Medical artifacts
Posted: May 20, 2013 Filed under: Collections, Kornhauser Health Sciences Library Leave a comment »by Kathie Johnson, Associate Professor
Kathie Johnson is an Associate Professor and the Curator of History Collections for Kornhauser Health Sciences Library.
As I mentioned in earlier blogs – “I love my job.” There are many reasons for this, but the one I will focus on today is the neat items I get to see and touch on a regular basis. There are too many to name in one short blog, so I will just highlight a few and share them with you.
Civil War amputation instruments: which actually look like instruments of torture, and for anyone who had a limb amputated at that time, they probably were just that. So they had a choice of torture or death. We have probably all seen movies or television shows about the Civil War and scenes in hospitals or doctors working on the wounded in the field. But we know deep down inside that they are actors and there is no actual amputation taking place. When one sees and handles the actual instruments and realizes how they were used, it hits home. It also makes me glad that I live in this time period, so much for the “good old days.”
Brochures from various medical practitioners and facilities, 1898-1905: these items are interesting and often humorous. They are usually postcards or flyers, sometimes ads pulled from publications, but they illustrate the wide variety of legitimate and sometimes quack institutions that abounded at the turn of the 20th century. Of particular interest is the artwork used – photography, etchings, drawings, and other graphics. With no other media other than print, the advertisers usually went all out creating what today are real works of art as well as historic papers.
The records, photographs, text books and ephemera from various nursing schools in Louisville: I do a lot of research on nurses and nursing, and these items always prove to have something of interest to me, whether it be the images of the young women in their uniforms, their grade sheets, the yearbooks, or personal items such as letters and diaries.
One of my favorite artifacts is a shadowbox, approximately 6” x 12” filled with items an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) had removed from patients in the course of his practice. Included are about 18 coins (pennies through a half-dollar), 15 safety pins (of varying sizes), 3 straight pins, 3 buttons, 2 dental bridges (1 with 4 teeth, 1 with 1), 3 nails or screws, a bullet casing, a ladies ring, a metal jack, many small pieces of bone, nuts, or grain, and 2 spoon handles. It always amazes me to look at it, and wonder how in the world someone could have ended up with a spoon handle stuck in an ear, nose or throat. Nothing my children or grandchildren have ever hidden in an orifice compares to that!
So as you can tell, I have good reason to enjoy coming to work every day and I really do love my job!
Kathie Johnson, Associate Professor
Archivist/Curator, History Collections
Kornhauser Health Sciences Library
New University Libraries Faculty: January – March 2013
Posted: May 7, 2013 Filed under: People | Tags: archives, assessment, oral history center Leave a comment »By Melissa Laning and the new faculty
Melissa Laning is an Associate Dean at the University of Louisville Libraries.
Sarah-Jane Poindexter
Sarah-Jane Poindexter
Sarah-Jane Poindexter joined the libraries’ faculty as Archivist for Manuscript Collections/Co-director of the Oral History Center on January 2, 2013. Prior to joining the University of Louisville Libraries, Sarah-Jane was Associate Curator of Special Collections at the Filson Historical Society where she was responsible for arranging and describing document collections related to local history and assisting researchers with using the collections. Sarah-Jane has also held positions at the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky, and Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections, and internships at the Tufts University Digital Collections & Archives and the Boston Athenaeum. She holds a M.S. in Library and Information Science with an Archives Management Concentration from Simmons College in Boston, MA. Her B.A. in Anthropology is from the University of Louisville.
In her current position, Sarah-Jane preserves the cultural memory of UofL and the greater Louisville area by organizing, preserving, and providing access to items of enduring historic value. These archival items include letters, journals, photographs, oral histories, maps, and architectural drawings. She is planning an oral history project to document and preserve the history of Louisville’s LGBTQ community.
Before working in archives, Sarah-Jane was an archaeologist at the Public Archaeological Laboratory (Pawtucket, RI) and AMEC Earth & Environmental (Louisville, KY). She also served as a groundskeeper for Katherine Hepburn.
Heather Fox
Heather Fox
Heather Fox was appointed to the faculty on February 4, 2013 as Archivist for Digital Collections. Her prior professional experience includes serving as Associate Curator of Special Collections at the Filson Historical Society, Project Archivist at the Kentucky Oral History Commission and at the Speed Art Museum, Archival Consultant at Appalshop, Inc., and Data Wrangler at UofL Archives and Records Center. In each of these positions, Heather was responsible for arranging and describing historical collections in all formats including a born digital collection of the August 2009 Louisville Flood. In most of these positions, Heather’s work focused on making collections accessible to a broader audience through web technologies. She holds a M.S. in Library Science with a concentration in Archives Management from the University of Kentucky and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Louisville.
Heather works with the Digital Initiatives Librarian to provide web-based access to digital versions of archival collections and faculty research. She is currently working on describing and adding images to the Caufield and Shook photograph collection which contains images of Louisville from 1875-1939. http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/cs/
Heather plays in a (mostly) girl garage rock band and co-hosts a weekly garage rock radio show on ArtXFm.com with UL photo curator Elizabeth Reilly.
