As the new PBS documentary series the Asian Americans debuts this week, The Department of Special Collections is pleased to make available recently digitized issues of Current Life, a literary and public affairs magazine created in 1940 by Nisei journalist James "Jimmie" Matsumoto Omura (1912–1994), whose papers are held in the Department of Special Co
Among the many great treasures destroyed in the April 18, 1906 earthquake and the fire that followed were the last remaining papers, glass plate negatives, and photographs still in the possession of the ageing Carleton Watkins (1829-1916). This tragic loss is deepened by the realization that days before the massive quake on April 15 Harry C.
In January, the ePADD project team began work on the current phase of development to the software, with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The focus for this first quarter of the year is on the redevelopment of the ePADD’s attachment review feature. Attachments are a rich source of information in an email collection, providing context to the archive owner’s work, communications, and relationships.
Here we are again exploring some of the riches contained in an 1880s hotel register from Murphys California, an item from the Gary D. and Myrna R. Lowe collection relating to the Big Tree of California, 1853-2002. You can catch up on the background of this unique volume in Part One.
It shouldn’t be too big a surprise – many individual items in large collections are inevitably overshadowed for one reason or another – but here’s a great example of something really worth a closer look. This California hotel register from the 1880s, acquired by Gary Lowe for his collection of giant Sequoia-related material (the Gary D. and Myrna R.
Many years ago I was fascinated by the Shackleton expedition to the Antarctic, and how from 1914-1916 Shackleton and his crew were cut off from the world in their harrowing struggle for survival. A remarkable story of courage and perseverance, this epic adventure story captured my attention and imagination.
In the beginning of March, managers at Stanford Libraries began talking about working remotely and decided to set up shifts in each department – half working two weeks on site and half two weeks remotely. By the 6th of March the teams for our Collection Services group out in Redwood City were assembled, and the first group – Aries – stayed home for their first week. The Libraries were only one week into that first shift, when the state of California and Stanford decided that everyone should shelter at home starting on the 16th. The Aries team was taken off guard - we all were. Although we had discussed and lined up remote projects, not everyone had taken their computer and ergonomic equipment home with them. A few of us went in to grab equipment (desktop computers, monitors, etc.) and forgotten items (like reading glasses!) and drove around making deliveries – not everyone in the Bay Area drives a car!
While sheltering in place, the Rare Books Division of Special Collections has been working with colleagues around the country to produce content related to our collections or using technologies that allow sharing digital images across institutions. Here are three recent webinars from that effort: