Category Archives: Stuff

by | October 17, 2014 · 5:27 pm

Encased Treasures (Clement Reeves Edwards)

In the photographic holdings of the Kentucky Library Research Collections are several early photographic images by C. R. (Clement Reeves) Edwards. He was a photographer, portrait and landscape artist originally from Woodston, New Jersey. He came to Bowling Green in 1857 and opened a photography studio and also offered his services as a portrait painter. This ambrotype is
an example of his fine photography work. Although, the image is not identified, it may be Edwards’s farm and his first wife, Sarah Booth. He died on February 4, 1898.

Edwards Ambrotype

The fragility of these one-of-a-kind photographs mandated that they be cased. In 1842, Samuel Peck patented a more durable case than the previous leather or wooden ones. These “Union” cases were composed of gutta-percha, an early plastic. They could be molded to hold any surface design and dyed. This Edwards ambrotypes has a “Union” case embossed with an elk and woods scene.  Additionally, the Kentucky Museum has 14 oil paintings by Edwards. Ten are portraits including two self-portraits and four are landscapes. For more information about early photographs and their identification and care email spcol@wku.edu  Other photographic and illustrative holdings of the Department of Special Collections may be viewed at KenCat at kencat.wku.edu

Case

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by | October 10, 2014 · 7:13 pm

Author Sherry Logsdon at an Encore Kentucky Live! in Glasgow

Author Sherry Logsdon speaking for Kentucky Live at WKU Glasgow Library

Author Sherry Logsdon speaking for Kentucky Live at WKU Glasgow Library

WKU graduate and retired teacher/counselor Sherry Logsdon discussed her new novel Asylum at our Glasgow Library on Thursday, October 30, 2014. The novel focuses attention on the incarceration of women in insane asylums in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in many cases for their outspoken views on women’s rights.

Photo Album | Sound File | Podcast

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by | October 1, 2014 · 8:47 pm

Family Bibles

Each year the Kentucky Library Research Collection receives many valuable donations. Recently, we received a Woolsey Family Bible. The bible was an 1887 “Peerless” Edition of the Parallel Bible: containing the Authorized and Revised versions of the Old and New Testaments, arranged in parallel columns; a complete concordance; with a comprehensive Bible dictionary. Since one of our collecting strengths is genealogical, we greatly appreciated the marriages, births and deaths that were included starting with Sanford C. Woolsey and Angie Smith and their children. This genealogical information about this specified family also included photographs which made the bible even more unique. One of the marriages noted was also performed at Historic Diamond Cave in Park City, KY.Woolsey Family

Family bibles were very important before the advent of official government records. Even many non-religious families chose to use a family Bible as a record keeper. These bibles were sold in stores, by mail order and by door-to-door salesmen. The selling factor was not the holy scriptures but the blank pages between the Old and New Testaments that were waiting to be filled in with names, dates of births, marriages and deaths. This may have been the only record of such important dates in the lives of our ancestors and may give us that elusive maiden name and include other information such as baptismal information or names of godparents. The bibles also became the repository for numerous keepsakes such as newspaper clippings, funeral cards, pressed flowers, and other items that were valuable or meaningful to the owner.  Please see KenCat for a listing of our family bible holdings.

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by | · 6:56 pm

WKU Libraries announces winner of 8th Evelyn Thurman Young Readers Book Award

Western Kentucky UnAdamsiversity Libraries has selected Jilli, That’s Silly! –A Story About Being a Girl, written by Christa Carpenter and illustrated by Mark Wayne Adams, as the winner of the eighth Evelyn Thurman Young Readers Book Award. The national award was created to honor the memory of former WKU librarian Evelyn Thurman, who made significant contributions to children’s librarianship and literacy during her 25 years of service to the university and community. Books eligible for the award must be written or illustrated by a Kentucky author or illustrator or have a significant Kentucky-related connection.

“The committee reviewed several great books; however, this particular book stood out,” said Deana Groves, selection committee member and department head for Library Technical Services at WKU. “It has a very positive message to be true to who you are, and the whimsical illustrations are very colorful and eye catching.”

Christa Carpenter is a mother, a teacher, and a writer. Since childhood she has enjoyed writing plays, poetry, and stories. She lives in Maitland, Florida, with her two children, Nicholas and Jillian, and their funny dog Eddie.

Mark Wayne Adams was born in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, and is a graduate of Murray State University where he received a BFA in drawing. Adams has illustrated over forty books, including The Belly Button Fairy and Polly and Her Pigtails. He has worked for Walt Disney World Company, Sea World Orlando, GSI Architectural Sign Company and is now the CEO of his own business. He currently serves as President for the Florida Authors and Publishers Association.

Both the author and illustrator will be honored at an awards luncheon in November where they will receive monetary awards from Ms. Thurman’s endowment and commemorative plaques. While in the area, Carpenter and Adams will visit local schools as part of the Southern Kentucky Book Fest’s “Fall into Books” program. For more information about the Evelyn Thurman award, visit http://www.wku.edu/library/awards/evelynthurman.php.

This program is made possible by the Evelyn Thurman Children’s Author Fund, the Southern Kentucky Book Fest partnership, and WKU Libraries.

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by | September 8, 2014 · 6:38 pm

Regional Authors Showcase

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More than thirty local and regional authors displayed their books at the Regional Authors Showcase at the Bob Kirby branch of the Warren County Public Library on Saturday, September 6.

The partners of the SOKY Book Fest organized the event  which raised money for the Southern Kentucky Book Fest held in April. Go to sokybookfest.org for  more information.

