Behind the Blue: Preserving the past with Deirdre Scaggs

Behind the Blue has been telling stories about how UK helps lead the commonwealth into the future, through groundbreaking research, community health initiatives, and preparing the next generation of students to become the great leaders and thinkers of tomorrow. The university also works hard to preserve its past, and allow Kentuckians to see UK’s rich history as the state’s flagship landgrant institute.

This week, Behind the Blue talks to Deirdre Scaggs, associate dean of UK Libraries, Special Collections Research Center, and director of the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center.

Along with the Ford Research Center, the Special Collections Research Center is home to UK Libraries' collection of rare books, Kentuckiana, the Archives, the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, the King Library Press, the Bert T. Combs Appalachian Collection, the John G. Heyburn Center for Judicial Excellence, and the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center.

SCRC collects, preserves, and provides access to materials documenting the social, cultural, economic, and political history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Scaggs talks about her work with the UK archives, some of the rare materials she and her team get to work with and, as a special Halloween treat, a few stories from UK’s past, including one about Maxwell Place, and the case of the poisoned salmon.

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