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.
The University of Miami Libraries has completed the digitization of a major, historic publication of the University of Miami. Veritas served as the faculty and staff newsletter from September 1960 to December 2008. Produced by University Communications, the newsletter reported on University news, faculty profiles, event listings, athletics programs, and other topics. Its successor, E-Veritas, was introduced in 1999 and is distributed to employees weekly by email.
Please go to the link below to search the Veritas Archive or browse by issue. You can save and print the articles for your research and personal use.
Veritas is one of many University publications housed at the University Archives that can now be accessed online. The digitization of Veritas and other historical publications is a cooperative effort at the University of Miami Libraries involving the Digital Initiatives, Preservation, Cataloging & Metadata, and Web & Emerging Technologies teams.
You can visit the University Archives, located on the eighth floor of the Otto G. Richter Library, on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please contact University Archivist Koichi Tasa for questions or suggestions on archiving and using historical resources of the University of Miami.
Dr. Archie McNeal, director of the Libraries who served from 1952 to 1979, oversaw the completion of the Otto G. Richter Library.
Throughout Archives Month, University of Miami Libraries (UML) archivists have been sharing stories conveying the importance of access to archives and the unique and historical materials preserved in them. The University Archives is a resource that houses photographs, yearbooks, student newspapers, administrative records, memorabilia, and many other materials pertaining to UM history.
Weeks ago I exchanged a heartwarming correspondence with a community member who had found an Otto G. Richter Library brochure from the 1960s while going through family albums. She wondered if we’d be interested in adding it to our collections. She also mentioned being the niece of the late Dr. Archie L. McNeal, the first director of the University Libraries who served from 1952 to 1979. With more than thirty-five years having passed since Dr. McNeal’s retirement, the donor didn’t expect anyone currently at the Libraries to remember her uncle’s name, yet I knew the name quite well.
In fact, the important legacy of Dr. McNeal and his service to the University is one that is well preserved at the Archives: Dr. McNeal led the Libraries through an important phase of collection development, during which the Libraries’ holdings grew from 273,000 volumes to approximately 1.4 million volumes. He oversaw the construction of the Richter Library, completed in 1962, and is also well known for leading a number of important scholarly research initiatives.
Searching for Dr. McNeal’s name led quickly to a number of links to online records from his tenure, including archived articles from The Miami Hurricane describing some of the library programs initiated under his leadership and iconic photos from the 1950s through 1970s featuring Dr. McNeal in action at the library (such as the ones in this post). I was honored to be able to provide Dr. McNeal’s niece with these records that document his important work at the Libraries, and am happy to share them with you as a part of Archives Month. Check out more photos of this former director in UML’s Digital Collections for a glimpse into the early years of the library and an important time of growth for our University.
Dr. Archie McNeal and Jay F. W. Pearson, President of the University of Miami [n.d.]
Last week, I received a surprise package from a librarian in Denver. He was kind enough to send us 283 football trading cards of NFL players who are former University of Miami students from the early 1980s to early 2000s. Also enclosed were 4 ticket stubs from the Michigan vs. Miami game held at the Michigan Stadium on September 8, 1984.
These eye-catching trading cards are great examples that show strength of the University of Miami’s athletic program. They will be popular items for the visitors to the UM Libraries and at our future exhibitions.
The University Archives welcomes donations like this one from colleagues, alumni, and friends of the University of Miami.
Did you know there was The Pulchritude Club at the U? I found this amazing picture the other day in the 1949 IBIS Yearbook while looking for an alumnae. Looking attractive and fashionable are surely our tradition!
University of Miami Archives -- Let's Archive It 