Who says English majors, even in the past, haven’t engaged with technology?
Here is a curiosity I stumbled across the other day.
I’m not entirely sure what the function of these so-labeled “reading lab” machines might have been, because I have never seen anything like them before. My best guess is that they were designed to improve speed-reading skills — that the bar of light from above swept down the page at a words-per-minute pace set by the user.
Girl in English Reading Lab circa 1962. RS 13/10/D,F,G, University Photos, box 1073.
Furthermore, they seem to have been used in a classroom setting, rather than private study carrels, which suggests to me that they may have served as remedial aids for students — perhaps for freshmen who had been struggling to keep up with course reading loads and wished to improve their study skills.
Reading Lab “Help” Class, circa 1962. RS 13/10/D,F,G, University Photos, box 1073.
These are just guesses, however.
If anyone reading this post attended ISU in the 1960s, is there a chance that you used something like this? Could you shed some light on these machines’ purpose?
This blog post was authored by Curation Services Student Writer Cassandra Anderson.
This August, I started working as the Curation Services Student Writer here at Parks Library. I have always loved looking at old photographs and documents, so this job has been an absolute blast for me to be working on. One of my favorite things about working this job is doing research in the Special Collections & University Archives Reading Room. While it can sometimes be challenging, finding materials is like a treasure hunt, you never know what you might find in the next folder. Recently, I have been doing a lot of research on the buildings that we have here on campus. Some of the buildings have been here since the beginning, like the Farm House, and others are still being added to! Our University Photograph collection has some amazing images of the campus during its early years, which I find fascinating to look at.
While thinking of ideas for a Facebook post, I thought it might be fun to use a picture of the library when it was first built. I knew that there had been an addition to Parks Library making it what we have on campus today, but what I did not know, was that there have been three additions to the library! The original section of the library was built in 1925, and then the three additions followed in 1961, 1969, and 1983. The 1983 addition to the library created the Parks Library that we all know and love today. While looking through the university photographs for pictures of the original library building, I found some pretty cool photos!
This photo was taken in 1922 at the future sight of the library. In the background you can see Gilman Hall, which was called Physics hall at the time. University Photographs, box 313.
In the photo below, you can see the library in the middle of its construction. This photo was taken November 26th, 1923. There are so many cool photos of the library in the University Photographs, I wish I could post all of them but sadly, I cannot. If you want to see more cool photos of Parks Library, check out the University Photographs!
University Photographs, box 313.
For some unknown reason, I tend to lean towards the older buildings on campus when I am doing my research in the Reading Room. I think that it is just because old buildings are so cool, they have so much potential for fun facts and cool photographs. Whatever the reason may be, one day I decided to look at photos of Old Music Hall. Going into the research, I knew that there was a music hall that stood somewhat close to the current Music Hall, but I had never seen any photos of it or heard any information on it. The building was built in 1870 as a home for professors, and continued to be a home for professors until 1924 when the Home Economics Department took over the building. In 1928, the Music Department moved in, and in 1929 the building was officially known as Music Hall. The Music Department continued to stay in the building until it was torn down in 1978 to build the Music Hall that we see on campus today.
Old Music Hall, photograph taken in 1978 by Jerald C. Mathew, University Photographs, box 274.
The University Archives are full of crazy cool and weird stuff that you may never know about until you start looking! While it may seem daunting at first, our staff are more than happy to help you get your search started! You never know what you may find once you start looking, you may even have a hard time stopping. So whether you want to learn the history of your favorite building on campus, or you maybe you just want to see what we have on display, stop out and see us! We would love to see you!
The Reading Room is open Monday–Friday from 9 AM – 5 PM.
After more than a year of hard work, problem solving, and countless meetings and emails, our new archives management system is officially available to the public! Click here to visit the new public archives catalog, CARDinal.
The home page for SCUA’s new public catalog.
We’ve also been creating a user guide to help users understand the new system. It includes information about searching, as well as some tips and tricks for navigating the catalog.
