SCRC Blog Posts
List of blog posts
What’s New in Special Collections? — You Found Out!
Posted on April 17, 2024, 9 a.m.
The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) held a spring open house on March 21, 2024.
Re-Designing the Phonographic Disc Box
Posted on Jan. 3, 2024, 9 a.m.
The Conservation Lab staff redesigned the phonographic disc containers to ensure the safety and maximum longevity of damaged or degrading discs.
About the Ted Koppel Collection at Syracuse University Libraries
Posted on Dec. 13, 2023, noon
Donated by broadcast journalist and Syracuse alumnus Ted Koppel ’60 in 2012, the primarily videotape-based collection contains over 7,000 items covering the latter half of the 20th century.
A Survey of Spooky in SCRC
Posted on Oct. 31, 2023, 2:54 p.m.
Ariana Cook G'24 highlights spooky finds from the Special Collections Research Center in honor of Halloween!
“Boxes, and envelopes, and photos, oh my!” Fred Meyer and The Wizard of Oz Fandom
Posted on May 31, 2023, 4 p.m.
Processing Fred Meyer's papers, co-founder The Wizard of Oz Club.
Boxed in at the Library
Posted on May 25, 2023, 10 a.m.
Using the box maker to create housing for glass plate negatives.
Deep Dive in the Archive: The Role of an Archivist
Posted on May 24, 2023, 4 p.m.
What is an archivist? Archives collect and provide access to primarily unpublished items.
The “Straight-Backed, High-Nosed, Stiff-Necked, Great British Young Lady”: Music and Art of Liza Lehmann
Posted on May 1, 2023, 10 a.m.
Liza Lehmann (1862–1918) was one of the most prolific song composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and an influential vocal pedagogue.
Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. Collection
Posted on April 27, 2023, 10 a.m.
A reflection on the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. Collection from a graduate student intern.
“What ability lurks within women”
Posted on March 8, 2023, 10 a.m.
August 31, 1933, famed aviator Amelia Earhart wrote a brief note to photographer and photojournalist, Margaret Bourke-White, thanking Bourke-White for sending on one of her recent photographic prints.
Inside SCRC: A Letter from Booker T. Washington
Posted on Feb. 9, 2023, 1 p.m.
Washington's 1909 appeal aimed to improve operations at the Tuskegee Institute.
“We have that here?!”: Students Meet Special Collections at the Libraries’ Welcome Fest
Posted on Sept. 30, 2022, noon
SCRC tabled at Welcome Fest, highlighting the full range of resources, services and spaces available to students.
VALUE: Photographs, Memorabilia, Films and SU Archives
Posted on Dec. 16, 2021, 9:05 a.m.
Throughout this week, we have explored many facets of preservation in the archives.
Unknown: Cassette Tapes and the E. Thomas Billard Papers
Posted on Dec. 2, 2021, 9:26 a.m.
The Archives Preservation Countdown coverage continues on Sound Beat this week. Check out their episode on the E. Thomas Billard cassette tapes.
Judgement: Pope Leo XIII and the Belfer Cylinders Collection
Posted on Nov. 18, 2021, 9:52 a.m.
The Archives Preservation Countdown coverage continues on Sound Beat this week.
Risk: Photographs, Lacquer Disks and the Margaret Bourke-White Papers
Posted on Nov. 4, 2021, 10 a.m.
The Preservation Countdown coverage continues. Check out the episode on Margaret Bourke-White today!
Behind the Archives with Jim Meade
Posted on Oct. 25, 2021, 1:45 p.m.
Celebrating American Archives Month by highlighting our own Libraries staff members
TIME: Archives Preservation Countdown
Posted on Oct. 21, 2021, 10:05 a.m.
In 1967, WSYR issued the following message, an interruption to their scheduled broadcast.
Behind the Archives with Meg Mason
Posted on Oct. 6, 2021, 10:27 a.m.
Celebrating American Archives Month by highlighting our very own Libraries staff members
Processing the Papers of Constance Timberlake
Posted on Sept. 29, 2021, 10:12 a.m.
Papers of Constance Timberlake, professor of human development from 1971 to 1993.
Durable and Elegant: Mary Edwards Walker and Dress Reform
Posted on Aug. 25, 2021, 10:18 a.m.
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker achieved national recognition in the 19th century for her service as a surgeon in the army during the Civil War.
