Historical Manuscripts & Photographs Digital Collection

     The materials in the Historical Manuscipts and Photographs Digital Collection show a brief glimpse into the history of the South with an emphasis on Mississippi.  These materials can be found at the McCain Library and Archives.  Some of the collection was able to be digitized through grants that were awarded, including National Leadership Grants awarded to the Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive in 2001 and the Mississippi Digital Library in 2003. 

     This slip of paper is part of the collection.  The description given by the USM libraries describes it as a slip of paper that "advocates hate as a positive virtue and labels persons as fence straddlers if they will not commit to active involvement in hate groups".  This small slip of paper sends a powerful message as to the mindset of some people during the Civil Rights Movement.

http://digilib.usm.edu/cdm4/manu.php

Rare Book Digital Collection

     USM Libraries Digital Collection also has a collection devoted to rare books.  Many of the materials found in the collection concern history of the South, the Civil War, and the history of printing.  Other topics are covered in the materials as well.  The Rare Book Collection also is home to 3500 books that belonged to Cleanth Brooks and over 800 books that make up the Sam Woods Collection. 

     This is the picture of the cover of The Poems of Goethe.  This book was published in 1874 and written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  The original book was written in German and has been translated into English by Edgar Alfred Bowring.

http://digilib.usm.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/rarebook&CISOPTR=533&CISOBOX=1&REC=3

AAEC Editorial Cartoon Digital Collection

     This is my first post in a series about USM's Digital Collection.  This can be found through the USM Libraries Web site (http://digilib.usm.edu/index.php).  14 separate collections currently constitute the whole Digital Collection.  The first one I browsed through was the AAEC Editorial Cartoon Digital Collection.  The collection is home to more than 1000 cartoon by over 50 artists belonging to the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists.  Searching options for the cartoons include keywood, cartoonist, publisher, or time period (http://digilib.usm.edu/cdm4/cartoon.php). 
     The cartoon pictured below is found through the collection.  Creator Eddie Germano drew a picture of uniformed legs marching with the titles of past wars around the legs.  The caption for the cartoon is "And Still Marching".  The date of this cartoon is Veterans Day 1964.  It is interesting to see that some of these cartoons still apply to current events.  It is also important for readers to realize that while some cartoons may make light of situations, most are created to place importance on serious issues.



French Week

     As part of my foreign language requirement for my major, I am taking Beginning French this semester.  It has been an interesting ride.  It is definitely one of my harder classes.  I do not think that I possess that "knack" for languages that some people have.  This class is one that has required an additional amount of studying.  This being said, when the the opportunity for extra credit presented itself, I was immediately onboard! 

     Extra credit was offered through participation in French Week.  Activities were planned to showcase what we have learned in French so far and what can be expected in the future.  Kick-off to the week was a talk with Dr. Saunders.  Two students from the talk are pictured above.  She studied French as an undergraduate.  It goes to show you that a foreign language degree can lead you to all sorts of unexpected places.  The rest of the week consisted of an afternoon game of a traditional French past time as well as a night spent watching a French film and enjoying French food among other things.  Check out the Foreign Language Department!

http://www.usm.edu/foreignlanguages/

Cultural Exhibit

de Grummond Collection

            For this assignment I visited the de Grummond Collection exhibit located on the second floor of Cook Library.  I also visited their Web site to gather more information about the collection.  The history of the collection intrigued me.  The exhibit itself was entertaining.

            There are several things on display in the exhibit right now.  They include works of Curious George and items related to its creators, the Reys, as well as other books and authors.  From memory, the thing that stands out the most from the Curious George exhibit is a letter addressed to the couple about their royalties from a project.  I was expecting solely books or sketches; the variety of items on display was surprising. 

            The Web site for the de Grummond Collection can be found through the USM Library Web site.  A brief history of the exhibit is explained.  I find myself humbled by the passion Lena Y. de Grummond displayed for her work.  She went above and beyond her call of duty.  Many people have benefited from her hard work, whether they may be students such as myself or authors awarded for their contributions to children’s and young adult’s literature by the department. 

http://digilib.usm.edu/cdm4/dgbooks.php