Lunch Break!

So, still no moose sightings (at least by me) but plenty of great discussions and presentations about the current state and the future of the archival profession.  Thus far, I have enjoyed talks about the ins and outs of archival consulting; the importance of finding out what archival users (i.e. students, historians, genealogists, and others) want from your website and how they expect to find it; and finally a "State of the States" presentation by the representative State Archivists of the Northwest Archivists.  

We are about at the half-way point of today's sessions--so more to come!  

No Aurora, No Moose

So, I tried to see the Aurora both last night and the night before. There is a forecast website that showed Wednesday as the best hit. No luck. I think it's just too light It is just a little too weird to be romaing around at 10 or 11 in the evening and just seeing the sun set! It isn't really dark at 3 in the morning. I am getting a feeling for how Pacino felt in Insomnia . . .

There is also supposed to be a moose roaming around the park between the library and the dorms. I haven't seen it, but would like to get that special Northern Exposure moment.

My only responsibility was the Board meeting and that was fun. We were going to get a presentation from Gordon Daines, but his plane was struck by lightning and delayed. Luckily it was on the ground. I got a little misty about my last board meeting as president, but I sucked it up and we were able to finish.

The reception was right after and I had to run back and get on big boy clothes. The reception was in full swing when I got back. It was a joint reception with the local ARMA chapter. Good food, good company, and good music from some local artists. I got to see my old friend and mentor Jerry Handfield. He was excited about finally visiting the last state he'd never seen.

After the reception, people grouped up for hosted dinners. My group ended up at the bear tooth. In between bites of halibut (yummy) and sips of Prince William Porter, I enjoyed about two hours of great camraderie. A special treat was the presence of the central european archivist, Grina.

So now, I probably should listne more attentively to Tony Kurtz and his description of his long-lost Plymouth Valiant. More to come.

Opening Reception

After a day of enjoying nature's bounty (by way of Portage Glacier and the Alyeska Tram) I am headed to the opening reception at UAA's Consortium Library.  Join the fun by following along with the conference schedule!

Looking for large, wild beasts?

Hello from Alaska!
We slid in on a glacier last night and parked in the University of Alaska dorms. Quite pleasant and unlike my own experience in the tiny, tiny rooms at the U of O ages ago... We even have a coffee pot!
The conference is still in its infancy, so there isn't much for me to report on that front...
I spent the morning talking with colleagues, enjoying this beautiful city, and planning an outside dinner with friends. And, as if being here wasn't enough of a treat, we've been graced with sunshine and warm temperatures. The mountains hug the edge of the city, you can smell the sea air from downtown, and I am actively hunting a moose sighting.
Stay tuned, the opening reception is this afternoon and rumor has it a "dorm based" moose can be spotted around 10PM.
Tiah

Welcome fo NWA 2008 in Anchorage!

Well, it really kicked off with the Northwest Digital Archives meeting on Monday and Tuesday, but since reality only happens with in your own existential experience, the conference starts today. After three days in Denali (pics to follow, either here or on Facebook), it was nice to roll into Anchorage and see old friends and meet new ones. The weather has been beautiful -- sunny and "warm" (65 degrees qualifies here). Dorm life is nostalgic. Bunks beds, tiny rooms, bans on alcohol, RA's -- there was even a pajama party in the NWDA chicks' megaplex after the movie last night.

The Progressive Archivists meeting was last night and five people attended. Following the standard method, we introduced ourselves and talked about what we were doing or were interested in. It was a nice group and there are some interesting things out and about.:

• There is a book prospectus being developed around the subject of green archives.
• Advocacy in the possibility of a new political regime
• The impact of MPLP on basic archival practices as well as on the profession's carbon footprint

"What is a Progressive Archivist?" was asked at least twice. That's a question that comes up at most meetings. My answer is usually "whatever you want it to be." I mean there's the usual suspects -- greenies, peaceniks, lefties, really lefties, commmies, pinkos -- you know the ilk! But I think the group welcomes anyone who looks to a better world in the future, not in the past, and is willing to work to make it happen. And in answer to the question "how can we keep in touch with other like-minded archivists?" Join the prograrchs listserv and start a discussion.

The meeting moved into the evening showing of the movie "Eskimo". It was 16mm on 3 reels and the way the sound revved up as the reel started reminded me so much a high school movie nights. That's back in the pre-vhs, pre-dvd, pre-cable days, boys and girls. The showing was introduced by Dr. Ted Mala, who is the son of the lead actor in the 1933 movie, Ray Mala. The stories about growing up in Hollywood and Alaska in the early 1940's was fascinating.