Push for Accessibility by SU's Alpha Phi Omega Chapter
Posted on July 15, 2021, 10:24 a.m.
Processing the Alpha Phi Omega Chapter Collection and push for accessibility.
Two Years in the Archives
Posted on June 16, 2021, 10:28 a.m.
Perspectives from the student employee Public Services Assistant Team in the Archives.
Houston, We Have Liftoff!: NASA’s Isolation Experiments
Posted on May 5, 2021, 10:35 a.m.
In 1959, for the Project Mercury recruitments NASA conducted a series of “extraordinary physical examinations.”
Connecting through the Collections
Posted on April 21, 2021, 10:41 a.m.
Transcribing papers from the William Safire Papers and creating metadata for videos in the Inside Albany Records.
Our Day Will Come: Black Pop Music in the Sixties
Posted on April 14, 2021, 10:50 a.m.
The African American Musicians Photograph Collection is a display of purchasing a collection with limited contextual information
Inside SCRC | Belfer Audio Archive with Jim Meade
Posted on March 26, 2021, 1 p.m.
The acoustic recording equipment used to record and play wax cylinders.
Maija Grotell: Revolutionary Craft in 20th Century America
Posted on March 25, 2021, 10:58 a.m.
The “Mother of American Ceramics,” Maija Grotell was a prolific and influential ceramist and educator.
Inside SCRC | Cartoon, Pulp Lit, and Sci-Fi Collections
Posted on March 20, 2021, 4 p.m.
Sharing a diverse range of historical materials from Cartoon, Pulp Lit and Sci-fi collections
Pieces of Puerto Rico: Plastics and Protest
Posted on March 11, 2021, 4:01 p.m.
The Branchell Company background included within the Edward Hellmich Papers.
"This is not a woman who composes, but a composer who is a woman."
Posted on March 3, 2021, 2:45 p.m.
Cécile Chaminade recorded seven compositions for the Gramophone and Typewriter Company.
Inside SCRC | Abolitionist Materials
Posted on Feb. 22, 2021, 4 p.m.
Petrina Jackson spotlights anti-slavery and abolitionist collection items.
Researching Stenogravures, Crystopal and Armand Winfield
Posted on Feb. 17, 2021, 7:12 p.m.
Stenogravures are very strong and are akin to stone carvings
Reconstructing Racial Equality in Syracuse
Posted on Feb. 10, 2021, 7 p.m.
Syracuse’s Interstate 81 has played a major role in the racial, social, and economic landscape of the city.
75 Years of Benjamin Spock’s Common Sense Parenting
Posted on Feb. 3, 2021, 6:32 p.m.
2021 marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of Benjamin Spock’s Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care.
Marcel Breuer auf Deutsch
Posted on Jan. 14, 2021, 4:08 p.m.
Letters from the Marcel Breuer Digital Archive.
Inside SCRC | World War I American Red Cross Posters
Posted on Jan. 14, 2021, 3 p.m.
World War I-era American Red Cross posters
Animals in the Stacks
Posted on Jan. 6, 2021, 6:41 p.m.
Inspired by the Getty Collection, materials from our archives for animals within our own collection.
2020 Year in Review
Posted on Dec. 23, 2020, 4:40 p.m.
As we reach the end of a decidedly unprecedented and unusual year, let’s look back on some of the topics we researched, discussed, and discovered in SCRC’s collections this year.
Inside SCRC | Pan Am Flight 103 Archives: Shannon Davis
Posted on Dec. 18, 2020, 2 p.m.
Postcard, written by Shannon Davis, victim of the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster, detailing her travels.
Tempering Virtue, Prohibiting Vice
Posted on Dec. 17, 2020, 4:16 p.m.
When the Volstead Act came into effect on January 17, 1920, it ushered in a 13-year period where alcohol’s production, sale, and distribution was prohibited by constitutional law.
In the Beginning of the Year and When it Ends: Memorials to Pan Am Flight 103
Posted on Dec. 9, 2020, 2:24 p.m.
December 21 will mark the 32nd anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 individuals from 21 countries.
Hail Librarians!: Reflecting on SU Library Service
Posted on Dec. 2, 2020, 3:18 p.m.
“Hail, Librarians, holders o’ the golden keys!”, wrote poet Frank Elijah Dudley in 1955.
November 2020 Wrap Up: Native American Heritage Month
Posted on Nov. 25, 2020, 6:50 p.m.
Researching Audrey “Gonwaiahhih” Shenandoah.
Survival Kit: Provisions for your Research Journey Exhibit Interview
Posted on Nov. 18, 2020, 2:54 p.m.
The Edwin F. Bushman Papers are part of the Special Collections Research Center’s manuscript collections.
Inside SCRC | Jack Kerouac in the Belfer Audio Archives
Posted on Nov. 16, 2020, 1 p.m.
Record/recordings featuring Jack Kerouac from the Beat Generation, housed in Belfer Audio Archive.
World War II Veterans at Syracuse University
Posted on Nov. 12, 2020, 1:39 p.m.
Archives holds documentation of the dramatic influx of veterans on campus right after World War II.
Inside SCRC | Artists Diego Rivera and Carlos Cortez
Posted on Nov. 4, 2020, 4 p.m.
Review of materials from Special Collections Research Center. A close look at what the artwork of artists Diego Rivera and Carlos Cortez tell us.
Inside SCRC | 1918 Influenza
Posted on Oct. 21, 2020, 4 p.m.
Meg Mason, University Archivist, explores a 1918 edition of the Daily Orange documenting the effects of the 1918 influenza outbreak on Syracuse University campus.
October 2020 Wrap Up
Posted on Oct. 21, 2020, 1:06 p.m.
Collections materials featuring Halloween and election season.
George Fisk Comfort and the Museums Are Not Neutral Movement: Museum History at SCRC
Posted on Oct. 14, 2020, 5:14 p.m.
George Fisk Comfort (1833 – 1910) was a liberal arts scholar and museum founder from Berkshire, NY.
Printing the Middle Ages: A Renaissance Edition of Bernard of Clairvaux
Posted on Oct. 6, 2020, 5:23 p.m.
Renaissance edition of the works of Bernard of Clairvaux, printed in 1508 in Paris by Jehan Petit,
September 2020 Wrap Up: Banned Books Week
Posted on Sept. 29, 2020, 5:50 p.m.
Banned Books Week recommendations.
Adjusting the Lens
Posted on Sept. 1, 2020, 2:37 p.m.
Images in the Syracuse University Photograph Collection.
August 2020 Wrap Up
Posted on Aug. 28, 2020, 2:25 p.m.
Working through several digital description and transcription projects.
Lifting as we climb: Mary Church Terrell and the 19th Amendment
Posted on Aug. 18, 2020, 9:24 a.m.
100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women in the United States the right to vote.
What Then Shall We Say About Croton?: Attempts to Integrate Syracuse City Schools
Posted on Aug. 11, 2020, 3:26 p.m.
Crusade for Opportunity (CFO), an anti-poverty organization based in Syracuse, NY, that existed during the 1960s.
An Unfinished End: Ying Li and the Marcel Breuer Digital Archive
Posted on Aug. 4, 2020, 5:18 p.m.
Marcel Breuer Digital Archive for SCRC. The Breuer Archive is the digital repository of archival materials relating to the twentieth-century architect, Marcel Breuer.
July 2020 Wrap Up
Posted on July 31, 2020, 3:04 p.m.
By Grace Wagner, Reading Room Access Services Supervisor
30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Posted on July 27, 2020, 1:26 p.m.
Petrina Jackson, Director of SCRC
Traces of a Movement
Posted on July 14, 2020, 5:16 p.m.
Irene Castle was as an internationally-recognized ballroom dancer, silent film star, and one of the first celebrities with an eponymous fashion line.
Accessibility and Discoverability: Describing Street and Smith Cover Art
Posted on July 7, 2020, 6:37 p.m.
Founded in 1855, Street & Smith was the largest publisher of pulp fiction and dime novels in the United States of its time.
June 2020 Wrap Up
Posted on June 30, 2020, 1:53 p.m.
By Grace Wagner, Reading Room Access Services Supervisor
Rehousing the American Book Company Illustrations
Posted on June 24, 2020, 1:35 p.m.
Massive preservation project of 17,000 plates used as textbook illustrations by the American Book Company.
A Perfect Recipe for Conservation
Posted on June 16, 2020, 5:44 p.m.
Diary entries and recipes probably written in the early 1880’s.
Dragnet! A Musical Controversy
Posted on June 2, 2020, 2:27 p.m.
Miklós Rózsa (1907-1995), whose papers are held at SCRC, was a Hungarian-American composer known for his dramatic film scores.
May 2020 Wrap Up: National Photography Month
Posted on May 26, 2020, 1:53 p.m.
Celebrating National Photography Month through coverage of special collections and University Archives materials
An Incomplete History of the Inn Complete
Posted on May 19, 2020, 1:34 p.m.
Even though the Inn Complete has only been in this location since the 1990’s (it was originally located in the Sky Barn), the structure has had a storied life over the last 100 years.
New Acquisition: Rare 19th Century Photograph Album Featuring Black Americans
Posted on May 12, 2020, 5 p.m.
The photo album contains 20 cabinet card albumen photographs of fashionably dressed well-off Black people from the late 19th century.
Charles Eisenmann’s Circus Photography and the Cartes de visite Collection
Posted on May 5, 2020, 9 a.m.
Cartes de visite Collection consists of one small rectangular box with a total of 322 images.
April 2020 Wrap Up
Posted on April 28, 2020, 9:19 a.m.
Today marks six weeks since SCRC and SU Libraries moved to online operations.
New Sesquicentennial Digital Exhibition: A Legacy of Leadership
Posted on April 21, 2020, 10 a.m.
Another digital exhibition: A Legacy of Leadership: The Chancellors and Presidents of Syracuse University.
An Artist in Pictures: Photographs of Grace Hartigan
Posted on April 14, 2020, 10:19 a.m.
In the Grace Hartigan Papers held at SCRC are photos of the vibrant Abstract Expressionist painter.
A Century of Syroco
Posted on April 7, 2020, 10:35 a.m.
Less than one linear foot, the Syracuse Ornamental Company (Syroco) Collection consists of two document boxes and a handful of product catalogs, documenting the company’s century-long history.
March 2020 Wrap Up
Posted on March 31, 2020, 10:52 a.m.
Public events have been postponed, and we are ending March on a quieter note as we shift to operating remotely.
The Orange in National Orange Day
Posted on March 24, 2020, 11:29 a.m.
The history of orange as Syracuse University's color.
Bringing Art to the People
Posted on March 19, 2020, 11:44 a.m.
Pop-up exhibit on the Black Arts Movement.
Happy International Women's Day!
Posted on March 3, 2020, 1 p.m.
Highlights of groundbreaking or interesting women from collections.
February 2020 News Wrap Up
Posted on Feb. 28, 2020, 11:30 a.m.
Looking back at events, newly processed collections
Special Collections Research Center History Highlights
Posted on Feb. 24, 2020, 11:45 a.m.
Let the Reader Emerge! Milestones of the Syracuse University Libraries
Unfaithful: Marriage Reform and Utopian Dreams
Posted on Feb. 13, 2020, 12:31 p.m.
Radical reform movements, including the Oneida Community in upstate New York and the Free Love Club and the Unitary Home in New York City.
December January 2020 News Wrap Up
Posted on Feb. 4, 2020, 1:48 p.m.
Review, upcoming events and newly processed collections
An Act of Moral Courage
Posted on Jan. 28, 2020, 1:55 p.m.
Tsuneishi, a 1943 graduate of Syracuse University praised Tolley for accepting Tsuneishi and “some of 100 of my Japanese American colleagues"
Writing over Medieval Texts in Renaissance Europe
Posted on Jan. 21, 2020, 2:27 p.m.
Breviary on vellum, or a book that contains daily services recited by members of the Roman Catholic Church
Happy New Year from SCRC!
Posted on Jan. 15, 2020, 2:38 p.m.
Invitation from our William Wallace Denslow Collection
Boxing the Collections with a Box Making Machine
Posted on Dec. 17, 2019, 2:59 p.m.
Interview with David Stokoe
Marketing and Publicity and Press, Oh My!
Posted on Dec. 10, 2019, 3:22 p.m.
The marketing campaign for The Wizard of Oz film
Getting Pulled In
Posted on Dec. 3, 2019, 3:41 p.m.
Photos from the Syracuse University Military and World Wars Reference Collection.
November 2019 News Wrap Up
Posted on Nov. 27, 2019, 3:57 p.m.
Recap of events and newly processed collections.
Katsushika Hokusai as Book Illustrator
Posted on Nov. 20, 2019, 4:25 p.m.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was a Japanese painter and ukiyo-e printmaker
James Thornton and The Syracuse State School
Posted on Nov. 13, 2019, 8:41 a.m.
Syracuse State School was a facility that cared for mentally disabled children and, in some cases, adults.
Delight in the Mundane: Rehousing the Plastics Artifacts Collection
Posted on Nov. 5, 2019, 8:52 a.m.
A Library and Information Science student doing an internship in SCRC’s Plastics Artifacts Collection
October 2019 News Wrap Up
Posted on Oct. 30, 2019, 8:59 a.m.
Recap of past month's events and news mentions
"Where there is no imagination, there is no horror..."
Posted on Oct. 22, 2019, 9:07 a.m.
Selection of spooky materials from SCRC.
Shedding Light on Illuminated Manuscripts
Posted on Oct. 15, 2019, 9:55 a.m.
Illuminated manuscripts are handwritten books that have been adorned with vibrant colors, artwork, and even gold.
Ninth Street Women and New Books at SCRC
Posted on Oct. 10, 2019, 11:12 a.m.
Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel, an immersive look at the post-war modern art movement from the viewpoint of the women who helped shape it.
September 2019 News Wrap Up
Posted on Oct. 1, 2019, 11:30 a.m.
New exhibits, new acquisitions and recent events.
New Acquisition: Josef Albers' Interaction of Color
Posted on Sept. 25, 2019, 11:47 a.m.
Acquisition of a 1963 copy of The Interaction of Color by Josef Albers.
It's No Wonder...That They're Called Little Wonders!
Posted on Sept. 17, 2019, 12:43 p.m.
Little Wonders are 5 ½ inches in diameter and carry sound on a single side.
American and Soviet "Truth": Pravda in Special Collections
Posted on Sept. 10, 2019, 1:08 p.m.
20th century American cartoonists' take on the Soviet Union.
150 Years of Tradition at Syracuse University
Posted on Sept. 3, 2019, 1:18 p.m.
University Archives’ most historically rich collections, including the Photograph Collection and Memorabilia Collection
August 2019 News Wrap Up
Posted on Aug. 29, 2019, 1:36 p.m.
August 2019 updates include new acquisitions and new oven.
Andre Norton: Creator and Guardian of Fantastic Worlds
Posted on Aug. 20, 2019, 2:50 p.m.
Pulp Literature and Science Fiction Collections is home to the papers of Andre Norton
Voices from Attica
Posted on Aug. 13, 2019, 3:06 p.m.
The book of poetry Betcha Ain’t: Poems from Attica exemplifies the press’s commitment to publishing voices that may not otherwise exist.
A Perfect Pair of Graduate Student Summer Projects
Posted on Aug. 6, 2019, 3:14 p.m.
Two students working this summer in the Belfer Audio Archive
Virtual Plastic: SCRC as Creative Laboratory
Posted on July 23, 2019, 9:51 a.m.
Professor Jacob Riddle, a faculty member of Transmedia and the School of Art used Plastics Artifacts Collection for Digital Fabrication and Transmedia courses.
New Acquisition: Jantzen Swimwear Advertising Portfolio
Posted on July 16, 2019, 10:09 a.m.
Jantzen Swimwear advertising photographs from the 1930s and 1940s.
Blake's Prints: 1789 Songs of Innocence by William Blake
Posted on July 9, 2019, 10:28 a.m.
1789 edition of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence
Q&A with SCRC's New Director Petrina Jackson
Posted on July 2, 2019, 11:17 a.m.
Get to know the new Director of SCRC.
From Clay Tablet to Cyber Space: A Semester Full of Library and Archives History
Posted on June 18, 2019, 11:29 a.m.
Course called “The History of Libraries and Archives in the Western World.”
My Year with Tolley
Posted on June 11, 2019, 11:40 a.m.
Processing the Chancellor William P. Tolley Records and William P. Tolley Papers.
Stan and Jan Berenstains’ Lover Boy: Transitioning from Adult to Children’s Books
Posted on June 4, 2019, 11:48 a.m.
Stan and Jan Berenstain are famously known for their Berenstain Bears series of children’s books
April/May 2019 SCRC News Wrap Up
Posted on May 28, 2019, 12:46 p.m.
Recap of news and newly processed collections.
Vegetables for Victory
Posted on May 23, 2019, 12:54 p.m.
Featuring summer garden posters from the collection.
2019 Brodsky Workshop: Textiles in the Archives
Posted on May 14, 2019, 1:02 p.m.
Deborah Lee Trupin shares conservation methods for textiles.
