Baking the Archives: A sweet start for Fall

Reading Time: 6 minutes This post was guest authored by Rebekah Nault, Library Specialist in Library Services at the Tampa Library   From an early age, I tried to establish a solid relationship with baking, even though there were times when baking thought we would be …Continue Reading


Book Lovers Day 2024: Staff Recommendations

Reading Time: 11 minutes This post was guest authored by Leslie Boydstun, Course Reserves Library Specialist For as long as I can remember, my favorite thing to talk about has been books. I love to find out what people are reading, why they love the genres …Continue Reading


USF Curiosities: A solar rotary?

Reading Time: 5 minutes Summer days are here at last! Today, we will experience not only the first day of summer but also the longest day of the year.   In the Northern Hemisphere, the June solstice (aka summer solstice) occurs when the Sun travels along its …Continue Reading


This Day in USF History: Gasohol

Reading Time: 2 minutes The USF Oracle has been the student newspaper of USF since 1966, when it replaced the Campus Edition of the Tampa Daily Times. The USF Libraries have been digitizing the print editions of the Oracle from 1966 onward and adding them to the USF Oracle Archive in our online digital collections


Baking the Archives: Blueberry cake(ish)

Reading Time: 5 minutes This post was guest authored by Tomaro Taylor, Director of USF Libraries’ Special Collections – Tampa campus.   I did not grow up in a family of bakers. My mother cooks and eats out of necessity, and few things are ever the …Continue Reading


Exploring St. Petersburg with the Francis G. Wagner Photograph Collection as a Guide

Reading Time: 7 minutes This post was guest authored by Alexandra Vargas-Minor, Florida Studies Curator & Campus Archivist at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, USF Libraries – St. Petersburg campus.   As the incoming Florida Studies Curator & Campus Archivist at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, …Continue Reading


Pets in the Archives: Horses and roosters too!

Reading Time: 3 minutes What is a pet? A companion. A friend. A member of the family. They provide so much comfort and enhance our lives on a daily basis. As proud pet moms, the authors of Digital Dialogs would like to celebrate National Pet Day …Continue Reading


Take your Poet to School: John Keats

Reading Time: 3 minutes This post was guest authored by Jason Boczar, Digital Scholarship and Publishing Librarian at USF Libraries.   This week is  “Take your Poet to School” week, a week celebrating the reading, writing, and history of poetry across the globe. During the week, …Continue Reading


Celebrating Women’s History Month with Snapshots of Early Photography

Reading Time: 7 minutes In honor of Women’s History Month, Digital Dialogs is delving into the past to take a look at an early form of photography: glass plate negatives. Before photographs were printed on paper or saved as digital files, images were imprinted on metal …Continue Reading


Sociedad La Union Marti-Maceo Collection Now in Digital Collections

Reading Time: 4 minutes By Stephanie Mackin, Visiting Assistant Librarian, Special Collections  Since its arrival in 1983, the Sociedad la Union Marti-Maceo collection has been a popular and heavily utilized collection at the University of South Florida Libraries’ Tampa Special Collections. The uniqueness and historical significance …Continue Reading


Baking the Archives: Utilizing historical recipes in honor of National Homemade Bread Day

Reading Time: 5 minutes As an avid baker, I wasn’t about to let National Homemade Bread Day go by without a loaf baked in its honor. Even though bread is not my specialty, I bake bread almost every week. Usually, I dig a well-worn recipe card …Continue Reading


Celebrating National Author’s Day: 2023 Reading List

Reading Time: 2 minutes In honor of National Author’s Day, Digital Dialogs wanted to share with you some of our favorite authors. The reading list below was assembled by our very own USF Libraries’ staff and faculty. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry… mystery, comedy, science fiction, fantasy, thriller… …Continue Reading


The Spotted Six or The Mystery of Calvert Hathaway

Reading Time: 4 minutes Guest Post by Richard Schmidt, Coordinator of Library Operations and Resident Dime Novel Reviewer   Warning: Spoilers Ahead I will be spoiling several of the plot twists in my review, and while I can’t recommend reading this particular dime novel, you can …Continue Reading


Picasso at USF

Reading Time: 3 minutes If you’ve ever had a tour of Tampa Campus Special Collections, then you have probably seen the mock-up of a Picasso sculpture that never came to be. Originally planned to be erected at USF in the 1970s by the sculptor Carl Nesjar, the sculpture was meant to be over 100 feet tall. Recently, additional material from the USF Archives has been digitized. These items provide another glimpse into the monumental sculpture that, if it had been erected, would have drastically changed the feel of USF’s Tampa campus from what we know it to be today.


Open Access Week 2023: Dr. Lawrence’s Translated Texts

Reading Time: 2 minutes Guest post by Jason Boczar, Digital Scholarship and Publishing Librarian As it celebrates its fifteenth year, SPARC’s International Open Access Week aims to “raise awareness” about the “importance of community control of knowledge sharing systems.” To celebrate, the team behind USF Library’s …Continue Reading


Food Conservation in the Home and Recipes in the Archives

Reading Time: 2 minutes Food is a way to understand a place and a culture. Sharing a meal is a bonding ritual that transcends many cultural boundaries. The recipes of the past can also teach us about history, with useful tips for today’s challenges. That is the case for Blanche Armwood Perkins’ Food Conservation in the Home:  A Collection of War-Time Recipes. 


Pride is Dignity: Celebrating Pride month with the Dignity collection, new to Digital Commons @ USF

Reading Time: 3 minutes Dahlia Thomas, Stephanie Mackin, and Natalie Kazmin showcase the newly digitized Dignity collection.


Reading Challenged Books

Reading Time: 3 minutes Book challenges of the past can seem eerily similar to book challenges today. During the John’s Committee Investigations at the University of South Florida (USF) in the mid-1960s, a number of books and readings, including some written by USF faculty, came under scrutiny for vulgarity, anti-religious sentiment, communist leanings, and pornography.


2023 Virtual Undergraduate Research Conference

Reading Time: 2 minutes This year, the 2023 Virtual Undergraduate Research Conference takes place on April 13th. It is the second year the library has worked with the Office of High Impact Practices and Undergraduate Research (HIPUR) to host the virtual event. For the 2022 Virtual …Continue Reading


Pets in the Archives: Cats and Dogs and Alligators… Oh my!

Reading Time: 4 minutes From cats and dogs to lizards and snakes, pets enrich our lives and bring us happiness on a daily basis. Nothing is better than coming home after a long day and being met at the door by an excited pet, ready to give you snuggles. As proud pet moms, the authors of Digital Dialogs would like to celebrate National Pet Day with a look at beloved pets as seen through our USF Libraries’ Digital Collections.


Celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month with Spencer Williams

Reading Time: 5 minutes You may not know Spencer Williams by name, but I bet you know “Everybody Loves My Baby, but My Baby Don’t Love Nobody but Me,” or maybe “Basin Street Blues.” Perhaps you can even sing a few lines of “I Ain’t Got Nobody.” Spencer Williams composed from 200-500 songs, many of which were imbued with a deep sense of nostalgia for the New Orleans he knew in the 1910s (Edwards, n.d.; Chilla, 2022). He was known for being an original, and though some might warmly critique his ideas as ‘shortwinded’ and his harmonies as ‘modest,’ they would still agree “he could write a tune that got to the subject” (“Quite a Moment,” 1965).


Celebrating Women’s History Month with the Burn Bosses of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Reading Time: 8 minutes Beginning in 2021 Dr. Ann Hodgson, scientist, ornithologist, and affiliated faculty at USF sat down with a number of Audubon employees, researchers, and volunteers to discuss their efforts within and beyond the organization to support environmental conservation and restoration in Florida. As …Continue Reading


Dion Boucicault, Irish immigrants, and USF Libraries Special Collections

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.


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 Archives Sought Out For Perspective on Johns Committee

Reading Time: 4 minutes Andy Huse, Librarian and Curator for Florida History in Special Collections, USF Libraries, Tampa Campus shares how he assisted Emma Pettit, Senior Reporter at the Chronicle of Higher Education, in her research into the Johns Committee.


