Collection Use, 1999/2000These are a few interesting examples of collection use for the 1999/2000 fiscal year:
· Special Collections & the Brooklyn College Archives
The New Special Collections & Archives WebsiteSpecial Collections staff redesigned the unit's website during the 1999/2000 academic year. The attractive, easy-to-use new site is divided into five parts: Main, the Hess Collection, Virtual Exhibits, Online Finding Aids, and the Minor in Archival Studies & Community Documentation.
Collection Use, 1999/2000
These are a few interesting examples of collection use for the 1999/2000 fiscal year:
Friends of Historic New Utrecht: Special Collections is acting as a consultant to the Friends of Historic New Utrecht, a recently established local historical society dedicated to preserving the history of the original Brooklyn town of New Utrecht. Staff have given advice on the storage of archival collections and have made available Brooklyn history resources.
Theatre Gala for An American in Brooklyn: Special Collections served as a consultant to Professor Lynn Thompson who is writing the play An American in Brooklyn which explores the myths and realities of 20th century Brooklyn life. The play will premiere in Whitman in Spring 2001.
Library Groundbreaking Ceremony: Special Collections contributed copies of photographs of the construction of LaGuardia Hall and the Gideonse extension, along the original shovel used by Major LaGuardia in 1935 for the LaGuardia Hall groundbreaking.
· The Digitization ProjectThe new Brooklyn College Library will feature a digital multimedia distribution system which we will use to expand access to our collections beyond the Library, the campus--even the metropolitan area--to the world beyond. In preparation, the Archives is venturing into digitization with these projects:
Virtual Exhibits
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/library/divisions_services/special_collections/virtual_exhibits/index.html
The virtual exhibits are, like digitizing our finding aids, an ongoing project. Our next virtual exhibit will be of the 1920's political handbills from our McGuinness Collection (90-004).
"The Construction of the Midwood Campus"
Our first virtual exhibit examines the long process of establishing a permanent campus for Brooklyn College in Midwood. Original photographs and documents were scanned to help tell the story. The reader/viewer gets a glimpse of what it was like for the students of the day and learns about the roles played by FDR, LaGuardia, Ingersoll, and Boylan in the construction of our campus.
"The Letters of Captain James M. Pettit"
This exhibit explores the military career of Captain James M. Pettit, born in Versailles, New York. Eight of his letters were transcribed and are viewable as PDF files. We also received permission from the Drake Well Museum to use one of their photographs in our exhibit. Other illustrations came from Harper's Weekly.
"Boylan Hall Cornerstone Capsule"
In 1998 while renovating the front steps of Boylan Hall, workmen came across a time capsule that had been placed in the cornerstone of the building. For two years, the box remained a mystery until September 2000 when President Christoph M. Kimmich had it opened and unveiled its contents at the stated meeting of the Faculty. It took College workmen approximately two hours to break the carefully soldered seal of the copper box. Because the box had been airtight, its contents were preserved in almost perfect condition. The cornerstone box opened a window into the past, to Brooklyn College in the 1930s. This exhibit explores the contents of the box starting with the inventory list placed inside it.
· Exhibits
In temporary quarters, Special Collections has much less exhibit space than before. However, the virtual exhibits allow us to reach a wider audience than was ever possible, and we look forward to the extensive exhibit area the new Library will provide. During 1999/2000 Archival Assistant Marianne LaBatto mounted these attractive and educational exhibits:
"Greenwood Cemetery"
Just in time for Halloween, our exhibit on Greenwood Cemetery explored the history and famous residents of Brooklyn's Victorian necropolis. Intern Baila Spielman selected the materials.
"Library Construction"
This exhibit appeared outside the president's office. We used architectural drawings to highlight the Library construction project.
"The Letters of Captain James M. Pettit"
This was a companion exhibit to the one that appears on the Web. Here, visitors could see the actual letters and other memorabilia belonging to Pettit. There were also historical reproductions of Civil War era items.
"The Robert L. Hess Years"
This special exhibit was created for the Hess Scholar-in-Residence reception, October 29, 1999. Mrs. Hess was delighted, and equally pleased to find the Robert L. Hess page http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/library/about_library/speccoll/hess.htm when she conducted an Internet search.
· Other Uses of Our Archival Collections
The collections also brought attention to the College in other ways. The Brooklyn College Magazine featured pieces on the Susan Alter papers and the 100th anniversary of the consolidation of New York City, drawing from our local history holdings. The Development Office used photographs from the Archives in a promotional video, and the Alumni Office borrowed materials for a slide show for the fiftieth anniversary class. Excelsior, the student newspaper, ran a weekly column about the campus's earlier years, including a photograph from the Archives with each piece.
