise the designer was going for. Ms. Holling herself has a background in both apparel design and theatre (performance and costume design) and provided her expertise to help breakdown the primary construction techniques and features of the photographed garments, along with measurements and the fabric content whenever possible.

The additional insight of Keri Fitch, the manager of the Theatre Arts Costume Shop, provided further background for alterations in the final design of certain garments from the original rendering, which is information that is generally left unknown to those outside of the technical production of a show.

The collection demonstrates the on-going efforts of the Data Management and Scholarly Communications unit to support Boise State's arts and humanities scholarship while expanding its original, open access publishing services.

Building upon traditional library cataloging description practices, Ms. Holling utilized a standards-based metadata schema to represent the theatrical costume designs and increase discovery of the work. Additionally, unlike other online costume collections which are no longer accessible, the library's stewardship and support of this work ensures permanent, world-wide access to Boise State scholarship.

Come visit the new Theatre Arts Costume Collection online at: http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/millie_2013_costumes

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

Honoring Our Veterans in November

"Vietnam War Memorial" by Donald Morrison is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Albertsons Library invites the community to view two special displays and a lecture to be held in honor of Veterans Day. Starting November 2nd, a display of Vietnam War artifacts from the collection of Dr. David Walker, professor in the Department of History, will be available in the library lobby. From November 5th, the library will also display a collection of resources related to veterans, including some items from a collection donated by Vietnam War veteran Jim Barker.

On Veterans Day, November 11th, Dr. Walker will speak about The Battle of Ia Drang, the U.S. Army's first battle with the North Vietnamese Army. The lecture is free and will take place in the Frank Church Room of Special Collections and Archives, 2nd floor of the library.

Elizabeth Ramsey,
Assistant professor/Librarian

“History of Idaho Comics” presentation at Albertsons Library

Join local comic book artist Al Asker for his “History of Idaho Comics” presentation on Wednesday October 7th at 6pm in Special Collections and Archives on the 2nd floor of Albertsons Library. 

Asker is the leading authority on the history of comic books in Idaho and has given presentations all over the Gem State. He wrote an article for Boise State University's The Blue Review titled “The Wild West of Sequential Art: A History of Comic books in Idaho” (https://thebluereview.org/idaho-comic-book-history/) and an article for Idaho Magazine called “Tarzan Loves Idaho” (https://www.idahomagazine.com/article/tarzan-loves-idaho/). He is the editor and publisher (and sometimes writer/artist) of Idaho Comics Group, the purveyor of the officially licensed Tarzan and the Comics of Idaho anthology and Idaho Comics.

Asker’s presentation coincides with the Idaho Comics exhibit currently on display in the Library. The exhibit feature selections from Boise State’s collections including works by Dennis Eichhorn, Jay O’Leary, Shanae Lavelle, Al Asker, Randall Kirby, Scott Pentzer, Allen Gladfelter, Jon Kiethley, and Todd Clark.

Special Collections and Archives maintains a growing collection of comic books, graphic novels, zines and small press publications by Idaho artists, authors, and poets.

Everyone is welcome to explore the collections in Special Collections and Archives, and Asker’s presentation is free and open to the public.

For more information contact archives@boisestate.edu.

The Boise State University Yearbook

Residents of Morrison Hall, 1961. Image published in Les Bois 1961.

From 1935 to 1978, the Associated Student Body of Boise Junior College, Boise College, and Boise State University published an annual yearbook titled Les Bois. This publication highlighted important events on campus, as well many other facts about each school year. Les Bois could be a valuable resource for names of alumni, popular trends in various eras, or just for browsing.

Each volume of Les Bois typically had a section for academics, student life, and sports. In the Student Life section, Les Bois often included a brief summary of the major student organizations and their activities for the year. For example, this excerpt is from the 1961 Morrison Hall page:

Highlights at the year at Morrison Hall included picnics and dinner dances with residents of Driscoll Hall, sponsoring of a float and queen candidate at Homecoming, a dorm formal, spring tea and a little sister or coed weekend. At Christmas time the girls arranged for gifts for the State School at Nampa, went caroling and, as in the past, decorated their suites.

Note that in 1961 Morrison Hall was an all-female dormitory, and Driscoll Hall was all-male.
You can find the Les Bois in the catalog at http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/2396586. Copies circulate in the main collection, and a full set is available for viewing in the Archives on the second floor of the library, and online via ScholarWorks at http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/student_yearbooks/.

Jim Duran,
Special Collections

The 1964 Report on Smoking and Health

Just fifty years ago, scientists and health professionals were debating whether smoking tobacco posed health risks. By the early 1960s there was enough evidence indicating the harmful effects of smoking that the U.S. Surgeon General Luther L. Terry convened a committee of authorities to conduct a thorough review of the scientific literature on the matter.

Over the next two years, the committee reviewed 7,000 scientific studies and consulted with 150 experts. In 1964, the Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General was issued at a press conference. The report concluded that smoking causes lung cancer and correlates with an increased risk of bronchitis, emphysema, and heart disease. In addition, the report noted a correlation between smoking during pregnancy and low birth weights.  

The U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry addressing press conference
at the release of the 1964 Report on Smoking and Health

For those of us where weren’t alive, it may be difficult to believe the extent to which this news impacted the public. The Surgeon General’s press conference headlined in newspapers and lead television news for days. Soon after the report was issued, Congress passed a law requiring a health warning on cigarette packages and in 1969, cigarette advertising on television and radio was banned.

1998 anti-smoking campaign poster from the
Centers for Disease Control

However, the cultural shift heralded by this event is perhaps more notable. At the time, upwards of 40% of Americans smoked, compared to an estimated 18% today. In addition, a 1958 Gallup Poll reported that 44% of American believed smoking causes lung cancer. This number rose to 78% in 1968 and to 92% in 1999. If you look around, you will sometimes see ashtrays in places where smoking is now unimaginable such as classrooms, airplanes, and government buildings!

Many individuals and organizations, governmental and otherwise, have contributed to the decline in tobacco use since 1964 Report on Smoking and Health, but we can point to the publication of this document as seminal in United States history.

To learn more about using primary sources in your research, visit the Albertsons Library Special Collections & Archives Primary Sources Guide or stop by and visit!

Sources consulted:

“Fast Facts.” Smoking and Tobacco Use. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“History of the Surgeon General's Reports on Smoking and Health.” Smoking and Tobacco Use. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Komaroff, Anthony. “Surgeon General’s 1964 report: making smoking history.” Harvard Health Publications. Harvard Medical School.

Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. University of California, San Francisco.

Morales, Lymari. “Most Americans Consider Smoking Very Harmful.” Gallup News.

“The Reports of the Surgeon General: The 1964 Report on Smoking and Health.” Profiles in Science. National Library of Science.

“Tobacco.” Initiatives. Surgeon General.Gov.

Ellie Dworak
Reference Librarian/Associate Professor



This blog post is the 8th in a series produced in coordination with Albertsons Library’s 50th Anniversary.  #BoiseStLibraryat50

Stress Relief at the Library

Comics courtesy of Special Collections and Archives

Albertsons Library is helping you squash the stress of final exams starting Dead Week with a collaboration with Advising & Academic Enhancement (AAE). Staff from AAE will have a table in the library to offer study assistance. You may also notice their study tips on bookmarks, slides and Toilet Talk flyers. Here’s what else we have planned during Finals Week:

• On Monday, 12/15, Special Collections will have comics from our collection on display as well as materials to do your own drawings, and local comics writer/illustrator Al Asker will be on hand to talk about comics from 1-4pm. 
• Monday at midnight the library will host a Zumba session in room 201C.
• Tuesday at midnight we will have a yoga session in room 201C.
• All week, indoor lawn games will be set up, and available for checkout. If you post a picture of your friends playing the lawn games to the library Facebook page, you’ll be automatically entered in a drawing to win a portable power pack!
  

