December 2000

Library Launches New Digital Project

The Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery is proud to announce the launch of UMBC's Digital Collections. Featuring images and publications from across campus, this new resource will increase access to our unique holdings and expand the possibilities of use by faculty, staff, students, alums, and external researchers.

The digital images from the Special Collections Photography Collections including Lewis Hine's child labor photographs, George Bretz's coal mining photographs, Civil War photos, and other important collections; selections from UMBC publications and photographs; electronic theses and dissertations starting in 2007; promotional materials from the Theatre Department productions (1967-2009); and the digital archive of The Retriever Weekly. New collections and images will be added throughout the year.

Access to the Digital Collections is available from the Library homepage or directly at http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu

10 year old bootblack
From the Lewis Hine Collection

Music of the Mind:

Jaromir Stephany Photographs and Digital Images

By Tom Beck

Longtime members of the UMBC community may be familiar with the name Jaromir “Jerry” Stephany from his many contributions to the campus including service on the Visual Arts faculty from 1973 to 2009; his one-person exhibitions in the Library Gallery in 1977and 1990; his works shown in group shows in 2007 and 2008; his contributions to the founding of the Photography Collections; his service to the Friends of the Library & Gallery; and many other activities. Most will not know that music has always been central to making his photographs and digital images.

♫Music of the Mind: Jaromir Stephany by Tom Beck Photographs and Digital Images will be on display at UMBC’s Library Gallery from April 6^th through June 30^th. A program for Friends members will be presented on April 14^th.

Extra! Extra! $$$ For Books

The Library’s annual book sale brought in more dollars. First time shoppers and returning customers browsed the collections of books to find bargains to add to their personal collections. Your support is appreciated. The proceeds will be used to fund materials and services for the UMBC library patrons.

An Inside View: The Graduate Assistant Experience in Special Collections

orking in the Special Collections Department of the Albin O. Kuhn Library at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County provides a unique opportunity to combine a love of history with practical knowledge. Every day, the rush of excitement that one feels upon coming to work proves that this is truly the place to be.

Many jobs only provide monetary rewards; this one also provides innumerable professional rewards and personal validation of being entranced with one’s work at hand. Special Collections contains a vast array of materials, many of which were donated by individuals or groups who share an interest in knowledge and history. Each document has its own voice, transporting the reader to another time. Taken as a whole, these materials encourage the budding historian even further in her studies. Sometimes it is hard to resist the urge to browse the stacks or even to read all the works in the collection!

In studying history, one is taught to value the primary source above all else whenever possible. Here in Special Collections, primary source documentation reigns. A vital role of the archivist is to assess and organize items in the collections. This is accomplished in many ways including re-housing all materials in acid free containers, assessing the value of an acquisition, sorting and organizing the documents of a given collection, and describing the items in the catalog software. This allows the individual to see how the materials are connected and postulate upon future presentations and interpretations of the collections. The practical experience gained is immeasurable. It extends to a familiarity with PastPerfect, the popular museum and archives cataloging software, to an understanding of how materials can be interrelated, and to considerations of how to interpret and present the materials. It also allows for insight into how to manage a well-operated archive in the future. Working in Special Collections provides a larger framework for the knowledge gained in the classroom.

In working closely with Special Collections staff, the new graduate assistant need not feel inhibited by a lack of practical knowledge or inexperience. Instead, an environment is created where the individual is allowed to work at her own pace, to gain practical knowledge, and to eventually process a collection on their own. Every day we are assured that Special Collections is the best place to experience history first hand.

Homira Pashai and Colleen Walter are current students in the History Department’s Historical Studies Masters degree program. Through a partnership with the History Department and Graduate School, they are working in the Special Collections Department on projects involving the Center for Biological Sciences Archives, the University Archives, the Photography Collection, and the Special Collections book holdings. Both Homira and Colleen will receive their degree in May 2011.

_____________________

AOK Joins One Maryland One Book

The One Maryland One Book program is a statewide community reading program that is sponsored by the Maryland Humanities Council, which encourages all Marylanders to read the same book and discuss it. This year’s One Maryland One Book selection is James McBride’s Song Yet Sung. James McBride describes his novel as “a story about an escaped female slave and the slave catcher bent on catching her.

On a deeper level, it's about the web of relationships that existed during slavery." The book is set in Maryland’s antebellum Eastern Shore. Mr. McBride thoroughly researched life in Dorchester County and the history of the Underground Railroad to bring to life the relationships in the book – those between slaves, runaway slaves, slave catchers, slave owners, free blacks, whites, and white and black watermen.

On October 14, 2009, the Library held a discussion of Song Yet Sung, which included a display of Library books, photographs, and films pertaining to the themes in the book. These resources provide further information about the relationships in the book, as well as other themes brought up, including the codes used to help slaves escape, abolitionists, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Martin Luther King, Jr. The full bibliography of resources is available at http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/OneMD_OneBook.pdf.

