Category: New Collections

New Collections

1943 Thesis on UM History Discovered

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By sheer luck I discovered a thesis on UM history written in 1943 at our offsite storage facility a few weeks ago. All the UM theses and dissertations published since 1943 (Richter holds over 9,100 of such publications) should be discoverable online, but I assume this title was misplaced far away from the rest of the Theses and Dissertations Collection and was not recataloged electronically in later years.

(*click here to see the collection record for the thesis.)

The title of the long-forgotten thesis is “A History of the University of Miami: a Thesis Presented to Dr. Harold E. Briggs, Professor of History, University of Miami, May 1943” written by William E. Hallman. Please see the title page and the table of contents below. This is a rare, wonderful new addition to the archival collection on UM history, because it was written only after 18 yeas the university was founded and it was written from a student’s perspective.

Page 1 of the Hallman thesis
Page 1 of the Hallman thesis
Page 2 of the Hallman thesis
Page 2 of the Hallman thesis
P. 3 of the Hallman thesis
P. 3 of the Hallman thesis

So, my next question is who was William E. Hallman? I was able to find his senior portrait in 1943 Ibis as well as his name in the September 1943 commencement program. His name appeared 11 times in The Miami Hurricane from 1940 to 1943, as he was active as the President of YMCA and a member of the History Honor Society. I would love to have this publication digitized and make it accessible online, if we could identify the family of the author for permission.

Hallman's senior picture was found in the 1943 Ibis yearbook.
Hallman’s senior picture was found in the 1943 Ibis yearbook.
Hallman received a B.A. in September 1943
Hallman received a B.A. in September 1943

I also would like to share with you the picture of Dr. Briggs below found in 1945 Ibis. His name appeared as Professor of History for the first time in 1936 Ibis, he was promoted to Head of Department of History and Sociology in the 1943 Ibis, and he became Dean of the College of Liberal Arts according to 1945 Ibis yearbook. (Nice career move!)

Dr. Briggs was listed as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts in the 1945 Ibis.
Dr. Briggs was listed as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts in the 1945 Ibis.

Please contact us to read the thesis at the Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room on the 8th floor of Otto G. Richter Library. Please click here for further information on UM theses and dissertations.

Digital Collections, New Collections

New Project to Archive Efforts of UM’s LGBTQ+ Student Organization

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By Koichi Tasa, University Archivist

tasa_headshot_largeI am currently working for the first time to archive a collection of electronic records with my colleague Laura Capell, Head of Digital Production and Electronic Archivist. The commemorable organization of focus is UM’s undergraduate LBGTQ+ group SpectrUM. We will archive messages and e-flyers documenting their organizational efforts in support of UM’s lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer, and questioning community.

The collection was inspired by President Frenk’s December 2015 message on campus initiatives for inclusiveness towards LGBTQ+ students. I contacted SpectrUM to join their mailing list and have continued to save electronic records for the use of future students and researchers. We will make a decision shortly on how to provide access to the collection. For the time being, you can find more information on the collection in the finding aid.

SpectrUM's logo from their Facebook page
SpectrUM, organized in 1992, has expanded on the work of The Gay Alliance, which formed in the 1970s.

Working on this collection made me wonder about earlier gay and lesbian organizations at the University. Some historical information is available in The Miami Hurricane Archive Online. There I found an article from 1985 titled “Gay Student Seeks to Inform” by Sal O’Neill. O’Neill, who was a senior at that time, wrote about an earlier group called The Gay Alliance, formed in the early-to-mid 1970s. “The Alliance had weekly rap sessions in the Alliance’s office in the Student Union. They also sponsored regular dances at the Rathskeller which were open to the public,” he writes, also noting significant challenges– “fears of exposure and violence, and the apathy that any group must contend with”–that brought about its demise. In the 1980s, students could connect in an off-campus group called the Gay and Lesbian Youth Group, which offered “emotional support and social interaction to gay men and lesbians not available elsewhere up to the age of 25.”

The Lavender Celebration 2016 was sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs, Student Life, Toppel Career Center and Alumni Association.
The Lavender Celebration 2016 was sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs, Student Life, Toppel Career Center and Alumni Association to recognize the accomplishments of LGBTQ graduates of the U.

This was before SpectrUM, which was organized in 1992 (under the name Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Club). Its purpose is to foster pride through education, awareness, advocacy, and social events and to support all members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies. It’s remarkable to see how far this mission has come, and we look forward to the opportunity of sharing its continuation with future students and researchers.

Stay tuned for announcements about future archival efforts. In an upcoming project in February 2017 we will work with groups such as the Black Alumni Society and United Black Students to curate a full exhibition at Richter Library on UM’s black students and faculty. The exhibition will coincide with the Black Alumni Society’s First Black Graduates Project. We look forward to collaborating with these and other campus organizations to honor their accomplishments.

In the News, New Collections

New Periodical “UMiami Scientifica” Is Archived

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Umiami Scientifica

We have just added a new periodical “UMiami Scientifica” to our collection, which is the first student-produced scientific undergraduate magazine representing medical, engineering, and scientific ideas to the undergraduate students of the university. We are delighted to archive this excellent work of student scientists, and I would like to thank my colleague William Jacobs, Education & Outreach Librarian, for donating the first issue.

Please put the University Archives on your mailing list of publications and newsletters by the university’s schools and departments, faculty and staff, and student groups, so that we could archive such important historical materials and provide access to them. Please contact the University Archivist for further questions.

New Collections

Behind-The-Scenes Photo of the Archives

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Processing Room View, October 2014

Please take a look at a behind-the-scenes panorama photo of the Processing Room taken by my colleague last week. The space is located on the 8th floor of Richter Library in a secured section, which is shared by the Special Collections and the University Archives. The space is constantly jam packed with historical materials being processed with staff and student assistants working on them. It is the most time-consuming but crucial step for us to make our collections accessible.

Currently, the University Archives is processing a very large, significant collection of historical images and university publications donated by the University Communications last year. This is an exciting new addition to our collections, which will allow us to research news and events of the University took place from the 1980s to early 2000s. We anticipated completion of the project sometime in spring 2015.

Digital Collections, Events, New Collections

Hidden Collection Becomes a Digital Treasure

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the carrell

The Carrell: Journal of the Friends of the University of Miami Library was published from 1960 to 1996 to promote Richter Library and its notable special collections. It featured articles, poetry, and artwork by a range of contributors including Clark Mixon Emery , Theodore Bolton, Charlton Tebeau and many others. The entire run of the journal was digitized in 2012 to commemorate Richter’s golden anniversary.

The Friends of the University of Miami Library, now called the Friends of the University of Miami Libraries, is a library support organization founded in 1960 by a group of University of Miami faculty, alumni, and community leaders. The Friends play a vital role in supporting programs, securing gifts, and funding projects for the Libraries. The first president was the renowned Everglades preservationist and author Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

Digitization of rare and unique special collections has been one of the major initiatives of the University of Miami Libraries in the last decade. It takes a library-wide collaboration assisted by Richter departments in preservation, digitization, metadata, and digital repository. In the last few short years, the University Archives has made accessible The Miami Hurricane Archive Online and the University of Miami Historical Photograph Collection, which are among the most popular digital collections Richter offers.

Please go to the link below to browse and research the collection.

http://merrick.library.miami.edu/archives/asu0660/