As usual, Albertsons is also partnering with ASBSU to offer cram snacks Sunday-Wednesday of Finals Week. In addition, we’ll be hosting a knitting hour from 2-3pm Monday through Thursday in the niche where Starbucks’ door used to be. All are welcome, experienced or not. 

More information on knitting and other ways to relieve stress is available on our Stress Relief guide http://guides.boisestate.edu/stressrelief.

Best of luck on your exams and final projects!

Elizabeth Ramsey
Reference & Instruction Librarian

The Legacy of Miss Ruth McBirney

Figure 1. Ruth McBirney, Evenlyn Evarts (left), and Lois Hansen (right).
Boise Junior College librarians. University archives photo.

A new exhibit celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Albertsons Library is now up! This second exhibit of the year showcases Ruth McBirney, Head Librarian from 1954 to 1977. But, who was this woman? Why is there an entire exhibit on her? Ruth was a key figure that helped transform Boise Junior College into Boise State University. With her strong commitment to education and to Boise State, Ruth worked effortlessly for 23 years to ensure the library kept up with academic needs.

Ruth, a Boise native, was born on January 16, 1918. Graduating from Boise High School in 1935, Ruth attended one year at Boise Junior College. A year later, Ruth entered Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, where she studied French and Music. Ruth graduated from Whitman in 1939, and later received her bachelor’s in Library Science from the University of Washington in 1940. Ruth then returned to Boise where she worked as a librarian for Boise Junior College and the Boise Public Library for two years.

In 1942, Ruth went to New York, where she worked for the Music Library at Columbia University.  Her French degree suited her well as she traveled to France to be a reference librarian in 1947. She later was appointed head librarian. Her experiences in France are well documented and can be found within her files in Special Collections and Archives. Ruth returned to Boise in 1954, when she agreed to step in as head librarian of Boise Junior College while the current head librarian was ill. Ruth would find herself in this position for the next 23 years.

Figure 2. Ruth, Robert Overstreet (Board of Trustees), and a
construction official with the cornerstone of the library, 1963.
University archives photo.

During her 23 years in that post, Boise Junior College became a four-year college and, in 1974, Boise State University. As head librarian, Ruth oversaw the construction of a new library building and built the collection from one of 20,000 volumes to one containing 300,000 volumes.

She was instrumental in bringing the congress classification system you see today. Her efforts in establishing a university archives was tremendous, having donated a few of her own personal books to get it started.

Ruth was a woman of stature and character, but was headstrong and fought for Boise State students. Under Ruth’s leadership, the Boise State library became one of the biggest and most efficient libraries in Idaho, despite its rather secluded location. During her tenure, Ruth became involved with the Soroptimist Club of Boise, served as president of the Idaho Library Association, and attended the First Presbyterian Church. With her busy schedule, Ruth always took time to do what she loved the most, traveling. While at Boise State, and after her retirement, Ruth traveled to distant places. China, France, Europe, Italy, and India are among her many destinations.

Figure 3. Ruth at her desk, 1969.
University Archives photo.

In 1977, Ruth retired from Boise State University. Her retirement prompted many acknowledgments from Boise State employees and even Senator Frank Church.

After her retirement, Ruth donated almost $16,000 to form the Lois and Chaffee Scholarship. This scholarship benefited many students studying Music, History, and English. Ruth McBirney died in Boise, Idaho on March 20, 1991.

For more information on Ruth McBirney, be sure to check out the exhibit! It will be up for the remainder of the Fall semester. Be sure to also check out the permanent exhibit located inside the Ruth McBirney room on the second floor.

All materials from this exhibit can be located in Special Collections and Archives in the Ruth McBirney files (MSS 113).

Arthur Aguilera
Student Library Assistant

#BoiseStLibraryat50

The Golden Anniversary Celebration Continues for Albertsons Library

Boise State Library, c1964/65

Once, the Boise State library was so small that it was part of the Administration Building. Then, in 1963, construction on a new library building began. The new library building had its first open house in 1964, and we’re continuing to celebrate the library building’s 50th anniversary with a series of events. Here’s what’s cooking:

Friday, October 31st: A costume contest sponsored by the library’s Social Committee! Post a pic in your best 1960’s era best to Twitter with the hashtag #BoiseStLibraryat50 by 5pm on Halloween Day. The winner will receive a Starbucks gift card.

Thursday, November 6th: Cake! Cake! Cake! There have been more than one million downloads of Boise State research from our institutional repository, ScholarWorks. Celebrate this astounding success with cake and more, in the library lobby from noon-2pm.

Thursday, November 13th: Take a walk back in time! Boise State’s university archivist, Julia Stringfellow, will present a brownbag lecture on the history of the library at noon in LIB201C.

Each attendee will also be automatically entered in our giveaway for a nifty portable power pack, useful for recharging your phone or other device on the go.

Elizabeth Ramsey
Assistant Professor, Reference & Instruction Librarian

This blog post is the sixth in a series, produced in coordination with the
celebration of Albertsons Library’s 50th Anniversary. #BoiseStLibraryat50

The Scott Preston Papers are now available for research!

As part of my internship experience, I had the opportunity to process and make available for research the Scott Preston Papers. It was quite the experience organizing the papers of someone’s life.While putting things in order, I learned who Scott was, what personal foibles he had, and his passion for poetry. It was very satisfying to see disorganization turn into 23 neat, researchable boxes. So, who was Scott Preston?

Photo Source: The Wood River Journal, May 16, 2007, p. A13.

Scott Preston was a poet, performer, and publisher largely based in the Wood River Valley, Idaho.

Preston considered his poems his diary. Special Collections now houses 20 years’ worth of published and unpublished poems.
 
Also writing for The Wood River Journal, Preston penned reviews, articles, and most notably, opinions in his weekly article, “Potshots.” In 1981, Preston began the Wind Vein Press and self-published collections of poetry called the White Clouds Revue.

As an advocate for cowboy poetry, the collection also contains memorabilia from various cowboy poetry gatherings, numerous books, and audio recordings of Preston himself and other cowboy poets.

The Scott Preston Papers give researchers the insight of the challenges of independent presses in Idaho, and the culture of the cowboy poet. To learn more about what the collection holds, see the finding aid here: nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv53259/

A special thanks goes to all the folks who work in Special Collections. They are the best mentors an intern could have.

Mandy Moncur,
Special Collections and Archives Summer Intern

Just Visiting: Idaho’s Protected Wilderness

New Digital Collection and Window Exhibit at Albertsons Library

2014 marks a big year for the United States ~ the Wilderness Act is turning 50! In 1964, with a few swishes of President Lyndon Johnson’s hand, the President acknowledged the intrinsic value of wild and unspoiled spaces and almost 10 million acres of federally owned land were afforded the highest level of conservation and preservation. In fact, the law states that a wilderness is “where a man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” At the time, the new law created the most restrictive land-use policy for public land in the world, because of its constraints on logging, mining, road construction and the use of motorized vehicles.

Can you imagine the controversy and negotiations which were necessary in the decade leading up to the 1964 signing? Since the Wilderness Act impacted both the current and future uses of the land, almost everyone had an opinion and you can bet that very few agreed on much. From what areas to include and which activities should be allowed or prohibited in those areas, the topic was a hot one. Idaho’s political figures spent a good deal of time in Washington D.C. and back home listening to constituents and drafting legislation to build a responsible system for wilderness.

Today, the State of Idaho’s designated wilderness areas have increased to 4.5 million acres (3rd most in the country) and in the fifty years since the Wilderness Act was passed, the debates rage on - pitting ATV enthusiasts against backpackers, mining companies against conservationists, and states against the federal government...and that’s just the short list! Does federal control of land in Idaho trample state rights or does federal control of the land protect Idaho’s public land from economic exploitation? Does the desire to have a space as natural and wild as possible unnecessarily limit the outdoor enthusiasts’ ability to enjoy that
space? Who decides how to manage public land?

 

To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, Special Collections and Archives recently published a new online Wilderness Collection. We also have a wonderful new window exhibit created by Mandy Moncur (a graduate student in the history department who interned with Special Collections and Archives this summer). The new exhibit highlights key people and places associated with the Wilderness Act
in Idaho.

Interested in learning more about the Wilderness Act? Here’s how—browse the newly created online collection, view the new exhibit on the 2nd floor of Albertsons Library, or visit Special Collections (open 9-5, M-W). We have letters, speeches, government reports, photographs, diaries and much more available for research. We invite you to discover the pleasure of studying national policy at the most intimate level - first hand from the people who helped to create and shape it!

The digital collection contains material from the collections of Frank Church, Cecil D. Andrus, Len B. Jordan, Larry LaRocco, Gracie Pfost, Ted Trueblood and others.

Jennele Estrada & Jim Duran,
Special Collections and Archives

Freedom Summer

Photo from the Frank Church Collection in Boise State University, Albertsons Library’s Special Collections

Idaho Senator, Frank Church, advises then President Lyndon Johnson during the creation of the Civil Rights Voting Act of 1965. This bill was conceived in response to demonstrations and violent reprisals against demonstrators throughout the South during the early sixties.

The summer before the bill was signed into law more than 700 university students, black and white, journeyed to Mississippi to assist the locals in registering to vote. It was thought by the organizers, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), that the participation of these students would draw greater attention to the lack of not only voting rights, but the general poor standard of living of the black citizens of Mississippi. Within a day of the students’ arrival, three of them went missing. Their bodies were not found for six months. This time in American history is known as Freedom Summer.

An American Experience documentary on Freedom Summer recently premiered on PBS. You can still watch it online http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/freedomsummer/ or learn more about this momentous time in American History through a number of resources at Albertsons Library including:

The print book Freedom Summer by Doug McAdam looks at the impact of Freedom Summer on volunteers’ political, professional and personal lives

http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/17676678

John Dittmer’s Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi examines the experiences of the local black communities during Freedom Summer and beyond 

http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/29184630

Another print book, Faces of Freedom Summer, presents the event from the viewpoint of photographer Herbert Eugene Randall, who documented the experience

http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/44454539

The ebook, After Freedom Summer, examines how the event changed the political landscape of Mississippi http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/757826249

The video Freedom Summer, produced by A&E, is available online in a streaming format http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/677927121

This blog post is the first in a series, produced in coordination with the celebration of Albertsons Library’s 50th Anniversary.

Elizabeth Ramsey,
Assistant professor, Librarian

Special Collections and Archives receives grant from the GRAMMY Foundation

In 2008, a set of about a dozen recordings made around 1950 by Ione Love Thielke was found by the Idaho Songs Project in a private collection in Blackfoot, Idaho. 

The recordings were homemade using a portable acetate disk recorder of the type that became available after World War II. The Project arranged for the Blackfoot Collection to be donated to Special Collections at the Albertsons Library, Boise State University, where the materials could be archived professionally in a carefully controlled environment.

Research showed that Ione Love Thielke was a colorful, talented rural musician who took regional poetry and set it to music, singing and accompanying herself with a tiple. She was the wife of an Idaho/Oregon logger who performed her music throughout Idaho, Oregon and Washington and occasionally beyond. Thielke was well connected with the Idaho literary community of the time.

Subsequently, the Idaho Songs Project located the descendants of Ione Love Thielke and facilitated the donation of several more boxes of her recordings to the Albertsons Library. A preliminary physical inventory indicates the collection contains dozens more homemade acetate recordings that Thielke made of herself and other Idaho musicians and poets, as well as many reel to reel tapes made from about 1948 to 1951 in Boise, Cascade and Pocatello Idaho and Salem, Oregon. 

The titles also indicate the collection includes numerous radio broadcast of programs hosted by Thielke from 1947-1951 in Boise and Pocatello, with interviews of and performances by numerous Idaho musicians and poets.

Special Collections and Archives received an $11,747 grant from The GRAMMY Foundation to digitize the Thielke recordings and make them available online.

The project will be completed by December 2014.

Ione Thielke collection: http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv47659/

GRAMMY Foundation: http://www.grammy.org/grammy-foundation

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

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

Special Collections and Archives for the people!

We’ve been lucky to have a few recent opportunities to share our collections with fellow Boise State employees as well as local community members:

A selection of our Basque materials were on display at an event hosted by the Cenarrusa Foundation for Basque Culture in the Capitol building: 

Three kindergarten students from Vista Montessori School visited with their teacher to study current and historic maps of Idaho and Boise:

As part of the “Places You’ve Never Been” series hosted by the Boise State Professional Staff Association, approximately 30 staff members were given a behind-the-scenes tour of the Archives and viewed some of our favorite items from the collection. (Did you know there's a piece of the original blue turf in the Archives??):

Let us know if you and your pals want to visit and check out some of our Boise State and local historic treasures. We’re on the 2nd floor of the Albertsons library and we’re open Monday thru Friday from 9 to 5—except Wednesdays when we’re open until 8pm!

Gwyn Hervochon,
Special Collections and Archives

5000 historic images and documents online

This week Albertsons Library Digital Collections grew to over 5000 historic images and documents online. Researchers seeking primary sources mostly relating to the history of Boise State and/or Idaho can browse these collections for inspiration for writing topics or to complement their research. Some examples of topics you will find include:

• Bronco Stadium
• Idaho’s 1990s Gay Rights legislation
• Aerial views of Boise
• Cowboy Hats
• Pre-1910 photography

Stop by the Library’s Special Collections and Archives office to see even more historic photograph collections (Library Room 222).

Jim Duran,

Special Collections and Archives

Meet our newest Archivist/Librarian

My name is Gwyn and I’m so happy to be joining the Boise State community as an Archivist/Librarian in Special Collections and Archives at Albertsons Library.

I’m a long way from where I grew up on the coast of Maine! I received my BA in Theatre and Drama at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and my Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from Long Island University in 2010. After a brief stopover in Cleveland for a summer internship at the Library and Archives at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, I moved to Ashland, Oregon in 2011 where I was an archivist at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Four weeks ago I moved to Boise and began my new role here at Boise State.

I’m having a blast exploring the amazing things Boise State's Special Collections and Archives holds and I’m looking forward to sharing these materials with you.

As a timely example of why I love my work, I’m posting a scan of something I just happened to come across today: an invitation to the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. With the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination being remembered around the world today, this era in history has obviously been on a lot of people’s minds lately. And then, there I was at work in Albertsons Library and found myself holding a small piece of this history right in my hands.

Boise State's Special Collections and Archives are chock-full of interesting gems such as this, as well and boxes upon boxes of materials loaded with information that can benefit your research—and make it more fun too.

Whether you’ve been here to Special Collections and Archives before or are a first-timer, I hope you'll feel free to come by soon to explore the variety of things we have and to see how we can help you with your projects.

Hope to meet you soon!
Gwyn
gwynhervochon@boisestate.edu or 208-426-1674

50th Anniversary of JFK’s assassination

November 22, 1963 is a date that will live in infamy and today marks 50 years since the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As the nation mourned, newspapers documented the events for days. Special Collections and Archives has a few original copies of Idaho newspapers with these headlines:

Additional resources:

Warren Commission Report: http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report/

John F. Kennedy Library: http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/November-22-1963-Death-of-the-President.aspx

Civil Rights Digital Library: http://crdl.usg.edu/people/k/kennedy_john_f_john_fitzgerald_1917_1963/

Cheryl Oestreicher,
Head, Special Collections and Archives

October is American Archives Month!