As we’ve mentioned in previous updates, SKCA will make it much easier for users to access our collections in the public catalog, and for staff to manage the content. Though most of the finding aids have been entered, we’re still adding content and working out some kinks. Please visit our new site and see what you think! If you have any comments or questions, please email NHPRC Project Archivist Emily DuGranrut at emilyd1@iastate.edu
Gaze–if you dare–on these images of spineless and dismembered books uncovered in our vault.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you…
Broken spines, missing spines, and detached boards
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This one has been stabbed…
Knife wounded book.
The knife entered the textblock…
…and penetrated deep into the heart of the text.
This one makes me cry: laminated title page:
Title page has been laminated.
See how much it has browned from acid?
Please don’t do this to your books! The adhesive is acidic (see the browning effect?), and it is basically impossible to remove the lamination without destroying the book.
Remember, be kind to books, and they may last for hundreds of years!
The following post was written by Luis Gonzalez-Diaz, who is working at SCUA this year as an Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA). His project centers around historical LGBT+ communities on the ISU campus. The post today builds upon his previous post, which can be accessed via a link in the text below.
-Rachael Acheson
Assistant University Archivist
Early LGBT+ Student Activism / Activismo Estudiantil Temprano LGBT+
[TRIGGER WARNING: This blog post, or pages it links to, contains information about sexual assault and/or violence which may be triggering to survivors.]
[Advertencia: Este artículo, puede contener material sobre asalto sexual o violencia que podría ser desencadenante para algunos sobrevivientes.]
Continuing the narrative of LGBT+ History Month, an aspect of LGBT+ history that greatly influenced campus life for the community was the activism from the various groups on campus in the 1970s. The first presence of LGBT+ activism on campus started in 1971 with backlash to the controversial play “Boys in the Band” being presented at Iowa State. For more information on that particular event, check out my last article.
Continuando en la narrativa del mes de historia LGBT+, un aspecto de historia que gran mente influenció la vida estudiantil en la universidad, fue el activismo de varios grupos en los 1970’s. La primera presencia de activismo LGBT+ en la universidad, empezó en 1971 con la repercusión causada por la obra teatral controversial “Boys in the Band” siendo presentada. Para más información, verifica mi último artículo.
Boys in the Band Photos, RS 13/23/3, Box 17. / Fotos de “Boys in the Band”, RS 13/23/3, Caja 17
Nonetheless, on October 8th, 1974, students from the Gay People’s Alliance and the Lesbian Alliance might have demonstrated one of the biggest acts of activism and resistance in the decade, when they appeared in a local tv station in Ames called WOI-TV. The invitation to participate in the program arose from a controversial episode of Marcus Welby M.D. titled “The Outrage” aired by ABC TV. In the fictional drama, a mother discovers that her teenage boy was sexually assaulted by one of his school teachers when they were out at a camping trip. The teenager nonetheless was too ashamed to admit it to her mother but eventually confessed that it was his male science teacher that had done it.
No obstante, el 8 de octubre de 1974, estudiantes del “Gay People’s Alliance” y el “Lesbian Alliance” demostraron uno de los actos más grandes de activismo y resistencia en la década, cuando aparecieron en una estación de televisión local en Ames llamada WOI-TV. La invitación ocurrió a causa de un episodio controversial de un programa llamado Marcus Welby M.D titulado “The Outrage”, televisado por ABC TV. En el drama ficticio, una madre descubre que su hijo adolescente fue asaltado sexualmente por uno de sus maestros en un viaje estudiantil auspiciado por la escuela. Sin embargo, el niño adolescente estaba demasiado avergonzado para admitirlo ante su madre, pero finalmente confesó que era su maestro de ciencias lo que lo había hecho.
The airing of this episode caused much outrage for LGBT+ communities nationwide because of the perpetuation of negative light over the community, in a time where LGBT+ activism was just starting. The airing of the episode was a direct attack on the activism that was present at that time. The episode was pulled from communities in Boston and Philadelphia.
