Want to read some Superman? Jonesing for some Archie? UMBC’s Special Collections department holds over 6,500 comic books! Featuring a variety of genres, from superhero comics to underground comix, this collection will have something for every comic book fan.

With so many comic books, navigating the collection can be a bit daunting. But don’t fret! Special Collections now has a new online comics guide to help you sort through the collection. Now it is easy to find a comic book that fits your interests, from superheroes, to romance, and horror.

You can check out the guide at http://lib.guides.umbc.edu/comics

You can also come to Special Collections to read any of these comics. Although the comics do not circulate (you have to read them in our department) the Special Collections staff will do their best to work with your schedule. Special Collections is open 1 to 4 Monday through Friday, with extended hours from 4 to 8 on Thursday nights, or you can request an appointment. To contact Special Collections, visit their website, email us (speccoll@umbc.edu) or call 410-455-2353.

This post was written by Special Collections Graduate Assistant Johanna Schein.

Did you see something at URCAD and wondered how to get started in research?

Wed, May 1, 2013
Acad IV-A Rm. 114B
Noon to 1:00 pm

Join us and we will try to get you started with your undergraduate research/projects.

The Albin O. Kuhn Library Special Collections recently digitized 66 photographs of the Little Rock Nine, the first African American students to attend an integrated school in largely segregated Arkansas. When the students enrolled at Little Rock Central High School in September, 1957, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus deployed the Arkansas National Guard to deny their admission. Shortly thereafter, President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Guard and required them to facilitate the students’ entry. While attending the school, the Little Rock Nine were subjected to discrimination, harassment, and violence because of their race. Several students wrote books about their experiences, and in 1995, President Bill Clinton awarded the Little Rock Nine with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Little Rock Nine photographs were taken by Mildred Grossman, a noted teacher, unionist, and civil rights activist. Grossman’s photographs focus on the students' trip to New York City in the summer of 1958, where they accepted the New York Hotel Trades Council’s Better Race Relations Award for their courage and historic achievements. The students also met with elected officials, diplomats, and entertainers, and visited landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and the Coney Island amusement parks.

View the Little Rock Nine collection via the UMBC's Digital Collections page and in the Special Collections reading room. The Little Rock Nine photographs are a small part of the Mildred Grossman collection, which contains thousands of Grossman’s photographic prints, negatives, and personal papers.

Take a look at the collection when you can and tell us what you think: http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16629coll3 

See also:

Mildred Grossman papers finding aid