2021 got off to an interesting start, when the Archives vault suffered a leak that resulted in hundreds of boxes having to be removed from the vault and some materials rehoused into dry boxes. With help from the Access Services, and team, we were able to remove the materials from the affected area of the vault before any lasting damage occurred. The Circulation staff was immensely helpful in returning the materials to the shelves once the water had been removed and the space returned to normal humidity levels. Thank you to everyone who pitched in to help respond to the leak so effectively.
Archival materials removed from wet boxes to dry.
Despite the time spent recovering from the leak, we managed to describe two new collections, add copies of The Northern Light to Scholarworks, put almost 200 new images on Alaska’s Digital Archives, conduct two instruction sessions with UAA classes, and respond to reference requests.
Newly available collections:
Cliff Fuglestad papers; 1926-1998. 0.5 cubic feet. hmc-1360. Papers of an Alaska Railroad engineer and consultant.
P.I. Thomas slides; 1964 April. 0.01 cubic feet. hmc-1361. Slides of Anchorage taken after the 1964 Alaska earthquake.
Items added to Scholarworks:
179 issues of the Northern Light student newspaper, 1993-1997.
On behalf of Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Douglas Veltre, his annotated and expanded transcription of Alan May’s 1936-1938 journals regarding the Smithsonian Institution’s expeditions to the Aleutians led by Aleš Hrdlička. The journals on which this manuscript is based are in our Alan May papers.
Alaska’s Digital Archives:
162 images from the Elizabeth Rose Schiller photograph album, undated, 1912-1926.
Elizabeth Rose Schiller in her garden on Middleton Island, Alaska.
Elizabeth Rose Schiller photograph album, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
27 images from the Willard Bowman papers, 1952-1979.
Willard Bowman shaking hands with an unidentified man. Willard L. Bowman papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Instruction:
English A437, Studies in Style and Stylistics, with David Bowie. 19 students. Arlene and Gwen selected and scanned a number of documents for the students to use for their class projects. Gwen also pre-recorded a tour of Archives & Special Collections and conducted a Q&A session with the students.
1917 Alaska Fair program, used for English A437
History A390, Empire, Colonialism, and Science Since 1500 taught by Ray Ball and Deirdre Bryan. 27 students. Shared Rare Books on medicine and exploration pre-dating 1800.
Consult with a Johns Hopkins graduate student on our participation in the Alaska’s Digital Archives website.