Maurini Strub
Maurini Strub
Maurini Strub joined the libraries faculty on March 11, 2013. She previously served as a Reserves Specialist at the Oakland University Library in Rochester, MI and as an Adult Specialist at the Oxford (MI) Public Library. In addition, Maurini worked on a multi-institutional Sakai Interaction Design Project at the University of Michigan. Her M.S. in Information is from the University of Michigan and her B.A. in Biology is from Oakland University.
User Experience and Assessment are relatively new areas for libraries. As our User Experience Librarian, she will study our how users interact with library tools, spaces and services. The information she collects will help libraries make user-research based decisions and changes. Maurini will use qualitative and ethnographic assessment methods to measure the usability, desirability, adoptability, and value of library programs and services. As the Assessment librarian, she will plan, design, and implement initiatives to measure the effectiveness of the University Libraries in meeting its strategic goals. It is also her goal to promote the integration of assessment into all phases of planning and services.
Maurini is currently working on analyzing the qualitative responses from the 2012 Benchmark Survey. This survey was conducted to evaluate how the U of L community uses the library and understand more about their needs.
Maurini was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, where she travels regularly to visit family.
Derby season
Posted: May 2, 2013 Filed under: Archives & Special Collections, Collections, People, Photographs | Tags: digital collections, Kentucky Derby, Louisville Leader 1 Comment »
Louisville has been the proud host of the Kentucky Derby for the past 139 years. A Louisville Leader newspaper article (“Derby Visitors Feted As Hospitality Reigns“) from May 14, 1938 reports,
“Not only is Louisville famous for its annual event at Churchill Downs but it has also become famous for its many social courtesies extended those who visit at Derby time.”
The University of Louisville Libraries’ collections include visual and written documentation of Derby races and parties. Travel back in time to Derbies past through these images freely available in our Digital Collections.
The Chicago Manual of Style Online
Posted: April 23, 2013 Filed under: Databases, Research Tips, Services, Uncategorized Leave a comment »Are you writing a final paper this week? Do you have questions about grammar and punctuation? Is the Writing Center closed? The University Libraries subscribes to the online version of both the 15th and 16th editions of the Chicago Manual of Style, an often used source for questions such as…
- Should I use which or that in my sentence?
- How do I punctuate a sentence with a URL in it?
- When should I use who versus whom?
- When should I use a semi-colon (my all-time favorite punctuation mark—it marks a pause, but one that has shades of hesitancy with a dose of elitism)
There is a search box in the upper right hand corner of the screen where you can search for your specific question of interest. Using fewer search terms works better.
The Manual can also be enjoyed by grammar-junkies who find it fascinating to read about the use of more esoteric aspects of the written word such as when nouns followed by gerunds may take the possessive form or when it might be appropriate to intensify an uncomparable adjective. Or perhaps one of your colleagues has a particular grammar or punctuation proclivity that you would like to address such as is it summer or Summer?
Also fun is to peruse the Q&A section of the website where the editors of the Style Manual provide witty and informative responses to even the most trivial questions of grammar and style.
For more information about this resource or another resource provided by the University Libraries, contact the Ekstrom Library Reference and Information Literacy Department at 852-6747 or use the reference question form.
UofL’s proud basketball history–online!
Posted: April 5, 2013 Filed under: Archives & Special Collections, Collections, University Archives & Records Center | Tags: basketball, digital collections, University of Louisville Cardinals, yearbooks Leave a comment »
Most Card fans know that the University of Louisville has a history of winning basketball teams–we are no strangers to championships. And we are no strangers to Wichita State: in February 1963, the University of Louisville Board of Trustees voted to join the Missouri Valley Conference, which then as now included the Wichita State Shockers.
50 years and three (soon to be four) conferences later, the University of Louisville Cardinals return to the NCAA Final Four men’s basketball tournament for the 10th time on Saturday night, facing their former conference rival.
Photos from the University of Louisville Yearbooks show past meetups between the teams, such as these from the 1966-1967 season, featuring Louisville greats Wes Unseld (#31) and Alfred “Butch” Beard (#14).
The University of Louisville’s women’s basketball team dates back to 1909 when the dean of Arts and Sciences, John L. Patterson, heeded the request of a handful interested in forming a team.
Check out our digitized U of L Yearbooks and Selected U of L images to find more women’s and men’s basketball history.
GO CARDS!
Information on Local Art and Artists
Posted: April 3, 2013 Filed under: Art Library, People | Tags: Romuald Kraus, sculpture Leave a comment »Finding information on Local Art and Artists
Have you ever wanted to know more about a local artist whose work you have seen or read about? If so, using the resources on local artists at U of L’s Art Library can help. The library keeps clipping files on local artists containing newspaper articles, exhibition announcements, pamphlets and sometimes even student papers. We have also indexed the Courier-Journal art columns since 1944 and those columns contain a treasure trove of material on local art and artists.
Romuald Kraus (1891-1954) is a perfect example of the art library’s resources. You might have seen his sculpture in the Music School. Called Reminiscence, it was made from Tennessee marble in 1939 and presented to the School of Music in 1952 by the Louisville Philharmonic Chorus and the sculptor. Below is Reminiscence.
