Category Archives: Digital Collections

Digital Collections, Do Your Research, From Our Collections, News and Features, University Archives

The 1960s, One Page at a Time

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One of the most frequently used items in the Duke University Archives is The Chronicle, particularly the 1960s issues. Many students are interested in the decade—which was one of great change in the student body, the curriculum, and in social life—and alumni and other researchers use it to find out details about particular events. This year, as Duke commemorates 50 years of desegregation among the undergraduate class, The Chronicle is especially helpful as a source of information about desegregation and later student protests like the Vigil and the Allen Building Takeover.

Thanks to the work of the Duke University Libraries’ Conservation Department, Digital Production Center, and Digital Projects Services, we now have eleven complete years (fall 1959-spring 1970) of The Chronicle digitized at http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/dukechronicle/. The issues are browsable by year and date and keyword searchable.

Although it will be extremely helpful for research on desegregation and student protest, it will also be helpful for researching topics ranging from the Duke-UNC rivalry to women on campus to ads for local restaurants. Through even small stories and announcements, we learn a lot about campus.

For example, on November 22, 1968, we read that a memorial mass was held to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the passing of John F. Kennedy, Jr.:

Notice of memorial mass at the 5th anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination, The Chronicle, November 22, 1968.

On March 1, 1963, we learn of the mysterious origins of the name of Towerview Road:

Article about Towerview Road, The Chronicle, March 1, 1963.

And on November 7, 1969, we find 1969 at Duke, perfectly preserved:

Chronicle Classifieds, November 7, 1969

There are 868 issues of editorials, news stories, sports writing, advertisements, and much more. Let us know what you think, and how you will use the digitized decade of The Chronicle!

Post contributed by Valerie Gillispie, Duke University Archivist.

Digital Collections, Franklin Research Center, From Our Collections, TRLN CCC Project, University Archives

Eight New Digital Collections on Civil Rights

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The Duke University Libraries are proud to announce the completion of the still image digitization for the Duke-held collections of the Content, Context, and Capacity (CCC) Project.

This inter-institutional collaborative project of Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, and NC Central is digitizing records relating to the Long Civil Rights Movement. The Long Civil Rights Movement is a term used by historians to expand the traditional definition of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s both further into the past and into more recent times. Collections from this project date back to as early as the 1880s and to as late as the first decade of the 2000s.

In total, all four institutions will digitize over 350,000 documents. Duke’s share of that total is approximately 66,000 scans from eight archival collections from the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. In addition, during the next (final) year of the project, the CCC staff will transition to the digitization of audio collections. Duke will focus on the digitization of the North Carolina tapes from the Behind the Veil Oral History Collection, which is scheduled for publication in 2014.

Check out the gallery of selected documents digitized as part of the project (click to enlarge) and browse each of the eight collection’s finding aids, now containing the embedded digitized documents, below.

Collection descriptions and links to finding aids (containing digitized materials):

  1. Charles N. Hunter Papers, 1850s-1932 and undated: An educator and reformer ahead of his time, Charles N. Hunter’s papers feature valuable writings and speeches as well as correspondence with many luminaries, including Booker T. Washington.
  2. Asa and Elna Spaulding Papers, 1909-1997 and undated, bulk 1935-1983: Elna Spaulding was a Durham civic leader who served as a County Commissioner and as the present of Women-in-Action for the Prevention of Violence and Its Causes. Her papers include correspondence and records of her civic life with many organizations.
  3. Women-In-Action for the Prevention of Violence and Its Causes, Inc. (WIAPVC) Durham Chapter records, 1968-1998: Founded by Elna Spaulding in 1968, the WIAPVC is an organization dedicated to community improvement. Its records document both its successful projects and its fund-raising challenges.
  4. Basil Lee Whitener Papers, 1889-1968: Basil Lee Whitener was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1957 to 1968 from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. His papers document his opposition to civil rights legislation as well as his activities as a member of the House Judiciary Committee.
  5. Rencher Nicholas Harris Papers, 1851-1980 and undated, bulk 1926-1965: Rencher Nicholas Harris was Durham’s first African-American city councilman. His papers document a myriad of local issues in the 1950s, including segregated schools, health care, and zoning laws.
  6. Allen Building Takeover Collection, 1969-2002: This collection documents the events and the remembrances of the February 1969 Allen Building Takeover, during which students occupied Duke’s administrative building demanding improvement of African-American life on campus and skirmishes between sympathizers and the police on the quad became violent.
  7. Black Student Alliance Records, 1969-2006: The Black Student Alliance is a Duke African-American student advocacy organization. Its records include evidence of the organization’s projects as well as their publications and compiled scrapbooks illustrating student life.
  8. Department of African and African American Studies Records, 1966-1981: These records trace the development of the Black Studies Program into a full-fledged academic department. In addition, the records contain evidence of radical political thought in the 1970s.

