Special Collections Unbound

Stanford University Libraries receives Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funding for ePADD phase three development

January 17, 2020

by Sally DeBauche

We are excited to announce that the ePADD project has been awarded a grant by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the planning and future development of the ePADD software!

ePADD is free and open-source computational analysis software developed by Stanford University Libraries Special Collections & University Archives and partners that facilitates screening, browsing, and access for historically and culturally significant email collections.

(Image of mural from a newspaper clipping, Chicano Art and Artistry Series)

Jose Antonio Burciaga and Notions of Chicanismo by Lucayo Casillas

January 15, 2020

by Franz Kunst

Manuscripts

Guest post from Manuscripts processing assistant Lucayo Casillas

Three tourists sit in an early automobile in front of a grove of giant sequoias.

Highlights from the Gary D. and Myrna R. Lowe collection on the Big Tree of California

January 9, 2020

by Brian Bethel

Manuscripts

Last year, I had the pleasure of processing one of the most fascinating collections I’ve had the opportunity to work on: the Gary D. and Myrna R. Lowe Collection of Big Tree materials. As the title suggests, the Lowe Collection by and large consists of photographs, prints, postcards, ephemera, pamphlets, government reports, periodicals, and souvenirs related to ‘Big Trees’ -- the original vernacular term for the awe-inspiring redwoods we know today as giant sequoia trees.

New cuneiform tablet acquired by Special Collections

January 8, 2020

by Laura Wilsey

Fun facts

Manuscripts

New acquisitions

The Stanford Libraries recently acquired its second cuneiform tablet. The acquisition was in response to the high level of use of the first tablet held by the Libraries, a Sumerian cuneiform tablet from 2056 B.C.E. which was a gift of David C. Weber in 1990 (https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/4083797).

Rosa Parks, seated, with residence staff in Arroyo House lounge, Stanford University, Feb 18, 1990

Rosa Parks' Stanford press conference recording now accessible online

December 18, 2019

by Josh Schneider

Digitization

Sound recordings

University Archives

The Archives is excited to share that an audio recording of a Rosa Parks press conference, held at Arroyo House at Stanford University on February 18, 1990, was recently digitized and is now accessible worldwide via Stanford Libraries' discovery platforms.

Volvelle page 42. Tebalducci, Claudio. Delli dialogi della quantita et del numero delle sfere terrestri et celesti. Roma: Per il Santi, & Comp., 1588.

Volvelles: the rotating diagrams with some assembly required

December 18, 2019

by Ann K.D. Myers

Rare books

A recently cataloged 16^th century astronomy book provides fascinating insight into how a particular kind of diagram was printed and constructed. These rotating diagrams, called volvelles (from the Latin volvere, to turn), were used in both manuscripts and printed books to calculate data related to calendars, tide tables, astronomy, astrology, and more. They typically consist of one or more circles surmounted by other graduated or figured circles or pointers which rotate from a central axis. The circles could be made of paper, cardboard, or vellum, and the pivots were typically made of string or thread. The most common were printed with woodcuts.

Daniel Hartwig (L) and Rick Yuen, president of the Stanford Historical Society

Special Collections and Stanford Historical Society bid fond farewell to Daniel Hartwig

October 21, 2019

by Charlotte Kwok Glasser

News

“We are talking about tens of thousands of documents, photographs, audio records, video records, and university records generally. That’s a lot to deal with, and that deserves a round of applause.” --Roberto Trujillo