What is an archives? An archives is a place where people go to find information. But rather than
gathering information from books as you would in a library, people who do research in archives
often gather firsthand facts, data, and evidence from letters, reports, notes, memos, photographs,
audio and video recordings, and other primary sources.

MSS 006 52-002 - Len Jordan and Dwight Eisenhower,
Western Governors Conference in Boise, 1952

Why do archives exist? In the course of daily life, individuals, organizations, and governments
create and keep information about their activities. Archivists are professionals who assess,
collect, organize, preserve, maintain control of, and provide access to the portions of this
information that have lasting value. Archivists keep records that have enduring value as reliable
memories of the past, and they help people find and understand the information they need in
those records.

Boise State University Special Collections and Archives in Albertsons Library holds more than 300 manuscript collections of letters, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, and other
primary-source materials that document Idaho history, particularly the Boise and Southwest Idaho, Idaho’s past and present political and environmental history, and the literary history of the state. Research topics include politics, environment, Basque culture, filmmaking, literature, ethnicity, gender, music, geosciences, and many others.

MSS 062 p11 - Article about the opening of the new student union
at Boise Junior College, 1942

The University Archives is the repository for university publications and the official records of the President, Faculty Senate, ASBSU, administrative offices, and academic departments. Materials include the student newspaper, university catalogs, budgets, yearbooks, photographs, audio and video, books, posters, and other ephemera. Research topics include faculty, students, campus life, buildings, academic departments, athletics, student organizations, and university departments.

Everyone is welcome to do research or just look at something you find interesting. We welcome students, staff, faculty, and anyone from the community. We hope you come visit!

Cheryl Oestreicher,
Head, Special Collections and Archives

The One Way Club

Figure 1. A Wooden boat for floating the Salmon River. Marshall.
Edson Collection.

September is National Wilderness Month and the library has lots of resources for those interested in Idaho’s wilderness. You can learn more about the dangers and thrills you can find when visiting Idaho’s wilderness areas by stopping by the Special Collections and Archives (Room 222). Idaho’s Salmon River, one of America’s wildest rivers and is often called “The River of No Return.” Today, both the Middle Fork and the Main Salmon rivers are popular destinations for whitewater rafting and kayaking. This sport gained popularity after World War Two when the Army and Navy sold off its surplus of rubber rafts. Before then, the primary way to float a river was in a wooden boat called a skiff.

Figure 2. Marshall Edson (left) and another crew member operate
two large oars for maneuvering the boat. Edson collection.

Figure 3. The One Way Club navigates white water on the
Salmon River.  Edson collection.

You can find a perfect example of the end of the wooden skiff era for river rafting in the Marshall C. Edson Papers. In 1946, Edson and a crew of five other rafters took a trip down the Main Fork of the Salmon River – they called themselves the “One Way Club”. While they were not the first to accomplish this – in fact Lewis and Clark made a similar trek over 140 years earlier, but Edson’s trip was rare enough to make local news. Edson worked for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the goal of his trip was to document the variety and quantity of big game along the river. The wooden boat had two oars on front and back, a gasoline motor to navigate flat water, and even a small refrigerated box to preserve food. The trip took about two weeks and provided some publicity for the growing tourism industry in Idaho’s central mountains.

Edson’s trip down the Salmon River was in many ways an indicator of what was to come for Idaho’s wilderness. The recreation industry was slowly growing in Idaho’s mountains, while at the same time mining, timber, and conservation groups debated proper use of Idaho’s land. The 1964 Wilderness Act defined wilderness to be “where man himself is a visitor, who does not remain,” which essentially reserved select areas exclusively for conservation and non-motorized recreation. Sixteen years later, Congress added the River of No Return Wilderness to the list of protected wilderness areas. In 1984, it was renamed the Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness. To view Marshal Edson’s scrapbook of his trip down the Salmon River, request MSS 155 from Special Collections and Archives.

Figure 4. The One Way Club give the hand signal for “everything okay.”
Edson collection.

Jim Duran,

Special Collections & Archives