Monthly Archives: April 2012

WKU Oral History

Oral histories capture a slice of life.  WKU Archives holds many audiotapes and transcripts of interviews with six presidents from Kelly Thompson 1955-1969 to Thomas Meredith 1988-1997.  These tapes tell the story of how WKU has grown and evolved over time.  There are also interviews with athletes and coaches such as William “Big Six” Henderson, Dee Gibson, Clem Haskins, the Cook twins, Clemette Haskins and E.A. Diddle.  Interviews with alumni reveal changes in student life over time. 

The WKU History Department Oral History Committee files have been processed and are now available to researchers in WKU Archives.  Interviews were conducted between 1976 and 1997 and capture a variety of views of WKU’s history.  The collection inventory is available online at: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/dlsc_ua_fin_aid/293

Also available to researchers are the WKU Centennial Oral Project tapes.  The collection inventory is available online at: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/dlsc_ua_fin_aid/190/

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Filed under Uncategorized, University Archives

Far Away Places: “Big Game Parks of South Africa” with Michael Trapasso

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The last of the 12th series of “Far Away Places” talks featured Dr. Michael Trapasso, who has been teaching Geography at WKU since 1980. He shared his research experience in South Africa where he ventured into several of its natural parks and had numerous encounters with exotic and sometimes dangerous animals. The talk happened on Thursday, April 12 at Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Bowling Green, Kentucky. “Far Away Places” talk series are organized by WKU Libraries.

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Finding a Circus in Your Attic

 

A drawing from Venable's sketchbook titled "The Politician."

Recently the Special Collections Library in the Kentucky Building received an addtion to one of its finest Kentucky family manuscript collections. The materials revolve around John Wesley Venable, Sr. and his immediate family. Venable was born on 30 March 1823 in Washington, D.C. He made an unusual journey as a 16-year-old to Florida, during which he kept a journal. The travel account, a new addition to the collection, is rather erudite for an adolescent, and it includes several pencil sketches and small watercolor paintings. In the late-1840s, Venable tried to make a living as an itinerant artist, first in Covington and then Danville, Kentucky. In 1847 he moved to St. Louis in hopes of succeeding as an artist. He soon returned to Kentucky, where he began painting and teaching art lessons. The collection contains several account books related to fees Venable charged for artwork as well as for art lessons and supplies. It also includes a magnificent, small sketch book featuring a number of Venable’s pencil and pen/ink studies.

In 1862, John entered the ministry and accepted the rectorship at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Versailles, Kentucky, a position he retained until 1882; simultaneously he had responsibilities for services in Goergetown, Kentucky. In 1882, he became rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where he stayed until his retirement in 1895. He and his family remained in Hopkinsville. His religious career is thorougly documented in 39 small diaries found in the collection, starting in 1862 and ending in 1907. The diaries include some personal observations, but chiefly record religious activities such as marriages, baptisms, funerals, etc.

John first married Sarah E. Farnsworth; she died in 1873 and was buried in Versailles. John and Sarah had three daughters:  Lizzie A., Mary Helm, and Julia. Lonley, John married Ann Frances “Fannie” Peyton Moore (b. 20 July 1849), who was from an old Christian County family, in 1888. The collection contains some interesting and early correspondence from the Moore family. Fannie died on 18 October 1938. She and John, Sr. are buried in Hopkinsville’s Riverside Cemetery. John and Fannie had one son, John Wesley Venable, Jr.

John, Jr. was born in 1888. He lived with his mother until her death. At an early age, his father taught John, Jr. the rudiments of drawing. He spent many hours drawing, reading, and constructing a large circus menagerie that was kept in the garret of the family home. He spent most of his life as a manger of movie theaters in Hopkinsville. He married Alice Lacey in 1942. The story of his circus menagerie was well known in the area, and it was passed on to Todd County native and author Robert Penn Warren by Frank Quarles Cayce of Hopkinsville. Warren used Venable, Jr. and his mother as prototypes for Bolton Lovehart and Mrs. Simon Lovehart in his noevella A Circus in the Attic. John, Jr. is buried with his wife in Hopkinsville’s Riverside Cemetery. The collection contains many of John’s fanciful drawings of circus and adventure scenes. A portion of the circus menagerie is owned by the Pennyroyal Museum in Hopkinsville.

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Filed under Acquisitions

Good News: BioOne Database Renewed with Additional Mobile Site

Good news! WKU Libraries continues to fund the BioOne database with the following new titles added for 2012:

  • African Invertebrates, published by the Natal Museum, South Africa
  • Annales Botanici Fennici, published by the Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board
  • Annales Zoologici Fennici, published by the Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board
  • Biology of Reproduction, published by the Society for the Study of Reproduction
  • Journal of Resources and Ecology, published by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Not only that, but there is exciting news we are very pleased to share with you: The mobile site of BioOne has been launched, available at www.bioone.org. When you with a supported device direct your browser to the URL, you will be automatically directed to the mobile site. The supported devices include:

  • iOS 3.1.3 or later
  • Android 2.2 or later
  • BlackBerry OS 6 (the platform’s most current version 7.0 is not yet supported)

BioOne contains full-text research journals in the biosciences. Most of its titles are published by small societies or non-commercial publishers and have not been previously available in electronic format. For more information, please read BioOne’s announcement at http://www.bioone.org/page/resources/mobile or contact Amy Slowik at amy.slowik@wku.edu

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Filed under Acquisitions, Latest News

April Reference Book Display

graduation

With commencement fast approaching, the reference area turns its attention toward those final preparations for life in the “real world.” With advice on financial planning, graduate school, careers, and even cooking, the reference area has everything you’ll need for life on your own. For those of you not graduating, or waiting for your graduate school classes to begin, our end of the school year display includes a book on summer jobs.

Books on Display

  1. College majors and careers : a resource guide for effective life planning / by Paul Phifer. HF5382.5 .U5 P445 1993
  2. Encyclopedia of careers and vocational guidance / [edited by] Andrew Morkes. HF5381 .E52 2003
  3. Top 100 : the fastest-growing careers for the 21st century.  HF5382 .T59 2009
  4. Everyday finance : economics, personal money management, and entrepreneurship / [Thomas Riggs, editor ; Mary Rose Bonk, project editor].  HB171 .E93 2008
  5. Summer jobs worldwide.  HD6271 .S86x
  6. Résumés, cover letters, networking, and interviewing / Clifford W. Eischen, Lynn A. Eischen. HF5383 .E424 2007
  7. Ferguson career resource guide to grants, scholarships, and other financial resources. LB2337.4 .F47 2007
  8. 1001 questions answered about cooking./ Charlotte Adams, with drawings by James MacDonald. TX652.7 .A3
  9. Moving & relocation sourcebook and directory.  HT334.U5 M58
  10. The Ferguson guide to resumes and job hunting skills : a step-by-step guide to preparing for your job search / Maurene J. Hinds. HF5383 .H49 2005
  11. GRE General Test / Pauline Alexander-Travis … [et al.]. LB2367.4 .G745x 2010

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