Researchers will find a great deal of material to analyze in these eight collections. The CCC staff encourages you to visit the finding aids of each collection and start exploring the varied perspectives, narratives, and memories that help to comprise the Long Civil Rights Movement.

The grant-funded CCC Project is designed to digitize selected manuscripts and photographs relating to the long civil rights movement. Funding is provided by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division on the Department of Cultural Resources. For more about Rubenstein Library materials being digitized through the CCC Project, check out previous progress updates posted here at The Devil’s Tale!

Post contributed by Josh Hager, CCC Graduate Assistant.

Digital Collections, Franklin Research Center, From Our Collections, Students and Interns, TRLN CCC Project

Digitizing the LCRM Update #10: A Project Milestone and an Iconic Signature

In this month’s Digitizing the Long Civil Rights Movement update, we are happy to announce that initial scanning for all of Duke’s manuscript content in the Content, Context, and Capacity Project is complete. Over 66,000 scans are now either published or are being processed to enable publication as soon as possible. We encourage you to check out the CCC Content Page as a portal for looking at all of Duke’s CCC Collections as well as those digitized by NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill, and NC Central. Meanwhile, we are beginning work on digitizing the audio oral histories from North Carolina found in the Behind the Veil Collection, which will be our primary focus during the upcoming third year of the grant.

For our collection highlight this month, we turn to the Charles N. Hunter Papers. Born to enslaved parents in Raleigh in 1851, Hunter would go on to become one of the most prominent African-American educators and advocates in North Carolina. Aside from industrial activism and prolific writings, Hunter served as a teacher and principal at several schools, mostly in the Triangle and its environs. As part of that work, he corresponded with the Tuskegee Institute and its founder, Booker T. Washington.

Letter, Booker T. Washington to Charles N. Hunter, July 7, 1914. Charles N. Hunter Papers
Letter, Booker T. Washington to Charles N. Hunter, July 7, 1914. Charles N. Hunter Papers, Box 2, Folder 2, Item ID: cnhms02002037. Click to enlarge.

The letter shown here is from Booker T. Washington to Charles N. Hunter. Written in 1914, it concerns a project, led by Hunter, concerned with building rural schools for African-Americans throughout the South. Hunter worked with Washington and the Tuskegee Institute for this project and continued to correspond with the institute after Washington’s death in November 1915. Given Hunter’s work with Washington, it is appropriate that the last school at which he served as a principal was Booker T. Washington School in Johnston County.

The Charles N. Hunter Papers, and other CCC Collections, will be published in the coming months.

For more information on the CCC Project, please visit our website or like us on Facebook.

The grant-funded CCC Project is designed to digitize selected manuscripts and photographs relating to the long civil rights movement. For more about Rubenstein Library materials being digitized through the CCC Project, check out previous progress updates posted here at The Devil’s Tale!

Post contributed by Josh Hager, CCC Project Graduate Assistant.

Digital Collections, From Our Collections, Students and Interns, TRLN CCC Project, University Archives

Digitizing the LCRM Update #9: Remembering the Allen Building Takeover

This month’s Digitizing the Long Civil Rights Movement update pauses to look back into Duke’s own past struggles with racial equality.  On February 13, 1969, students in the Afro-American Society occupied the Allen Building where the university’s primary administration offices were (and still are) located.  These students demanded that Duke take steps to enact racial equality on campus, including the founding of an African-American Studies department, the hiring of more African-American professors, and the establishment of an African-American cultural center on campus.  Similar demands had been made before from members of the Black Studies Program, as featured in our fourth update in this blog series.

