The end of the semester is typically a busy time for donations to the archives and Special Collections. Here are a few highlights that have come into the University Archives recently:

UARC 2011-003: President's Office records

This small donation, only .25 linear feet, came from Karen Wensch just before her retirement this Fall. One gem from this donation is a resolution passed in 1992 by the City Council of Baltimore, "in recognition of [Dr. Freeman Hrabowski's] appointment as interim president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County." This demonstrates the relationship between the City of Baltimore and our county campus.

We have a small collection of plaques, honorary degrees, and certificates awarded to Dr. Hrabowski available in our President's Office records.

UARC 2011-001: University Photographs

This beautiful image of the Albin O. Kuhn Library was taken by UMBC's own Tim Ford in the Fall of 2005. Tim is the Manager of Illustrative Services, located in the Biological Sciences building. He has longed served as UMBC's unofficial (and sometimes official) documentarian of campus life and has often worked with campus departments on capturing the events and people that pass through our halls. This image was prepared by Tim as a retirement gift to Pat Cronise, UMBC's former Slide Librarian. If you're looking for historic images of people and places at UMBC, you can contact Special Collections and we can work with you to locate an appropriate photograph within our holdings or from other photograph collections on campus.

UARC Photos-13: University Photographs

While this accession, or group of photographs, is not new to Special Collections, it is being made more accessible because it is being processed. When you process an archival or photography collection, you rehouse, arrange, and describe the collection so that researchers can learn about the materials and locate the items within the collection much easier. Special Collections student assistant Paul Pierson has been rehousing these slides into archival polypropylene sheets and creating a folder listing. These sheets will not off gas or damage the chemical emulsion on the slides. Thanks Paul!

The title image above is from the 1968 Skipjack, UMBC's student yearbook. You can view all of the Skipjack volumes in Special Collections (UPUB S2-001) or browse this volume online.

Happy New Year and welcome back.

If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to make significant progress on your dissertation then this blog is for you. Dr. Carter believes “a good dissertation is a done dissertation.”  No more excuses; make a plan to finish your dissertation.  Although writing your dissertation can be a lonely process it does not have to be–you are not alone.

We are hosting in-person Winter Dissertation House at  UMBC starting January 18-21, 2011.  We invite you to join us online by taking part in our Winter 2011 online challenge.  We strongly encourage you to participate by daily posting your goals and receiving feedback.

Beginning January 4, 2011, UMBC has trial access to ShipIndex.org

ShipIndex.org lets you search for information about practically any ship, from famous ships such as the Titanic to less well-known vessels such as the Peter Iredale. ShipIndex.org tells you which books, magazines, and online resources mention the vessels you're researching.

The trial runs through January 25, 2011.

For off-campus access, please login via VPN first (http://vpn.umbc.edu). Then follow the link under "News & Events" on the library homepage. For more info on remote access, see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/services/remoteaccess.php

Feedback is encouraged. Use the form below or send directly to Drew Alfgren: alfgren@umbc.edu

Beginning January 4, 2011, UMBC has a 2-week trial of the Accessible Archives database.

Accessible Archives contains the rich, comprehensive material found in leading historic periodicals and books. Eyewitness accounts of historical events, vivid descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, commerce as seen through advertisements, and genealogical records are available in a user-friendly online environment.

Resources include: African American Newspapers, Godey`s Lady`s Book, The Liberator, and much more.

The trial runs through January 18, 2011.

For off-campus access, please login via VPN first (http://vpn.umbc.edu). Then follow the link under "News & Events" on the library homepage. For more info on remote access, see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/services/remoteaccess.php

Feedback is encouraged. Use the form below or send directly to Drew Alfgren: alfgren@umbc.edu

In an effort to highlight the new material that comes into Special Collections every week, Special Collections staff will begin to post brief summaries of some of our recent acquisitions. These highlights may include new items from our Bafford Photography Collection, University Archives, Regional or Personal Manuscripts, the Center for Biological Sciences Archives, or one of our many book collections centered on photography, science fiction, artist books, Maryland and Baltimore history, radical thought, alternative presses, or faculty/staff publications. These materials are open to researchers; please contact Special Collections staff or see our website for more information on all of our holdings.

Collection 85: Television scripts

A unique collection for UMBC! Fifteen boxes of television scripts dating from 1954 to 1978. Includes classics like Batman (scripts from 1965-1967), The Beverly Hillbillies (1961-1964), The Brady Bunch (1970-1972), Mission: Impossible (1968-1972), The Mod Squad (1968-1972), and The Partridge Family (1970-1971).

UARC 2010-026: University Photographs

These four color photographic prints were donated by former Library Director Jonathan LeBreton. The prints show the construction of the Library tower in 1993.

UARC 2010-027: University Photographs

7700 digital images documenting the Office of Student Life, Student Government Association, UMBC's 40th Anniversary, Homecoming, and other campus groups and events. We're working to upload these images into our Digital Collections very soon! So far, only the set from the 2003-2004 acdemic year are available online. The image to the right is from the Winter 2004 Welcome Pep Rally in the Commons Main Street.

The Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery is offering extended hours through exams.

* Sundays- Thursdays we will be open until 2 a.m.
* Fridays and Saturdays we will be open until 10 p.m.

Thank you and good luck on your exams!

If you are a Graduate Student at UMBC, and if you are working on your  graduate school courses, proposal, or dissertation, then this event is for you!

The on-campus setting provides Dissertation House participants with productive and rewarding scholastic engagement. Students who participate in this program will spend each day thinking, writing, and sharing ideas about their doctoral dissertations. Students will learn effective time-management skills; learn how to set small manageable goals, and will meet with a dissertation coach in one-on-one consultations to discuss and address obstacles that might prevent them completing their degrees.

This is a weekday (9 a.m. – 5 p.m., non-residential) commitment set for the week of Tuesday, January 18 – Friday, January 21, 2011.

Applications Due:  Friday, December 10, 2010

RSVP on MyUMBC and follow directions for the application: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/5126