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Showing posts from 2013

Ancestry Library Edition

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The Tulane community now has access to the billions of records in the Ancestry Library Edition database, from campus and remotely.    Other visitors to Special Collections have access through the public computers available in the Schiro Reading Room.   " ProQuest has partnered with Ancestry.com to create  Ancestry® Library Edition , one of the most important genealogical collections available today.  It has unparalleled coverage of the United States and the United Kingdom, including census, vital, church, court, and immigration records, as well as record collections from Canada, Europe, Australia and other areas of the world!"   --ProQuest web site. Please note also that selected New Orleans city directories, between 1861 and 1960, are accessible on Ancestry at the present time.  We hope you have an opportunity to explore this important new resource. Posted by Susanna Powers

Harmony

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Best wishes for a harmonious holiday season, and a prosperous 2014!   If you are planning to visit the Schiro Reading Room, our current hours are Monday-Friday 10:00-5:00, and Saturday 9:00-1:00.    On Friday, December 6, the reading room will close at 4:00 to allow the staff to attend a library event. Special Collections will be closed December 21, 2013, through January 1, 2014, for the holidays and winter recess.    The reading room will resume its current schedule on January 2, 2014. It is a good idea to check the hours information and exceptions on the LaRC website, before planning a visit.  Also, because of multiple construction projects on campus, parking is very problematic these days.  You may take public transportation, try to find a legal spot in the neighborhood and walk in, or see Tulane University's general parking information online. Caption: Bob Borsodi Papers, 1959-2003 , 979-1-2, image crop and full sheet.    This is an original Christmas card

Temporary Hours 10AM to 5PM

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Due to temporary staffing changes, LaRC's hours will be 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday and 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Saturdays through the end of January. The reading room will close at 4:00 pm on Friday, Dec. 6, so that the staff can attend a library event. Please check for Schiro Reading Room  hours information and exceptions on the LaRC website.

Auld Lang Syne

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When Eira Tansey joined LaRC, I reviewed the position’s responsibilities with her. I then told her that her actual job - her real job - was to use this position to gain the training, experience, and education needed to create a career, and that a career would almost certainly require eventually moving elsewhere. It is therefore with regret but great pride that I announce that Eira has accepted the position of Digital Archivist/Records Manager at the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library. Her last day in LaRC is today. Eira joined LaRC in July of 2008 and rose to overseeing LaRC’s archival program. She managed several major LaRC projects, including implementing our online inventory database and working with outsourcers to place guides to our holdings online. An active contributor to the archival profession, she has presented papers and chaired sessions at many archival conferences and serves on the Society of American Archivists Communications Task Force. S

Messages of cheer

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The 1940 census shows that Richard Ferchaud (1919-2003) of New Orleans lived with his older sister Marguerite Ferchaud (1909-1988) at 1933 Cambronne St., where she received his many letters written while in the Army during World War II.    Lt. Ferchaud served in the 3rd Armored Division's 703rd Tank Destroyer Battalion.   He was seriously wounded in France in 1944, and received a Purple Heart.  He recovered and resumed active military service. Richard Ferchaud's correspondence to his sister back home is conversational and lighthearted.  Quite a few of the messages are in the form of "V-Mails", or “V-Letters”, a format involving photostatic reductions of handwritten notes.  Although injured himself, he expressed himself in an upbeat manner, even when describing his boredom.   Richard Ferchaud Papers (LaRC Manuscripts Collection 167) will be a useful resource for researchers with an interest in World War II and the social styles of mid-twentieth century Am

Learning about Toole

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LaRC Public Services Librarian Sean Benjamin spoke about Tulane’s John Kennedy Toole archival collection today, to a lively and receptive group.    For many of them, this was their first exposure to special library collections and archival research methods.    Katharina Keppel, of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, convened her class in the Schiro Reading Room so that her students could learn more about Toole and about this world-renowned and unique resource.    The class is called “New Orleans and John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces ” (TIDE-1055-01).                Captions: Sean Benjamin, Katharina Keppel, and class members today; a selection of archival items from the John Kennedy Toole papers, and New Orleans publications of the era. Photographs and post by Susanna Powers

Cats in Special Collections

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Charlee LaChatte and Friends: Collecting Cats at Tulane An exhibition highlighting books and manuscripts about cats from the Sixteenth Century to the 1960s. Jones Hall, 2nd floor Gallery October 2-31, 2013, 9am-5pm Opening reception Wednesday, October 2 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Light refreshments For more information, see today's new wave.

