Category Archives: News and Features

From Our Collections, History of Medicine, News and Features

Medical Move Mondays: Home, Sweet Home

1 Comment

It’s the fifth and final week of our series on the History of Medicine Collections‘ move from the Medical Center Library on Duke’s medical campus to the RBMSCL on West Campus.

And the move, we are pleased to announce, is complete. Through a true team effort, including staff from the Medical Center Library & Archives, RBMSCL, and Perkins Library, the move happened smoothly. Professional movers handled most of the items from the collections, and transferred them with extreme care from the Medical Center Library to their new location.

History of Medicine Books in Their New Home

With this relocation come expanded hours as RBMSCL has weekend and evening hours. Researchers will find opportunities to discover overlapping collections within RBMSCL as well. There are many collections that complement the History of Medicine’s holdings from the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture, the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture, and the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising, and Marketing History. Topics such as women’s health, minority health, medical advertising, and innovations in health care are represented in the collections held at RBMSCL.

No appointment is necessary and all are welcome, so please be sure to visit the History of Medicine Collections in its new home.

Post contributed by Rachel Ingold, Curator for the History of Medicine Collections.

Bingham Center, Do Your Research, RL Scholars, Travel Grants

What She Wore

Mary Lily Travel Grant recipient Julie R. Enszer recently completed her second visit to the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture to conduct research for her dissertation project, which investigates the production of lesbian-feminist print culture in the United States between 1969 and 1989.

While Julie was here, she used materials from these collections:

Minnie Bruce Pratt at the Academy of American Poets awards ceremony, May 16, 1989.
Minnie Bruce Pratt at the Academy of American Poets awards ceremony, May 16, 1989. From the Minnie Bruce Pratt Papers. Photo by Dorothy Alexander.

Reflecting on her research experience, Enszer writes that the Minnie Bruce Pratt Papers were “one of the most exciting collections that I worked with. This may be in part because I have been a fan of Pratt’s poetry and writing since the late 1980s, but it is also certainly due to the fact that this is an extensive and thorough collection.”

She continues, “One aspect of my dissertation focuses on the literary appraisals of lesbian writing and a significant portion of the chapter discusses the Lamont Prize [given by the Academy of American Poets] in 1989 given to Minnie Bruce Pratt for Crime Against Nature. There are extensive documents on this event in the archive, but my favorite archival item is the outfit that Pratt wore to the award ceremony at the Guggenheim: a two-piece, cotton Batik. The shirt is light green with a lavender smock on the front edged by pink. It is both festive and feminine while distinctly conveying ‘lesbian.’”

Thanks to Dorothy Alexander for letting us use her photo of Minnie Bruce Pratt at the 1989 Academy of American Poets awards ceremony in this post. You can see more of her work on her website.

Post contributed by Kelly Wooten, Research Services and Collection Development Librarian for the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture , with thanks to Julie R. Enszer.

From Our Collections, History of Medicine, In the Conservation Lab

Medical Move Mondays: Conserving the Collections

1 Comment

It’s week three of our series on the History of Medicine Collections‘ move from the Medical Center Library on Duke’s medical campus to the RBMSCL on West Campus.

Wrapping Materials before MovingLast week, I mentioned that Jessica found the occasional book with the cover falling off of it. Enter Conservation! The staff of the Duke University Libraries’ Conservation Services Department (all six of them!) have been spending a good deal of time with the History of Medicine Collections assessing materials and making protective enclosures for items that are too damaged to move in their current state. They have been quite busy placing items in protective envelopes, measuring books for protective enclosures, and creating lots of custom-made enclosures.

The Conservation Services Department has provided over 2,217 enclosures in five weeks for the History of Medicine Collections. Along with protective envelopes, Conservation has custom-made tuxedo boxes, blue clamshell enclosures, phase boxes, and even a cloth-covered clamshell box for an extremely brittle, unique Sanskrit book. This is quite a feat—considering they did not have much time and made the enclosures at a different location than the books!

