Monthly Archives: December 2008

Here, here for context!

google-images.jpgGoogle has announced that they have begun a project to scan and provide access to magazines and journals — from the Official Google Blog (12/09/2008 09:47:00 AM):

” The word “magazine” is derived from the Arabic word “makhazin,” meaning storehouse. Since Daniel Defoe published the world’s first English magazine back in 1704, millions of magazines catering to nearly every imaginable taste have been created and consumed, passed from person to person in cafes, barber shops, libraries, and homes around the world. If you’re wondering what cars people drove in the eighties or what was in fashion thirty years ago, there’s a good chance that you’ll find that answer in a magazine. Yet few magazine archives are currently available online. Today, we’re announcing an initiative to help bring more magazine archives and current magazines online, partnering with publishers to begin digitizing millions of articles from titles as diverse as New York Magazine, Popular Mechanics, and Ebony.”

And yes, you get the ads!

cards_big_jol043.jpgStill need to send out your holiday cheer, but having trouble making it through the ice to the mailbox? The Reykjavik Municipal Archives has you covered! They are offering a selection of electronic cards from items in their collection. It’s simple, fast, and it supports their Archives.

Visit their site at http://jolakort.reykjavik.is/CardTemplate.aspx to find “Cute old Christmas Cards with greetings in 25 languages to send friends and family around the world for free. The languages include English, Scandinavian languages, Chinese, Russian, Hindu, Hebrew and Greek… Most of the cards are from early 20th century and were received with private archives from individuals.”

2009 National Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums Conference

conference09.jpgSave the dates of October 18-22, 2009 for the National Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums Conference which will take place at the Red Lion on the River in Portland, Oregon. The conference is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, sponsored by the Western Council of State Libraries, and hosted by the Oregon State Library and Tamástslikt Cultural Institute.

OSU Buildings Named for Women

aerial-osc-2.jpgThanks to the OSU Retirement Association for compiling this list!

The exact number of OSU buildings named for women is not as clear cut as one might hope. To paraphrase a recent U.S. President, it all depends on how you define the phrase “named for.” Under the strictest possible criterion, “named for” requires naming in honor of a single, specific, identifiable person.

Using that criterion, here is their list of thirteen (13) qualifying buildings, in alphabetical order.

  1. Azalea House: Named for Azalea Sager, a Home Economics Extension leader who raised the money to build this women’s co-op.
  2. Bates Hall: OSU Home Economics graduate Mercedes Bates went on to become not only the original Betty Crocker but also the first female Vice President of General Mills.
  3. Callahan Hall: Ida Burdette Callahan taught English for 40 years, lived in women’s residence halls, and was one of three women responsible for starting the Corvallis Public Library.
  4. Dawes House: This house was the home of Melissa Martin Dawes, Professor of German.
  5. Gladys Valley Gymnastics Center: Named for Gladys Valley, who was a huge fan of gymnastics.
  6. Heckart Lodge: Zelia Heckart ran a local boarding house for men for many years.
  7. Kidder Hall: Ida Angeline Kidder, librarian from 1908 to 1920, fought constantly for better library facilities for the growing campus.
  8. Milam Hall: Ava Milam Clark was Dean of Home Economics for four decades, from 1913-1952.
  9. Plageman Hall: Named for an early staff member who was a nurse for student health services.
  10. Richardson Hall: Ms. Richardson donated the resources which allowed for this facility to be built.
  11. Sackett Hall: Beatrice Walton Sackett was a member of the Board of Regents.
  12. Snell Hall: Margaret Comstock Snell, M.D., was Head of Household Economics from 1889 to 1909. The building now called Ballard Hall was the original Snell Hall and was a women’s dormitory. Dr. Snell established the first College of Home Economics in the western United States, which began as a single classroom on the third floor of what is now Benton Hall.
  13. Waldo Hall: Like Beatrice Sackett, Clara Waldo was a member of the Board of Regents.

If we range beyond the strict boundaries of the Corvallis campus, we can add a 14th entry: Potts Guin Library, HMSC: Marilyn Potts-Guin was the founding librarian at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, on the Oregon Coast at Newport.

Two buildings are named for couples or families which, of course, included women: Dixon Recreation Center: Jim and Jeanette Dixon were long time members of the Department of Physical Education and championed recreational sports. Valley Library: Our library recognizes the generous contributions of the Valley family, which includes Gladys (noted above) and her daughter, Sunny.

That brings the list to 16. But we aren’t quite done.

The list grows to 17 when we add the one building most recognized of all for acknowledging the women of OSU: The Women’s Building: This one speaks for itself!

**Larry Landis, University Archivist and unequivocal campus building expert, reminded me that Halsell Hall was named for Carrie Halsell, OSU’s first African-American graduate.**

[This listing organized by Gary Tiedeman, based mostly upon information gathered and assembled by Jo Anne Trow and partially upon additional material found in the OSU Archives.]

New Collection Descriptions for the Month!

The following 7 finding aids were prepared during November 2008 and loaded to NWDA (with PDFs on our website). All have MARC catalog records in the OSU Libraries catalog, Summit, and Worldcat – or will have them very shortly.

Curriculum Coordination Records, 1924-1981 (RG 029)

Facilities Services Records, 1888-2003 (RG 193)

Hesperian Lyceum Society Records, 1891-1893 (RG 065)

Journalism Department Records, 1918-1988 (RG 091)

McAlister, Harvey L., Collection, 1805-1950

Peiffer, Kareen, Laboratory Notes, 1930-1931

Schultz, Clark Edwards, Papers, 1900-1982

Other notes: 5 are new finding aids and 2 are updates of existing finding aids (Curriculum Coordination Records and Journalism Department Records), 3 are final collection-level finding aids, 3 are full finding aids with a folder-level inventory, 1 is a preliminary collection-level finding aid, 1 is for a collection received in 2007 (Peiffer) and one is for a collection received in 2008 (Schultz), 2 are for collections for which we previously had no information available online, other than a title (Hesperian Lyceum Society and McAlister). 1 of the new finding aids is for the Facilities Services Records (RG 193), which is one of our largest collections.

We now have 350 finding aids in NWDA.