Unlike a general Google or online search, BASE targets academic sources, ensuring that the results are relevant and of high quality. With over 31 million documents and 2 thousand content providers, this website is a great resource for academic researchers in every field from biochemistry to dance. And, best news yet - it's free! So start your searching!

UMBC's Digital Collections will be added to BASE this fall - making it a one-stop-shop for locating digital resources from UMBC, UMD, and beyond.

Sample entry from the Australian Institute of Marine Science:

Written by Johanna Schein, Special Collections Graduate Assistant.

Even if you aren't (yet) an alum, you might still be interested in this collection. The citations within each program highlight the achievements of many notable scholars, artists, authors, journalists, and Marylanders. Filled with photographs and writings, the commencement programs also provide a great insight into the evolution of UMBC's campus, both in terms of its academic and physical growth. These programs reveal that although technology, fashion, academic majors, and UMBC's campus have all changed over the years, there is continuity in UMBC's traditions and values, which can be found in the rituals of each graduation.

Interested in testing your UMBC knowledge? Here is some trivia that can be answered by looking at the commencement programs.

1) In what year was UMBC's first commencement?
2) Which undergraduate major had the most graduates in UMBC's first graduation?
3) Which famous psychologist, who invented the operant conditioning chamber, spoke at UMBC Commencement in 1973?
4) In which UMBC commencement did the University grant is first doctorate?
5) Which UMBC Chancellor graduated Phi Beta Kappa from University of Maryland College in 1958 and was listed on the Who's Who in America?
6) Which 1979 Nobel Prize in Economics winner, known for his focus on the underdevelopment and poverty in third-world countries, gave the commencement address in 1983?
7) Which 1959 Nobel Prize in Medicine winner, who is known for his research on the biosynthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), received an honorary degree from UMBC in 1991?
8) Which U.S. Senator, who is the longest serving woman in the Senate, gave the commencement address in 1993?
9) In which year does UMBC's mascot, True Grit, first appear in the commencement program?

Cover of the first UMBC commencement program.

Cover of the 1995 commencement program. Notice the 0s and 1s in the background, indicative of the 1990s technology boom. The introduction of the program declared the 1995 commencement exercises to be a "high-tech production."

Answers: 1) 1970; 2) History, followed closely by Psychology; 3) B.F. Skinner 4)1976 5) John W. Dorsey 6) Sir William Arthur Lewis 7)Arthur Kornberg 8) Barbara Mikulski 9) 1989

Written by Johanna Schein, Special Collections Graduate Assistant. These items were digitized in partnership with the Office of Institutional Advancement.

July 21, 2011 marks the sesquicentennial of the First Battle of Bull Run, or First Manassas, and the Special Collections Department of the Albin O. Kuhn Library has information regarding this and many other Civil War topics. Whether you are a researcher, historian, or a Civil War enthusiast, Special Collections has many resources that can guide you through an historic event as if you were there yourself.

Battlefield from the Hill on the Road leading to Manassas Junction, Bull's Run click here for image

The first 3 months of The War Between the States saw only skirmishes between small units of the combatants' armies. However, on July 21, 1861, the two unproven and untried armies met in battle on a grand scale for the first time. The Union Army was ordered to march on the Confederate capitol of Richmond, VA, while the Confederate army took up defensive positions just 25 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. along the Bull Run Creek in the town of Manassas, VA. Manassas was an important railroad junction which the Union Army needed to capture to facilitate the successful invasion of the South.

In order to bypass the enemy's defenses, the Union commander, General Irvin McDowell, decided to attempt to cross the creek at an undefended spot to the north west of the Confederate positions. The ford near Sudley Springs provided access for the Union troops to breach the defenses and engage the enemy.

Sudley Springs, Bull Run click here for image

The battle contained some famous exploits, including those of Brigadier General Thomas J. Jackson, who earned his illustrious moniker because his brigade stood their ground like a “stonewall.” The man who allegedly gave him that nickname was Southern General Bernard Bee, who was mortally wounded not long after. His friend, Colonel Francis Bartow, was also killed nearby. Today there are monuments marking these spots.

First Bull's Run from spot where Bee & Barto[w] Fell click here for image

Jackson made his stand along a ridge not far from the Henry House, around which occurred much of the fighting. The house was very badly damaged and the tenant, 85 year old widow Judith Henry, was killed. Afterwards the Henry house was demolished and rebuilt. It is interesting to compare our photo of the house with the modern one. Click here to search for images of the house today.


Henry House, Bull Run click here for image

In 1865, a monument was erected by Union veterans to honor the dead of the First Battle at Bull Run, and Special Collections has the very moment captured on film. Today the monument stands just behind the Henry House, and it can be seen in our photo of the house, which means our photo must have been taken after 1865.


