Lecture on "African Americans, Archives, and the Era of Reconstruction"

Dr. Pellom McDaniels III

Dr. Pellom McDaniels III, curator of African American Collections at Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Library will present a mini-exhibition and talk at the UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center on Friday, April 15, 2016, at 2 p.m. Dr. McDaniels’s topic is “What Must Be Remembered: African Americans, Archives, and the Era of Reconstruction.”

Dr. McDaniels is the author of The Prince of Jockeys: the Life of Isaac Burns Murphy, published by University Press of Kentucky in 2013.

The lecture and mini-exhibition are free and open to the public. For more information contact Matthew Strandmark, education archivist in the SCRC.

"Men of Note" concert creates harmony between archives and the arts

The "Men of Note" were a prominent fixture on the Lexington jazz scene for decades.

On March 31, 2016, at 7 p.m. in the Singletary Center on the University of Kentucky campus, the UK Jazz Ensemble led by Miles Osland and the UK Repertory Jazz Band led by Brad Kerns will play a concert from historical arrangements by the “Men of Note," a band that played a leading part in the Lexington jazz scene for many years. Special guest performers will be surviving members of Men of Note. The concert is free and open to the public.

UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center holds a rich archive of materials on the Men of Note. Archival materials include the band's book of arrangements, an historic collection of charts dating back to the early 1940s. In 2014 Dick Domek, professor emeritus in the UK School of Music and member of Men of Note, and Gail Kennedy of SCRC began recording oral histories with band members for the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History. The interviews focus on recollections of band members and the history of jazz music. The collections also include the personal memorabilia of Byron Romanowitz, noted Lexington architect and jazz musician who anchored the Men of Note beginning in the 1980s until the band's dissolution in 2009. 

SCRC offers "Archives Basics" for community record-keepers

Participants in the "Archives Basics" workshop represented 15 community organizations.

The UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center hosted 15 community archivists and genealogists for a three-hour “archives basics” workshop on March 9, 2016.  Central Kentucky non-profit organizations represented included: the African American Genealogical Group of Kentucky, Episcopal Diocese of Lexington, Faulkner-Morgan Archive, First African Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Berea, Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum/Robert H. Williams Cultural Center, Lexington Community Land Trust, Lyric Theatre, Main Street Baptist Church, Mary Todd Lincoln House, The Plantory, and U I D yoU IDentify local African American Friends and Family Facebook page. Several of the participants who attended are active in multiple organizations.

Topics included the historical value of organizational records, selecting records for permanent retention, inventorying and storing physical and digital records, providing access to researchers, digitization methods and standards, and outreach and exhibits. A break and a tour of Special Collections offered networking and small group discussion opportunities, as well as the possibility of seeing archival work in action.

The workshop built on a successful workshop that Special Collections held last November for African American church clerks and secretaries. Demand for an archival basics workshop grew as a result.

SCRC staff presenting included: Ruth Bryan, director of Technical Services and University Archivist; Nancy DeMarcus, University Records manager; Sarah Dorpinghaus, digital archivist; Reinette Jones, oral history librarian and African American studies academic liaison; Matthew Strandmark, education archivist; and Stacie Williams, Learning Lab manager. 

 “The records of community organizations and of individual community members are of great value to all of us in helping us understand who we are and what we can achieve together. Reaching out to community members and providing support for preserving and sharing those records is an important role for the Special Collections Research Center. We look forward to continuing to work together with former and future workshop attendees to advance our common mission,” said workshop organizer Ruth Bryan.

Sarah Dorpinghaus on team for "archivist bootcamp"

Sarah Dorpinghaus

Digital archivist Sarah Dorpinghaus is part of a project team planning an “archivist bootcamp” for born-digital access. The workshop will train participants on providing varying levels of access to born-digital content. Formed at a Society of American Archivists (SAA) "hackfest," the team is part of a larger collaborative group tackling current obstacles to born-digital access via advocacy, agile practices, and assessing user needs. 

More information on the bootcamp and other born-digital access efforts can be found on the SAA Electronic Records Section’s blog at bit.ly/1OAcwjO and 
https://saaers.wordpress.com/tag/born-digital_access/. 

Reel World String Band archives dedication at Special Collections Research Center

The Reel World String Band

The celebration and presentation of the Reel World String Band archives will be on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, 7 p.m., in the Great Hall of the Special Collections Research Center, Margaret I. King Library. The Reel World String Band spans 39 years and its history represents a body of cultural and feminist activism that has influenced and supported dozens of social movements in Kentucky and the Appalachian region. Since 1977, the band has toured all through the United States, Canada, and Italy, played on picket lines, women’s festivals, square dances, and thousands of other venues including many memorable events at the Singletary Center for the Arts. 

To christen the archival work and to celebrate the Kentucky Foundation for Women’s 30th Anniversary, the band along with Kentucky Poet Laureate George Ella Lyon, author Silas House, and other guests will sing some Reel World songs, feature highlights of that history in tributes and an exhibit, and enjoy a reception of dessert and coffee.  The program will take place from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. followed by a reception and exhibit opening. The event is free and open to the public, and sponsored by the Kentucky Foundation for Women and University of Kentucky Libraries, Special Collections Research Center.

For more information contact Deirdre A. Scaggs, Associate Dean, University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.