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)


Womyn’s Words and the Women’s Energy Bank Collections

Reading Time: 4 minutes By: Amanda Boczar and Sydney Jordan  March is Women’s History Month, a time to reflect on, give voice to, and celebrate the lives of women throughout history. Women of the Tampa Bay area have no shortage of stories to tell, and many …Continue Reading


‘We Wanted Some Basic Human Rights: The Civil Rights Struggle in Tampa’ exhibit

Reading Time: 3 minutes The USF Libraries host several exhibits that highlight a variety of collections, providing context to material that is often only publicly accessed via a finding aid. The exhibits come from many different sources. Some come from grant funded research, some from library personnel or library partnerships, and some from student work under the guidance of USF faculty. The exhibit: ‘We Wanted Some Basic Human Rights: The Civil Rights Struggle in Tampa’ was created during a Spring seminar on the Civil Rights Movement taught by Dr. K. Stephen Prince of the USF History Department in 2016. Students of the seminar worked with Special Collections personnel and consulted fifteen archival collections housed in USF Tampa Special Collections.


USF Curiosities: A faculty airplane?

Reading Time: 3 minutes How do you normally get to campus? A car, a bicycle, a bus, or walk…  What about an airplane? Well, that’s just what USF faculty members did in the early 1980s. While the Tampa campus had permanent faculty members, its sister campus at Ft. Myers did not. Initially, Tampa campus faculty members would make a 24 to 48 hour round trip in a car just to teach a three hour class… (Continue Reading)


“Banned and Burned: Why Worry? It’s Just Kiddie Lit”

Reading Time: 5 minutes Headlines 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.


USF Curiosities: Chariot races?

Reading Time: 2 minutes When 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)


USF Curiosities: A Pablo Picasso sculpture 10 stories tall?

Reading Time: 7 minutes In 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 National Estuaries Week with Florida Environmental & Natural History Digital Resources

Reading Time: 6 minutes In 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 minutes Five 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.


The Liberty Boys of “76″

Reading Time: 4 minutes Guest author, Richard Schmidt, gives an in depth look at The Liberty Boys of “76”: A Weekly Magazine Containing Stories of the American Revolution. Over 300 issues of Liberty Boys are housed in the USF Libraries’ digital repository.


Celebrating Nurses: Documenting Care and Compassion in Oral History Collections

Reading Time: 7 minutes For two centuries, nurses have been the picture of care, empathy, and compassion in healthcare. They see patients through vulnerable moments, difficult decisions, hardships, and moments of joy. Day in and day out, nurses uplift, support, and diligently care for their patients, providing a positive, compassionate presence to hospital rooms, doctor’s offices, care facilities, and treatment centers. In celebration of their tremendous efforts, Digital Dialogs is celebrating Nurses Week 2021 with a look at their personal experiences, as documented in two of USF Libraries’ oral history collections… (Continue Reading)


Celebrating Earth Day with a look at ELAPP

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP) was established by Hillsborough County voters in the late 1980s.  Since its establishment, ELAPP has protected over 61,000 acres of rare habitat in Hillsborough County.  Digital Dialogs celebrates Earth Day with a closer look at this program.


What’s March have to do with war?

Reading Time: 4 minutes Welcome to the month of March. According to the Roman calendar, it was the first month of the year, so if your new year’s resolutions got off to a bad start in January, try again this month. As a matter of fact, …Continue Reading


Celebrating Women’s History Month with Snapshots of the Florida Citrus Industry

Reading Time: 6 minutes Since the mid-1800s, Florida groves have been peppered with oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes. While not native plants, their fruit have become irrevocably linked with the Florida landscape. From postcards and packaging to advertisements and film, the image of Florida is one that combines beauty, sand, and citrus. For over 150 years, farmers have invested in citrus crops, laborers have relied on the fruit’s growth for work, and canneries have preserved these pieces of edible sunshine… (Continue Reading)


USF Curiosities: Planting trees at “Sandspur U”?

