Grants and Acquisitions Ann-Christe Galloway

Six academic libraries have been awarded few trade catalogs exist for the period. (Dis­ $500,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon cography is the study and cataloging of pho­ Foundation to collaborate on a major project nograph records.) The Victor Talking Ma­ that will include broad-based, issues-oriented chine Co., with headquarters in Camden, New programming to familiarize large numbers of Jersey, was the most successful recognized undergraduate students with the challenges international recording company of the first facing the library profession, draw their quarter of the 20th century. Its trademark of attention to the potential of librarianship as a a little fox terrier listening to the horn of a career, and alert them to the more selective Gramophone (called “His Master’s Voice”) internship opportunities of the project. The became perhaps the world’s best-known initiative is also designed to help broaden the symbol of its time. Eldridge Reeves Johnson, racial and ethnic composition of the library founder of Victor, wanted to make his com­ profession so that it can better serve pany the “Steinway of Talking Machines,” increasingly diverse populations. The libraries and in many respects he succeeded. Victor of Atlanta University Center (serving Clark was held in such high esteem that the great­ Atlanta University, Morehouse, and Spelman est performers and entertainers of the time Colleges), and of Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, would only record for the company. Occidental, Swarthmore, and Wellesley Colleges will participate in the project. East Carolina University (ECU), in col­ laboration with the Outer Banks History Cen­ Wayne State University was awarded a ter, has won the first Content Start Search $249,433 National Leadership Grant from the competition, sponsored and underwritten by Institute of Museum and Library Services Apex. ECU has been awarded a $10,000 grant (IMLS) for the project “Digital Dress.” This to add materials from Dare County to the project, to be completed in partnership with North Carolina History and Fiction Digital the Detroit Historical Museums, the Henry Library. This collaborative initiative is ex­ Ford Museum and Meadow Brook Hall, will pected to serve as a model for more part­ create a Web portal with 5,000 digital images nerships between ECU and libraries through­ of men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing out the state. and accessories representing 200 years of fashion. Wayne State’s fashion merchandising The Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies (US) faculty will assist in the development of this was awarded a $276,289 grant by the Na­ resource that they say will be a “unique tional Endowment for the Humanities to pre­ resource, representing collections comparable serve the Jazz Oral History Project collec­ to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the tion of 120 sound recordings and make them Louvre.” accessible to the public. Encompassing the reflections of 120 noted pre-Swing-Era and William R. Moran, a noted discographer, Swing-Era jazz luminaries, such as Roy author, and collector, has donated $1.7 mil­ Eldridge, Benny Carter, Count Basie, Mary lion to the university libraries at the Univer­ Lou Williams, and Milt Hinton, the Jazz Oral sity of California-Santa Barbara for the History Project is unique in the range of art­ completion of the Victor Project, a multi­ ists interviewed and in the length of obser­ volume encyclopedia cataloging all of the vations recorded. The taped interviews run recordings made by the Victor Talking Ma­ from five to thirty hours each and touch on chine Company (which later became RCA the artists’ thoughts about their own careers Victor) from 1900 to 1950. The “Encyclope­ dic Discography of Victor Records” repre­ Ed. n o te : Send your news to: Grants & Acquisitions, sents the only systematic published account C&RL News, SO E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795; e- of these historic recording sessions, since mail: [email protected].

682 / C&RL News ■ November 2003 as well as the careers of such peer musi­ captured the distinctive style of his subjects, cians as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. and his studio became a magnet for such The grant will allow IJS to hire audio ex­ famous performers as Peter Allen, Carol perts, who will begin rerecording the Oral Channing, Eartha Kitt, Bette Midler, History Project tapes and creating back-ups Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Tommy Tune, in CD and digital linear tape formats. The and Twiggy. His commercial fashion pho­ grant also supports IJS’s work to create tography, posters, and silk screens comprise records for the recordings in the libraries’ other major segments of the collection. online catalog and information system. Acollection of rare Chinese artifacts, valued at up to $38 million, has been pledged to Acquisitions California State University (CSU›Northridge, for public display and academic study by entrepreneur Roland Tseng. This is the largest donation ever for the university and The Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection has the entire CSU system. Tseng has made a been acquired by California State University- four-year pledge to the university and has Sacramento. The collection consists of nearly already conveyed the first year’s items, 70,000 volumes, including valued at $9.5 million. With reference and media mate­ the gift, CSU-Northridge rials, approximately 1,500 plans to launch the first in rare titles, and 120 linear feet a series of public exhibits of archival materials. With in April 2004 in the Oviatt its focus on the Hellenic Libraiy, displaying the gifted world, the collection in­ items and others loaned cludes early through con­ from Tseng, totaling about temporary materials in reli­ 100 pieces. The highlight gion, philosophy, the arts, of the initial gift is an ornate, literature, history, political 3,000-year-old gold and science, and international bronze ritual vessel valued relations relating to Greece, at $5.5 million that is Turkey, the Balkans, and the believed to be unique in Middle East. There is a broad the world. representation of languages in the collection, including A collection of artists' English; ancient, medieval, books created by Brighton and modern Greek; Turkish; Press has been donated to Bulgarian; Arabic; Persian; the Special Collections De­ Russian; German; French; This vessel, believed to have partment of San Diego and Italian, among others. been used by Chinese royalty State University (SDSU) Li­ in ancient ceremonies, was one brary and Information Ac­ A collection of 600,000 of the rare artifacts donated to cess. SDSU alumni California State University- photographs by Kenn Northridge. Jeremiah and Stephanie Duncan has been acquired Robins began collecting by the New York Public Library for the Per­ Brighton Press books ten years ago, shortly forming Arts. An animated shot of Gregory after the San Diego-based Brighton Press Hines at the height of his fame on Broad­ was founded by artist/printer Bill Kelly. way, Anita Morris in her skintight costume Among the rare, limited-edition books do­ from the musical Nine, and pictures of Mikhail nated by the Robins are Sternberg: A Life in Baryshnikov and Rudolf Nureyev during the W oodcuts by Harry Sternberg and Poem time of their popularity are among the many Made of Water by Nancy Willard. The iconic images the collection will make avail­ Brighton Press staff of artists, poets, and able to researchers. The library has acquired craftspeople specializes in intaglio, relief, Duncan’s entire archive. The photographer and letterpress printing. ■

C&RL News ■ November 2003 / 683 684 / C&RL News ■ November 2003