Category Archives: Uncategorized

WKU Libraries participated in the New Student Orientation fair on Thursday, August 22. Marketing Coordinator Jennifer Wilson and Student Worker Krystin Avakian answered questions about the library hours, community outreach initiatives, services available for the students.

August 5, 2013, Wiesbaden, Germany – HARRASSOWITZ, international booksellers and subscription agents, is pleased to award the 2013 Charleston Conference Scholarship to Laura DeLancey, Electronic Resources Librarian at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. Ms. DeLancey was awarded the $1,000 scholarship to attend the Conference, which takes place November 6 – 9 in Charleston, South Carolina.

In support of the 2013 conference theme of “Too Much Is Not Enough!”, applicants for this year’s scholarship were asked to submit a short essay on the topic “What does ‘Too Much Is Not Enough’ mean to libraries and vendors?”

In her winning essay, Ms. DeLancey notes that “patrons don’t want to be overwhelmed by information choices. They want just ‘enough’”, and concludes that

“… librarians are ideally positioned to get direct feedback on our users’ search experiences, and vendors are ideally positioned to respond to this feedback.  We already provide “enough”: the information equivalent of a glass slipper, but we need to ensure it is not obscured by a sea of irrelevant results, passwords, incompatible devices, and deeply nested webpages. If our users are confused and overwhelmed, we have failed our mission.”

Judging the submissions were: Clint Chamberlain, Coordinator for Information Resources, University of Texas at Arlington; Lynda Fuller Clendenning, Head of the Acquisitions Division at Indiana University in Bloomington; and Tina Feick, HARRASSOWITZ’s Director of Sales and Marketing for North America.

“Again this year the objective was to provide this travel scholarship to someone who has never been to the Charleston Conference”, Tina Feick said. “The judges were impressed with Ms. DeLancey’s well-researched essay and congratulate her on her achievement. We hope she finds the Charleston Conference to be a rewarding experience.”

The complete essay can be viewed here.

For more information on the Charleston Conference, registration and this year’s program, please visit the conference website.

Lloyd Monroe Raymer

Lloyd Monroe Raymer (1943-2012) was one of the chief users of WKU’s Special Collections Library.  As a professional genealogist, he used most of the Library’s resources:  books, microfilm, vertical files, family files, and manuscripts.  He was generous with his time–often assisting patrons after he overheard their queries–and resources, many times donating microfilm and books after he had completed his research projects.  His smiling face and pleasant demeanor will be missed, but he left behind a rich collection of genealogical reports that he created for clients.  They are now available for patron use.

Lloyd earned his professional certification in genealogy in the early-1980s.  He was able to turn his intense interest in history and genealogy into a part-time job, working for clients from around the country who were searching for ancestors in Warren County, Kentucky, particularly the northwestern section of the county.  Showing his support of local genealogical research, he eagerly joined the Southern Kentucky Genealogical Society when it was formed in 1976.

Most of the family files in the collection represent genealogical research conducted by Raymer between the late-1970s until his death in 2012, although the bulk of the work was done from the mid-1980s through 2010.  The families studied are not exclusively from Warren County, but that was Raymer’s specialty thus those surnames dominate the collection.  Butler County surnames would come in second, followed by Logan, Simpson and Allen counties in Kentucky.

The files are arranged alphabetically by surname.  Associated families have been indexed in the Subject Analytics at the end of the finding aid.  When processing the collection, Raymer’s report (generally typed) to his clients were kept, as well as his correspondence and some photocopies of original documents.  There are no original documents in the collection, so early dates on folders will indicate photocopies.

Raymer’s report nearly always include a title page that includes the major surname(s) researched and the date; it was generally accompanied by a cover letter explaining the research conducted and often raising new questions or avenues of research.  The report itself shows the research path Raymer typically covered:  census records, court records, military records, cemetery records, etc.  He meticulously recorded his sources, so the reports remain valuable to researchers even today.  His reports did not include genealogy charts, although the folders may occasionally contain such.  Correspondence with his clients, within the folders, also contains clues about the families.

To see a finding aid to the Raymer Collection, click here.  To search TopSCHOLAR for other genealogical collections housed in Manuscripts & Folklife Archives, click here.

Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia

Prison escapes make for good stories.  Stir in the additional aspects of the U.S. Civil War and the atrocious conditions of the famed Confederate Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, and you have all the makings of a great narrative.  One of the most stirring of all Civil War prison escapes involved a Kentuckian. Andrew Graff Hamilton (1833-1895), of Butler County, Kentucky, served in the 12th Kentucky Cavalry (Union) and worked his way up to the rank of Major.  He was captured at Jonesboro, Tennessee, in August 1863 and sent to Libby, the Confederacy’s sole prison for Union officers.

While at Libby, Hamilton met Colonel Thomas E. Rose, who shared his desire for freedom and a return to active service.  They formulated a daring scheme to escape.  By prying loose bricks from an old kitchen fireplace, they were able to access the prison’s basement known at “Rat Hell” because of its numerous rodent denizens.  From the basement, they determined to tunnel to a nearby open sewer and escape.

As the plan developed, more men were involved.  They took turns digging the tunnel, because lack of lighting and oxygen exhausted the men who were only working with a broken shovel and two knives.  After a tunnel to the open sewer failed, the men decided to burrow fifty feet eastward to a lightly-guarded adjacent warehouse.  On the night of 8 February 1864, the tunnel was completed.  The following night, 109 Union officers used the tunnel to escape.  Forty-eight were quickly re-captured, but the others reach freedom, including Hamilton.

Hamilton’s participation in this celebrated escape was known, but not properly documented until 28 years later, when the Libby Prison was effectively razed and reconstructed at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  At a reunion of the surviving participants in Chicago, Hamilton’s role as the project’s chief engineer was acknowledged.  Only two years later, Hamilton was murdered by two drunk youths right outside Morgantown.  The celebrated prison escapist was 62; he was buried at Reedyville.

On Saturday, 15 June 2013, a historical marker was erected to recognize Hamilton’s role in the Libby Prison escape.  Located on the courthouse lawn in Morgantown, the marker extols Hamilton as “a leader of one of the most incredible prison escapes of the Civil War.”

The Manuscripts & Folklife Archives unit of the Special Collections Library owns some original documents and numerous news clippings about Hamilton that were donated by his family.  To see a finding aid to this small collection click here.

Cross Section of Libby Prison Showing Escape Route

Viceroy butterflies painted by Nellie Meadows of Clay City.

Many Kentuckians purchase license plates that sport a colorful butterfly, but few can probably identify the fluttering beauty as the Commonwealth’s state insect, the Viceroy butterfly.  And even fewer would know that two Warren County women led the effort to obtain that designation from the Kentucky General Assembly.

In 1987 State Garden Club of Kentucky (GCK) president and Warren County resident, Jo Jean Scott, asked a fellow Warren Countian, Lillian Pace, to serve as the organization’s “Chairman of Conservation and Preservation of Butterflies.”  Within a year, Scott asked Pace for a nomination of a butterfly for the state insect to present for approval at GCK’s October board meeting.  Scott even suggested the Black Swallowtail.  By December 1988, after contacting several state offices about the matter, Pace and Scott–with the help of R.A Scheibner, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky–had selected the Viceroy as the best candidate.

By January 1989, the the GCK had approved the Viceroy nomination and local politicians advised Scott and Pace to contact Senate President Pro Tem John “Eck” Rose of Clark County to sponsor the legislation.  Pace finally made contact with Rose’s office and the legislation was drafted.  She also communicated with Powell County artist Nellie Meadows about painting the butterfly and then issuing a limited edition print.  She instructed Meadows:  “I see the Viceroy more often in late summer feeding on goldenrod (State Wildflower), butterfly weed, and other milkweeds.  Use your discretion as to the plants you wish the Viceroy to be on.  I would like to have at least two Viceroy Butterflies painted in the picture or more; with wings open and wings closed.”

The resulting print was praised for its beauty and sales were brisk.  Rose was also successful in guiding the legislation through the General Assembly.  Senate Bill 29 was signed into law by Governor Wallace Wilkinson on 16 Mary 1990.  Pace’s interest in butterflies never waned, and she continued to serve as the GCK’s state butterfly chairman for another decade.  She was pleased when the image of a Viceroy was selected to appear on Kentucky license plates in 2002.

The Manuscripts & Folklife Archives unit of the Special Collections Library is honored to house the Pace Family Papers which contain Lillian Pace’s collected information about butterflies.  The collection documents her other gardening organization activities and contains information about the family of her husband, Bowling Green dentist Dr. Robert N. Pace.  Click here for a finding aid to the Pace Family Papers.  To locate other finding aids for our collections, search TopSCHOLAR.