What distinguished the Allen Building Takeover from the previous efforts for reform was its forcefulness—on both sides of the debate.  The Takeover marked the first such occupation by students in Duke’s history.  The administration’s response also became notable for what some members of the student body perceived to be its brutality.  Police officers dispatched to the scene used tear gas to disperse a crowd that had gathered around the building, leading to a “riot” on the main quad of West Campus.

Photos from <i>The Chronicle</i>, February 16, 1969.

Photos from <i>The Chronicle</i>, February 16, 1969.
Both photos from The Chronicle, February 16, 1969.
Allen Building Takeover Collection, Box 1, Folder 10: abtms01010035

In the wake of the Takeover, students rallied to enact the suggested agenda of the original occupiers.  Eventually, most of the demands did become standard practice at Duke, but the change occurred more gradually than what the galvanized student body had wanted in February 1969.  The items selected above are from a photo essay published by The Chronicle (Duke’s independent student newspaper) that encapsulated the events of Takeover.

We are happy to announce that the Allen Building Takeover Collection and its wealth of primary documents and remembrances of the important event will soon become available online to researchers.

For more information on the Content, Context, and Capacity Project for Digitizing the LCRM, please visit our website or like us on Facebook.

The grant-funded CCC Project is designed to digitize selected manuscripts and photographs relating to the long civil rights movement. For more about Rubenstein Library materials being digitized through the CCC Project, check out previous progress updates posted here at The Devil’s Tale! 

Post contributed by Josh Hager, CCC Graduate Assistant.

Digital Collections, From Our Collections, TRLN CCC Project

Digitizing the LCRM Update #8 – A Preserved Love Story

Dried rose with correspondence, Asa Spaulding to Elna Bridgeforth, circa December 1931. Asa and Elna Spaulding Papers, Box EC-4, Folder 3: esgms04003022
Dried rose with correspondence, Asa Spaulding to Elna Bridgeforth, circa December 1931. Asa and Elna Spaulding Papers, Box EC-4, Folder 3: esgms04003022

Elna Spaulding is a central figure in the materials that Duke has digitized for the Content, Context, and Capacity Grant.  The records of the Women-in-Action for the Prevention of Violence and Its Causes, an organization that Mrs. Spaulding founded and led from 1968 until 1974, are available now.  In addition, all of Mrs. Spaulding’s personal papers have been digitized and will shortly become available for viewing.

In anticipation of both the publication of Elna Spaulding’s myriad professional accomplishments and Valentine’s Day, this month’s update focuses on the personal connections underlying the accomplished careers of Elna and Asa Spaulding. In the years prior to their wedding on June 24, 1933, Asa Spaulding and Elna Bridgeforth corresponded regularly.  The following two quotes are from letters that Mr. Spaulding sent to Miss Bridgeforth:

“I would not put you out of my life if I could, and I could if I would…Do you know the song: ‘I wouldn’t change you for the World.’  The words are quite significant.” (December 30, 1931)

“As I start out upon the first day of a New Year it is with thoughts of you and with [a] heart full of thanksgiving for what the past year has meant to us and with much anticipation as to what lies before us.  I wish I might look into the future and see.” (January 1, 1932)

Unfortunately, we do not have Elna Bridgeforth’s replies, but we know that she kept a rose that Asa gave her with one of these letters (pictured here) throughout her life.  We encourage readers to peruse the correspondence between the future Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding to gain a unique look into one of the most influential couples in the modern history of Durham.  You may even find inspiration for a Valentine’s Day note of your own.

Post contributed by Josh Hager, CCC Project Graduate Assistant.

Digital Collections, In the Conservation Lab, News and Features

Conserving the Broadside Collection

Conservation is nearing the end of a project that we have been working on since 2009, the broadside collection.  In addition to broadsides, this collection includes thousands of posters, handbills, maps, diplomas, and a variety of paper ephemera.  We in the conservation department have been coordinating with the Digital Production Center (DPC) to enable the safe handling of these materials during digitization.

Many of the broadsides come to us encapsulated in Mylar that has been sealed with sticky tape.  The items must be removed from the encapsulation prior to digitization, and this step also gives us the chance to repair damage that might grow worse with handling during digitization.  Many of the broadsides are extremely brittle, and so there are often tears to mend.

The items are organized in folders by state or country, and it is always a surprise to open a folder and see what’s inside.  So many of the items are historically fascinating and visually beautiful!  To the right is a folder from Britain containing government notices and a caricature print from 1798.

The British folder also contained some much later posters from World War II (below).

This folder of items from Brazil contained broadsides from the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932.

Also included in this batch of broadsides were highly elaborate diplomas, some on silk with embroidery and some with wax seals and ribbons.

It’s been fun treating such beautiful and fascinating items.  Take a closer look at them all in the newly digitized Broadsides and Ephemera Collection!

To see more about this project (including a video), check out our posts at Preservation Underground:

http://blogs.library.duke.edu/preservation/2011/02/19/building-the-broadside-digital-collection/

http://blogs.library.duke.edu/preservation/2010/07/09/heres-your-mule/

http://blogs.library.duke.edu/preservation/2012/04/20/1091-project-digitization-and-conservation/

Post contributed by Grace White, Conservator for Special Collections, as part of our ongoing “In the Conservation Lab” series.

Digital Collections, Human Rights Archive

Celebrating Freedom from Persecution for Hanukkah

Hanukkah card sent to Marshall Meyer by Débora Benchoam, November 1981. From the Marshall T. Meyer Papers.

The Hanukkah celebrations of 1981 were especially meaningful for Débora Benchoam and Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer.  Benchoam had just been released from four years of brutal imprisonment during Argentina’s “Dirty War,” thanks in large part to the efforts of Meyer.  She sent this card to Meyer on 26 November 1981. The card and the letter it contains have been digitized and are available for viewing in Duke’s Digital Collections.

This card is held in the Human Rights Archive‘s Marshall T. Meyer Papers, documenting Meyer’s tireless human rights activism.  To learn more about the story of Benchoam and Meyer, see the online exhibit “I Have No Right to Be Silent: The Human Rights Legacy of Marshall T. Meyer” and this 2009 interview with Benchoam.

Post contributed by Will Hansen, Assistant Curator of Collections.

Digital Collections, From Our Collections, Students and Interns, TRLN CCC Project

Digitizing the LCRM Update #7: A High-Caliber Holiday Photograph

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As we approach the conclusion of 2012, the CCC Project at Duke is excited to announce that we have begun work with the last three manuscript collections that will undergo digitization for the grant.  Collection reviews of the Black Student Alliance Records, the Charles N. Hunter Papers, and the Allen Building Takeover Collection are underway.

At the same time, we are working on the finishing touches of the Elna Spaulding Papers, the largest collection that Duke is contributing to the CCC Project.  Look for more updates on these collections in upcoming blog posts on The Devil’s Tale.

For this month, we wanted to highlight a photograph that conveys the holiday spirit.  We recognize that it is the season for peace on Earth, good will toward all, and (toy) firearms.

Photograph taken by Jim Thornton for the Durham Herald-Sun, undated.
Photograph taken by Jim Thornton for the Durham Herald-Sun, undated. Women-in-Action for the Prevention of Violence and Its Causes Records, Box 11, Folder 1: wiams11001036

If we were giving out year-end awards for the CCC Project, this photograph has to win the “Most Ironic” trophy.  Normally, at this point, we would provide context that would explain exactly what this spokesman is trying to convey.  Unfortunately, all that we know about this photograph is that it appeared in the Durham Herald-Sun and the photographer was Jim Thornton.  The fact that this photograph appears in the Women-in-Action records indicates that the event was some sort of anti-violence demonstration that perhaps encouraged parents to avoid purchasing violent toys for Christmas.  However, this explanation is at best an educated hypothesis.

No matter the explanation, this photograph and the rest of the CCC materials are quite thought-provoking.  And our final thought for this update:  Happy Holidays from the CCC Staff!

To learn more about the CCC Project, please visit CCC on Facebook.

The grant-funded CCC Project is designed to digitize selected manuscripts and photographs relating to the long civil rights movement. For more about Rubenstein Library materials being digitized through the CCC Project, check out previous progress updates posted here at The Devil’s Tale! 

Post contributed by Josh Hager, CCC Graduate Assistant.