A library file on Kraus provides the following biographical information: Kraus was born in Austria and emigrated to the U.S. in 1924. He taught at the Cincinnati Art Academy before coming to the University of Louisville in 1947. A man who eschewed the limelight, he nevertheless was thrust into it when, in 1935 he was awarded a commission in a national competition to sculpt a figure of Justice for the Newark, N.J. federal courtroom. Kraus’ Justice had no blindfold, scales or sword and definitely did not look like a Roman sculpture, the style we are all familiar with. Justice won accolades from most but censure from others. Federal judge Guy L. Fake, in whose courtroom the sculpture was supposed to reside, said the piece smacked “blatantly of Communism,” and that it conveyed “ruthless confiscation” rather than justice.
The astute researcher will also find that the Art Library has the papers of Romuald Kraus which contain correspondence between Kraus and his wife Esther, various Kraus relatives, the sculptor Henry Kreis, and others. The collection also includes Kraus’ sketchbooks and exhibition lists, along with biographical information about Kraus and his brother Leo, catalogs, articles, and photographs related to Justice and Kraus’ other work. Kraus’ papers were instrumental in the work of graduate student Eddie-Sue McDowell whose 1992 master’s thesis was titled Romuald Kraus : Justice and other work for the Works Progress Administration, 1933-1943.
Another researcher, Yale law professor Judith Resnick and co-author Dennis Curtis, used the Kraus papers for their book called Representing Justice; Invention, Controversy, and Rights in City-States and Democratic Courtrooms (Yale University Press, 2011, available in the Art Library). Resnick and Curtis furthered the research on the controversy surrounding Kraus’ Justice. In 1939, during the dust-up, the statue was part of an exhibit of modern art sent to San Francisco. It received not only praise and an award but also a request that it be installed in a federal building in Covington, KY. In 1941, the Covington courthouse got a copy of the work.
Below is a photograph of Kraus with the 7 foot tall, almost 700 pound bronze Justice.
Explore eBooks at UofL
Posted: April 1, 2013 Filed under: Books | Tags: eBooks Leave a comment »by Latisha Reynolds
Latisha Reynolds is the Humanities and Social Sciences Reference Librarian at Ekstrom Library.
The U of L Libraries provide access to eBooks in various formats, and on numerous topics for research or pleasure. These are books that can be downloaded electronically or digitally.
Most of the eBooks are available to U of L students, faculty, and staff but some are freely accessible to anyone. We have individual books that are found in the library catalogs, and collections of eBooks within databases as well. There are also popular fiction and non-fiction titles available on Kindles at both Ekstrom and Kornhauser libraries that can be checked out through the Kindle Loan Program.
Below are descriptions of a few featured eBook collections.
Electronic Thesis and Dissertations
“Since 2002 the University Libraries have been building a collection of digital copies of theses and dissertations authored here at the University of Louisville. This effort is in keeping with an international trend of institutions migrating to electronic theses and dissertations (known as ETDs) in order to provide free worldwide access to these titles and to enable graduate students to include digital media in their works. In 2009 the Libraries migrated the ETD collection to be part of the Libraries Digital Collections. This migration has allowed for full text searching and simultaneous searching of other electronic collections.” U of L Electronic Thesis and Dissertations: http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/etd/
Early English Books Online
“Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700….” Early English Books Online: http://eebo.chadwyck.com/home
Safari Technical Books Online
“Safari Books Online is the premier on-demand digital library providing over 23,793 technology, digital media, and business books and videos online to academic and library users.” Safari Books Online: http://proquestcombo.safaribooksonline.com/?mode=MyBookshelf
Oxford Art Online
“Oxford Art Online offers access to the most authoritative, inclusive, and easily searchable online art resources available today. Through a single, elegant gateway users can access—and simultaneously cross-search—an expanding range of Oxford’s acclaimed art reference works: Grove Art Online, the Benezit Dictionary of Artists, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, as well as many specially commissioned articles and bibliographies available exclusively online.” Oxford Art Online: http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/
Women and Social Movements in the United States
“Women and Social Movements in the United States is a resource for students and scholars of U.S. history and U.S. women’s history. Organized around the history of women in social movements in the U.S. between 1600 and 2000, this collection seeks to advance scholarly debates and understanding about U.S. history generally at the same time that it makes the insights of women’s history accessible to teachers and students at universities, colleges, and high schools. The collection currently includes 110 document projects and archives with almost 4,200 documents and 56,000 pages of additional full-text documents, written by more than 2,200 primary authors. It also includes book, film, and website reviews, news from the archives, and teaching tools.” WASM/Alexander Street Press- http://asp6new.alexanderstreet.com/wam2/wam2.index.map.aspx
Health Sciences eBooks
We also have many health sciences related eBooks; check out the eBook Health Sciences guide at: http://louisville.libguides.com/content.php?pid=279208&sid=2703658.
Accessing eBooks
For more information on accessing eBooks check out the eBooks at U of L Libraries guide: http://louisville.libguides.com/content.php?pid=279208&sid=2299786. The eBooks collection is still growing, so check back often to find new titles!
