Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery

The expanding Baltimore Sun archives now include the Baltimore Sun financial and selected labor records.

The collection ranges from the creation of the Sun in 1837 to 1986, and includes financial records and statements, guild correspondence, newsletters, and almost 150 ledger books. Much of the guild correspondence was addressed to or written by the famous H.L. Mencken, and several of the newsletters were Mencken’s personal copies. Among the many noteworthy items is the Sun’s very first financial ledger, which can be found with the Marylandia collection in the Special Collections Reading Room.

In addition to the library’s print and microfilm holdings of the newspaper itself, the UMBC Special Collections is home to a wide variety of Sun materials, including 750,000 images, records from Sun foreign bureaus, memorabilia, and the personal papers of both Harold A. Williams and Philip
Wagner.

Click here to see the Sun archives and related holdings.

Rehoused records and ledgers in archival storage area

A page in the first financial ledger for the Baltimore Sun, dated 1837

Congratulations to the undergrad and graduate students that have completed their degrees this Spring semester! UMBC's first graduating class crossed the stage in 1970 but 3 years earlier, on May 8, 1967, the campus held a small but historic convocation ceremony to celebrate UMBC's first academic year.

1967 Convocation
Originally uploaded by AOK Library & Gallery, UMBC

From The Retriever, May 15, 1967, "Progress Cited At Convocation":

May 8 of last week was the day of UMBC's first formal convocation. The well attended ceremony commenced with an organ prelude by James Houstin who was accompanied by Wilmer Wide, of the Baltimore Symphony, on trumpet for the processional.

Following the invocation by Rabbi Jacob B. Agus of the Beth El Congregation, Dean Homer W. Schamp, Jr. proceeded to introduce the platform guests. Members of the platform who delivered addresses to the audience included Doug Gordon, President of the SGA; Mr. Charles McCormick, Chairman of the Board of Regents; Dr. Wilson H. Elkins, President of the University of Maryland; and Dr. Albin O. Kuhn, vice-president for the Baltimore Campuses.

Mr. Gordon's short welcoming speech emphasized the maturation of UMBC's family as a result of the responsibilities of college life, respect, student government, the upholding of the name of the university and the setting of precedence, that of the learning process. The welcoming address ended with his confidence that "...UMBC will be one of the great universities in the future."

Mr. McCormick assured everyone that the Board of Regents "...is dedicated to the University and will extend any help that is required." A message from President Elkins recognized the never ending changes that will be associated with UMBC and agreed that progress has indeed been made.

The principle address, "Progress Begins," was delivered by Dr. Kuhn and included a message of thanks, a look at the past and a glance to the future.

"Demystifying Archives and Special Collections Research"
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 12-1pm
Special Collections, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery

Your first visit to an archives or special collections department can be a little intimidating...

What tools and guides are used to locate materials?

Why do researchers need to wear gloves??

UMBC's Special Collections Archivist will answer all of these questions and more so that you will be prepared to perform archival research with confidence!

Join us Wednesday March 11 from 12-1 in the Special Collections Reading Room, located in the Albin O. Kuhn Library through the Gallery on the 1st floor. For more information please contact Lindsey Loeper at: lindseyloeper@umbc.edu or x56290. (Food and drink are not allowed, thank you!)

Although the University Archives houses thousands of historical campus photographs, the most well known are the 36 images on display on the 3rd floor of the Commons. Now you can view the entire set on the Library & Gallery's Flickr page. If you have any helpful information, such as the names of people and events, please leave a note, comment, or tag on the image in Flickr! All University Archives photographs are available for public use - just stop by Special Collections if you would like browse them in person.

"Up from Wilkens Avenue the cars and motorbikes came; first a few, then clusters and finally a steady stream disturbed the morning stillness of the former farmland. They carried the final ingredient, the necessary spark to bring the University of Maryland Baltimore County campus into the world of higher learning. As the vehicles slipped in between the freshly painted stripes of the parking lots, and students hurried to their first class, a new era for the University of Maryland began. It was a date to remember: September 19, 1966."

This Friday the 19th marks the 42nd anniversary of the opening of UMBC! You can take a look at how the campus began in this article, "A Campus Is Born," published in the Maryland Magazine in Fall 1996 (click to view PDF).

The Special Collections department is currently testing out a new way to gather information on unidentified photographs and expose our alums and the greater university community to our historical holdings. Using the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery's newly established Flickr page, we have added University Archives photographs that feature UMBC students in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Anyone is encouraged to leave a note or comment with information or reflections on the people, places, and events shown in the photographs.

This tool is still being tested but other institutions have had success with similar interactive projects, including:

Enoch Pratt Free Library/State Library Resource Center: Most Wanted
Library of Congress on Flickr
The Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections at the University of Michigan (features EAD finding aids, commenting capabilities, user profiles and saved bookmarks)

**Updated on July 11, 2008 with Theatre Department photographs!