Measuring Items for EnclosuresMeasurements were made at the History of Medicine Collections’ former space, located in the Medical Center Library. Boxes were then constructed in Conservation’s beautiful lab space in Perkins Library. Once enclosures were complete, the boxes were brought to the books at the History of Medicine for their fitting. Their hard work and dedication have ensured that the damaged and fragile items in this collection will withstand the move. Thank you, Conservation!

For photos of the move from start to finish, visit the “HOM Collections Move” set on the Duke University Libraries’ Flickr photostream.

Next week: Shipping and Receiving moves some very carefully-packed book trucks.

Post contributed by Rachel Ingold, Curator for the History of Medicine Collections.

From Our Collections, History of Medicine, News and Features

Medical Move Mondays: Introduction

1 Comment

Rachel Ingold, Curator of the History of Medicine CollectionsHi! I’m Rachel Ingold, Curator for the History of Medicine Collections. This summer, the History of Medicine Collections will be moving from the Medical Center Library on Duke’s medical campus to the RBMSCL on West Campus. For the next five weeks, join me every Monday here at The Devil’s Tale. I’ll be walking you through the move step-by-step.

This week, a little background: The History of Medicine Collections consists of over 20,000 rare and unique medical books and journals. Along with these print items are 4,500 manuscripts and numerous medically-related instruments, artifacts, prints, photographs, and ephemera. The collection is particularly strong in the areas of anesthesia, human sexuality, materia medica, pediatrics, psychiatry, vivisection, and yellow fever.

Two major gifts helped form the HOM Collections. In 1931, the Georgia Medical Society of Savannah donated its library of 8,000 volumes to Duke University. Another major donation which brought a new level and depth to the collection was the 1956 donation of the Trent Collection by Mrs. Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans.

History of Medicine Collections Brochure CoverSo, how does one go about moving a collection with so many rare print items and manuscripts, as well as a variety of instruments and artifacts including curiosities such as amputating saws, ivory anatomical manikins, and glass eyeballs? The answer: very carefully. And with a team of wonderful people.

I’m grateful to be working with a great group of folks from the Medical Center Library & Archives and Perkins Library. So many people have been involved in making this move happen. And I hope this series of blog posts will highlight some of the work they have done to help and how we are going about this move.

For photos of the move from start to finish, visit the “HOM Collections Move” set on the Duke University Libraries’ Flickr photostream.

Next week: Technical Services gets to work!

Post contributed by Rachel Ingold, Curator for the History of Medicine Collections.

From Our Collections, Just for Fun, Manuscripts, News and Features, Rare Books, RL Photos

Big Book, Little Book

2 Comments

Big Book, Little Book

Wandering through the stacks earlier this week, we found ourselves a bit goggle-eyed upon discovering this enormous volume of newspaper clippings from the George Tinkham Papers. For comparison, we’ve placed it next to The Bible in Miniature, or, A Concise History of the Old and New Testaments, an 1805 volume from our miniature books collection.

P.S. These aren’t the biggest or littlest books in our collections.

P.P.S. Surprisingly, the big book is not as heavy as it might seem.

News and Features, RL Photos, University Archives

University Archives Field Trip

4 Comments

And you thought only children get to go on field trips?

Today, the staff of the Duke University Archives paid a visit to Maplewood Cemetery and the graves of the people whose papers we work with every day. We started with a visit to the Dukes.

Visiting the Duke Family Mausoleum

It’s very sunny on the steps of the Duke Mausoleum at 9:30 AM! From left to right are Molly Bragg, our outgoing Drill Intern; Mary Samouelian, Doris Duke Collection Archivist; Kim Sims, Technical Services Archivist; and Seth Shaw, Electronic Records Archivist. (I’m taking the photo!)

