University Libraries Partner in Grant to Develop Visual and Oral History Project

The Ball State University Libraries will be a partner in a $50,000 grant project funded by the Cantigny First Division Foundation to develop a visual and oral history project.

The focus of the project is to record and make available interviews with veterans who served in the First Division of the United States Army during World War II.

Ball State History professors Michael W. Doyle and David J. Ulbrich received the grant from the Cantigny Foundation to conduct the project.

Professors Doyle and Ulbrich will train and supervise a group of undergraduate history students in conducting the interviews. These sessions will be digitally videotaped by University Teleplex personnel. Transcripts will be prepared under the supervision of personnel in the University Libraries. The resources will be preserved in the University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections and made accessible through the Libraries’ Digital Media Repository.

The University Libraries’ personnel who are part of this grant include Dr. Arthur W. Hafner, John B. Straw, James A. Bradley, Amanda A. Hurford, and Maren L. Read.

For more information, contact John B. Straw, Ball State University Libraries’ Assistant Dean for Digital Initiatives and Special Collections, JStraw@bsu.edu, 765-285-5078.

Oral Histories with Muncie Labor Leaders Available Online through the University Libraries’ Digital Media Repository

Students and scholars can now access oral history interviews that document the history of organized labor in Muncie, Indiana through the Ball State University Libraries’ Digital Media Repository. The Muncie Labor Oral History Project Collection includes 15 interviews with prominent labor leaders from the Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections’ Muncie Labor Archives.

Inspired by former Indiana state legislator and union leader Hurley Goodall, these interviews were conducted as part of the Center for Middletown Studies’ effort to document recent economic changes and the history of labor unions in Muncie. Participants from all the major unions in Muncie were interviewed by C. Warren Vander Hill between December 2005 and February 2006.

The digital collection consists of recordings, transcripts, and photographs. Representatives from major employers, such as Chevrolet-Muncie, the Ball Corporation, and the Borg Warner Corporation were interviewed. Topics discussed include union activities, the importance of unions in the lives of workers, and the future of unions.

The collection can be accessed in the Digital Media Repository, http://libx.bsu.edu/, under the “Middletown Digital Oral History Collections.”

For more information, contact Maren L. Read, Assistant Archivist for Manuscript Collections, Ball State University Libraries, MLRead@bsu.edu, (765) 285-5078.

Ball State University Libraries Complete the Middletown Digital Oral Histories Project

The University Libraries successfully completed the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Digitization Grant project for 2006-2007 in June. The LSTA funds were used to digitize, transcribe, and make available collections of oral histories in the Ball State University Digital Media Repository, http://libx.bsu.edu.

• The complete Middletown Digital Oral History Collection contains digital audio and transcripts of 188 interviews and is now available globally at
http://libx.bsu.edu/MidOrHist/midorhist.php for research and classroom use. The oral history collections include:
• Black Middletown Project, 35 interviews conducted with African-Americans in Muncie by Rutledge M. Dennis and Vivian W. Gordon from the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University respectively in 1981
• Black Muncie Project, 23 interviews conducted with African-Americans in Muncie by Mr. Hurley Goodall, Ball State professor J. Paul Mitchell, and Ball State graduate students between 1971 and 1978
• Middletown Jewish Oral History Project I, 20 interviews conducted with members of Muncie’s Jewish community by Ball State professors C. Warren Vander Hill and Dwight Hoover in 1978-1979
• Middletown Jewish Oral History Project II, 24 interviews conducted with members of Muncie’s Jewish community by Ball State professor C. Warren Vander Hill in 2003-2004
• Other Side of Middletown Project, 56 interviews conducted with African-American in Muncie by Ball State professor Eric Lassiter and a group of students as part of a collaborative ethnographic project and funded by the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry in 2003
• St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Project, 10 interviews conducted with members of the St. Francis of Assisi parish in 2006
• St. Lawrence Catholic Church Project, 10 interviews conducted with members of the St. Lawrence Parish in Muncie in 2006.
• St. Mary Catholic Church Project, 10 interviews conducted with members of the St. Mary Parish in Muncie in 2006

The oral histories were selected for the grant project based on the lack of representation of the African-American, Jewish, and Catholic populations of Muncie in the original Middletown study conducted by Robert and Helen Lynd in the 1920s. Students and scholars now have increased access to these resources through the Internet.

This project was truly a University Libraries-wide effort. In particular, staff from throughout the library contributed to the time-consuming and difficult task of transcribing many of the interviews. Special thanks go to all of the individuals involved in making this a successful grant project.

For information, contact John B. Straw, Director for Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries, JStraw@bsu.edu, (765) 285-5078.

University Libraries Receive Notice of a LSTA Grant to Digitize the Muncie Post-Democrat Newspaper

The Ball State University Libraries have received notification that they have been awarded a $23,041 Library Services and Technology (LSTA) Digitization Mini-Grant for 2007-2008 to digitize The Muncie Post-Democrat. This grant support will result in the creation of The Muncie Post-Democrat Newspaper Collection.

