Special Collections and University Archives, Du Bois Library, UMass Amherst

12/09/2020

During Wintersession, SCUA's reading room will continue to be open to UMass Amherst students, faculty, and staff, by appointment, Tuesday through Friday. For appointments: https://libcal.library.umass.edu/reserve/scua

Please note that our reading room will close on December 24, and as of December 25, UMass Amherst will be closed, with SCUA staff taking time off, until we are back online on January 4.

Photograph, horses in the horse barn, undated, University Photograph Collection

12/04/2020

Students really make UMass Amherst and the UMass Amherst Libraries what they are. Sometimes literally! Back in the 1980s, the students in these photos were among the cohort who participated in Mass Transformation, a mass volunteer effort to renew the interior of the Tower Library (as it was then known).

We want to give a special shout-out to the many student workers who have helped with the on-site COVID-19 testing; SCUAns are impressed by and appreciate your efficiency and good cheer!

Photographs, ca. 1986-1987, University Photograph Collection

12/02/2020

SCUA wishes the awesome students of UMass Amherst well on finals! Please enjoy a few pictures of students studying in Du Bois Library in the ca.1980s*-1990s. It has not been *that* long since we've seen you, but it sure feels like it.

*One or two may be from the 1970s; they are undated, and hair and fashion are not always obvious clues, even to those of us who lived through those decades.

All photos, University Photograph Collection.

11/25/2020

SCUA wishes you a happy Thanksgiving! We are grateful for our many friends, from researchers to donors, from our library colleagues to our colleagues all across the UMass Amherst campus. Thank you for your interest in and support of SCUA and of archives.

Photograph, Thanksgiving celebration, ca. 1950, International Center for the Disabled Records.

11/24/2020

SCUA's reading room will be *closed* this Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, although some staff may be working remotely and available by email. We'll resume our current regular pandemic-informed schedule on Tuesday, December 1.

Photograph, the college store, in the basement of North College, June 1937. University Photograph Collection. Standing approximately where Thompson Hall is now, North College was one of the first campus buildings, and it served many different functions over the years--including as a men's dormitory, and later a classroom building. It was torn down in 1957.

11/23/2020

UMass Amherst Libraries Share News of Publication: ‘Pen Pal: Prison Letters from a Free Spirit on Slow Death Row’ by Tiyo Attallah Salah-El

SCUA and the Libraries announce the recent publication of Pen Pal: Prison Letters from a Free Spirit on Slow Death Row, comprising letters of Tiyo Attallah Salah-El. Tiyo's papers are part of SCUA's collections thanks most especially to activist and advocate Lois Ahrens of the Real Cost of Prisons Project.

The press release includes links to the finding aid for Tiyo's papers and how to order a copy of the book.

11/20/2020

It's the last day of classes of the fall 2020 semester, and what a semester it has been. What a year. We SCUAns have learned--not for the first time but it's a lesson that bears repeating--how important it is to support each other, so we can accomplish what we want to accomplish--or even just so we can keep our balance. We wish UMass Amherst's students especially, along with all of the extended SCUA family, good balance and safe activities during the upcoming Thanksgiving break.

Photograph, counselors and campers at Camp Enajerog, Wilmington, Vermont, 1926, University Photograph Collection. The camp was directed by Harold M. Gore, Professor of Physical Education at Massachusetts Agricultural College.

11/18/2020

News of the Upton Bell Collection, which recently came to SCUA, and some of which is on display in our reading room! In-person visits are still restricted, but anyone can enjoy the web exhibit created by SCUA's own sport innovation archivist, Kirstin Kay.

http://exhibits.library.umass.edu/scua/s/upton-bell/page/welcome

UMass Amherst Libraries and Special Collections and University Archives, Du Bois Library, UMass Amherst have just acquired historic sports artifacts from former NFL Exec Upton Bell, including a Baltimore Colts' Super Bowl Ring and early NFL items from his father Commissioner Bert Bell! 🏈 https://bit.ly/3kCTdJW

11/12/2020

The fall 2020 semester is in its last weeks. For the foreseeable future, SCUA's reading room will continue to be open by appointment to UMass Amherst students, staff, and faculty only. If that does not describe you, you may still email us--the best way to reach us--and we will do our best to help you with your research needs. We and our library colleagues--and many of our colleagues across campus--are affected by mandated furloughs both short and long, a situation that brings practical challenges to doing our work and has an impact on morale and livelihoods. We appreciate your support and understanding.

