Reading Time: 5 minutesHeadlines reporting a movement to pass massive book bans have been making the news across the United States. This is not the first time book banning and book burning have made headlines in recent years. USF professor of Literacy Studies, Dr. Jenifer Schneider’s ‘The Inside, Outside, and Upside Downs of Children’s Literature: From Poets and Pop-ups to Princesses and Porridge’ tackles the history, content, beliefs, and layers of cultural issues that are incorporated in banning books in her chapter “Banned and Burned: Why Worry? It’s Just Kiddie Lit.” In the chapter Dr. Schneider discusses several books that are held in USF Special Collections.
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Digitization and Strange Stipulations in Donation Agreements
Reading Time: 3 minutesA donation agreement can smooth the way for future digitization of a collection or hinder future uses of collection material. With all of the variables possible in donation agreements, it shouldn’t be surprising that some donor stipulations on older collections can take an archive or special collections by surprise.
Linked-In Learning
Reading Time: < 1 minuteHave a new class or assignment that requires a software you have never used before? Do you want to improve your skills in research, communication, and design? Linked-in Learning is an excellent place to augment the skills you have begun to develop in your courses or career.
Preserving Media: The Sam Gibbons Collection
Reading Time: 2 minutesUSF Libraries – Tampa Special Collections is home to all types of exciting resources from historic documents to rare books, vintage photographs, and digital recordings. Preserving and providing access to these materials requires periodic evaluation of the collections, media types, and their …Continue Reading
USF Curiosities: Chariot races?
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhen you think of student activities on our campuses, what comes to mind? Basketball games, charity drives, bake sales, jogging, walking with friends, maybe lunches on the lawn… But…. what about chariot races?
In 1966, the Tampa Times reported that the opening of Greek Week, the “Festival of Dionysus,” was full of last-minute preparations for the chariot race, including lighthearted “sabotage” attempts by rival participants… (Continue Reading)
Open Access Week 2021
Reading Time: 2 minutesThis year Open Access Week is from Oct. 25-31, 2021. The theme is “It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity.” SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, organizes Open Access Week each year. It started as Open Access Day in 2007 and has …Continue Reading
USF Curiosities: A Pablo Picasso sculpture 10 stories tall?
Reading Time: 7 minutesIn 1971, a small-scale model of a Pablo Picasso sculpture, “Bust of a Woman,” was donated to the University of South Florida. Fifty years later, it received new attention from researchers after it was spotted on a shelf in the Tampa Library in 2018. Afterwards, Special Collections staff dug into the sculpture’s history and the intriguing story behind the model resurfaced… (Continue Reading)
Celebrating Oktoberfest in Archives
Reading Time: 2 minutesOktoberfest is just around the corner! What started as a horse race celebrating the marriage of King Louis I, the king of Bavaria, in 1810 grew into a food and beer celebration in 1818. It is now a world-famous two-week celebration of German beer in Munich, Germany. Many cities in …Continue Reading
Celebrating National Estuaries Week with Florida Environmental & Natural History Digital Resources
Reading Time: 6 minutesIn honor of National Estuaries Week, Digital Dialogs is celebrating with a collection of digital resources related to the environmental history, conservation, and study of Florida environments and ecosystems… (Continue Reading)
USF Curiosities: The Golden Brahman?
Reading Time: 4 minutesFive years after the University of South Florida was founded and long before there was a football team, USF had no mascot. The issue had first been discussed during committee meetings convened to develop the school’s constitution, but it wouldn’t be revisited again until the University Center sponsored a contest to name the school mascot.