La emisión de este episodio causó mucha indignación para las comunidades LGBT + en todo el país debido a la perpetuación de la luz negativa sobre la comunidad, en un momento en el que el activismo LGBT + apenas estaba comenzando. La emisión del episodio fue un ataque directo al activismo que estaba presente en ese momento. El episodio fue retirado de comunidades en Boston y Filadelfia.
In Ames, the Gay People’s Alliance and the Lesbian Alliance wanted it to be pulled, but WOI-TV was not doing it. The TV station nonetheless, invited both groups to participate in Betty Lou Varnum’s “Dimension Five” program that aired in central Iowa at 10PM.
En Ames, el “Gay People’s Alliance” y el “Lesbian Alliance” querían que se retirara, pero WOI-TV no lo estaba haciendo. No obstante, la estación de televisión invitó a ambos grupos a participar en el programa “Dimensión Cinco” de Betty Lou Varnum que se emitió en el centro de Iowa a las 10 P. M.
The program talked mostly about the Marcus Welby M.D. episode, as well as many questions that the host had. Further along the night, the phone line was opened for callers, and many people called quoting Bible verses at them, which represented how the LGBT+ community was being perceived in Ames. The segment was viewed so frequently that it had brought back to life the ratings for the show. This broadcast, furthermore, represented how student activism here at Iowa State University has influenced and shaped the views on the LGBT+ community in Iowa, and how they refused to stay silent in the midst of an injustice. The interview is conveniently available to you at the Special Collections and University Archive’s YouTube channel, under “Dimension 5: Gay People Alliance Tape 1”.
El programa hablaba principalmente del episodio de Marcus Welby M.D. así como de las muchas preguntas que tenía el anfitrión. Más a lo largo de la noche, se abrió la línea telefónica para las personas que llamaban, y muchas personas llamaron a citar versículos bíblicos, lo que representaba cómo se percibía a la comunidad LGBT + en Ames. El segmento se veía con tanta frecuencia que había devuelto a la vida las calificaciones para el programa. Además, esta transmisión representó cómo el activismo estudiantil aquí en “Iowa State University” ha influido y configurado las opiniones sobre la comunidad LGBT + en Iowa, y cómo se negaron a permanecer en silencio en medio de una injusticia. La entrevista está disponible para usted en el canal de YouTube de Colecciones Especiales y el Archivo de la Universidad, bajo “Dimensión 5: Gay People Alliance Tape 1“.
Additionally, we have the original Dimension 5 notes for that specific broadcast in the Betty Lou Varnum papers at SCUA [RS 5/6/53].
Además, tenemos las notas originales de Dimensión 5 para esa emisión específica en los documentos de Betty Lou Varnum en SCUA [RS 5/6/53].
RS 5/6/53
If you have any other materials regarding LGBT+ student life here on campus, please feel free to reach out to the Special Collections and University Archives at ISU to talk about how you can possibly preserve and help us develop the history of the community in the university.
Si tiene cualquier otro material relacionado con la vida estudiantil LGBT + aquí en el campus, no dude en comunicarse con las Colecciones Especiales y los Archivos Universitarios en ISU para hablar sobre cómo posiblemente puede preservar y ayudarnos a desarrollar la historia de la comunidad en la universidad.
Iowa State University Special Collections and University Archives brings you a compilation of ISU Athletics from our Audiovisual (AV) Collection, in observance of UNESCO’s World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. Enjoy! #AudiovisualHeritage #WAVHD
This year the theme of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is “Your Story is Moving”. Here is the CCAAA Board’s official statement about this year’s theme:
Every year millions of people record stories of all varieties on audiovisual media, ranging from narratives of everyday life to historic events. These moments are chronicled and stored each day on multiple formats and media, whether they are digital or analogue. How do we ensure that this ever-growing corpus that is our cultural history today is preserved and exists in the future? And how do we guarantee that this rapidly accumulating, collective moving story of ours is not lost, as much of our history on these fragile media has been over the past 150 years?