Some highlights from the Special Collections include the photographs in the Rooks Collection, which include images of slaves, former slaves, and other images of African American history. These images may also be viewed online at http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/rooks.php.

There are several runaway slave autobiographies and narratives, such as John Thompson’s 1856 book, The life of John Thompson, a fugitive slave; containing his history of 25 years in bondage, and his providential escape. Written by himself. Numerous other books in the Arnold Collection of Maryland history paint the picture of life in antebellum Maryland, including several fictionalized stories about the legendary, villainous slave catcher Patty Cannon, the lives of watermen, free Negroes, and abolitionist petitions to the state.

The Library Media collection includes many titles that are relevant to McBride’s story, including Flight to Freedom, Nat Turner: Troublesome property, and Frederick Douglass: An American Life.

The Library’s general collection contains a plethora of sources relating to the themes in Song Yet Sung. An invaluable resource about the codes used to communicate with participants in the Underground Railroad is Jacqueline Tobin’s Hidden in plain view: the secret story of quilts and the Underground Railroad. There are also many relatively new histories of Harriet Tubman’s life that are definitely worth checking out.

Additionally, the collection contains various books that show and discuss slave advertisements and the Fugitive Slave Law. Please take a look at all the valuable resources the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery has that will help illuminate the web of relationships during this period in our country’s history. By learning about history, we can see more clearly the relationships that exist between past and present – another important relationship and theme that is emphasized in James McBride’s engaging novel, Song Yet Sung.

►Susan Graham, Special Collections Librarian

Welcome New Staff!

I am Lynda Aldana, the new Head of Technical Services. I oversee three units: Acquisitions, Cataloging, and Database Maintenance. I am a member of the Library

Executive Council and also participate in various library committees.

Previously, I was the Cataloging Coordinator for the Cataloging Department at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University. Before moving to Baltimore, I was Cataloging Librarian at the J. D. Williams Library at the University of Mississippi. My first professional library job was in the Blues Archive/Music Library at the University of Mississippi. I graduated from the University of North Texas with my master’s degree in library science. My bachelor’s degree is in bassoon performance from the University of Southern Mississippi.

I am very excited to be at UMBC.

I am Joanna Gadsby, a new Reference and Instruction librarian at the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery. I also serve as the subject librarian liaison for the education, psychology, sociology/anthropology, health administration and policy, and public policy departments.

Previously, I worked for ten years as a teacher and media specialist. In 2007, I graduated with a master's degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland, College Park.

I am very excited about working with

everyone in the UMBC community to promote learning and information literacy.

My name is Kelly Shipp and I am the new Assistant Serials and Electronic Resources Librarian. I graduated from Florida State University, with my master’s degree in Library and Information Science, in 2006. After graduation I worked at Gulf Coast Community College, in Panama City, FL., as their Electronic Resources and Serials Librarian.

This is a wonderful and challenging time for electronic resources in Libraries. I will be working to make eResources easier to access and use, and will be working with serials staff to ensure our work flow transitions into a more computer based environment. I will also be working with print resources, and promoting our still growing print collection. I am looking forward to meeting the challenges of shifting formats for serials, and to working through the opportunities new technologies are affording our field.

Albin O. Kuhn, A Man of Vision

Most will remember Albin Owings Kuhn for being a public figure; for being the founder of UMBC; for establishing the cherished traditions of the campus; for being the namesake of the Library & Gallery; for being executive vice president of the USM; and for being a most masterful administrator. However, those who had contact with him will remember Dr. Kuhn as a kind, avuncular man who was very approachable and down-to-earth. He was a very thoughtful person who could analyze problems and offer the most reasonable and practical solutions. As a member of the Friends of the Library & Gallery, he served on the Friends Council and held the only honorary life membership in the group.

Dr. Kuhn was born on January 31, 1916 in Woodbine, Maryland, located in Carroll County. In March 1916, his father moved the family to a new home, a dairy farm at the edge of Lisbon, Maryland, in Howard County, and consequently Dr. Kuhn’s elementary and secondary education was received at the Lisbon School. At that time, the school had grades one through eleven, and the eleventh grade was the senior year. After graduation in 1933, he studied at the University of Maryland for a bachelor’s of science degree (1938) in agronomy and the teaching of vocational agriculture. His graduate studies were also at the University where he received his master’s of science degree (1939) in agronomy and botany and his doctor of philosophy degree (1948) in plant genetics and physiology. He was appointed to an instructorship in agronomy in 1940, but he devoted most of his time to the agricultural extension service throughout the state. His work at Maryland was interrupted by induction into the navy during World War II. Commissioned an ensign, he served in the Pacific Theatre from October 1944 to June 1946. His initial duty was training personnel for amphibious landings, but he later served on the attack transport USS Clinton.