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by | August 19, 2014 · 10:01 pm

Lewis Completes Staff Leadership Program

Maria Lewis, Library Assistant in the Department of Library Special Collections (DLSC), recently completed the 2013-2014 year-long training through the Staff Leadership Institute. This program is for WKU staff members who have demonstrated advancement potential in their work. Over the past months, Maria attended classes and workshops that taught and tested, improved leadership competencies, the ability to apply basic leadership principles and to employ knowledge of WKU resources campus wide. The program is sponsored by the Staff Council and Human Resources. Selection for participation in the program is competitive and requires recommendation and approval by supervisors and departments. The program notes that it “seeks to enhance job performance and personal development skills while challenging the spirit of each individual who participates.” Maria enjoyed the diversity of people and tasks in the program and learning more about the life of campus and how things work together. The Library Special Collections department is pleased that Maria was chosen to participate and was among the 2014 recent graduates. Congratulations to Maria!
Maria

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by | June 23, 2014 · 5:00 pm

WKU’s Research and Creative Database acquires new Readership Map feature

topscholarmap

Western Kentucky University’s research and creative database (TopSCHOLAR) has added a new feature called Readership Map. The new map pinpoints where researchers are located from around the world and what specific data they are viewing at that moment.

“This truly shows the international reach of the intellectual capital of WKU,” said Dean Connie Foster of WKU Libraries. “If you go to the website at any time, faculty, staff, and students’ materials are being downloaded all over the world. It’s a visual method to see where our scholarly works are reaching.”

According to Bepress, the parent company for the repository software Digital Commons, the following describes how the Readership Map works:

The Digital Commons Readership Map provides a dynamic visual display of location-based article downloads of open-access materials from Digital Commons and SelectedWorks sites. When a visitor downloads an article, a highlighted pin drops on the map to indicate the approximate location of the download. The title of the article and the title of the article’s publication (e.g., Dissertations) appears in a feed to the left of the map. When another download occurs, another pin drops; the highlight moves to the second pin, and the feed updates with new title information.

     Go to www.digitalcommons.wku.edu to see the Readership Map in action.

 

 

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by | May 16, 2014 · 8:43 pm

Graduating student assistants

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WKU Libraries graduating student assistants were recognized May 14. Those in attendance were: Joseph Nimmo, Rebecca Nimmo, Simon Cherry, Jaclyn Melcher, Krystin Avakian, Katy Nash, and Uyen Tran. We wish them continued success.

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by | May 8, 2014 · 6:13 pm

SOKY Book Fest attracts hundreds of eager readers and writers

DSC_1493More than 140 authors charmed thousands of eager readers—young and old—at the 2014 Southern Kentucky Book Fest on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26. On Friday, the Children’s Day event brought in over 800 students, and the Kentucky Writers Conference had record-breaking numbers. Both were held at the Knicely Conference Center. On Saturday, bestselling author Charlaine Harris, well-known for her Sookie Stackhouse series which was the inspiration for the HBO series True Blood, filled a room of Sookie fans.

Book Fest volunteer Amy Hardin has been attending  for years. “I love that you can interact with your favorite authors, sit in on entertaining panels, and be introduced to new authors–all in one weekend! Our community is blessed beyond measure to have such a world class event in its own back yard year after year,” said Hardin.

2014.04.26_ soky bookfest _lemon-087“When I saw Charlaine Harris was headlining Book Fest, I about fell out of my chair,” said Corie Martin, Manager of WKU Creative Web Services. “She is one of my favorites and I’ve been trying to get to one of her signings for years.”

In addition to the long line of urban fantasy enthusiasts eagerly waiting for Ms. Harris to sign their books, scores of people attended panel discussions and presentations from as far away as Michigan, Georgia, and South Carolina, and thousands visited the author signing area throughout the day.

When asked what she looks for when inviting authors to Book Fest, Kristie Lowry, Literary Outreach Coordinator for WKU Libraries and Book Fest organizer, says variety is key. “We want to bring an eclectic mixture of genres to meet the needs of all the different readers out there,” said Lowry. “We always welcome suggestions, and I am willingcontact the big name authors that might not venture to book festivals much anymore. You never know when Stephen King will decide that we are his one event for that year.”

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Children’s Day featured author and illustrator Chris Raschka along with more than thirty other children’s and young adult authors. In conjunction with Children’s Day, the Kentucky Writers Conference (KWC) offered free writing workshops presented by Book Fest authors who came in a day early to teach a wide range of classes.

According to Lowry, numbers at the Writers Conference were the highest ever with more than 225 people in attendance. “This was the first year for an online registration process. We were so glad we had a count on each presentation as many of the classes filled up early,” said Lowry. “Filling your seats is always a great problem to have; the registration allowed us to better accommodate the larger group sizes.”

To see highlights and pictures from the weekend, go to sokybookfest.org or wku.edu/library.

Photo Album |

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by | May 7, 2014 · 7:27 pm

Student Appreciation Day

 

DSC_0201 WKU Libraries’ Educational Resources Center faculty, staff, and student workers participated in Student Appreciation Day at the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences on Wednesday, May 7. A steady flow of students visited the tables in front of Gary A. Ransdell Hall. In addition to samples of ERC materials that can be checked out, the Libraries table offered “Read” bracelets, candy, and a chance to win t-shirts, red towels, and book lights. Students also enjoyed using the Ellison Die Cuts to make bookmarks.DSC_0205

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