LHRT Newsletter NOVEMBER 2010 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 1 BERNADETTE A. LEAR, EDITOR BAL19 @ PSU.EDU Greetings from the Chair BAL19 @ PSU.EDU and librarians. The week As we finalize details we will following Library History inform the membership as to Seminar XII, Wayne how they may participate. Wiegand threw down a challenge. He offered to It is time to turn to finding a contribute $100 to the venue for Library History Edward G. Holley Lecture Seminar XIII (2015). The endowment, and urged all request for proposals is previous LHRT Chairs and included in this newsletter. I Board members to do the invite LHRT members to same. In less than thirty- consider whether your six hours $2,400 was institution might be a good pledged. Ed’s son Jens was site. We are a community of one contributor (both to people with a love for the the fund and to this issue). histories of libraries, reading, His heartfelt message of print culture, and the people, thanks for honoring his places and institutions that are father in this way made me part of those histories. Why proud to be a member of not make a little bit of history LHRT. yourself by hosting this wonderful conference? The LHRT Program Committee is hard at work In the meantime, I will “see” to bring quality sessions to you virtually in January our annual meeting. We meeting in cyberspace, and see will have the Invited many of you in person at Speakers Panel, the ALA’s annual meeting in New Research Forum Panel, and Orleans in June. Have happy, Melanie Kimball, current chair of LHRT. Image the Holley Lecture as well healthy, and safe holidays, and courtesy of Melanie Kimball. as our Executive Committee Business a very Happy New Year. — Meeting. We will Melanie Kimball, Simmons The leaves are turning; a netted approximately announce the speakers and College chill is in the air. It is the $1,200 for LHRT, and I am topics for these programs time of year when we turn deeply grateful to all those as soon as they are to what I like to call “the who generously donated finalized. season of the mind.” My materials. LHRT own season of the mind subsidized attendance at For the first time, the Inside this issue: will be greatly enhanced by the conference for two LHRT Executive the purchases I made at the students, Marianne Martens Committee midwinter Reviews 3–4 auction held at Library and Alycia Sellie, who meeting, usually held at the Member Spotlight: 5, 8 History Seminar XII in contributed articles for this ALA conference, will be September. We gathered newsletter. held virtually on January 4, Richard LeComte for three wonderful days at 2011. As you know, our the University of We pause to note the Executive Committee Ed Holley 6–8 Wisconsin, Madison where passing of Edward G. meetings have always been ALA Catalog 9, 11 a truly impressive array of Holley, former Dean of the open to LHRT members, papers addressed all areas LIS program at UNC- and this meeting will be no Perforating Stamp 10–11 of library history. The two Chapel Hill, and namesake exception. We will very keynote speakers, Janice of LHRT’s lecture fund. likely use Skype to hold the LHS Highlights 12–13 Radway and Wayne This issue includes several meeting, with reports from Library Birdhouse 14 Wiegand, inspired and tributes to a great man who committees posted to challenged us. The auction mentored many historians ALA Connect in advance. Opportunities 15–19 LHRT N EWSLETTER Page 2 Greetings from the Editor publish scholarly papers, and those who do not attend ALA conferences. Library science and humanities students, library administrators and employees, retirees, trustees, and librariana collectors are interested in history, too. As several items in this issue show, many non- academics help document, preserve, and promote the unique stories of their institutions, as well as the study of reading and print culture more generally. They must do so, because the small number of “I believe strongly authors in scholarly journals cannot tell every library’s or that LHRT is a reader’s tale. community of Another reason for expanding shared interest, LHRT Newsletter is the limited venues for historical treatments and that LHRT of librarianship. It seems to me Bernadette A. Lear, immediate past-chair of LHRT and that most of our conferences Newsletter should and journals don’t give a dewey current LHRT Newsletter editor. Image courtesy of about history. It’s high time that Bernadette A. Lear. reflect all the LHRT carves out a new space. I especially hope that the varied concerns Many editors have described the I believe strongly that LHRT is a accessible, brief articles in our and pursuits of tremulous feeling of launching a community of shared interest, newsletter will prompt graduate “frail little craft” upon the “sea and that LHRT Newsletter should students and new practitioners our diverse of literature.” Perhaps I am too reflect all the varied concerns to view the past as an important optimistic, but I am thoroughly and pursuits of our diverse concern, and encourage them to membership.” delighted to compile this new membership. In the past, this start thinking and writing about and improved version of LHRT publication has mainly served it. I am thrilled that Richard Newsletter . My efforts were scholars and LHRT officers. It LeComte, Marianne Martins, partially inspired by discussions told of publishing opportunities, Alycia Sellie, and Julia Skinner about “zines” at Library History lectures, new articles and books, (all students or recent graduates) Seminar. I must confess, though, committee meeting dates, and have contributed material. that I also wish to welcome and official actions of the round I hope they will continue to do support everyone who has an table. Although LHRT Newsletter so. If readers find that the interest in the history of libraries, will continue this service, it also newsletter lacks an important reading, and print culture. aims to help those who do not feature or perspective, please do everyone a favor—send in a PUBLISHING STATEMENT LHRT Newsletter (ISSN forthcoming) is the official newsletter of the Library History Round Table of the American Library Association. LHRT’s mission is to encourage research and publication on the history of libraries and promote awareness and discussion of historical issues in librarianship. LHRT Newsletter is an open-access, semi-annual publication, available free of charge at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/lhrt/popularresources/ lhrtnewsletters/lhrtnewsletters.cfm . LHRT members may obtain a paper copy upon request by contacting ALA’s Office for Research and Statistics, American Library Association, 60 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL, 60611 (phone: 1-800-545-2433, extension 4283). LHRT Newsletter is not currently indexed in Library Literature or other databases. All submissions are subject to editorial review, but authors are responsible for facts and opinions expressed in their articles. Views expressed in LHRT Newsletter do not necessarily reflect official LHRT or ALA policies and positions. Contact the editor, Bernadette A. Lear ([email protected]), queries about advertizing, submissions, and other concerns. Page 3 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 1 Greetings from the Editor, cont. piece for the next issue! article pertains to the history of libraries, reading, or print Rather than taking the approach culture; is contributed by an of the New York Times , “all the LHRT member; has not been news that’s fit to print,” I published elsewhere; is well- suppose I embrace the motto of written; and observes copyright my local college newspaper: “all law and journalistic ethics, you the news that fits, we print.” I will see it here! am much better at creating new features and encouraging authors Thank you to everyone who than I am at polishing material. contributed to this issue.— In time, I hope this periodical Bernadette A. Lear, Penn will include brief biographies, State Harrisburg architectural histories, reviews of all kinds, and maybe even a crossword or jumble! Luckily, online publishing obviates the need to limit pages because of printing or postage costs. If an Detail of “Sale of a Wife” broadside from The Word Web Site Review: on the Street . Image by permission of the Trustees of Word on the Street the National Library of Scotland. National Library of Scotland. “The accessible to those without through these different subjects Word on the Street.” http:// much of a background in the gives one a sense of daily life in digital.nls.uk/broadsides/ (accessed subject. This makes it valuable times past. Under “clothing and November 1, 2010). for students or for those just dress,” for example, we get to looking to learn a bit more learn about what clothing was I first ran across The Word on the about print culture. Of appropriate for Edinburgh Street about a year ago through a particular value to students are citizens to wear when meeting Google search. The website is a the pages covering historical royalty. There are a good digital collection of about 1,800 background. In addition, the number of non-fiction broadsides housed in the “resources” page gives a broadsides on the site, but many National Library of Scotland, thorough (although not are also stories and ballads that and created between 1650 and exhaustive) list of links and might have been shared by 1910. Broadsides are single citations for relevant printed singing or reading aloud. sheets of paper, printed on one texts. Keywords such as side, with announcements, “transvestites,” “shoemakers,” songs, news, and stories. They Searching and browsing are and “highlanders” give us a were much cheaper than intuitive. The “search and sense for how different groups newspapers and could be hung browse” page allows users to were treated in fiction and in in public spaces, making them search broadsides by keywords biography.