Reading Time: 2 minutes What are you most proud of in your tenure at the University of South Florida? Margaret Fisher didn’t select a moment of personal triumph or individual achievement in response to this question. Instead, she honed in on a moment that united the campus community. Recorded in the USF 50th Anniversary Oral History Project, Fisher, who arrived at USF in 1960 as the director of women’s affairs, describes how she was particularly proud of an “all-university enterprise,” where faculty, staff, and students came together to plant trees in the quad… (Continue Reading)


Celebrating Black History Month with a Portrait of Blanche Armwood

Reading Time: 5 minutes In honor of Black History Month, Digital Dialogs would like to highlight the story of one local leader for her commitment to education and equality. Blanche Armwood became a prominent figure on the national stage, known for her dedication to education and social reform.


USF Curiosities: Bottle Cap U? Sandspur U?

Reading Time: 3 minutes With the name “University of South Florida,” most people except USF to be located in Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Instead, USF is located in the middle of the state in Tampa, a city that is not near southern Florida at all! So, how did the University of South Florida get its name? When Florida Governor LeRoy Collins signed a law in 1955… (Continue Reading)


USF Curiosities: Chickens in the elevator?

Reading Time: 2 minutes Well, you can’t say that we don’t have fun at the University of South Florida… As one of the first resident instructors at USF, Phyllis Marshall came to the Tampa campus in the fall of 1960. At the time, Marshall was in charge of 47 women, who lived on the 4th floor of the University Center. She remembers the way the residents developed a set of rules for themselves and created new social organizations. She also remembers how the residents participated in some early antics… (Continue Reading)


Library Exhibits on Environmental Studies

Reading Time: 3 minutes USF Libraries’ program partners, donors, staff, and faculty have created several exhibits that highlight the Tampa campus library’s digital collections that focus on environmental studies.  These exhibits work to provide additional context and connect digital resources to tell the full story of events that have shaped the Florida environment.


USF Curiosities: An elephant on the roof?

Reading Time: 2 minutes From the beginning, USF faculty members have proved themselves to be resourceful and imaginative instructors. So, when an elephant passed away at nearby Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, USF’s biology professors saw this as a unique opportunity… (Continue Reading)


The Roseate Spoonbill: A Fight for Survival

Reading Time: 5 minutes As a result of the “feather craze” that decimated Florida’s bird populations, the Florida Audubon Society found that the roseate spoonbill had been the mostly heavily hit. Plume hunters and poachers sought out the roseate spoonbill for its beautiful, bright pink and orange plumage. The Audubon Society “understood that in order to save endangered birds from extinction, [it] would have to bring more resources to bear than wardens and sanctuaries.” Because the population of spoonbills had been so devastated, their “critical situation called for careful study of the living birds in the wild” and Robert Porter Allen was the perfect person for the job… (Continue Reading)


USF Curiosities: Sand as far as the eye could see?

Reading Time: 4 minutes The year was 1956… At the time, an old WWII Hillsborough Army Airfield occupied a large expanse of Fowler Avenue. On December 18th, the Florida Cabinet voted to transform that airfield into the location of a new public university. The University of South Florida Tampa campus would eventually be built on what once was the practice bombing range. Two years later, ground breaking ceremonies took place on the Tampa campus, with contracts for the first three university buildings complete… (Continue Reading)


USF Digital Collections for Environmental and Natural Sciences Research: Oral History Collections

Reading Time: 3 minutes Post written by Lesley Brooks, Carla Fotherby, and LeEtta Schmidt This is the fourth and final post in a four part series introducing USF digital collections for environmental and natural sciences. In this post, we will be reviewing our oral history collections …Continue Reading


USF Digital Collections for Environmental and Natural Sciences Research: Historical Collections

Reading Time: 3 minutes Post written by Lesley Brooks, Carla Fotherby, and LeEtta Schmidt This is the third post in a four part series introducing USF digital collections for environmental and natural sciences. The USF Libraries Digital Collections have been steadily growing collections on various aspects …Continue Reading


The African American Experience in Florida Collections Initiative and Portal

Reading Time: 4 minutes Guest article by David Shedden, Assistant Librarian, Head of Special Collections & University Archives, USF Libraries, St. Petersburg campus On June 4, 2020, soon after the world learned of the death of George Floyd, USF Libraries Dean Todd Chavez wrote in an …Continue Reading


USF Digital Collections for Environmental and Natural Sciences Research: 3D Modeling Collections