WKU Libraries is now offering StackMap, a software mapping program that provides patrons with a detailed map and written directions to an item with one click. Maps are printable, and also compatible with mobile browsers. Just search for your favorite titles in TOPCAT, scroll to the bottom of the page, and look for the button called “Map It!” The visual map will take you right to the floor and aisle you need to find your materials.

My name is Steve Goddard and I am a second-year graduate student in the Folk Studies Department at WKU.  I came back to school after a long hiatus because I wanted to create a gift for the people I love.  I’m not talking about my wife, kids or grandson (though I do love them) but the Kurds.  This Indo-European group from the Middle East, numbering 30-40 million, have long been marginalized and brutalized by strongmen.  As a result, they have emigrated in large numbers to the West, the largest population in the U.S. (10,000) settling in Nashville.  So, I return to the gift.

Though I had worked among Kurdish refugees for the majority of my adult life, I wanted to offer something new to them.  I wanted to conduct research and write a thesis about  Kurdish life, which could then be added to the comparatively small collection of scholarly work concerning them.  The greatest preponderance of what has been written speaks of their political life; conversely not much has been written of their folk life and that is what I want to offer.  Folk studies is grounded in fieldwork, moving beside and among a group of interest and my two years at WKU have prepared me well for that aspect of folkloric work.  However, as a thesis track student, there has been a professional void.  Gratefully, my work with the Manuscripts and Folklife Archives this semester has helped to fill it.

I have spent the last sixteen weeks processing individual collections of the Kentucky Folklife Program, which came to WKU from Frankfort in the fall of 2012.  I have organized and numbered and accessioned papers, slides, photographs and negatives, audio and video cassettes from fourteen collections, with subject matter as diverse as Burgoo festivals and Indian refugees and locations as disparate as Boyd County in the east and Union County in the west.  I have learned how to create finding aids and post them to Top Scholar, KenCat and Pass the Word.  And in the process, something more has been gained (i.e. filled the void). 

I’ve come to understand that prominent folklorists of our day were once just novice fieldworkers, cutting their teeth as they gathered the treasures of Kentucky’s rich traditional culture.  I’ve learned that the bond between fieldworker and archivist must be strong if the body of work produced by the former is to be preserved and presented by the latter.  A detail as simple as a missing birthdate in fieldnotes can greatly encumber those accessing the archival material in the future.  Lastly, I’ve gained a great respect for those on the other side of fieldwork, the archivists, who take what is gathered in face to face interaction and labor with boxes, folders and pencils to preserve that ethos for generations to come.

Bowling Green, Ky. –New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris will headline the 16^th annual Southern Kentucky Book Fest scheduled for Saturday, April 26, 2014. Born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area, Harris has been writing for thirty years and is best known for her Sookie Stackhouse series.

“We’ve invited Charlaine to Book Fest for several years, but scheduling conflicts have prevented her from coming. Happily, we contacted her early enough to get on her schedule for 2014,” said Kristie Lowry, Literary Outreach Coordinator for WKU Libraries and Book Fest organizer. “The Book Fest partnership strives to invite authors who will have broad appeal, and Charlaine’s fans include young adult and adult readers–men and women–and her appearance will also pull fans of the show True Blood to Book Fest. We are thrilled to have Charlaine Harris coming to Bowling Green next April.”

Harris began writing plays when she attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, switching to novels a few years later and published her first book, Sweet and Deadly, in 1981. After publishing two stand-alone mysteries, Harris launched the lighthearted Aurora Teagarden books with Real Murders, a Best Novel 1990 nomination for the Agatha Awards. Harris wrote eight books in her series about a Georgia librarian. In 1996, she released the first in the much darker Shakespeare mysteries, featuring the amateur sleuth Lily Bard, a karate student who makes her living cleaning houses. Shakespeare’s Counselor, the fifth—and last– was printed in fall 2001.

After Shakespeare, Harris created an urban fantasy series about a telepathic waitress named Sookie Stackhouse who works in a bar in the fictional Northern Louisiana town of Bon Temps. Each book follows Sookie through her adventures involving vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures. The series has been released worldwide and is so popular that writer and producer Alan Ball created the HBO series True Blood based on Harris’s novels. 

SOKY Book Fest is a partnership project of WKU Libraries, Warren County Public Library, and Barnes and Noble Booksellers. For more information, visit the website at sokybookfest.org or contact Book Fest organizer Kristie Lowry at WKU Libraries at (270) 745-4502.