John Straw, Director for Archives and Special Collections and Dr. Arthur W. Hafner, Dean of University Libraries, are co-Principal Investigators.

LSTA digitization grants are supported by funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Indiana State Library. The 2007-2008 grant will be the third consecutive LSTA digitization grant awarded to the University Libraries.

The two previous grants have resulted in the Digital Repository of U. S. Civil War Resources for East Central Indiana and the Middletown Digital Oral History Collection, both of which are available in the Digital Media Repository.

For more information, contact John B. Straw, Ball State University Libraries’ Director for Archives and Special Collections, JStraw@bsu.edu, (765) 285-5078.

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

Friends of the Alexander M. Bracken Library Annual Dinner Features Program on Digital Oral Histories

Seventy-five Friends of the Alexander M. Bracken Library attended the annual dinner at the Alumni Center on the evening of March 28 where they heard about the Middletown Digital Oral History Collection being made available in the Ball State University Digital Media Repository, a project of the University Libraries.

Following dinner and a brief business meeting, Dr. Warren Vander Hill, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Emeritus, Mr. Hurley Goodall, former Indiana state legislator, and Dr. John Weakland, Professor Emeritus of History, presented the Kirkham Lecture. They shared their experiences in conducting oral history interviews that are now being made available in digital format for global access through the Internet.

Dr. Vander Hill moderated the program. In his remarks, he compared the two Middletown Jewish Oral History projects that he conducted under the sponsorship of Mr. Martin Schwartz in 1978-79 and 2002-03. The two projects generated a total of 45 interviews.

Mr. Goodall spoke passionately about an early experience of not being able to tell young people about the history of his own race and how that motivated him to get involved with documenting the African American experience through oral history interviews and other projects. He related how much he appreciated the work that Ball State University and the University Libraries have undertaken to collect and preserve local African American history.

Dr. Weakland described the process that he and other volunteers followed in conducting recent oral history interviews with the members of the St. Francis of Assisi, St. Mary, and St. Lawrence parishes as part of the local Catholic Churches Oral History Project. The project has resulted in 30 interviews from the three parishes so far and more are planned.

Prior to the speakers’ presentations, John Straw, Director of Archives and Special Collections, presented a PowerPoint presentation on the Middletown Digital Oral History Collection project that is being funded by a $25,125 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) digitization grant. This is the second consecutive LSTA grant that the University Libraries have received.

Following each speaker’s remarks, a sample audio clip was played of an interview from the collection discussed by the presenter. The audience was able to follow along with the verbal remarks by seeing the accompanying transcription displayed from the Digital Media Repository collection.

During the business meeting prior to the Kirkham Lecture, Friends’ executive secretary John Straw reported that the Friends enjoyed another productive year with a growing membership of over 2,600 persons who reside in most of the 50 states and over 40 countries.

Donations by Friends through the Ball State University Foundation totaled over $34,000, which is a 36% increase compared to the previous fiscal year. These moneys are used to support the University Libraries.

Straw reported on four entertaining and informative programs sponsored this year:
· “Celebrating 30 Years of Renewing Lives: A History of Community Mental Health through CMHS and Meridian Services” presented by Ms. Suzanne Gresham, Mr. Al Rent, and Mr. Hank Milius in October
· “Founding Fathers and Signers of the Declaration of Independence” by Mr. Tom Schnuck in November
· “Organized Labor in Muncie: An Oral History,” co-sponsored by the Center for Middletown Studies, presented by Dr. James Connolly, Dr. Warren Vander Hill, and Mr. Hurley Goodall in December
· “Before Middletown: Using Historical Archaeology to View Victorian Muncie” by Dr. Christina Blanch in February


Outgoing members of the Friends’ Board of Governors in attendance were recognized with certificates of appreciation for their three years of service: Mr. Larry Campbell, Mrs. Nancy Carlson, and Ms. Gretchen Cheesman.

Three new members in attendance were welcomed to the Board with the presentation of lapel pins: Mrs. Marilyn Carey. Dr. Carol Flores, and Dr. Thomas Spotts.

Mr. Hank Milius and Mrs. Marianne Vorhees will be joining the Board as new member also but were not able to attend the dinner.

Three library student assistants received certificates and checks for $100 from the Friends as recipients of this year’s Student Recognition Awards:
· Amanda B. Ashton, Science-Health Science Library
· Holli R. Botset, Educational Resources
· Stacy L. Sowder, Main Circulation


During the dinner, Mr. Martin Schwartz was recognized in honor of his 90th birthday with a spontaneous rendition of “Happy Birthday” from the audience, led by Dr. Vander Hill. It was later learned that Dr. Phil Ball was celebrating his birthday that evening. So the event was a true celebration of Friends in more ways than one.

For more information or to join the Friends, contact John B. Straw, Executive Secretary for the Friends and the Alexander M. Bracken Library and Ball State University Libraries’ Director for Archives and Special Collections, JStraw@bsu.edu, (765) 285-5078.

This newsletter article first appeared in The Library Insider 5(4): 7; April 2007.