The movie itself is pretty melodramatic, but the fact that it was shot live and on location provides wonderful insight into the life of Native Alaskans 80 years ago. Be warned. If you don't like to see live hunts of whales, birds, fish, polar bears, seals, then this movie might not be right for you.

So that was then and this is now. I'm about to head off to the Board meeting. More to follow.

Baby it's cold out there...

The Willamette Valley in Oregon is awash with colors—must be the cold rain…

As we prepare for another NWA conference, let's look back at one of the highlights from our 2007 conference: visiting the International Jazz Collections at the UI Special Collections. In addition to February's Lionel Hampton Festival, here are some other collections that feature jazz music, festivals from this winter, and other eclectic tidbits!

• Leonard Feather Collection at University of Idaho
• Jazz Society of Oregon
• Portland Jazz Festival
• Oregon History Project: When the Joint Was Jumpin’: A Look Back At Portland Jazz
• Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz, 1942-1957
• Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival University of Montana, Missoula
• Bing Crosby Collection at Gonzaga University
• Seattle’s Bud's Jazz Records Closes
• Alaskan Cool: Jazz from the Last Frontier
• Sitka Jazz Festival
• University of Alaska Anchorage: Jazz Week
• NWDA Search Results: “JAZZ”
• Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra
  

Anyone know of any others we should include? Let me know!

More News from November

More on the Featured Collection from the Oregon Historical Society Research Library

• To learn more about the Meier & Frank Building in Portland, visit the Wikipedia page.
• Flickr is Fabulous: What are the amateur archivists putting together? Check out these various Meier & Frank photos taken in Portland:
• Slowtron
• Seaweard
• Whateverthing
• Matt Niebuhr
• MuddyRavine
• The Bon
• rabbithaircut
• Rodefeld
• Meet Me Under the Clock: PDX History site

Pack Your Bags!

Alaska is rich with cultural resources! Amazing heritage centers, beautiful museums, interesting archival collections. Get ready for the NWA Conference and take some time to explore their offerings. Here are a few gems I came across:

• Anchorage Museum
• National Museum of the American Indian Archives
• Eagle Historical Society & Museum Archives
• Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center: Library, Archives, & Photographs
• Cordova Museum Photo Gallery
• Sealaska Heritage Institute: Special Collections Research Center
• The Clausen Museum
• Sitka Historical Society
• Museum of the Aleutians on-line photograph collection
• Valdez Museum & Historical Archive

News from the State Archives of Alaska

• Help the State Archives of Alaska identify their mystery photos! Visit this page to view unidentified images from the State Archives.

News from the Alaska Native Language Center Archive

• Explore the rich resources of the Open Language Archives Community
• Steven Bird, of the University of Pennsylvania, worked on a project several years ago to explore linguistics. This is the list of language archives that emerged as a part of that project.

News from Owyhee County Historical Society

• Visit the Research Center and Library site to learn more about their progress and collections.
• To find out more about Owyhee County, stop in at the county site or the Wikipedia page.

Not All News is New News! "Historical" News from Idaho

Two interesting online collections worth exploring:

• Benedicte Wrensted: An Idaho Photographer in Focus
• Kate and Sue McBeth, Missionary Teachers to the Nez Percé

News from the Montana Historical Society

• To learn more about the Montana Public Service Commission records, see the NWDA finding aid.
• The finding aid for the Montana Federation of Labor and AFL-CIO collection can be found on the NWDA site.
• More on the New Deal: For a nice book of historical photographs selected from the Farm Security Administration Collection at the Library of Congress, see Hope in Hard Times: New Deal Photographs of Montana, 1936-1942, by Mary Murphy. Arthur Rothstein, Russell Lee, John Vachon, and Marion Post Wolcott became some of the United States' best-known photographers through their pictures of Depression-era America. In the 1930s and 1940s, these four Farm Security Administration photographers were sent to Montana to document the effects of the Depression on the state. They captured the many facets of the Depression in Montana: rural and urban, agricultural and industrial, work and play, and hard times and the promise of a brighter future. the photographs in Hope in Hard Times offer a look at life in Montana in the years preceding the United States' entry into World War II.
• To learn more about Harry Billings, see The University of Montana School of Journalism’s Montana Newspaper Hall of Fame page.

News from Rocky Mountain College Archives

• For more about Dr. Arthur DeRosier, Jr., see the Rocky Mountain College press release.