We also visited President Robert L. Flowers, Trustees James Southgate and Julian S. Carr, Chancellor (and Dean of the School of Law) A. Kenneth Pye, Coach Wilbur Card, and Professors Fritz London, William Cranford, Charles Ellwood, and Aleksandar Sedmak Vesić.

Molly and the Teer Family Mausoleum

Here’s Molly at the Teer Family’s mausoleum. During her internship, Molly studied Duke University’s construction, becoming well-acquainted with Nello Teer. She wrote this article about him for Duke Magazine.

Do Your Research, From Our Collections, Just for Fun, News and Features, Rare Books

The Cleanest Books Around

2 Comments

I-XL Pump Co.'s New Scrubbing BrushThe RBMSCL’s reading room is going to be closed on Monday, May 9th so that we can devote a few hours to a careful cleaning and ordering of our stacks. We’ll reopen again on Tuesday, May 10th at 9:00 AM with everything sparkling and tidy!

(Incidentally, doesn’t this homemaker look thrilled with her I-XL Pump Co. Scrubbing Brush? According to the advertising circular, it “takes the cake.” Which we don’t doubt, because who isn’t equally a fan of cake and cleaning products?)

To get ourselves ready for cleaning day, we thought we’d take a look at the suggestions for cleaning and caring for books and libraries that have been offered to industrious homemakers and housekeepers over the years.

Please note that the RBMSCL doesn’t actually use any of these cleaning and care practices, nor do we recommend that you use them on your own books or manuscripts.

“To Prevent Moulding in Books, Ink, Paste and Leather: Collectors of books will not be sorry to learn that a few drops of oil of lavender will insure their libraries from this pest.”

—From The Skillful Housewife’s Book, 1846.

“When a parlor with handsome furniture is to be swept, cover the sofas, centre-table, piano, books, and mantel-piece, with old cottons, kept for the purpose. . . . Dust ornaments, and fine books, with feather brushes, kept for the purpose.”

—From Miss Beecher’s Housekeeper and Healthkeeper, 1873.

“To Preserve Books: Bindings may be preserved from mildew by brushing them over with the spirits of wine. . . . Russia leather which is perfumed with the tar of the birch-tree, never molds or sustains injury from damp. The Romans used oil of cedar to preserve valuable manuscripts.”

and

“To Remove Ink Spots on Books: A solution of oxalic acid will remove them without injuring the print.”

—From Practical Housekeeping, 1883. (With regard to the second piece of advice: now you know why we use pencils!)

“As the library . . . often knows the scent of cigar smoke we would refrain from adding upholsteries to catch and retain the odor, which, while it may not be objectionable at first, is certainly not enjoyable when stale.”

—From Home-Making and Housekeeping, 1889.

“Glazed bookcases are quite unnecessary. . . . Books do not suffer, but rather benefit, by coming into contact with the air. . . . Even if the [library] is not in regular daily use, a fire should be lighted frequently, especially in damp weather; otherwise the books will inevitably be attacked by mildew, and ruined sooner or later.”

—From The Book of the Home, 1900.

“Gum camphor laid among books on the shelves will keep the mice away.”

—From Putnam’s Household Handbook, 1916. (We would like to note how happy we are that we don’t have this problem!)

Do Your Research, Franklin Research Center, News and Features, Travel Grants

2011-2012 Franklin Research Center Travel Grants Awarded

The John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s travel grants. These grants support the work of students, scholars, and independent researchers for travel to Durham to conduct research using the Franklin Research Center’s collections.

