Library hours during the holidays

Photo by heatherknitz

The Albertsons Library will be closed Saturday, Dec. 22nd through Sunday, Dec. 30th. We will be open reduced hours on Monday, December 31st.

For a complete list of holiday hours go to http://library.boisestate.edu/about/hours.php. You can also access our online resources via the web or your mobile device at http://library.boisestate.edu/.

Happy Holidays from Albertsons Library!

Historic football postseason slideshow

The Boise State Broncos head to Las Vegas to play the University of Washington Huskies in the 21st Maaco Bowl Las Vegas. Here is a slide show of some previous post season games played by the Broncos from 1949 to 2002. All photos were taken from the Special Collections and Archives photo collection.



Jim Duran,
Special Collections and Archives

ScholarWorks Milestone

ScholarWorks has hit another major milestone, thanks to our faculty, students, and worldwide users. This December, the institutional repository reached 500,000 full-text downloads!

From its introduction in 2009, ScholarWorks has upheld its commitment to capture and showcase scholarly output by the Boise State University community. Faculty Authored Books, Electronic Theses and Dissertations, and Faculty Publications are just a few of the series within ScholarWorks.

In recent months, the repository has also had some helpful upgrades, such as the Follow button so users may keep up with authors or specific series and the Disciplines Wheel, which facilitates series exploration and discovery.

For more information, please visit ScholarWorks or contact Michelle Armstrong at 426-2580.

Albertsons Library open 24 hours starting Sunday, 12/16

The Albertsons Library will be open 24 hours a day for Finals Week. During the late night hours, staff will be on hand to answer questions and check out first-floor reserve materials. The second floor will be open as well, which includes the library's computer classroom, L203 with its 30 additional computers.

1st & 2nd floors only:

• Sunday, Dec. 16 open at 10:00 AM and close on Thursday, Dec. 20 at 7:00 PM
• Friday, Dec. 21 open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Free coffee and treats will be provided each night (while supplies last!) by the Associated Students of Boise State University (ASBSU). An officer from the Boise Police Department will be on duty in the library all night and can provide escort service as needed.

The library will be closed Saturday, Dec. 22 through Sunday, Dec. 30. For a complete list of holiday hours go to http://library.boisestate.edu/about/hours.php. You can also access our online resources via the web or your mobile device at http://library.boisestate.edu/.

Have you found the Scarlet Macaw?

Take a break from your hectic finals schedule and studying and see if you can find the Macaw in the Library.

If you find him, bring him to the circulation desk and your name will be entered in a drawing. We will draw for prizes in January and again later in the Spring semester.

If you don't win in January, your entry will remain in the box till the next drawing. You can enter to win as many times as you find him. 

Good luck!

The Circulation Crew

Extended hours are coming!

The Albertsons Library will be open extended hours during the last week of classes, and open 24 hours for Finals Week.

During the last week of classes, December 10 - 15 we will be open:

• Monday - Thursday: 7:00 AM to 2:00 AM
• Friday: 7:00 AM to 12:00 midnight
• Saturday: 10:00 AM to 12:00 midnight

We will be open 24 hours starting at 10:00 AM on Sunday, December 16. Visit our calendar at http://library.boisestate.edu/about/hours.php for a complete list of hours.

Of course, our online resources are available 24/7 via the web or your mobile device.

The Round House: Comfort Food and Curbside Service on Campus

As the semester winds down, the library stays open 24/7 during Finals Week, and students look for comfort food and other things to get them through Finals. Let’s step back in history to when the restaurant the Round House was near campus. Located at 2027 College Boulevard, what is now the corner of University Drive and Chrisway Street, the restaurant opened around 1949 and served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The drive-in cafe also provided a dining room, curbside service, and a soda fountain. Popular menu items included hamburgers and milkshakes.

The original owners of the restaurant were George and LaVona Swanson, and it went through a few other owners and name changes during the 1950s. Some of the different names included Kirk’s Roundhouse Restaurant and Kwicurb Drive-In. Fred A. Pittenger, a medical doctor, purchased the building in 1961 and remodeled it. The building reopened as the Medical Arts Pharmacy and later became the Medical Center Association.