News from Oregon State University Archives

F.A Gilfillan Papers, 1909-1984

• For more information about Gilfillan’s career as an Oregon State College, visit the President's Gallery.
• For more information about Gilfillan, see A.L. Strand’s Remarks made at the banquet honoring Dean and Mrs. Gilfillan, May 9, 1962, MU Ballroom, OSU. LD4342.8 .S7
• To learn about Gilfillan’s views on space biology, see this 1964 piece, aptly titled Space biology, from the 1963 Biology Colloquium held at OSU. QH301 .B577 1963
• Gilfillan served in the Army chemical warfare department. For more information about the 89th Infantry Division of WWII look here.

Keep Oregon Green Association Records, 1945-1957

• To see another collection with Keep Oregon Green Materials, see the State Archives finding aid.
• To learn more about Keep Oregon Green’s current activities, visit their website.
• To see what is going on at the College of Forestry at OSU, go to their website.
• For more information about Oregon’s Department of Forestry, see their site.
• To learn about the US Forest Service, visit this site.
• For an international perspective, see the World Forestry website.

Florence L. Kohlhagen Notebook, 1923

• To learn more about rural sociology, see the Wikipedia definition.
• For information about the Rural Sociological Society, visit their site.
• Visit the International Rural Sociology Association page for an international point of view.
• To learn about current courses of study in rural sociology, see the Department Community and Rural Sociology at WSU, the Department of Agriculture Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Idaho, or the Department of Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

Village Improvement Society Minutes, 1904-1911

• To learn more about Corvallis in the 20^th century and the movement to make it even more beautiful, see the City of Corvallis’ page “Corvallis in the new century: The dawn of the motor age, 1900-1929.”
• For more details on the City Beautiful Movement, read the Wikipedia article that can be found by clicking here.

News from the City of Seattle Archives

Related Materials and Additional Collections Related to the New Online Exhibit: “Pike Place Market Centennial”

• Records relating to the Market can be found in various records series in the Seattle Municipal Archives. These include the records of City Council members, Mayors, the Engineering Department, and the Department of Community Development.
• Finding aids related to the Pike Place Market can be found on the NWDA. Collections include the Guide to the Department of Community Development's Pike Place Market Records, 1894-1990; Guide to the Pike Place Market Visual Images Collection, 1894-1984; Guide to the Pike Place Market Historical District Records, 1971-1989.
• The Pike Place Market Bibliography, found by clicking this link, is another excellent source of information.
• Additional materials relating to the Pike Place Market urban renewal project can be found in two collections in the Manuscripts & University Archives division of the University Libraries at the University of Washington. Specifically, look to the Victor Steinbrueck Papers, particularly the first accession; this collection documents his role in organizing the Friends of the Market, as well as his leadership of the "save the market" ballot initiative. Another useful collection is the Friends of the Market Records, donated by the organization, which documents this grass roots movement's activities in the struggle to preserve the Market.

News from WSU Pullman

Not New, but Noteworthy: Wallis and Marilyn Kimble Northwest History Database

The core of the Northwest History Database is composed of roughly 40,000 newspaper clippings from the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Clippings Collection. Article topics cover Native Americans, Pacific Northwest environmental concerns, including reclamation, mining, dam site construction, and other issues. Selected articles have been digitized and can be searched in the online collection.

These articles were collected and organized in the 1930's and 40's by dedicated historians working for the Works Progress Administration. The office was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 to provide work and relief to an impoverished economy; before it was closed in 1943, it was one of the largest employers in the country and in most individual states.

The collection describes, in vivid details, a period of rapid growth and development in the Pacific Northwest. During the early part of the 20th century, the Pacific Northwest experienced an influx of inhabitants and rapid development in the area; settlers continued to arrive, when farm land was limited and available water supply was in short supply. In addition to economic and environmental issues, the collection documents the profound impact the settlers had on the indigenous Native American population.

The database also includes additional primary source material; specifically, federal and state documents, laws, and other source material that provides background for about the stories found in the newspaper clippings, including government reports, legal documents, and maps pertaining to the settlement and development of the region.

Funding for the creation and construction of this project was made in large part by the generous donations from WSU Alumni Wallis and Marilyn Kimble.

News About a Great Resource

• If you haven’t already done so, check out the Center for the Study of Pacific Northwest History and their Annotated Resources page.

News from Our Neighbors to the North

• The "Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History" project provides engaging, high-quality materials to schools and universities for the teaching of historical methods and Canadian History. The project, based at the University of Victoria, the Université de Sherbrooke and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, has created a series of instructional websites based on the premise that students can be drawn into Canadian history and archival research through the enticement of solving historical cold crimes. All the material is provided free as a public service.

News About a Great Read: Zhang article in D-Lib Magazine

• Allison B. Zhang, Creating Online Historical Scrapbooks with a User-Friendly Interface: A Case Study. D-Lib Magazine, November/December 2007, Volume 13 Number 11/12