Reliably, thousands of archivists, librarians and preservationists around the world strive to make our world’s cultural heritage accessible and safeguard it for the future. In addition to their daily efforts to provide access to historic collections housed in established archives, archivists actively rescue collections in danger of loss or destruction due to poor climates, less than ideal storage conditions, political unrest or the economic challenges that many countries are confronted with daily.
Our stories are moving in many ways. First, they move through the very act of playing this unique material on the original equipment that transports the object as part of viewing or hearing it, whether it is motion picture film, a vinyl record, an audio cassette or a videotape.
Second, as physical objects, made of organic material, these items are constantly and naturally moving through an ongoing state of decay, are deteriorating, and moving towards inaccessibility as they travel through their own timeline. This constant deterioration serves as an even stronger argument for supporting the ongoing efforts of the world’s archivists to preserve our audio-visual heritage.
Third, in countries and institutions with resources available to digitize collections, the rate at which our stories can now quickly move around the globe, thanks to the newest digital communication technologies now allows us to share our stories faster and ever more widely to more locations around the world than ever before.
Lastly, of course, stories move us emotionally. We see this every year on Home Movie Day, an event that provides a moment for publics around the world to bring their visual cultural heritage to archives and libraries, to view, sometimes for the first time in decades. As they see lost family members, loved ones and ancestors long gone come to life on the screen, tears flow, emotions are high, and these moments of our captured history transport us to new heights as our histories unfold before our eyes. History too comes to life through the power of the moving image and in sound recordings which connect us personally with those events and moments in time which have shaped our memories and who we are.
On October 27, please join us in celebrating our audio-visual heritage, and help us acknowledge the work done every day to preserve our stories so that they will endure for future generations.
Emily is the new NHPRC Project Archivist at Iowa State, working with Special Collections and University Archives to complete a grant project to implement a new archives management system.
Emily is originally from Lima, Ohio, and comes from a large family of library and history lovers. She studied journalism and history at Ohio University and completed an internship at The New York Times before moving to Columbus, Ohio. In Columbus, she helped manage a used bookstore for three years and began working toward her MLIS at Wayne State University. She moved to Iowa in August after completing an internship at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, where she worked digitizing audio materials and processing photo collections. She will finish her MLIS in December. In her free time, Emily enjoys hanging out with her cats, Ace and Jack, reading, camping, and rock climbing.
Below are some photographs from newsletters from the Filipino Club & Filipino Student Association files (RS 22/3/0/1, box 1). Click on the photographs to see the full caption information.
The “Ames Filipino Club” First Row (from left to right): Fermin Nacnac, Tomas Bringas, Mrs. Catell, Mrs. George Sparks, Juanito Mina, Juan Alcayaga. Second Row (from left to right): Gonzalo Fuentes, Juan Concepcion, Filomeno Alagar, Mr. George Sparks, Florencio Villegas, Antonio Gavina, Tomas Nacnac. The Insert Picture: Dr. and Mrs. Louis de Fries and their daughter, Margaret. Circa 1925. (Filipino Club file, RS 22/3/0/1, box 1).
From the 1986 Kampanilya Newsletter: The Filipino Community 1986 (Filipino Student Association file, RS 22/3/0/1, box 1).
From the 1983 Kampanilya newsletter: Filipino Student Association members pose for their first group picture before guests arrive to taste the culinary delights of the Filipino Dinner held last September 18. (Filipino Student Association file, RS 22/3/0/1, box 1).
Here are some previous posts highlighting Iowa State University Professor Emeritus Pilar Angeles Garcia who was born in the Philippines and had a long distinguished career at Iowa State University:
This blog post was authored by Curation Services Student Writer Cassandra Anderson.
Rosalie Gartner is a familiar face that you might have seen working our front desk or hanging around our reading room here at Special Collections and University. Rosalie is the lead Processing Archivist here at Iowa State University Special Collections and Archives. Originally, Rosalie is from Colorado, where she attended Colorado State University and studied History and French. While she was there she planned to be a museum curator, however she found a love for working with documents in an archival setting, and well, the rest is history! After graduation, Rosalie moved to the east coast where she earned her M.S in Library Science with a concentration in Archives Management from Simmons College. While in school, she worked for Biogen, doing records management in the Governance department.
