Annual Report of the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center
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Annual Report of the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center (July 2007-July 2008) The importance of public service, historical preservation and fostering a respectful environment are key elements in the established mission and goals associated with daily operations undertaken by the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center staff on an everyday basis. These are objectives, which have been met in different ways as the wide-range of endeavors performed within this office have contributed to a positive, conscientious, and ever-increasing quality level of performance in the process. The staff currently consists of four full-time professionals including: Dr. Kate Dodds, Archival Assistant/Genealogist; Mr. Leonard Iannaccone, Records Management Clerk; Professor Maura Kenny, Processing Archivist/Librarian; Monsignor Francis R. Seymour, Archdiocesan Archivist; Ms. Jeannie Brasile, Gallery Director and Alan Delozier, Director/University Archivist. This report outlines and explains some of the most prominent ways we have facilitated reference assistance, developed collection holdings, promoted public awareness and it also highlights other key accomplishments made over the past year. * Although this is a large document in terms of length it only provides various highlighted activities over the course of the latest fiscal year. More detailed information is available upon request. Major Special Projects – Selected List (2007-2008) A number of different initiatives which involve the Archives & Special Collections on a continual basis beyond the confines of the University Libraries alone have been started over the past year and expansion to be worked upon in the days ahead. Among the most involved and prolific include… • Ed Lucas Collaboration. Noted baseball reporter Ed Lucas, ’62 has been a friendly presence with our repository through his participation in an exhibit (see Section V. Campus/ Community Activities & Exhibitions for more information), lecture on University Day (10/2007) and a sustained program designed to preserve his varied and important life accomplishments. The accumulation of his many writings both personal and commercial being foremost among them. Various related events are also planned in line with building a formal Edward Lucas Collection in the year ahead. • WSOU-FM 60th Anniversary Celebration. The commemoration of W-S-O-U as New Jersey’s first college-operated FM radio station instituted in 1948. A schedule of events and promotional activities that relies heavily on archival resources has made our repository an integral and well-utilized partner in this series of observances. Thus far, we hosted Ms. Jennifer Roberts, a graduate student from the Museum Studies program who organized materials and created a well-detailed inventory of existing holdings and relevant items donated by the radio station. Worked with Ms. Anna Wilson (also of the Museum Studies Program) who created a window exhibit that was visible from outside of the Walsh Library Gallery with various materials from our collection that ran during the Spring 2008 semester. Non-attributed historical summary notes were also provided for the local press via the station programmers who were interviewed by the media on the subject of this celebration. Similar information was also utilized by three different students from a Communications course that focused on the basic usage of archival materials. Photographs and ideas for historical outreach also made via the Office of Advancement, where various officials here who is active in updating the WSOU-FM Historical Internet Website. Preparation for a major Gallery Exhibit next year is being coordinated with Mr. Jake Calvert, Ms. Brooke Cheyney and Ms. Katie Fox who have started planning for this event scheduled for 2009. • Mother Seton Research. Our repository has always been a major source of coverage and lead information pertaining to the namesake of our school and the first American-born Saint in history. Over the past year in particular, a number of varied projects have been undertaken within our repository. An undergraduate student intern Ms. Courtney Bryson from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey volunteered her services and organized the Sister Marie Celeste Collection of Mother Seton resource notes (see the report of Professor Maura Kenny – Processing Archivist for more information) that led to first-hand research conducted by noted scholars Sister Regina Bechtle and Sr. Judith Metz from the Sisters of Charity who made visits to our place over the past year. A collaboration has also been made with the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Whiting, New Jersey who donated books from their library to our collection, made various mentions of our efforts in their parish bulletin and an ongoing data exchange has been established as of last summer and continues to this day. Other assorted research projects include Seton Hall University Professor Roberta Devlin-Shearer who sought and was directed to general information resources on the life of Mother Seton; Sr. Betty Ann McNeil, a Sister of Charity who needed background data on a stained glass window featuring Mother Seton found in the foyer of Presidents’ Hall; Mr. Fred McCarthy, famed illustrator who created the “Brother Juniper” cartoon strip needed visual images of the Saint for a gallery project at his church in Florida; Ms. Mary Lehman of the University of Notre Dame requested the link to our website on Internet resources; Professor Teresa Geruba needed scans of a handwritten letter from Mother Seton to be used in a special window exhibit and the Seaton Resort in Scotland has reached out to us for potential collaborative projects including family history linkage to their famous forbearer and beyond. • Publications & Presentations. Archival resources provide a natural connection for the creation of speech notes, journal articles or books in particular. Among the highlights include assistance with Italians of Newark, Belleville and Nutley (Arcadia Publishing, Portsmouth, NH 2008) by Professor Sandra Lee; M. I. Grossman “Smithson Tennant: Meteorites and the Final Trip to France,” Notes Rec. R. Soc. (2007) 61, 265-283; Dr. Janet Badia of Marshall University is doing a detailed work on poet Ted Hughes who visited Seton Hall University in 1986; Biographical study of Richard J. Hughes by Law School Professor Dr. John Wefing was revisited for fact checking purposes and potential photographic options; Sister Michael Ellen Carling, O.P. of the Dominicans is writing a history of her Religious Order stationed in Michigan; Professor William Smith and his work on the historical evolution of the Philosophy Department at Seton Hall; an image of Marshall Library was included as part of a power point presentation on the History of Libraries statewide sponsored by the New Jersey Library Association; Resources on political activities in Ireland during 1848 for use in a forthcoming volume on this topic were provided for Professor Christine Kinealy of Drew University; an upcoming discussion on Congressional Papers found statewide by Mr. Larry Weimer representing Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey was provided with insights on Hon. Peter Rodino and the Hon. Matthew Rinaldo whose respective papers are part of the Seton Hall University Catalog. These and other projects have been started and most are still awaiting finalization in the near future. • Trinia Padilla de Sanz Collection. This special group of materials celebrates one of the most prolific and important writers in Puerto Rican history. Conservation and translation of documents from Spanish to English have been undertaken over the past few months and various public programs (see the report segment by Maura Kenny – Processing Archivist for more information) are being contemplated for implementation at a future date. • Fortunato/Alagna Collection. Photographs and related items from the files of “Ace” Alagna, a White House and local Newark (NJ) photographer of note whose surviving work (mainly in the physical form of undeveloped negatives) was donated to our repository via the Italian Tribune a few years ago. A Deed of Gift was formally signed this year and plans are being made for digitization of select images and other special initiatives to help preserve and make the collection accessible to a wider audience. More details (see the report segment by Maura Kenny – Processing Archivist for more information) will be forthcoming on this project as a whole. • Seton Hall University Magazine. The repository for the past several years running has provided varying degrees of assistance on issues connected to this periodical in the form of fact checking, providing desired data, photographic support and related items to name a few. Work is currently facilitated mainly through the expert efforts of Ms. Isabel Bauer and Ms. Elyse Carter from the Office of Advancement. Counted among the contributions made by our area for the last few editions (Summer 2007–Summer 2008) include help with a school history quiz; Core Curriculum article and range from the photographic aid with back issues of the Setonian and an assortment of class rings among other compositions including Dr. William Connell, Director of the Italian Institute and former student worker Ms. Eilish Harrington who both have long standing connections to our repository. • Internationalization Laboratory Leadership Team Project. A multi-year initiative that originated through the President’s Office and headed by Professor