Boise State College purchased the building in 1972 and became the Health and Wellness Center. The building was later renamed the Chrisway Annex and was where Psychological Research was located. As an ad from the May 26, 1950 student newspaper the Roundup states, “For Fine Foods Think of the Round House.”

Julia Stringfellow,
Archivist/Librarian

What was there before Whole Foods?

2011 Google Maps aerial view of the corner of Myrtle and Broadway

As the City of Boise welcomes a new grocery store to the corner of Broadway and Front Street, Special Collections takes a moment to reflect on the history of this corner lot. Since the 1970s, the lot contained between Front and Myrtle, Broadway and S. Ave B, was mostly vacant – abandoned warehouses and a dirt lot.

The concrete slabs, which are now under the Whole Foods building, were once part of the headquarters for the Morrison-Knudsen Construction Company. From the 1930s to the 1970s, M-K operated a worldwide civil engineering and construction management firm from this location.

Harry Morrison, president of the company, was a big supporter of Boise Junior College and an original trustee. In the photo below, the B.J.C marching band, directed by John Best (center in white), thank Mr. Morrison (on the right) as part of Harry Morrison Appreciation Day – November 5th, 1958. In the background is M-K headquarters and current location of Whole Foods. From this angle, Broadway Avenue is just behind the machine shop.

Harry W. Morrison Appreciation Day

In the early 1970s M-K moved its headquarters across Broadway Avenue to what is now the URS building. The U.S. Forest Service took over ownership of the buildings on the lot sometime in the 1990s. By the mid 2000s, the Forest Service had left the buildings mostly vacant and in 2009 they gave permission to the Boise City Fire Department to use the empty structures for a training fire.

It remained vacant until 2011, when construction began on Whole Foods and Walgreens. Find more photos of the B.J.C. marching band, Harry Morrison, and the 1950s at Historic Boise State.

Jim Duran,
Special Collections

The Life of a Rodeo Queen

Snake River Stampede Queen, 1959

 What do rodeos, cooking, and Christian romances all have in common? They are all major parts of the life of Donna Fletcher Crow. Born in 1941, Crow graduated from Northwest Nazarene College in 1964 with a B.A. in Language and Literature. She married Stan Crow and taught high school English, literature, and creative writing in Boise and Nampa.

"Making Choices" novel, 1987.

This background led her to be the author of over 50 books in various genres. Known best for her Christian and historical fiction, Crow also wrote mysteries and several volumes of the “Making Choices” series, which were of the choose-your-own-adventure genre. In addition to writing, she was an avid reader and corresponded with numerous authors, including Diana Gabaldon, Jeffrey Archer, and Dick Francis.

Crow authored “The Frantic Mother Cookbook,” which contains sections for the variety of cooking needs: lunchbox, Sunday dinner, ladies luncheon, Sunday school, bedtime snacks, family picnic, and “Luncheon for my Mother.” These include recipes but also personal commentary and stories. Crow was an experienced hostess and enjoyed entertaining in her home, such as gourmet club, worship studies, tea parties, and mystery dinners.

As a teenager, Crow entered and won rodeo queen contests. She was the 1959 Snake River Stampede queen and Miss Rodeo Idaho. While competing in the Miss Rodeo America contest, she said, “I think Rodeo is one of the greatest and leading sports in America today.”

So how do we know all this about Donna Fletcher Crow? Because she donated her papers to Special Collections and Archives. Her collection includes scrapbooks, photographs, ticket stubs, articles, drafts of her writings, correspondence, diaries, and other material she saved throughout her life. The guide to her collection is online: http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv29232/.

Library Hours During Thanksgiving Break

The Library will be open limited hours for Thanksgiving Break:

• Saturday 11/17 -- 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
• Sunday 11/18 -- 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Monday 11/19 -- 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Tuesday 11/20 -- 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Wednesday 11/21 -- 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• Thursday 11/22 - Saturday 11/24 -- CLOSED
• Sunday 11/25 -- 10:00 AM to 12 Midnight

If you will be in town next week, come by to study and enjoy the relative quiet before the rush of finals and the end of the semester begins.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Mary Aagard,
Head, Access Services
 

Announcing Digital Commons Networks

Starting this fall, faculty and students who have added their research to ScholarWorks will now be included in the Digital Commons Network. With almost 600,000 full-text documents, the Digital Commons Network is one of the largest collections of openly accessible scholarship currently available. Organized using a subject taxonomy, content is grouped into discipline-specific “Commons.” 