Digital Collections, Do Your Research, From Our Collections, Students and Interns, Technical Stuff

Bringing the Rubenstein to Wikipedia

Wikipedia—love it or hate it, it’s a hallmark of Internet culture. It’s also one of the most common ways students and scholars begin a research project. That’s why, as a field experience student in the Rubenstein this semester, I’ve begun a project to incorporate content from the Rubenstein into Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.

Adding a link to an archival finding aid in a Wikipedia article can direct readers to more information on a subject, and it can serve as a reference for adding new content to an existing article.

I’ve been editing Wikipedia in two main ways. The most straightforward edit is to find a biographical article on Wikipedia and link from the article to the finding aid for that person’s papers on the Rubenstein’s finding aids site. For example, I’ve linked finding aids for many of the prominent economists’ papers housed at the Rubenstein, notably Nobel Prize winners such as Kenneth Arrow and this year’s Nobel Prize-winner Alvin E. Roth.

If the Rubenstein holds someone’s personal papers and they don’t yet have a Wikipedia article, that’s a perfect opportunity to create one. This was the case with economist and journalist Leonard Silk and North Carolina filmmaker Herbert Lee Waters.

A visitor to the Wikipedia article on Alvin Roth, 2012 co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, will also find a link to the finding aid for his papers at the Rubenstein.

The other main type of contribution I have been making has been uploading selected photos from Duke’s Digital Collections to Wikimedia Commons and then using those photos to enhance Wikipedia articles. My favorite contribution so far has been adding a photo from the Sidney Gamble Collection to the gallery in the Wikipedia article on Tiananmen Square. I can’t say why the people in the photo are gathered, but it illustrates (as photos do so well!) the historical importance of the square as a place for public demonstration.

Sidney Gamble’s photo of a student protest in Tiananmen Square, ca. 1917-1919

This project has been a great way to get familiar with the treasure trove of collections held by the Rubenstein, but there are many more ways to highlight archival collections in Wikipedia. If you’ve used the Rubenstein’s collections and found something you want to share with the world, why not include it in Wikipedia?

Kristi Krueger is a field experience student from UNC’s SILS working in the Rubenstein Technical Services Dept.

Digital Collections, From Our Collections, TRLN CCC Project

Digitizing the LCRM Update #6: The Importance of Context

In this month’s update of the Content, Context, and Capacity Project at Duke, we examine the context of an issue of the DRIVE Reporter, a publication of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.  The first page of this issue includes a memorial to President John F. Kennedy and an article about President Lyndon Johnson’s new call for Congress to act on civil rights legislation.  Immediately, two questions come to mind:  Why are these issues appearing in a labor union’s publication?  And why does this publication appear in the papers of Basil Lee Whitener, a Congressman from North Carolina?

Issue of DRIVE Reporter, December 15, 1963, published by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Basil Lee Whitener Papers, Box 143, Folder 4: blwms02004082

The first question ties to the stated mission of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.  Led by its controversial president Jimmy Hoffa, the Teamsters launched DRIVE (Democratic, Republican, Independent Voter Education) in 1959 to educate its members about labor issues and pending legislation.  Both the death of President Kennedy and Johnson’s proposals qualified as issues that would affect labor in the immediate future.  In addition, the Teamsters had fought for the equality of African-Americans in the workplace.  Thus, the inclusion of a story on civil rights legislation made sense in terms of the scope of the Teamsters’ mission.

Committee assignments explain why this publication appears in the papers of Basil Lee Whitener.  As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Whitener reviewed the federal trial of Jimmy Hoffa that occurred in 1964.  This publication, along with other Teamsters information, was gathered by Whitener and his staff as research files for the trial proceedings.  If Whitener had not been a member of that committee in 1964, the CCC Project would not have access to these rich Hoffa files.

To learn more about the CCC Project and how context plays a role in the history of the LCRM, please visit CCC on Facebook.

The grant-funded CCC Project is designed to digitize selected manuscripts and photographs relating to the long civil rights movement. For more about Rubenstein Library materials being digitized through the CCC Project, check out previous progress updates posted here at The Devil’s Tale! 

Post contributed by Josh Hager, CCC Graduate Assistant.