Ball State University Libraries’ Friends of Alexander M. Bracken Library Annual Dinner and Kirkham Lecture Scheduled

The annual dinner and meeting of the Friends of the Alexander M. Bracken Library will be held on the evening of March 28, 2007, at the Ball State University Alumni Center. A reception will begin at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m.

At the business meeting following the meal, outgoing and incoming members of the Board of Governors will be recognized. Completing their three-year terms are Dr. Jayne Beilke, Mrs. Dorothy Danner, Mr. Larry Campbell, Mrs. Nancy Carlson, and Ms. Gretchen Cheesman. New Board members are Dr. Carol Flores, Mrs. Marilyn Carey, Mrs. Marianne Vorhees, Mr. Hank Milius, and Mr. Thomas Spotts.

Following the business meeting, the Kirkham Lecture will be delivered by Dr. Warren Vander Hill, Mr. Hurley C. Goodall, and Dr. John Weakland. The topic is “The Middletown Digital Oral History Collection,” which includes interviews with African-American, Jewish, and Catholic citizens of Muncie, Indiana, that were conducted from the 1970s through recent years. The University Libraries are now transcribing and digitizing these taped interviews as part of a $25,125 Library Services and Technology (LSTA) grant. The oral history collection will be available through the Ball State University Digital Media Repository, a project of the University Libraries, at http://libx.bsu.edu on the Web.

Dr. Vander Hill is Provost and Vice President Emeritus of Academic Affairs at Ball State. He conducted the two Jewish oral history projects. Mr. Goodall is a former Indiana state legislator and played pivotal roles in three different African American oral history projects. Dr. Weakland is Professor Emeritus of History. He coordinated the oral history project for the three Catholic churches in Muncie and conducted interviews for St. Mary Catholic Church.

The Kirkham Lecture is named for Dr. Bruce Kirkham, professor emeritus of English at Ball State. He was the founder and first Executive Secretary of the Friends, serving as Executive Secretary for 25 years. He retired from Ball State University in 2000.

Tickets for the dinner are $20. For information on joining the Friends or to purchase tickets, contact John B. Straw, Executive Secretary for the Friends of the Alexander M. Bracken Library, at JStraw@bsu.edu, (765) 285-5078.

This newsletter article first appeared in The Library Insider 5(3): 8; March 2007.