Researchers can browse the Discipline Wheel, conduct a general search, or navigate to the Commons of each major discipline (Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Business, Education, Engineering, Law, Life Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, and Social and Behavioral Sciences). From each Commons, researchers can browse titles or drill down to see additional sub-disciplines.

The Digital Commons Network also helps highlight the work of Boise State and its scholars by featuring the most popular resources during the last month. In October for example, Boise State ranked in the top ten accessed publications in the sub-disciplines of Bioinformatics, Literature in English – North America, Hydrology, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication, Power and Energy, Disability and Equity in Education, and Medical Nutrition. 

Inclusion of Boise State works in the Digital Commons Network helps raise the profile of faculty and scholarship and enables searchers to find research produced at Boise State. To learn more, please visit ScholarWorks.

Michelle Armstrong,
Librarian / Asst. Professor

Former BSU Professor Glen Barrett’s Research Files Open for Research

Professor Glen Barrett with a copy of his
book, Boise State University: Searching
for Excellence, 1932-1984.

Glen Barrett arrived at Boise State University, then called Boise State College, in June of 1968. In 1984 he published Boise State University: Searching For Excellence, 1932-1984, a book honoring the university’s 50^th anniversary.

In creating the book, Barrett compiled almost 600 research files on a variety of topics related to Boise State history. He made extensive use of the materials in Special Collections and Archives and when the work was completed the files were placed back in the archive, processed, and indexed.

Although a finding aid was available to in-person visitors of the archive, Special Collections and Archives is proud to announce that a finding aid for the Glen Barrett Collection on Boise State University is now available online at: http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv78878

Did you know that Boise State University was built on the site of the old Boise Airport? If you search the above finding aid you will see that there is a file about this in the above collection. There is also an interview with former Boise State President John Barnes, files related to the history of KAID and KBSU, files on buildings in and around campus, and snippets of campus life.

Glen Barrett’s entire book, as well as the other books written about Boise State History by Eugene Chaffee and Patricia K. Ourada, are available online through ScholarWorks at http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/uni_books/ . Boise State University Special Collections is open from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday.

Kent Randell,
Librarian/Archivist

Boise State University’s Gender Equity Center Celebrates 20th Anniversary This Fall

The Women's Center was founded in Fall 1992 and was organized by a group of students, faculty, staff, and HERSWest, Boise State’s Women’s Faculty/Staff Association. Its mission is “to empower students to achieve their goals and promotes social change by providing educational outreach, support services, and a safe place.” Funding for the Center’s creation was obtained by Dr. Larry Selland, interim president at the time.

The Center was signed into being as an official administrative unit on July 1, 1993, by Selland. The university provided the Center with funding and established an advisory board during this time. The educational outreach opportunities provided by the Gender Equity Center strives to raise awareness of policies, services, and programs at Boise State that affect women. It also provides a place to meet and study, and is located in the SUB on the second floor.

The Center is well documented in Special Collections and Archives through scrapbooks, photographs, event materials, newspaper articles, and correspondence. Newsletters and other publications produced by the Center, as well as items created for Women’s History Month are also housed in Special Collections.

The materials are open to the public.Materials in ScholarWorks on the Gender Equity Center include the annual booklet published in March during Women’s History Month titled “Women Making History.” The years span 2001-2011, and the collection may be viewed at the link below http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/wmh/ 

More information about the Gender Equity Center is available at their website, https://genderequity.boisestate.edu/.

[Update 12/13/17: The Women's Center changed its name to the Gender Equity Center in 2016]

Films for Halloween

Photo by Toby Ord

Halloween is just a couple of short days away. Do you need a distraction from your studies? Here are a few suggestions for a Halloween movie night. The best part is you can pick them up right here at the Albertsons Library!

Foggy nights (and days), crisp wind, and the changing environment conjure the time of year to curl up on the couch with a good horror movie, or a bad one for that matter.

Here is list of some horror films we have at the library:

1. The Wizard of Gore: http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/45748056
   Herschell Gordon Lewis is known as the Godfather of Gore, and this film delivers plenty. The gore in this film is far from realistic, and the acting leaves something to be desired, but that’s part of what makes this film so great. Montague the Magnificent has come on the scene, creating masterful illusions for his paying customers. When the lovely volunteers who are subject to these illusions start to die, a news reporter is ready to investigate. This is considered a splatter film, so be warned if you check this one out!
2. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/50805098
   This silent film focuses on a somnambulist who commits murders under a hypnotist's influence. It is one of the films that hails from the German Expressionist movement, and has influenced some modern film makers. The opening scenes from ‘The Queen of the Damned,’ for example, are shot in the same manner.
3. The Fly: http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/182538990
   

   David Cronenberg’s remake of this film is great! If you haven’t seen this one yet, what better time to check it out than Halloween? A scientist accidentally combines his own DNA with that of a common fly after it gets trapped in an experimental teleportation device he created. The sequel is also on the shelves (http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/182538896).
4. The Last Man on Earth: http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/57070225
   This film is the original! Starring film legend Vincent Price as the only human survivor of a plague that swept the face of the earth, he must defend his home from vampires at night and forage for supplies during the day to survive. Price gives an incredible performance as the tortured, exhausted last man on earth.
5. The Birds: http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/43793579
   This is definitely a classic. When Melanie Daniels arrives in Bodega Bay, the small town is attacked by thousands of birds. Alfred Hitchcock directed the film.
6. Chyonghan Kajok (The Quiet Family): http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/68815536
   When economic tragedy hits the family, they take up residence in an old mountain cottage and open an inn. The guests check in, but they never check out. The family must cover up the serial murders occurring on their new property.
7. The Haunting: http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/47977603
   Adapted from Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, this psychological thriller tells the story of four people who come to the house to study its supernatural phenomena.
8. Cronos: http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/86081224
   This film was directed by Guillermo del Toro and stars Ron Perlman. Antique dealer Jesus Gris accidentally discovers the ancient Cronos device, which bestows eternal life to those who use it. However, there are certain disadvantages to using the device. A dying industrialist finds and reads the creator’s journal, and sends his nephew to retrieve the device.

If you can’t find what you are looking for, don’t forget about Interlibrary Loan, although they won’t
get here in time for Halloween.

Lizzy Walker,
ScholarWorks

OverDrive app for Nook users

One of the library's eBook providers, OverDrive, has released a free OverDrive app for NOOK users. Go to the NOOK apps storefront to download the app, or read about it at the OverDrive blog.

The Albertsons library provides an extensive list of electronic books to Boise State University students and faculty. These eBooks cover a wide range of subjects and are available to download or read on your favorite mobile device. For information about eBooks, as well as download instructions for your particular device, check out the library's guide on eBooks at http://guides.boisestate.edu/ebooks

The Socratic Club History & C.S. Lewis presentation

Special Collections and Archives recently acquired a gift from Jim Stockton, lecturer in the Philosophy department. The collection will be on view on Thursday, October 25th, at 3:00 pm, in the Frank Church Room, in the Special Collections area on the second floor of the library. He will give a 30 to 45 minute presentation on the Socratic Club’s history and be available to answer any questions.

Jim’s description of the collection:

Meeting regularly from January of 1942 to November of 1969, the Oxford University Socratic Club was one of the most significant academic organizations to affect mid-twentieth century Anglophilic letters. Although the Socratic Club is most often identified with its first faculty advisor and president, literary critic and novelist C. S. Lewis, most of the papers presented, and argued over at club meetings, were delivered by such notable philosophers as G.E.M. Anscombe, A. J. Ayer, John Austin, Antony Flew, Gilbert Ryle, Philippa Foot, Peter Geach, John Lucas, Basil Mitchell, and many others. The Boise State University Socratic Club Collection is a small start on the preservation of rare publications and pertinent documents that speak to the club’s historical significance.

The collection features three original Socratic Digests (issues 2, 3, and 4) gifted by Oxonian moral philosopher Mary Midgley, who, along with her husband analytical philosopher Geoffrey Midgley, were active participants in club activities. Complementing the three original publications are five bound photo-copies of the Socratic Digests published between 1943—1952), obtained by the Albertsons Library staff.

Over the next few years, it is my hope to grow the collection, creating a reputable body of original papers and research notes that will be of benefit to philosophical historians and Lewis scholars alike.