Rosalie Gartner on vacation last summer in Scotland (courtesy of Rosalie Gartner).
After graduating from Simmons, she began to work at Emerson College in their Archives and Special Collections for several years. After working for Emerson, Rosalie packed up her life and moved to the Midwest, a transition that she says was rather smooth when you think about moving from Boston, Massachusetts to Ames, Iowa! While she sometimes misses the city, there are pieces of Iowa that make up for the lost hustle and bustle, like farmer’s markets and ample running trails.
The Special Collections and University Archives here at Iowa State are always working on bringing in fun new projects to work on, which is Rosalie’s favorite part of the job. Something she wishes the public would know about Special Collections and Archives is that they are not scary! They love when researches come in and use the collections that they work so hard to make accessible for everyone. When Rosalie is not working up in SCUA, she can be found hanging out with her dog, cooking something up, or just laid back enjoying a good book.
Odin in a sweater (courtesy of Rosalie Gartner).
Puppy flossing his teeth (courtesy of Rosalie Gartner).
The following post was written by Amanda Larsen, who is working at SCUA this year as an Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA). Her project revolves around historical feminist activism on the ISU campus. Regarding today’s article, note that the Monday after next, exactly two weeks from today, will mark 43 years since the “Alice Doesn’t Day” strike.
-Rachael Acheson
Assistant University Archivist
Alice Doesn’t Day
October 29th, 1975 was one of the first days to show the nation how much women contribute to society. The National Organization for Women (NOW) created a national strike day for women in order to emphasize how important women are for society. They called it “Alice Doesn’t Day,” a reference to the 1974 film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. NOW called for every woman to refrain from work or spending any money. The alternative for women who could not skip work was to wear an armband and discuss its purpose.
On campus, the Government of the Student Body (GSB) was asked to support the strike by on campus women’s organization. The bill to support Alice Doesn’t Day was sponsored by Roxanne Ryan, a student in sciences and humanities.
Roxanne Ryan with members of her residence hall. Image from the Bomb 1975, pg. 308.
Various groups scheduled programs supporting Alice Doesn’t Day on the Iowa State campus according to news articles. For those who wished to participate in the event, the YWCA had seminars on women’s health, practical consumerism, pampering ourselves, and women and the law. If the participants had young children, there were male-run daycare and babysitting services provided. GSB passed the bill supporting Alice Doesn’t Day, to the dismay of some. In the community, Ames Mayor William Pelz showed support for Alice Doesn’t Day by signing an official proclamation naming October 29th as “Alice Doesn’t Day.”
Not everyone supported Alice Doesn’t Day. The Iowa State Daily’s “Point of View” section notes that some believed calling for women not to go to work was not the best tactic for showing women’s roles in society. While it might have shown how much women contribute, it could also have shown unprofessionalism and little regard for their work. Others felt that women should double their efforts on the 29th with the same goal of showing how much they can contribute to society. A group opposed to Alice Doesn’t Day vowed to wear pink dresses and call for the firing of any woman protesting. In terms of students, most told the Daily that the reason they could not participate in the strike was that they had classes and “school is more important than my ethical views.” Since they could not miss classes, many of the women interviewed said they would refrain from spending money that day.
Cartoon on ISU student activism (or lack thereof). The Bomb 1975, pg. 504.
Rosl Gowdey, one of the publicity workers for the project, stated that the goal of the day was to “focus on what happens to the women who participate, than on the number of participants. If only one or two women get something out of it, then that’s great, and we’ve accomplished our purpose.” While most think that the day was a failure, others viewed the event as successful because of the awareness: “In terms of awareness and talking about women’s contributions, it was successful,” said by Susan Newcomer, the president of the Ames chapter of the National Organization for Women.
If you or anyone you know has any information about women activist from 1960-1979 here at Iowa State, please feel free to contact Special Collections to discuss preserving the material.
Image from page 19 of the Ames Daily Tribune, October 25th, 1975.