Reading Time: 2 minutes Post written by Lesley Brooks, Carla Fotherby, and LeEtta Schmidt This is the second in a four part series introducing USF digital collections for environmental and natural sciences. The USF Libraries Digital Collections have been steadily growing collections that focus on various …Continue Reading


USF Digital Collections for Environmental and Natural Sciences Research: Research & Data Collections

Reading Time: 4 minutes Post written by Lesley Brooks, Carla Fotherby, and LeEtta Schmidt This is the first in a four part series introducing USF digital collections for environmental and natural sciences. USF Libraries’ vision is to be at the center of a highly engaged university …Continue Reading


The Florida Public Health Oral History Project

Reading Time: 2 minutes Post written by Jane Duncan Today, more than ever, public health officials contribute to the health and wellness of our communities through disease prevention programs, education, clean water initiatives, disaster relief, laboratory research, and more. It is important to document the knowledge of prominent experts so that we can continue to learn from them for years to come. That’s what makes projects like USF’s Florida Public Health Oral History Project so vital. As we contend with the spread of this global pandemic, we invite you to learn more about the vital field of public health… (Continue Reading)


Celebrating the Contributions of Nurses

Reading Time: 7 minutes Nursing has changed a lot in the last 200 years, but a few things have not changed: devotion to patient care, compassion, dedication, knowledge, hard work, and empathy… just to name a few. From patient wards and operating rooms to ambulances and battle fields, nurses have been the backbone of the healthcare system for over a century. As a daughter of a nurse, I must admit that I might be a little biased on the subject, but I am confident that everyone would agree that nurses have made a profound impact on the health and success of our society… (Continue Reading)


The Fashion Craze that Galvanized Conservationists

Reading Time: 5 minutes Imagine it’s the year 1880… Men are dressed in top hats and long, formal coats while elegant women wear bustled skirts, their waists pinched in by corsets, and their heads adorned by large hats scattered with bright, colorful feathers. It’s the fashion of the day and the current craze is focused on those colorful feathers. But, what had to die to fulfill this fashion craze? BIRDS… (Continue Reading)


Dion Boucicault: playwright, plagiarist, and pioneer

Reading Time: 3 minutes Boucicault was both a prolific playwright and a flagrant plagiarist. He wrote at a time when appropriating plays and literary works across country borders was almost the norm. However, his activities pirating other author’s works, and also protecting his own, contributed to changes in copyright law that would give greater protection to playwrights after Boucicault. USF Libraries has one of the largest publicly accessible collections of Boucicault’s work, despite Boucicaults attempts to prevent piracy of his works by resisting publication.


Celebrating Women’s History Month with the Burgert Brothers Collection of Tampa Photographs

Reading Time: 5 minutes The Burgert Brothers Collection of Tampa Photographs pictorially captures the history of our city during the first half of the twentieth century. From 1917 until the 1960s, Burgert Brothers was the leading commercial photographic firm in Tampa. The photographs in this collection focus on communities at work and at play. From grocery stores, cigar factories, and cargo ships to citrus fields, universities, and company buildings, this collection provides a look at a changing society. Documenting Tampa in times of war, economic booms, cultural changes, and economic hardships, this collection shows how a marginalized group could enter into new spaces and flourish. With 863 digitized items, Digital Dialogs would like to celebrate Women’s History Month with the Burgert Brothers’ Collection in recognition of its many depictions of women at work and women’s collegiate education… (Continue Reading)


Celebrating Black History Month with the USF Photograph Collection

Reading Time: 5 minutes The USF Photograph Collection pictorially documents the history and legacy of the University of South Florida, including the impact of two pioneering individuals. In celebration of Black History Month, Digital Dialogs would like to recognize Dr. Ernest Boger, II and Dr. Juel Smith for their many accomplishments and contributions to our USF community… (Continue Reading)


Alicia Appleman-Jurman, a Holocaust Survivor

Reading Time: 5 minutes Today marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi concentration and death camp. In the weeks before its liberation, the Schutzstaffel (SS) evacuated nearly 60,000 prisoners and forced them to march to Wodzislaw while leaving 7,000 sick and dying prisoners behind in Auschwitz. Suffering from starvation and harsh winter conditions, more than 15,000 people died or were killed during, what is now referred to as, the death march. While an exact number is not known, it is believed that at least 1.3 million people were forced to enter Auschwitz as prisoners. Of these… (Continue Reading)


