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.

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 

Our PROMISE AGEP is in the “PROMISE Pathways” phase where we have been looking at ways to expand our program and partner with more campuses within the University System of Maryland (USM). On Tuesday, April 16, 2013, a group of PROMISE students left UMBC at 5AM to travel to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) to serve as moderators for the 2013 Regional Research Symposium which was part of the celebration activities for the new president, Dr. Juliette Bell. Dr. Bell, a biochemist, spent time meeting and greeting the group from UMBC. Dr. Bell’s own mentor from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/National Institutes of Health (NIEHS/NIH), Dr. Thomas Kunkel, gave a keynote address that discussed innovations in DNA repair.

At the door of opportunity. PROMISE Students from UMBC at the Student Services Center at UMES.

Students also had a chance to talk with Dr. T. Sean Vasaitis, an assistant professor at UMES, and former PROMISE Peer Mentor from UMB. We extend thanks to Dr. Jennifer Keane-Dawes, Dean of the Graduate School at UMES for her invitation and hospitality, and we thank Dr. Lakeisha L. Harris, for her logistics leadership. Congratulations to all of the poster and oral presentation winners, and to the faculty who won special awards.

Luncheon Photo with President Bell. Pictured, L-R (graduate students from UMBC unless otherwise noted): Eric Corbett (Human-Centered Computing), Miguel Nino (Instructional Systems Design), DeLauren McCauley (Chemistry), Nanda Cortes (Biology), Dr. Jennifer Keane-Dawes (Dean of the Graduate School, UMES), DR. JULIETTE BELL (PRESIDENT, UMES), Dr. Renetta Tull (Assoc. Vice Provost/PROMISE Dir.), Lois Oviawe (Economic Policy Analysis), Nebechi Osia (Environmental Engineering), and Kyle Edwards (Applied Sociology). 

Related articles

• Happy 10th Birthday PROMISE! From April 1, 2003 to Today: A Message from the Director (promiseagep.wordpress.com)
• Save these Spring/Summer 2013 dates! May 4: Cookout; July 9-12: Dissertation House; August 16-17: SSI (promiseagep.wordpress.com)
• Dr. Portia Taylor (CMU, QoLT, PROMISE DH Alum) talks @UMBC about motion sensors & rehabilitation: April 10, 2013 (dissertationhouse.wordpress.com)

Our PROMISE AGEP is in the “PROMISE Pathways” phase where we have been looking at ways to expand our program and partner with more campuses within the University System of Maryland (USM). On Tuesday, April 16, 2013, a group of PROMISE students left UMBC at 5AM to travel to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) to serve as moderators for the 2013 Regional Research Symposium which was part of the celebration activities for the new president, Dr. Juliette Bell. Dr. Bell, a biochemist, spent time meeting and greeting the group from UMBC. Dr. Bell’s own mentor from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/National Institutes of Health (NIEHS/NIH), Dr. Thomas Kunkel, gave a keynote address that discussed innovations in DNA repair.

At the door of opportunity. PROMISE Students from UMBC at the Student Services Center at UMES.

Students also had a chance to talk with Dr. T. Sean Vasaitis, an assistant professor at UMES, and former PROMISE Peer Mentor from UMB. We extend thanks to Dr. Jennifer Keane-Dawes, Dean of the Graduate School at UMES for her invitation and hospitality, and we thank Dr. Lakeisha L. Harris, for her logistics leadership. Congratulations to all of the poster and oral presentation winners, and to the faculty who won special awards.

Luncheon Photo with President Bell. Pictured, L-R (graduate students from UMBC unless otherwise noted): Eric Corbett (Human-Centered Computing), Miguel Nino (Instructional Systems Design), DeLauren McCauley (Chemistry), Nanda Cortes (Biology), Dr. Jennifer Keane-Dawes (Dean of the Graduate School, UMES), DR. JULIETTE BELL (PRESIDENT, UMES), Dr. Renetta Tull (Assoc. Vice Provost/PROMISE Dir.), Lois Oviawe (Economic Policy Analysis), Nebechi Osia (Environmental Engineering), and Kyle Edwards (Applied Sociology). 

Related articles

• Happy 10th Birthday PROMISE! From April 1, 2003 to Today: A Message from the Director (promiseagep.wordpress.com)
• Save these Spring/Summer 2013 dates! May 4: Cookout; July 9-12: Dissertation House; August 16-17: SSI (promiseagep.wordpress.com)
• Dr. Portia Taylor (CMU, QoLT, PROMISE DH Alum) talks @UMBC about motion sensors & rehabilitation: April 10, 2013 (dissertationhouse.wordpress.com)

Summer Dissertation House at UMBC: July 9-12, 2013

Spend 4 days writing … make progress on your dissertation!

Summer Dissertation House at UMBC: July 9-12, 2013

Spend 4 days writing … make progress on your dissertation!