Anonymous Japanese Diary from WWII

Page from MSS 238 – Anonymous
Japanese World War II Diary

Boise State University’s Albertsons Library Special Collections and Archives holds an anonymous diary from a seaman working on a hospital vessel for the Japanese Navy during World War II.

The diary is shrouded in some mystery because its author (or authors), the name of the ship, and the author of the partial English translation are all unknown.

The diary was donated by a former Head Librarian at Albertsons Library, Timothy A. Brown. Mr. Brown received the diary from his cousin, a widow, whose husband had made trips to Japan.  The prior provenance of the diary is unknown.

In an attempt to gather more information about the diary, Tim Brown sent the artifact to the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle, Washington in 2001.

In 2005, the diary was returned stating that the consulate was unable to determine the identity (or identities) of the authors and did not indicate the name of the ship. It was then that Brown donated it to Special Collections and Archives.

Page from MSS 238 – Anonymous
Japanese World War II Diary

The diary contains details of World War II battles, the leisure time activities of the crew and officers, and opinions about the war. Here is a small sample of entries:

15 May 1944 Our ship finally reached its full complement of corpsman total of 96. Officers and crew invited to picnic at Manilla Park. I won a prize in the 100 Meter Run – just two rice cakes. In the afternoon played baseball with the officers – they won … the beer in Manilla is very tasty and had my fill.

20 May 1944 … My own opinion of this war right now is a possible attack by America or England on our home land… I’m sure Japan could not stand such an attack since so many of our troops and naval forces are now employed in the South China Sea.  Even if we do conquer New Guinea and New Zealand our major forces will still be deployed and too far away to defend Japan and the war could be lost.

25 Oct 44 Observed 18 enemy aircraft over Rabaul.  All Army and Navy guns trying to rebel the attack.  All enemy aircraft very smartly keeping outside our 19,000 meter range.  High flying bombers did much damage to base and facilities, staying at least 20,000 meter altitude. Our guns were useless at this range.  After sunset more bombing. Heavy damage to airfield and fuel storage. Many buildings no longer standing. Heavy black smoke covered the whole island…. I was sure I would be killed in this attack. The noise from our guns was deafening. The blast and wind from enemy bombs was terrible, could not stand or talk. Makes a man want to fight with all he has.

Because the translation is incomplete, anybody with Japanese language skills is welcome to come to Special Collections and volunteer their time to finish the translation. The archives are open 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday.  An online description of the diary and translation can found on the Northwest Digital Archives.

Kent Randell
Assistant Professor/Librarian/Archivist

Watch out for the Scarlet Macaw!

The Library is partnering with the Campus Read committee in an activity for all Boise State students. We've placed a very handsome Scarlet Macaw in the stacks for students to find. 

If you find the bird, bring him down to the Circulation Desk and fill out a ticket to be entered into a prize drawing. After he is found, he will be reintroduced to the wild and will find another nest in the stacks for another student to discover.

Think about the themes of the book, The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw by Bruce Barcott, and maybe you'll find the Macaw's nesting place. The contest will last until the end of the academic year. 

Good luck!
Mary Aagard
Head, Access Services

eBooks? We have them!

The Albertsons Library has a growing collection of electronic books (e-books) that can be accessed from a computer, available 24/7, and if you forget to turn one in, it'll do it for you--no library fines!

Access our e-book collection as you would any book, via the library catalog: http://boisestate.worldcat.org/advancedsearch

We have a guide just for e-books: http://guides.boisestate.edu/ebooks . If you haven't downloaded an e-book to your computer or mobile device (smartphone, tablet, e-book reader), please let us help! 

Celebrate the Freedom to Read

Banned Books Exhibit, 2nd floor, Albertsons Library

Some of the best books are also some of the most banned and challenged books.  Next week, September 30-October 6, 2012, is the American Library Association's annual Banned Books Week. Is your favorite book on the list of frequently challenged books?  If it is a Harry Potter book or To Kill a Mockingbird (my favorite), it is on the list.

This month, Albertsons Library celebrates the freedom to read with the American Library Association.  Check out the Banned Books exhibit on the 2nd floor. Check it out - literally! The books on display can be checked out with your BSU ID or Special Borrower's Card.  Cassi Warren, student assistant in the library's Curriculum Resource Center, designed and installed this exhibit. Thank you, Cassi.  The exhibit will be up through the end of October.

This week, we hope you can enjoy some leisure reading in between your course assignments.

Margie Ruppel
Reference Librarian/Assistant Professor
Liaison to College of Education

Where do Special Collections and Archives come from?

Map of Minidoka Relocation Center in Hunt, Idaho.
Mildred Pieters Papers, Special Collections and Archives.

On the second floor of the library you’ll find exhibit cases that currently feature memorabilia
celebrating Boise State’s 80th anniversary. Behind those windows are hundreds of boxes and
cabinets full of memorabilia, papers, diaries, publications, letters, photographs, scrapbooks, oral
histories, and other unique items that document the university’s history as well as the history of
Boise and Southwest Idaho.

So how do those materials end up in Special Collections and Archives? 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. There are many departments on campus who automatically donate
material to the University Archives but we also actively ask people for items as well.

The collections about Boise and Idaho are different. Most often, I receive a call or email from
someone asking if we are interested. There are a variety of reasons why people contact me:
an organization is moving an office and no longer has room; an individual is cleaning out a
basement or attic; or perhaps a family member passed away and left material behind. I often visit
homes and offices to look at the collections and see if they are what we would like.

Our goal is to collect material that documents history and provides a resource for students,
faculty, genealogists, documentary filmmakers, journalists, authors, the community, and anyone
interested in research. We want to have material that will be used!

Recent acquisitions:

Political buttons
Posters of Cecil Andrus
Record albums of band concerts from the Southern Idaho Conference, Boise, and Ada County
Articles about Japanese internment camps
A manuscript and screenplay by Idaho author Michael Corrigan
Materials from the Nordic Voice Cross-Country Ski Association
Records of the Episcopal Diocese
Diaries from 1912-1984 of a Boise woman
Student papers about Latinos in Idaho

Search our collections: http://nwda-db.orbiscascade.org/nwda-search/advanced.aspx
Search select photographs: http://digital.boisestate.edu/
Search University Documents: http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/uni_docs/

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

Special Collections joins the Northwest Digital Archives

Idaho governor Len Jordan with nine other western governors and a campaigning Dwight D. “Ike”
Eisenhower. The Len Jordan Papers now have a detailed, folder-level finding aid in the Northwest Digital
Archives. Boise State University, Albertsons Library, Special Collections and Archives, Len B. Jordan
Papers, MSS6, Box 53, Photographs.

Boise State University Special Collections and Archives, with the assistance of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, has joined the Northwest Digital Archives, also known as NWDA. The NWDA database provides enhanced access to archival collections and facilitates collaboration with archives, libraries, and museums in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.  Boise State has joined the ranks of over 35 other archives in the Pacific Northwest Region and, at the time of this writing, have 132 searchable finding aids on the NWDA website.

In addition to the Finding Aids which already existed on the Special Collections website, there is a wealth of new information that is now available online.  For example, the research files of the Herstory Calendars of the 1980s, which contain biographical material about over 500 women of the Pacific Northwest: from Dorothy Arzner, motion picture director of California; to Emma Russell Yearian, sheep rancher of Idaho.

The NWDA project has made it possible to post full-text finding aids with detailed folder-level and sometimes item-level description for some of our largest collections, including the 776 linear feet of papers from Idaho’s four-term Senator and 1976 presidential candidate Frank Church as well as former Idaho governor and Secretary of the Interior Cecil Andrus, Senator Larry LaRocco, and former Senator and Governor Len Jordan.

One real world example of the advantage of having online Finding Aids is a past query for a Congressional committee report about Bangladesh’s independence titled “The Road to Jessore.” This report has not been published by the United States Superintendent of Documents or the Congressional Information Service, and no copies can be found in the OCLC’s WorldCat, the worldwide library. However, this unpublished report is available in the Frank Church Papers and easily findable by entering ‘Jessore’ in the search box of NWDA or by entering ‘“Road to Jessore” “Frank Church”’ into Google.  This is the only discoverable - and possibly the only surviving - copy of this important document.

The free Northwest Digital Archives database is located at http://nwda.orbiscascade.org . To find BSU Special Collections and Archives items, pull down the “Boise State University” option from the Advanced Search.

Kent Randell
Archivist, Albertsons Library Special Collections and Archives