Dedication of monument on Bull Run battle-field click here for image

Special Collections has an extensive photograph collection for historians and researchers to utilize, with more being added every day. Check out our Civil War Digital Collection: http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/civil_war.php. In fact, all the resources used for this post came from Special Collections and the Albin O. Kuhn Library. Come to the Special Collections Department and let history be your guide!

by Robert Bennett, Intern, Special Collections

Bibliography

Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Volume I. Robert Underwood Johnson and Clarence Clough Buel, eds. Castle. Secaucus: 1982.

First Bull Run: An Overview. US Army Center of Military History. 30 June 2011. Retrieved on 19 July 2011 from http://www.history.army.mil/StaffRide/1st%20Bull%20Run/Overview.htm.

Risley, Ford. The Civil War: Primary Documents on Events from 1860 to 1865. Greenwood Press. Westport: 2004.

The Civil War Archive: The History of the Civil War in Documents. Henry Steele Commager, Ed. Revised and Expanded by Erik Bruun. Black Dog & Leventhal. New York: 2000.

But Thor isn't limited to his own book. You might also know him as part of The Avengers, along with Captain America, The Hulk and Iron Man! Don't worry; we've got you covered there as well, with more than a hundred issues from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Catch up on the Avengers back story now, before their movie comes out next year! And before you ask, yes, we've got classic 60's and 70's issues of Captain America, the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man as well!

Special Collections will be open from 1 until 4 pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday all the way through Finals Week, and until 8pm on Thursdays. During the summer, we'll be open by appointment only. To find our superhero lair, enter the Library Gallery and walk straight back- you'll see our doors on the right. No secret decoder ring required!

To browse all of the comics available at Special Collections, enter comic books in the Collection field in the following search; or put in more specific search terms to find the exact comic you're looking for: http://umbc.pastperfect-online.com/37467cgi/mweb.exe?request=advform .

by Steve Ammidown, Special Collections Student Assistant

The end of the semester is typically a busy time for donations to the archives and Special Collections. Here are a few highlights that have come into the University Archives recently:

UARC 2011-003: President's Office records

This small donation, only .25 linear feet, came from Karen Wensch just before her retirement this Fall. One gem from this donation is a resolution passed in 1992 by the City Council of Baltimore, "in recognition of [Dr. Freeman Hrabowski's] appointment as interim president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County." This demonstrates the relationship between the City of Baltimore and our county campus.

We have a small collection of plaques, honorary degrees, and certificates awarded to Dr. Hrabowski available in our President's Office records.

UARC 2011-001: University Photographs

This beautiful image of the Albin O. Kuhn Library was taken by UMBC's own Tim Ford in the Fall of 2005. Tim is the Manager of Illustrative Services, located in the Biological Sciences building. He has longed served as UMBC's unofficial (and sometimes official) documentarian of campus life and has often worked with campus departments on capturing the events and people that pass through our halls. This image was prepared by Tim as a retirement gift to Pat Cronise, UMBC's former Slide Librarian. If you're looking for historic images of people and places at UMBC, you can contact Special Collections and we can work with you to locate an appropriate photograph within our holdings or from other photograph collections on campus.

UARC Photos-13: University Photographs

While this accession, or group of photographs, is not new to Special Collections, it is being made more accessible because it is being processed. When you process an archival or photography collection, you rehouse, arrange, and describe the collection so that researchers can learn about the materials and locate the items within the collection much easier. Special Collections student assistant Paul Pierson has been rehousing these slides into archival polypropylene sheets and creating a folder listing. These sheets will not off gas or damage the chemical emulsion on the slides. Thanks Paul!

The title image above is from the 1968 Skipjack, UMBC's student yearbook. You can view all of the Skipjack volumes in Special Collections (UPUB S2-001) or browse this volume online.

Collection 85: Television scripts

A unique collection for UMBC! Fifteen boxes of television scripts dating from 1954 to 1978. Includes classics like Batman (scripts from 1965-1967), The Beverly Hillbillies (1961-1964), The Brady Bunch (1970-1972), Mission: Impossible (1968-1972), The Mod Squad (1968-1972), and The Partridge Family (1970-1971).

UARC 2010-026: University Photographs

These four color photographic prints were donated by former Library Director Jonathan LeBreton. The prints show the construction of the Library tower in 1993.

UARC 2010-027: University Photographs

7700 digital images documenting the Office of Student Life, Student Government Association, UMBC's 40th Anniversary, Homecoming, and other campus groups and events. We're working to upload these images into our Digital Collections very soon! So far, only the set from the 2003-2004 acdemic year are available online. The image to the right is from the Winter 2004 Welcome Pep Rally in the Commons Main Street.