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Please join the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery as we celebrate American Archives Month 2010, Making Connections: Archives and Imagination. Each October the national library, archives, and museum community designates October as the "official" time to reflect and appreciate the historical importance and value that archival resources can provide to historians, students, researchers, cultural centers, governmental bodies, and family genealogists. The Library will be hosting several events, both online and in the Library Gallery, to celebrate the value of archives and primary resources. A brief list is below; additional information is available on the Archives Month webpage: http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/archivesmonth
Discard discussion with Lynn Cazabon
Wednesday October 6th in the Library Gallery during Free Hour (12-1pm)
Lynn Cazabon will present her series of photographs, Discard. Discard is an ongoing body of work consisting of several discrete series of images featuring movie films discarded by public institutions (libraries, schools, archives). Harking back to the 19th century practice of postmortem photography, each print serves as a memento mori to the recently obsolete medium of film. In its totality, Discard is a shadow archive, reflecting that which has been omitted from institutional archives. More generally, the series reflects on the ongoing cycle of obsolescence, wherein technologies replace one another at ever increasing speed. With each iteration of this cycle, a particular way of seeing/knowing the world is lost. You can view photographs from the Discard series online at lynncazabon.com.
"Using Images for Original Research" discussion panel
Monday October 18th in the Library Gallery, 10-11:30am
Researchers in the humanities, arts, and social sciences often request historical images for use as an accompanying illustration in publications, presentations, and online exhibits, but despite the wealth of content contained in a single image, few use them as an independent historical resource. Archivists and curators from UMBC, College Park, and the Library of Congress will discuss the importance of visual literacy, image-based research methods, and the scholarly potential held in photographs, illustrations, and postcards. Registration for UMBC attendees is required; please see additional information on the event webpage.
Presenters:
Tom Beck, Chief Curator, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery at UMBC
Joanne Archer and Doug McElrath, Special Collections at University of Maryland, College Park
Barbara Orbach Natanson, Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress
In the Archives essay compilation
Special Collections Archivist Lindsey Loeper contacted some of her best archives supporters on campus and asked them to write short essays about how archives have influenced them, either professionally, academically, or personally. The essays will be posted throughout the month of October on the Library blog. Essayists include:
Michael Bowler, Library volunteer
Richard Byrne, UMBC Magazine
Christopher Corbett, English
David Hoffman, Office of Student Life
Jenny O'Grady, Institutional Advancement
Ed Orser, American Studies
Jody Shipka, English
A book display will be available on the first floor of the Library throughout the month of October, featuring archives related publications. Topics include archival theory, public history, non-fiction texts heavily influenced by archival materials, and books exploring the use of archives in professional and personal situations. A full list of the books is available, but please stop by and browse the selections in person! Each book is available to be checked out - just take the book to the Circulation desk and they will check it out for you.
Other resources:
Archives Month webpage on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference website: Making Connections: Archives and Imagination
American Archives Month at the Society of American Archivists
Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress
