Tag Archives: Research tools

WKU Personnel Files

Dero Downing ID CardAs the memory of WKU, WKU Archives maintains records of past employees.  Often, this information can be found as part of the records of various departments or committees, in university publications, and other places where the imprint of their presence can be found on the historical record.  In particular, past employees generally have a personnel file.  Personnel files have been designated as record group UA1D and become available to researchers after the employee has been separated from the university for 30 years or upon his or her death.

During 2015, record group UA1D has undergone significant expansion.  Catalog entries for UA1D have also been revised so researchers can find information more easily.

Biographical Vertical Files Integrated

Before computer cataloging, newspaper clippings and other items regarding employees of the university were maintained in “vertical files.” Over time, these files grew to over six cubic feet.  These were stored in the closed stacks and not catalogued in KenCat because they were not considered part of the collections, but rather as a reference tool. These materials have now been integrated into UA1D files so researchers can find them using KenCat.  In some cases, this means a file exists for an employee who is still alive and is still employed by the university.  The personnel file materials will be added to these files and become available to researchers in the future once they meet the criteria, above. Continue reading

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June Out of the Box

Board of Regents, 6/1/1965Tech Aqua

Cabell Hall

College Heights Herald, 5/24/1940

Dorris Hutchinson Papers

Elevator 6/1915

Film Studies

The Future

Gordon Wilson Hall

Immortal Names in WKU Hall of Fame

Shoptalk, Vol. 18, No. 1

Tech Aqua

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Cherry Statue Time Capsule

Cherry Statue Unveiling

Cherry Statue Unveiling, 11/16/1937

As archivists we evaluate our collections and process them in order of importance.  That importance can be calculated in terms of rarity, pressing preservation issues or research value.  We also process collections as researchers use them.  This past week we spent time processing the Cherry Statue Committee records for a student working on a capstone project.  This is a small collection just 31 folders of documents and one oversize drawing of the statue base. In archives speak a mere .25 cu. ft. or a single box measuring 15 1/2″ x 7″ x 10″.

In using the collection the researcher found information regarding the time capsule placed beneath the statue on November 10, 1937.  There were two lists of items that had been placed in a bronze box and sealed inside the base.  There was also documentation that indicated a second box had been purchased for duplicates to be placed in the Kentucky Museum. The museum curator brought the box out for the student to see. Cherry Statue Time Capsule

Before the box went back to the Kentucky Museum, we digitized everything in it.  We also were able to identify a few items that had not been duplicated and created the Cherry Statue Time Capsule online exhibit.

Here you will see most of the items that the Cherry Statue Committee felt important enough to store for posterity.  Most of the items reflect Henry Cherry himself and include his two books, several speeches showing his interest in education, agriculture and politics; photographs and program of his memorial service.  The Glasgow Normal and Southern Normal Schools are represented in commencement programs and publications.  Also included are representations of what Cherry meant to the faculty, staff, students, alumni and community in the lists of donors to the statue fundWKU Postcards, resolutions of respect and other tributes.  Lastly there are many representations of how WKU had grown and flourished in the 31 years since its founding in 1906 until November 16, 1937 when the statue was unveiled.

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WKU Archives Intern

Ryun Warren

Ryun Warren, center, reviewing architectural drawings with fellow members of American Institute of Architecture Students.

My name is Ryun Warren, and I am a junior at WKU majoring in Architectural Sciences. This semester (Spring 2015) I had the opportunity to research, process, and catalog over two hundred sets of construction drawings pertaining to several projects on campus dating from the 1930s to the 2000s (UA30/1/1). Within these documents I was able to see how the design and drafting process has evolved over time, especially in regards to major technological advancements in the field (i.e. Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) software). The art of hand drafting has almost become a lost art with the efficiency of computer software in a fast-paced society. However, the majority of these sets of construction documents were hand drawn and reveal the level of detail and thought given to each building that is or has been a part of The Hill. From Van Meter Hall to the original Ogden College buildings, from iconic Cherry Hall to Diddle Arena, I was fortunate enough to be able to not only study architectural history but to study the history of our college campus, its story throughout time as told through its construction.

The importance of preserving this story was impressed upon me throughout my stay in the WKU Archives. Proper storage is the only way to ensure that these beautiful drawings withstand the test of time and are available for future generations to study and admire.