Celebrating the Public Domain in 2020

Reading Time: 3 minutes Copyright protects works of original authorship from being legally copied, disseminated, and otherwise exploited without the author or rights-holder’s approval.  This protection is for a limited time in order to balance the interests of the author with the possibility that a work …Continue Reading


Catesby Collection

Reading Time: 3 minutes Mark Catesby’s two-volume set of The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands was published in 1754. Over 250 years later, this printed edition is housed in just 45 libraries globally. Describing and illustrating North American flora and fauna from an 18th-century naturalist’s perspective, this work has become a rare and important artifact for historians and scientists alike… (Continue Reading)


Excavations of a pre-Columbian platform mound

Reading Time: < 1 minute For more than four decades, Charles Stanish has unearthed the mysteries and secrets of ancient societies in the Americas. His work uncovers the interplay of trade, war, and labor organization as villages evolved into complex societies.  His discoveries gave new understanding to …Continue Reading


USF – digitized

Reading Time: < 1 minute Since 1956, the University of South Florida has been amazing people. But, you should expect a bang from an institution built on a World War II practice bombing range, shouldn’t you? The early years definitely have stories, some inspiring and some surprising. …Continue Reading


Swing Along!

Reading Time: < 1 minute Talented. Undeterred. History Shapers. These are but some of the attributes found in the musicians of the “Swing Along!“ exhibit. In spite of prejudice and lack of opportunities, these men changed the history of music. Each story is unique as the individual …Continue Reading


USF Libraries 3D Biological Specimens

Reading Time: < 1 minute   The School of Geosciences Research Platform Team (RPT) and Digital Heritage and Humanities Collection (DHHC) at the USF Libraries worked with paleo-biologist professors Jen Bright and Greg Herbert to create 3D models of six biological specimens for use in an out-of-classroom …Continue Reading


Tampa in Time

Reading Time: < 1 minute Tampa was incorporated in 1849, but for a long time was overlooked or considered a town with dubious morals—a town for mobsters or corrupt politicians. In spite of these unfortunately accurate accusations, Tampa grew, and as it grew changes took place. From …Continue Reading


Digitization in Celebration of African American History Month

Reading Time: < 1 minute Black Migrations is the theme of 2019’s Black History Month as chosen by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).  The theme focuses on the movement of African American people in the U.S. from the south to the north, …Continue Reading


Celebrating the Public Domain: 19 in 2019

Reading Time: 3 minutes What is the public domain?  The public domain consists of material that is not protected by copyright and is therefore considered to belong to everyone for every kind of use (find more info on the copyright guide).  Items enter the public domain …Continue Reading


New Digital Collection: Dr. Garald Gordon Parker

Reading Time: < 1 minute Journals, reports, maps, and photographs from the ‘Father of Florida groundwater hydrogeology’ Digital Scholarship Services is happy to announce the launch of a new digital collection pulled from the USF Libraries’ Tampa Special Collections:  the papers of Dr. Garald Gordon Parker.  Dr. …Continue Reading


Digital Scholarship Services Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Reading Time: 2 minutes In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month and this year’s theme:  Hispanics:  One Endless Voice to Enhance our Traditions, Digital Scholarship Services has digitized a small selection of musical and theatrical materials from our Special Collections Sheet Music and Centro Asturiano Collections.  First, in …Continue Reading


What Will Be Your Legacy

Reading Time: < 1 minute Welcome to new students and welcome back to returning students. Every month comes with designated remembrances and celebration. “What will be Your Legacy” is celebrated this month. How are you going to celebrate it? Every Bull leaves hoof prints and a legacy …Continue Reading


ELAPP Recap

Reading Time: < 1 minute After several months of diligent work, USF Library Digital Scholarship Services unveiled the Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP) Oral History Collection on Thursday October 12th, 2017. This collection features audio interviews and transcripts from many of the founders, partners, and …Continue Reading