Society of North Carolina Archivists

May 17, 2013
Story submitted by: Kristen Merryman

The photograph above is from the Charles W. Suggs Collection and shows a man testing an automated transplanter for tobacco that was developed by Charles W. Suggs at NCSU in the late 1970s.

The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) at North Carolina State University Libraries is finalizing a two year LSTA funded digitization project, “Cultivating a Revolution: Science, Technology, and Change in North Carolina Agriculture, 1950-1979.”  The project materials document the development of modern agricultural practices at NCSU and their use in agriculture in North Carolina.  Over the past two years NCSU Libraries has digitized over 40,000 pages from thirteen different archival collections held by the SCRC.  Documentation on research and development done on tobacco harvesting and curing, pesticide development, plant disease prevention, genetic modification of crops, and animal breeding are included in the materials digitized.  Some of the NCSU faculty highlighted in the project includes Dr. William Johnson, Dr. William Splinter, Dr. Charles Suggs, and David S. Weaver, all from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.  In addition to the text and photograph materials, 161 16mm films are now available online from the University Archives Film Collection and the NCSU Department of Biological and Agricultural Records.  Particular films of interest include an interview with the developers of and the farmers who used the newly developed bulk curing barns in the mid-1960s, a visit to the NCSU Dairy Farm in the 1950s, and test runs of sweet potato and cucumber harvesters at NCSU’s research stations.

Check out the project’s website at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcollections/projects/cultivating-a-revolution.html for more information on the project and links to the digitized materials.

Or visit the NCSU Special Collections Rare and Unique Materials website directly to check out what has been digitized at http://go.ncsu.edu/cultivatingarevolution.

May 3, 2013
Story submitted by: Todd Kosmerick

As North Carolina State University officially dedicated the new James B. Hunt Jr. Library on April 3, 2013, the NCSU Libraries also formally launched another iconic project, the Student Leadership Initiative [link to http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/student-leaders]. The website uses video oral histories, photographs, and other documents to chronicle the experiences and impact of individuals whose formative time at NC State shaped their subsequent careers and whose memories provide a valuable and interesting window into the period in which they helped shape the university. Continue reading →

April 19, 2013
Story submitted by: Greta Reisel Browning

Studies Building across Lake Eden, Black Mountain, College Campus. Courtesy of the Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina.

A new exhibit, titled “Black Mountain College: Innovation in Art, Education, and Lifestyle” is now open on the 4th floor atrium of Belk Library and Information Commons at Appalachian State University. Joesph Bathanti, North Carolina Poet Laureate and Professor of Creative Writing at Appalachian State University helped to create the exhibit. Continue reading →

April 12, 2013
Story submitted by: Liz Cook

In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of admission of the first African-American traditional student and two Kenyan students in fall, 1962, the Friends Historical Collection has developed an ongoing oral history project, “Guilford’s Integration, 1962 Before and After: An Oral History.” Led by Liz Cook, Interim Associate Archivist, 15 students, faculty and administrators have been trained in oral history methodology and have completed twenty-three interviews and several transcriptions. Continue reading →

April 5, 2013
Story submitted by: Emily Jack

On June 26, 1963 North Carolina’s lawmakers approved a bill that came to be known as the Speaker Ban. The law forbade Communists and others critical of the United States government from speaking on the campuses of North Carolina’s publicly funded universities and colleges. The controversy surrounding the Speaker Ban became the most well-known test of academic freedom on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus – but it was not the first nor the last. Continue reading →

March 29, 2013
Story submitted by: Susan Smith

Tanya Zanish-Belcher has joined the Z. Smith Reynolds Library faculty as Director of Special Collections and University Archivist. Tanya joins Wake Forest University from Iowa State University where she had served as Head of Special Collections and University Archives since 1998. She received a BA in History from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MA in Historical and Archival Administration from Wright State University. In 2011, the Society of American Archivists elected Tanya as a Fellow; the highest honor it bestows for individual achievement.

March 22, 2013
Story submitted by: Adina Riggins

Michael A. Papadeas of Kure Beach donated more than 100 Hellenic books to Randall Library. The books are a gift to Randall Library Special Collections. “These books are in such good condition,” University Librarian Sarah Barabara Watstein said. “This donation shows that Mr. Papadeas recognizes the care and attention that the books will continue to receive from the Special Collections staff at Randall Library.” Continue reading →