The corrections on the documents are a very interesting piece to inspect. Some changes were cosmetic while others more substantive.
[READ MORE]Category Archives: Archives and manuscripts
Preservation Tip: Dealing With Insect Damage
Author: Scott Gampfer, Associate Vice President for Collections and Preservation Insects are attracted to materials containing cellulose. Paper-based collections (documents, books, newspapers) contain cellulose and need to be protected from insect attack. Storing collections in cool dry spaces is preferable because there is a link between higher temperature and relative humidity, and increased insect activity. Years ago, the library received a donation of bound newspapers including this volume from the 1830s. One of the volumes exhibited evidence of insect damage on the outside front cover (see image 1 below). Portions of the decorative covering paper were abraded and the lower right-hand corner bore telltale insect holes. When the volume was opened, this is the sight that greeted the librarians (see image 2). It turns out that the volumes had been stored on shelving against a basement or garage wall and termites had been able […]
[READ MORE]From the Card Catalog to the Internet
The challenge facing me and my team is to fit older collections into these new standards and to get them online so researchers can see that we have them.
[READ MORE]The Fight for the Vote
For many years, women in this country were denied even the most basic constitutional rights. They could not speak publically, sign contracts, gain a formal education, successfully own property separate from husbands or fathers or retain custody of their own children.
[READ MORE]Collections 101: What’s a Collection? Does your collection have good provenance?
Museums and libraries collect materials in an effort to document human history and to learn more about the natural world. Museum Center acquires and preserves its collections of historically- or scientifically-important items as a public trust.
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The Holt Broadside Printing of the Declaration of Independence
On the evening of July 4th, 1776, Philadelphia printer and engraver John Dunlap, official printer to the Continental Congress, was given an order to print broadside copies of the Declaration of Independence. It is believed that Dunlap likely printed at least 200 copies that night and perhaps more.
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