Monthly Archives: October 2019

Monthly Archives: October 2019

Three Women of Indiana’s Past: empowering change in education, housing & prisons

Three Women of Indiana’s Past: empowering change in education, housing & prisons

When one thinks of Indiana, thoughts may race from the Indy 500, grow to include cornfields and combines, then settle on limestone. The names Albion Fellows Bacon, Eliza Blaker, and Rhoda M. Coffin may not come to mind. Yet these three women were instrumental in laying the groundwork for how we perceive life in Indiana these days, whether it be housing, education, or correctional facilities. Albion Fellows Bacon (1865-1933) Thanks to the efforts of Albion Fellows Bacon (1865-1933), residents of Indiana had better housing options available to them in 1911. After two of her children developed scarlet fever, Albion went on a search to discover the source of her children’s illness and came across the riverfront slums in Evansville. Appalled … Continued
Primary Sources

Primary Sources

“The whole modern method of historical research is founded upon the distinction between original and derivative authorities. By original authorities we mean either statements by eye-witnesses, or documents, and other material remains, which are contemporary with the events which they attest. By derivative authorities we mean historians or chroniclers who relate and discuss events which they have not witnessed but which they have heard of or inferred directly or indirectly from original authorities.” – Arnaldo Momigliano, Studies in Historiography, 1966 When conducting research, you will often need to find and use specific types of resources.  That could include peer-reviewed work, or to use a book or a video as a reference.  One common and very important type of source students … Continued
The 200 Festival Collections Showcase

The 200 Festival Collections Showcase

Assistant Librarian of Access & Technical Services and IU East Archivist Beth South presented at the 200 Festival Collections Showcase in Bloomington, IN on September 27, 2019. The showcase aimed to show how IU students, staff and faculty are using technology to enhance preservation, conservation, and use of collections and to develop new collections for public engagement. Beth showcased the IU East LGBTQ+ Archive Collection, a new student-created collection which uses the IU Pressbooks platform. The e-book platform allows the collection to be easily accessible to the public, with chapters denoting different themes, focusing on people, places, or events and it can be easily searched for those wanting to find content related to gay marriage, drag shows, asexuality, and more. … Continued
This is Halloween

This is Halloween

With a documented history spanning roughly two millennia and traditions spanning across the world, Halloween is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the United States.  It’s also an incredibly lucrative holiday, with this year’s spending total expected to reach $8.8 billion in the US alone.  Halloween, according to folklorist Jack Santino, is a holiday that is intended to stretch borders – those of exploration, identity, marginality and, in some cases, rules themselves.  The celebrations, which involve costumes, jack o’ lanterns, candy, horror movies and remembrance of the dead, demonstrate a great deal of syncretism, blending Celtic, Hispanic and American traditions into one magnificent event. A mere sample of the Halloween-related items in the collection of IU East librarian … Continued