Vatican Volunteers

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The twentieth-century World’s Fair in New Orleans had its troubles, but it was certainly enjoyed by many visitors and local residents from May 12-Nov. 11, 1984.   Some of the buildings constructed for the event still stand and have been used for various purposes since that time.  A number of books about the 1984 World’s Fair are held in the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library.  One of the highlights of the fair was the New Orleans Vatican Pavilion with its memorable fine art exhibition; its official catalog was published as Treasures of the Vatican , which is in LaRC with the call number: N 6920 .T7 1984 LACOLL. The Vatican Pavilion was a 15,000 square foot building located on the eighty-acre site of the Louisiana World Exposition, held in downtown New Orleans. The art exhibit within the Pavilion was jointly sponsored by the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the New Orleans Museum of Art.  It included religiously-themed works by the artists Caravaggio, Raphael, El Greco, Giotto, Matis

Rising Tide 8 -- Sat. Sept. 14

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Rising Tide is an annual conference devoted to the future of New Orleans.     Having recently reached the 8 th anniversary of Katrina, it’s time for the 8 th Rising Tide .      It’s being held this coming Saturday, September 14th, at Xavier University. This year’s schedule: Keynote: Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore. Panel: Creating Community for Writers of Color: MelaNated Writers Collective.      Moderator: Jarvis Q. DeBerry; Panelists: jewel bush, David Thaddeus Baker, Kelly Harris and Gian Smith. Panel: Beyond Tourism / Beyond Recovery.      Moderator: Charles Maldonado; Panelists: Kevin Fox Gotham, Ph.D., Brice Miller, Meg Lousteau, Robin Keegan, and Mark Romig. Panel: Charter School Access & Accountability.      Moderator: Scott Sternberg; Panelists: Steve Beatty, Jaimme Collins, Marta Jewson, and Aesha Rasheed. Second Stage: Tech School.      Panels:   Working With Bloggers; Personal Branding; Using Visual Tools in Online Promotion; Content Mar

Labor Day weekend

The Schiro Reading Room will be closed Saturday, August 31 - Monday, September 2, 2013, in observance of Labor Day.   Our normal weekly schedule resumes after this long holiday weekend.     As always, see our LaRC website for normal hours and known exceptions . Happy Labor Day and have a prosperous semester!

8th anniversary of Katrina

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Along the Gulf Coast, each year we mark August 29 th as another year of progress since the storm, and we remember those who lost their lives, either directly or indirectly, because of the disaster.  Scholarly and popular publications from a variety of sources continue to be published and collected, particularly about the consequences of the disastrous flooding of New Orleans.  August 29, 2013, will be the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Hundreds of books on Katrina are held in the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, many of which have copies in multiple locations (search the catalog from the library’s home page ).  Another way to start finding information on Katrina is to see the research guide to freely accessible online Katrina resources.   Some of the more recent books which are held only in the Louisiana Research Collection include: Hurricane Katrina poetic commemorative / edited by Miriam Chitiga.  PS 595 .H87 H87 2012 LACOLL  Where the water kept rising: a c

Welcome to New Orleans CoSA/SAA

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The Council of State Archivists / Society of American Archivists joint annual meeting is currently being held at the Hilton Riverside in New Orleans.   Welcome to all the local and travelling attendees, exhibitors, and presenters! Captions: top, applause for panel presenting "Labor Rights are Civil Rights: Discovering the Intersections of Labor History and Civil Rights in Labor Collections"; center, conference hallway scene; bottom, recent LaRC intern Christine Horn working the information desk.  Photographs and post by Susanna Powers

Lindy Boggs, 1916-2013

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The well-loved Louisiana politician and activist, Lindy Boggs, passed away on July 27, 2013.   Lindy Boggs was born in 1916 in Brunswick Plantation, La., with the original name Corinne Morrison Claiborne. She received her B.A. degree from Sophie Newcomb College, Tulane University in 1935, and pursued advanced studies in law and religion at numerous institutions. With her husband Hale Boggs, she raised three children; she also was an important staff member during his political career. When Hale Boggs was presumed dead in 1972, Lindy Boggs was elected to succeed him and was continuously reelected as Representative until her resignation in 1991. Her interests as a Congresswoman included legislation to prohibit discrimination against women. She served on the Appropriations Committee and helped found the Congresswomen's Caucus. In 1976, she presided over the Democratic National Convention in New York, becoming the first woman to chair a national party convention. After 1984, she

Plan ahead!

The Schiro Reading Room will be closed, or have shortened hours, for various reasons during the late summer.    Please note the following: Saturday, August 10, 2013 - Closed for emergency electrical maintenance Monday-Wednesday, August 12-14: Open only from 1:00-5:00 pm Thursday-Saturday, August 15-17, 2013 - Closed for the Society of American Archivists meeting Saturday, August 24, 2013 - Closed for Tulane Move-in Day Saturday-Monday, August 31-September 2, 2013 - Closed for Labor Day As always, we look forward to seeing you, but please remember to check the reading room  hours as posted on the LaRC website.

Intern Report: Remesia Shields

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Tulane University’s Louisiana Research Collection contains a rich collection of materials invaluable to the history of Louisiana.   The vast holdings at LaRC made it my top choice in repositories to complete the internship requirements for my graduate studies at the University of New Orleans.    While at LaRC, I processed the Dr. Boris Weinstein Levy Family Collection and worked with the finding aids of William Beer and George Washington Cable.   I entered the finding aid information into LaRC’s online database, making these finding aids available online.   While processing the Dr. Boris Weinstein Levy Family Collection, I came across amazing photographs including these of the Levy Meat Market and store.   The photographs in this collection are a must see!   In 1889, William Beer became the librarian of the Howard Memorial Library here at Tulane.   In 1896, he took up the position of the first librarian of the New Orleans Public Library.   As libraria