Hidden Literacies from Trinity College

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Please check out the incredible digital collection below, as described in a recent post on SHARP-L!!:

 Colleagues—

I’m writing to let you know about a resource you might find useful at hiddenliteracies.org  

Hidden Literacies brings together leading scholars of historical literacy to investigate the surprising, often neglected roles reading and writing have played in the lives of marginalized Americans—from Indigenous and enslaved people to prisoners and young children.  By presenting high-resolution images of archival texts and pairing them with expert commentary, Hidden Literacies aims to make these writers and texts—which too often lie below the radar of American literature curricula—more available and accessible to teachers and researchers.  

Edited by Chris Hager and Hilary Wyss, with an accompanying podcast by Mary Mahoney, Hidden Literacies features essays by  

Tara Bynum  

Katy Chiles  

Matt Cohen  

Ellen Cushman  

Drew Newman 

Margaret Noodin 

Phillip Round 

Karen Sanchez-Eppler  

Jodi Schorb  

Caroline Wigginton 

Kelly Wisecup 

‘Our mission is crucial’: meet the warrior librarians of Ukraine [The Guardian]

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Did you know one of Putin’s aims in invading Ukraine was to eradicate the country’s historical libraries? Find out how Ukrainian libraries are valiantly defending their nation’s books and cultural materials:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/dec/04/our-mission-is-crucial-meet-the-warrior-librarians-of-ukraine?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Learn how you can help Ukrainian libraries through our blog page. Read more about the invasion and Ukrainian libraries in Hermina G.B. Anghelescu’s article, “Ukraine’s Libraries under Russian Fire: The First Fifty Days of Aggression”, available in the most recent issue of Libraries: Culture, History, & Society.

Jesse H. Shera Award for Distinguished Published Research

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The Library Research Round Table of the American Library Association announces the 2023 Jesse H. Shera Award for Distinguished Published Research. The deadline for submitting entries is February 15, 2023.  The LRRT Shera Award Committee will judge the entries for the competition. The decision of the Committee will be announced by the LRRT Steering Committee Chair, prior to the Annual Conference.

For full details please see the Award web site at: https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/ors/orsawards/sherapublished/sherajesseh

CFP: Phyllis Dain Library History Dissertation Award

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CFP: Phyllis Dain Library History Dissertation Award

Members of the Library History Round Table (LHRT) of American Library Association (ALA) created the Phyllis Dain Library History Dissertation Award to recognize outstanding work in our field by emerging library historians. The committee for the selection of the 2023 Dain Dissertation Award winner is seeking submissions by January 18, 2023.

The full description of the Dain Award and the submission process follows and will be updated to reflect the current biennial cycle and available at:
http://www.ala.org/lhrt/awards/phyllis-dain-library-history-dissertation-award

Phyllis Dain Library History Dissertation Award
The Library History Round Table (LHRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) sponsors the biennial Phyllis Dain Library History Dissertation Award. The award is offered only in odd-numbered years. The Dain Award, named in honor of a library historian widely known as a supportive advisor and mentor as well as a rigorous scholar and thinker, recognizes outstanding dissertations in English in the general area of library history during any time period or region of the world. Five hundred dollars and a certificate are given for the best dissertation that embodies original research on a significant topic relating to the history of libraries.

Eligibility and Criteria
Dissertations completed and accepted during the preceding two academic years are eligible. Dissertations accepted for completion of the doctorate in 2021and 2022 will be eligible for the 2023 award. Entries are judged on: clear definition of the research questions and/or hypotheses; use of appropriate primary resources; depth of research; superior quality of writing; and significance of the conclusions. The LHRT is particularly interested in dissertations that place the subject within its broader historical, social, cultural, and political context and make interdisciplinary connections with print culture and information studies.

Submissions and Selection
The award winner will be selected by the Phyllis Dain Dissertation Award Committee appointed by the LHRT vice chair/chair elect. The winner will be informed before May 1st and the winner will be announced in a press release on or about June 1st of the award year. A certificate honoring the author will be presented at the awards ceremony LHRT during the Annual Conference of ALA.

Submit one electronic copy of the approved and signed dissertation and a signed letter of support from the doctoral advisor or dissertation committee chair at the degree-granting institution. Submissions must be received by January 18, 2023. Please use the following form to submit: https://airtable.com/shrdiWv5YpvUjuunf

CFP for LIS Students

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Dear Students,

It’s hard to believe that we’re at the end of another semester!  Hope your papers, theses, book reviews, presentations, and other class projects are going well.

We would like to invite you to submit your library history-related projects to LHRT News and Notes, the official blog of ALA’s Library History Round Table.

We’d be quite happy to consider your papers in whatever format you are using in your course.  We can work together to make revisions and edits, if needed, so that we can publish your papers on the blog.

Why submit to LHRT News and Notes?

>Populating the blog supports LHRT’s mission of increasing public awareness of library history.

>Sharing your paper in an open access blog helps fellow library history scholars researching the same topic.

>Submitting to LHRT News and Notes is friendly and non-intimidating with flexible guidelines.

>Publishing in an official ALA blog boosts your resume.

The LHRT News and Notes blog (which has examples of past LIS students’ works) is located at:  https://lhrtnews.wordpress.com/

Please scroll to the bottom of the “How To Submit” page for our special vide​o invitation to LIS students:https://lhrtnews.wordpress.com/how-to-submit/

Good luck on those final projects, and we hope you’ll consider sending them to the blog after you’re done!  All submissions can be emailed to lhrtnewsandnotes@gmail.com   Inquires are welcome.

Best Wishes,
The LHRT News and Notes Blog Team

Brett Spencer

Editor, LHRT News & Notes

Reference Librarian

Thun Library

PO Box 7009

Tulpehocken Road

Reading, PA  19610-6009

Phone: 610-396-6261

Email: dbs21@psu.edu

Black Friday Shopping for Library History Buffs

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Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the biggest shopping day of the year in the USA, as people begin to buy gifts for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza. At other places around the world, you might be preparing for a holiday season as well. Here’s some gift ideas related to library history!:

If you’d like to inspire a youngster in your family with library history, check out this delightful series of essays about library history in children’s picture books by M. E. Bonds on her blog: Part 1 deals with libraries around the world; Part 2 looks at library “firsts.”; Part 3 looks at libraries and minorities; and Part 4 looks at a variety of other themes.  She highlights books like The Book Boat’s In by Cynthia Cotten, which tells kids the story of floating libraries on the Erie Canal in the early 1800s, and The StoryTeller’s Candle by Lushcia M. Gonzales,  which features New York Public Library’s first Puerto Rican librarian, Pura Belpre.  I had no idea there were so many children’s books about the history of libraries!

What about young adults? One interesting gift could be New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine’s fantasy/alternate history book series about the Library of Alexandria, Ink and Bone. In this version of reality, the Library of Alexandria has survived and opened branches in most of the world’s cities–and uses alchemy, rather than electronic resources, to deliver information.

If you’re looking for gift ideas for a fellow library historian, you might wrap up some of these fantastic photo books that have come out in the last few years:

  •  The Library: A World History by Dr. James Campbell offers breathtaking photos of many of the world’s historic libraries–this teaser from the Daily Mail  showcases a sample.
  • Another excellent stocking stuffer is The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World by Jacques Bosser (Author),‎ James H. Billington (Contributor),‎ and Guillaume de Laubier (Photographer).  “The accompanying text by journalist and translator Jacques Bosser traces the history of libraries from the Renaissance to the present day…” (publisher description).
  • Any library historian would be happy to find The Card Catalog: Books, Cards, and Literary Treasures  by the Library of Congress under the tree on Christmas morning.  “Featuring more than 200 full-color images of original catalog cards, first edition book covers, and photographs from the library’s magnificent archives, this collection is a visual celebration of the rarely seen treasures in one of the world’s most famous libraries and the brilliant catalog system…” (publisher description).
  • The Library: An Illustrated History by Stuart A. P. Murray is likely on many bibliophile’s wish lists.

Know of other great gifts for library history buffs? Email us at the blog lhrtnewsandnotes@milib3073

[This post was adapted from a 2017 post].