With over two hundred sets of drawings stored in various locations, a detailed catalog must be kept. I was trained to enter these drawings into PastPerfect – the cataloging database software used by WKU Library Special Collections to easily sort and process all of the documents, photographs, and manuscripts within its possession. These are available online through KenCat. In addition to PastPerfect, I created and maintained a detailed spreadsheet specifically for the construction documents containing such information as project title, associated buildings, drawing dates, architect(s) of record, and references to the PastPerfect photo entries where applicable (UA1C9).

1D3815This experience has truly been informative as both a study of architecture and a study of my WKU home. The history of this campus as told through its buildings is arguably as telling as any other means of relating the history of how The Hill came to be. Likewise, the proposed buildings and the thought of what WKU could have looked like if a different design won a bid provokes thought as to why a certain bid may have won and how people would interact differently with campus and with each other.

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Happy Earth Day!

As you ponder the health of our habitat and our role in it, today, some local context may be useful to you. The online catalog for Special Collections, KenCat.wku.edu, can lead you to a variety of resources. Many of these, such as WKU publications, are available online.

For example, a KenCat search for “energy” will produce results on topics including the energy crisis, coal, conservation, solar energy, and past Earth Day activities. You may also want to search for conservation, recycling, environment, sustainability and other topics.  You can also perform a truncated search by adding an * to words such as environment to expand the search.

Environment* will return:

  • environment(s)
  • environmental
  • environmentalist(s)
  • environmentally
F837-8

This solar collector is a project to be entered in a competition according to Bobby Hunton and T.J. Moyers, both members of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. They said the winner will be judged by the amount of temperature change recorded when water runs through the collector. 1977-1978

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post written by WKU Archives Assistant April McCauley.

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March Out of the Box

Chapel – students on the steps of Van MeterStudent Nurses

Elevator 3/1915 – student happenings 100 years ago

Fanlight, Spring 1990 – Kentucky Museum happenings 25 years ago

Gender & Womens Studies – collection inventory, records available for research

Health Clinic Report 1965

Potter Hall – building history which answers the question, “Who was Potter?”

Softball – a variety of sources on a favorite spring sport

University Center Board – Meeting 3/28/1990

Volleyball – a variety of sources on Volleyball

WKU Map 1965 – could you find a parking place in 1965?

WKU vs Austin Peay – men’s basketball program 2/22/1965

Womens Basketball – photos through the years

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February Out of the Box

Board of Regents 2/1/1947Step Show

Championship Effort

Dignitaries & Visitors

Diversity Programs

Felts Log House

Fraternities

Integration

Integration at WKU

Minorities

Philosophy & Religion

Sorority System Report

Tops Beat Cats

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January Out of the Box

Board of Regents 1/1915

WKU Winter Scene

WKU Winter Scene

Charles Crume Papers

Class of 1940

Elevator 1/1915

Green & Gold 1905

Master Plan 1965

Old Fort Bridge

Oral History Committee

Peggy Keck Interview

Sociology

Teachers College Heights 1/1940

Winter Images

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Out of the Box – October

In honor of Archives Month all of this month’s items relate to agricultureKentucky Archives Month poster

Ag Outlook Optimistic for Kentucky

Agricultural Exposition Center

Agriculture Collection Inventory

Agriculture Newsletter

Archives Month

Board of Regents

College Heights Herald 2/17/1983

Hayward Brown Papers

Holstein Wins Top Prizes

Memo Re: Agriculture Department

Ogden College Annual Report

On Campus 4/2000

 

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Open Access Week – KenCat

Open Access

Open Access

Special Collections are often referred to as hidden collections.  They require a special environment, careful handling and labor intensive description work to make them available.  In the time it takes to process a small collection of photographs I suspect a book cataloger could catalog about 250 books.

WKU’s Special Collections are over 75 years old and we are just now beginning to gain ground in opening our hidden collections with the help computer technology.  KenCat is your portal into our world of special collections.  Since purchasing this software in 2005 we have created descriptions of over 56,000 items housed in the Kentucky Building.  There are rare books on all sorts of topics, books about Kentucky, maps, photographs, documents, oral histories, blueprints, postcards, newspapers, memorabilia, letters, diaries and much more.

KenCat went live late in 2007 and searches have been steadily increasing since that first year from 2 to 21,566 so far this year.  We will continue to reveal more and more of our treasures in the years to come.

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