  • Andrew David Amron, Ph.D. candidate, Department of History, University of Alabama, for his dissertation on black working-class masculinity and identity during the World War I era.
  • Maureen Cummins, independent scholar, for the production of a limited edition artist book concerning slavery in the U.S., mid 19th century.
  • Ira Dworkin, Assistant Professor, Department of English and Comparative Literature, The American University in Cairo, for research on African Americans in the Congo, particularly George Washington Williams.
  • Nina Ehrlich, master’s student, Department of History, Colorado State University, for a study of relationships between black and white women during the Civil Rights Movement.
  • Reginald K. Ellis, Visiting Professor, Department of History, Florida A&M University, for work on a manuscript concerning James Edward Shepard and black North Carolinians in the 20th century.
  • Rebecca Wieters Moake, Ph.D. candidate, Department of History, University of Maryland-College Park, for work on her dissertation concerning the working people of Charleston, S.C., in the late 19th century.
  • Tyler D. Parry, Ph.D. candidate and master’s student, Department of History, University of South Carolina, for dissertation and article exploring slave kinship in the Antebellum South.
  • Ibram H. Rogers, Assistant Professor, Department of History and Africana & Latino Studies, State University of New York College at Oneonta, for a book examining the struggle to diversify higher education, 1965-1972.
  • Daniel Royles, Ph.D. candidate, Department of History, Temple University, for research exploring African American AIDS activism and advocacy in the United States.
Archive of Documentary Arts, Events, Films, RL Photos

Filmmaker and Projectionist

1 Comment

Filmmaker David Gatten threads 16mm prints of his films for a screening in the Rare Book Room this past Thursday.

These photos were taken by guest Michael Graziano, and we thank him for letting us share them here. (For more information about the event and the films shown, visit this earlier blog post.)

You’ll find more photos from the screening at the “RBMSCL Events” set on the RBMSCL’s Flickr photostream!

Bingham Center, Do Your Research, News and Features, Travel Grants

2011-2012 Mary Lily Research Grants Awarded

The Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Mary Lily Research Grants. These grants support the work of students, scholars, and independent researchers who will travel to Durham from all over the U.S. to make use of the Bingham Center’s rich collections. We would like to gratefully acknowledge our faculty reader, Kimberly Lamm, Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies, who offered her insights and expertise as the committee reviewed a competitive pool of 40 proposals.

This year’s grant program received additional support from the Program in Women’s Studies. Every year, the Program in Women’s Studies explores ideas and concepts from a variety of disciplines that touch on women, gender, and feminism. The theme for 2011-12 is “The Future of the Feminist 1970s.” Many of our grant recipients this year are focusing on related research questions, and we anticipate that they will help enrich the conversations on campus that will evolve in the classroom and beyond about how the multiple feminist paradigms of the 1970s continue to have an impact on feminist thought.

  • Marika Cifor, master’s student, History and Library and Information Science, Simmons College, for master’s thesis research that examines historical relationships of lesbians and prostitutes in the United States, 1869-1969.
  • Jessica Frazier, PhD candidate, History, Binghamton University, for dissertation research on Vietnamese militiawomen and the interconnections of empire, race and gender in the feminist movement, 1965-1980.
  • Choonib Lee, PhD candidate, History, State University of New York at Stony Brook, for dissertation research on militant women in the new left and civil rights movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
  • La Shonda Mims, PhD candidate, History, Georgia State University, for dissertation research on lesbian community and identity in the cities of Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA from WWII to the present.
  • Jennifer Nelson, Associate Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Redland, for a book on community health reform movements from the mid-1960s to the present.
  • Ally Nevarez, master’s student, Book Arts and Library and Information Science, University of Alabama, for an artist’s book that highlights the important role that women have in contributing to community and preserving culture.
  • Rose Norman, Professor Emeritus of English, University of Alabama at Huntsville, for research on lesbian feminist activism in the South, 1965-1985.
  • Robin Robinson, Associate Professor, History, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, for a book and article on transportation and transformation of female convicts as unfree labor in Colonial America.
  • Emily Thuma, PhD candidate, American Studies, New York University, for dissertation research on prisons and the politics of resisting gendered violence, 1968-1984.
  • Elizabeth York, Associate Professor, Music Therapy, Converse College, for research on Atlanta women’s music and culture, 1976-1986.

Post contributed by Kelly Wooten, Research Services and Collection Development Librarian for the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture.