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

40 Years of Service!

On September 7th, Susan Henggeler celebrated her 40th year with Albertsons Library. Susan, who is also an alumni of Boise State, began working in the Cataloging Unit as a student employee.

During her time at the university, Susan has participated in several major library projects, including the launch of the Library’s first online catalog in 1990. Since that time, she has worked with a variety of library computer systems. 

Susan is known for her generous nature and kind spirit. Susan served as a co-liaison to the Comprehensive Campaign for the Boise State Foundation and participated in the Shared Leadership Program. In 2010 Susan was nominated for the Outstanding Classified Employee Award. 

In an age when people change careers at least 7 times, Susan is one of those rare employees who has worked her entire career in one place and given her heart and soul to doing the best job possible. Congratulations Susan!

Michelle Armstrong,
Librarian