Archives Month: The Special Collection contains…

The University Library Special Collection Department houses the archives of Samford University, the historical records of Alabama Baptists and a lot of Alabama history, but also contains collections of interest and value to a variety of scholars not obviously related to these areas. In short, there’s a lot of stuff and some of it is really very neat.

Since October is about celebrating archives in all of their glory, it is a good time to think about what sorts of bits and pieces end up in the carefully maintained boxes that might entertain, educate and enlighten. 

For example, the Special Collections Department not only contains letterman jackets and Howard banners, but also a small stuffed caiman, civil war surgical tools and three lonely lotus slippers - none of which seem to have a mate, though common sense suggests they must have come in pairs originally. Through the kind donations of missionaries to countries around the world, the collection has gained artifacts from Africa, Turkey, China and Jordan.

While it might not be obvious at first, the educational mission of archives is paramount. What better way for students of writing to learn about the process than for them to look at the manuscripts of a published author like William E. Butterworth III? And if that name isn’t familiar, it’s not surprising. He is much better known by one of his pen names W. E. B. Griffin.

On the 31st of October, the university Library Special Collections Department will be putting gout some of this neat stuff in an open house from 1 to 3 pm. We hope to see you all there. 

Rachel Cohen, Archivist and User Engagement Librarian
Special Collections and Archives

Archives Month: Environmental Conditions and Your Family Treasures

One of the most important steps you can take to preserve your family treasures is to make sure they are being stored in a good environment.

The Image Permanence Institute created a website called Stored Alive as an interactive tutorial that lets you see how different environmental conditions will affect your family treasures. The site allows you to explore how temperature and humidity can affect various materials such as metal, fabric, glass, wood, books and photographs by giving you a hypothetical storage space. What will happen to you heirlooms in 50 years? Find out by visiting Stored Alive.

On Oct 31, 2012 from 1 - 3 the Special Collection department is hosting an open house. Please stop by and see what archiving is all about.

Jennifer Taylor, Technical Archivist
Special Collection and Archives

Live @ the Library 2012: Randall Williams & Jon Clemmensen

Join us Homecoming weekend for 

The Crimson: My Time as Editor. 

Convo Credit Available

NewSouth Books Editor-in-Chief Randall Williams to present. Presentation to include screening of Another Voice documentary by Samford Professor, Jon Clemmensen. The University Library will host a reception after Mr. Williams' presentation. All are invited to attend. Event Date Saturday October 13, 2012 9:00 am Live at the Library Main Reading Room. 

For more information, click the image above or here.

October is American Archives Month

“The Mystic Chords of Memory stretch...from every...living heart and heartstone... All over this Broad Land.” Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861 

American Archives Month is a collaborative effort by professional organizations and repositories around the nation to highlight the importance of records of enduring value. Archivists assess, collect, organize, preserve, maintain, and provide access to information that has lasting value. Helping people find and understand the information contained in the records held by the Archive is central to the mission of archivists.

 The Samford University Special Collection Department's mission is to document the history of the university, the state of Alabama and its people, and Alabama’s religious institutions through the acquisition of historically significant, rare and/or unique materials.

Here at Samford, the Special Collections Department of the University Library preserves and presents the past both for the students and the community. With everything from sermons to Samford or from cotton to convocation, we believe that students in all disciplines can gain from the access to our materials.

As part of our October celebration of all things boxed and foldered, Special Collection will be posting on the Library Blog and in Social Media about treasures found in the Samford University Archive and Special Collection Department. There will also be posts on how to preserve your own treasures at home.

At the end of the month, Special Collection will host an Open House. Many of Samford’s treasures will be on display for everyone to come, see and hold.

Please make plans to join us on Oct 31, 2012 from 1 - 3 and see what archiving is all about.

Jennifer Taylor, Technical Archivist
Rachel Cohen, Archivist and User Engagement Librarian
Special Collections and Archives

InterLibrary Loan Temporarily Closed until 10/2/12

Due to some technical upgrades, our InterLibrary Loan service will be unavailable Tuesday, October 2nd.

• For Borrowers: Requests will not be available from Monday evening until late Tuesday. 
• For Other Libraries: We will go to NON-LENDING status as of 2 pm Monday in order to clear all orders by 4 pm that day. We will resume lending service once the system is back up and running.

We know that many of you depend on our InterLibrary Loan service to round out your research needs, and we appreciate your patience as we complete this critical upgrade to our systems. We hope this brief outage does not inconvenience anyone.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to Ask Us! by phone, email, or chat. 

Best regards,
Marliese Thomas, User Engagement Librarian

LiveMocha: Online Language Learning Trial

 Another language learning trial? YES! And we need your feedback to know what you think.

You've seen Mango Languages, now learn about LiveMocha. 38 languages (including English), learning activities, and you can choose your learning level.
From the LiveMocha website:

Whole-Part-Whole

Developed in collaboration with the University of Oregon’s Center for Applied Second Language Studies, our methodology is structured around the Whole-Part-Whole learning model. Whole-Part-Whole is a proven structure that allows learners to observe, learn, and then practice new language concepts. Consistently used in skills training with excellent results, Whole-Part-Whole breaks down learning situations into three parts:

• Demonstration: The learner watches and/or listens to native speakers engage in a conversation. The situation includes new language skills and is presented to learners in a complete real-life setting that helps with the construction of a mental model. For example, the learner may watch a video of people ordering coffee at a café and then complete a short exercise to gauge their own comprehension.

• Deconstruction: The situation represented in the conversation is broken down into its vocabulary and grammar parts. This allows learners to fully understand the components of the new situation and to learn how those components can be applied to other situations as well.

• Practice: Finally, the components are reassembled and the learner is given the opportunity to practice via a series of interactive activities.  These activities focus on written and spoken production and all involve interaction with and feedback from real native speakers of the language.

Now, check it out for yourself, and tell us your opinion. 

Have a great weekend!
Marliese Thomas, User Engagement Librarian