Reading Time: 6 minutes Dr. Matthew Knight gives an introduction to Dion Boucicault and the updated Dion Boucicault Theatre Collection hub for Irish-American Heritage Month.
Category: Collections of Interest
Dr. John Ogden Caribbean and Coral Reef Collection
Reading Time: 4 minutes Guest post from John Clarke, Coordinator for Florida Environmental and Natural History collections at Special Collections, USF Libraries, Tampa campus highlights the Dr. John Ogden Caribbean and Coral Reef collection as an important collection of marine science research materials.
USF Curiosities: A 40-foot Band-Aid?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Mom! Mom, look! A giant Band-Aid!
Walking into a hospital can be a scary experience for anyone. But, for a sick child, walking into a hospital seems particularly daunting. The Children’s Research Institute (CRI) at the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus makes that experience a little less scary due to its inclusion of a public art project. Art has a way of connecting people, promoting a sense of togetherness, and providing a sense of belonging. And that’s why James Rosenquist’s public art project is so important… (Continue Reading)
#Creekshed – USF Creek Shed Digital Collection
Reading Time: 2 minutes USF Libraries is collaborating with Dr. Thomas Hallock (USF St. Petersburg campus) and Dr. Amanda Hagood (Eckerd College) to archive a series of columns called City Wilds for the newspaper Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. The articles are intended to highlight various creek sheds around the Tampa Bay area. Dr. Hallock finds it important to make sure the conversation on this topic is sustained. In an effort to get the word out on these pieces, Dr. Hallock and Dr. Hagood created and put into use an easily taggable hashtag name, #creekshed.
Enjoying Real and Imagined Florida Landscapes in the Hampton Dunn Collection of Florida Postcards
Reading Time: 5 minutes Over a hundred years ago, postcards became popular souvenirs when visiting far off destinations. The images depicted on their backs provided vivid glimpses into the landscapes seen by family members and friends. The postcards from the Hampton Dunn Collection of Florida Postcards, housed in USF Libraries’ Special Collections—Tampa campus, show Florida at its finest and most whimsical… (Continue Reading)
Millions of Years in the Making: A New Platform for the Karst Information Portal
Reading Time: 3 minutes By: Amanda Boczar, Curator for Digital Collections and Jason Boczar, Digital Scholarship and Publishing Librarian June 6th is the National Day of Caves and Karst, and we’re celebrating with the official launch of the newly redesigned Karst Information Portal (KIP). For …Continue Reading
The Oracle in the Archives: The Grim Reaper of Pizza
Reading Time: 6 minutes Guest post from Richard Schmidt, Collection Specialist for Special Collections– Tampa campus. Richard specializes in digitization of rare materials.
The push for the USF Libraries to digitize the college’s student newspaper, The USF Oracle, began several years before I was hired as a staff member in the building. Alumni and researchers alike have always been interested in being able to view campus newspapers, and the more that they could view online, the better. By the time I started working on the Digitization team in Special Collections in 2007, the effort to capture the day-to-day goings-on, as recorded by the newspaper, was well under way… (Continue Reading)
Zarzuela in honor of World Theater Day
Reading Time: 4 minutes USF Libraries’ Special Collections is home to many different types of physical items and ephemera. From books and journals to newspapers, yearbooks, sheet music, and plays, the collections are vast and varied. One item type that is not widely highlighted is the zarzuela. Zarzuelas are Spanish lyric drama’s that alternate between spoken and sung scenes accompanied by dance numbers (“Zarzuela,” 2022).
Celebrating Women’s History Month with Snapshots of Women at Work
Reading Time: 8 minutes The twentieth century marked a watershed century for the women’s labor movement, starting with the progressive era and evolving as world wars and the women’s rights movements reshaped how society responded to a gender-integrated workforce. As we continue to celebrate the history and accomplishments of women, this week we’re taking a look at this evolution through documents… (Continue Reading)