After military service, Dr. Kuhn took on the challenges of academic administration. He became successively chair of the agronomy department, assistant to President Wilson Elkins, and, by 1958, executive vice president of the USM. In 1965, he was appointed vice president of the Baltimore campus, but he accepted the appointment on condition that he could lead the development of UMBC. To be close to the work at hand, Dr. Kuhn moved his family into one of the farm houses on the UMBC property. The house not only became his office, but also a refuge for students and faculty. The sun porch became the card catalog for the library’s collection of 20,000 volumes.

With the establishment of separate chancellorships for the downtown and Baltimore County campuses in 1971, Dr. Kuhn left UMBC to become chancellor of the University of Maryland at Baltimore. When Dr. Elkins' retired in 1980 and Dr. John Toll was hired as president of the USM, Dr. Kuhn was again appointed executive vice president. He retired to his Howard County farm in 1982.

Dr. Kuhn was extremely personable, and made everyone feel comfortable in his presence.  He attended Friends Council meetings and Friends-sponsored events as often as possible.  His sage advice always sorted out and resolved the most difficult problems.  Dr. Kuhn passed on March 24, 2010, and we will greatly miss him.

-Simmona E. Simmons & Tom Beck

Photograph by Fabian Bachrach, courtesy of the Special Collections, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery

$1000.00 +

Robert & Ann Burchard

Albin & Eileen Kuhn

Austin Platt

Domenick & Lois Romeo

Thomas & Loraine Roth

Rita Saltz

Raymond & Janice Starr

Elizabeth Sterbis

$500-999

Marilyn Demorest

John Dorsey

Philip & Mary Kuhn

Willie B. Lamouse-Smith

Richard S. Mason

Oro Valley Hospital

$100-499

Linda Baker-Lombardi

Stephen Barker

Thomas & Gina Beck

Thomas Benson

Mary M. Bokman

Michael & Margaret Bowler

John W. Carter

Alan B. Cohen

Nessly Craig

Carlo DiClemente

David Eisenmann

James Grubb

David Herron

Susan S. Horn

John Jeffries

Arthur Johnson

Sally Ann Kamantauskas

Jane Keller

Joan Korenman

Albin & Susan Kuhn

Yen-Mow Lynn

Frank C. Marino Foundation

 c/o Marguerita M.VillaSanta

Janet Mcglynn

Curtis Menyuk

Gust Mitchell

Angela Moorjani

Robin Moskal

Edward Orser

Lawrence & Sheila Pakula

Betty Ann Rigney & Louis Marinelli

Homer Schamp

Suzanne Schlenger

Beth Smith

Geoffrey Summers

Mary Tupper Webster

Charles M. Woolston

Robert K. Webb

Victor Wexler

$50-99

Marilyn Aklin

Joan Costello

Terry B. Davis

Robert Deluty

Preminda Jacob

James Mohr

Wendy Mopsik

Michael & Karla Msall

Joseph Mulholland

James & Audrey Rothschild

William Rothstein

Sharon Saunders

Tania Scinto

Brian Souders

Jaromir Stephany

$25-49

Babatunde Alaofin

Carolyn Baron

John Denice

Carol Derow

Timothy Dunn

Susan Graham

Charles Jackson

Jonathan Lederer

Joan Lotz

Ruth Mason

Ruth Maynard

Thomas R. Neal

George Preisinger

Robert Rasera

Robert W. Reed

Norman P. Rocklin

Joseph Sheehan

Tyrone Smith

Roman Sznajder

Joan Todd

Dennis Uhfelder

Up To $25

Madeline Adams

Richard P. Atlas

Suzanne & Hank Horowitz

Lorraine Lobe

Keneth Maton

Mary Parkerson

Jennie Rothschild

Elise Saltzberg

Alfred & Hildegarde Sanders

Forthcoming Literary Events 2010

♦Celebration of Bartleby, UMBC's student literary publication,

April 22, 2010, 7:00 p.m., Library 7^th Floor

Theatre with Dinner - Saturday, May 1, 2010.  The play will be The ♦Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh,

presented by the UMBC Department of Theatre and Directed by Eve Muson.

 http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/admin/friends/events.php for details.

Editorial Staff

Chairman of Friends: Stephen Barker

Contributors: Tom Beck

Linda Durkos

Susan Graham

Lindsey Loeper

Homira Pashai

Colleen Walter

Program Chair: Robert Burchard

Editor: Simmona E. Simmons

Production: Lynda Aldana
Joanna Gadsby

Library Director: Larry Wilt

Special Editions