Photograph, Dean of the School of Education Dwight W. Allen in a hot-air balloon, with a sign, "Quality Education or Bust!," ca. 1973, University Photograph Collection

11/10/2020

SCUA and the UMass Amherst Libraries will be closed for Veterans' Day, on November 11, and SCUAns will be observing the holiday and not working, even from our remote outposts. We honor those who have served in the military and those who continue to serve.

Photo of Vietnam veterans, in Exeter, RI, 2006, Kathy Borchers Photojournalism Collection

11/09/2020

After this most recent presidential election, SCUAns are looking to the future...but, of course, we're also looking back, at images we have of some of the past presidents of the United States. This bipartisan group comes from an assortment of SCUA's collections, noted in each image caption.

11/06/2020

In October 1936, a new women's athletic field was dedicated, and the program included "The Pageant of Field Construction," a modern-dance depiction of the project. Construction was made possible by state and federal government funding--which enabled other campus building projects of the 1930s including Goodell Library--so Uncle Sam made his (or her) appearance in the show.

Photograph, 1936, University Photograph Collection.

Information gathered from the Massachusetts Collegian, October 22, 1936, and the Trustee Minutes.

11/03/2020

Young voters, ca. September 1932

"They should especially vote for local officials and on local issues when they get a chance, and they should form political organizations with the specific object of equalizing taxation, stopping discrimination in civil life and stopping discrimination in appropriations for streets, schools and parks; increasing efforts in sanitation, and getting rid of venal and prejudiced public officials."
From W. E. B. Du Bois's advice to young Black voters, ca. September 1932, W. E. B. Du Bois Papers #vote
https://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-b211-i075

Typed draft of article published in the Crisis encouraging "young colored men" to vote and discussing the difficulties in voting as a "colored person."

11/03/2020

The Negro voter [fragment], ca. 1956

Sharing this hopeful quote from Du Bois that we posted four years ago, about what we are voting for. #vote

"The object of voting is to make a better government.... Government has to do with life in every aspect: work, income, housing, health, recreation, crime; schools, travel, food, and clothes. Your vote if intelligently cast can influence each one of these matters in different ways...."
(W. E. B. Du Bois, 1956, from the James Aronson-W. E. B. Du Bois Collection)

10/30/2020

SCUA wishes you a happy Halloween! We may not be going to any Halloween parties this year, unlike the revelers in these photos, and we surely won't be toilet-papering anyone's trees (we'd never do that anyway!), but we hope to enjoy some treats nonetheless, and we hope you do, too. Boo!

All photos, Halloween party, October 28, 1955, International Center for the Disabled Records. Digitized as part of the Visibility for Disability project, sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR).

10/29/2020

UMass Amherst

For fans of Old Chapel and UMass history--and ICYMI--this short film from a few years ago tells the story of the building, and it features an array of photos and other materials from SCUA.

We are happy to present this exclusive new mini-documentary showcasing the past, present, and future of UMass Amherst's Old Chapel, featuring interviews with members of the UMass Amherst community and rarely seen material from the university archives. The video was produced by Elizabeth Wilda '93, assisted by Gustavo Rodriguez ’18.

For more about the history and recent renovation of Old Chapel, see "Something Old, Something New," in the Summer 2017 issue of UMass magazine, now online at http://www.umass.edu/magazine/summer-2017/something-old-something-new

10/28/2020

WBCN and the American Revolution | Amherst Cinema

This just in: Amherst Cinema is extending their virtual run of Bill Lichtenstein's film "WBCN and The American Revolution" to November 5! Go to the Amherst Cinema website to find out how to watch.

WBCN and the American Revolution Virtual Cinema 124 mins.Directed by Bill Lichtenstein2020 Playing through October 29. Platform: Amherst Cinema via Agile Ticketing Ticket details: $10.75 general admission, $7.50 Amherst Cinema Members // 30 days to start watching // three days to finish once start...

10/28/2020

WBCN and the American Revolution | Amherst Cinema

This just in: Amherst Cinema is extending their virtual run of Bill Lichtenstein's film "WBCN and The American Revolution" to November 5! Go to the Amherst Cinema website to find out how to watch.

WBCN and the American Revolution Virtual Cinema 124 mins.Directed by Bill Lichtenstein2020 Playing through October 29. Platform: Amherst Cinema via Agile Ticketing Ticket details: $10.75 general admission, $7.50 Amherst Cinema Members // 30 days to start watching // three days to finish once start...

10/28/2020

WBCN and the American Revolution | Amherst Cinema

This just in: Amherst Cinema is extending their virtual run of "WBCN and The American Revolution" to November 5!

10/23/2020

UMass Amherst has been celebrating Homecoming 2020 @ Home all week! SCUA misses the joy and fervor of so many alumni and their families visiting campus and mingling with current students. We are mostly at home ourselves these days. But SCUAns continue to connect with students, staff, faculty, alumni, and researchers from all over, thanks to the virtual miracles of technology. Our website, our digital repository, Zoom, email--all of these help us bring our goods and services to you, no matter where you or we are. Go UMass! #UMassHomecoming

Crowd at Homecoming football game, 1960s, University Photograph Collection

10/23/2020

A very happy birthday to alumnus Ken Feinberg '67! Our friend Ken is known for his tireless work mediating some of the most complex and heart-wrenching legal disputes of our time, often confronting fundamental questions of the value of human life. As a UMass student, he was among other things a history major, an actor, and--shown here, kneeling in the front row on the right--manager of the basketball team. #UMassHomecoming

Basketball team, 1964-1965, University Photograph Collection

10/22/2020

Once upon a time, you could walk out of the library and into a football game or practice. Back then, 1894 or thereabouts, the library was located in Old Chapel--not yet called "Old"--and "Homecoming" was not yet a tradition. Although football has been played at Mass Aggie since the 1870s, we believe the first Homecoming game was played in 1946. #UMassHomecoming

Photographs of football outside Old Chapel and South College, 1894, Newton Shultis Papers.

10/21/2020

WBCN and the American Revolution: Live Q&A with Producer Bill Lichenstein

Tune in tonight at 7:30 for a live and lively conversation with "WBCN and The American Revolution" filmmaker Bill Lichtenstein, WBCN original DJs Tommy Hadges and Norm Winer, and SCUA's own Aaron Rubinstein as your host. This event is part of #UMassHomecoming; register for Homecoming (on this website shown here) and select this event to attend.

The film will be available to stream through Amherst Cinema through October 29. Support your local, independent movie theaters and filmmakers!

WBCN and the American Revolution

10/20/2020

Amherst Cinema

Watch the trailer for "WBCN and The American Revolution" right here! Watch the film streaming via Amherst Cinema...and join the filmmaker, SCUA, and friends on Wednesday evening 10/21 for even more.

WBCN AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION presents the amazing, untold story of the radical underground radio station WBCN-FM, set against the dazzling and profound social, political, and cultural changes that took place in Boston and nationally during the late-1960s and early-70s. Watch it now in our Virtual Cinema, and then join the virtual panel discussion this Wednesday, October 21, presented by Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst Libraries.

Watch the film and get more info on the panel here: https://amherstcinema.org/films-and-events/wbcn-and-american-revolution

10/20/2020

It's #UMassHomecoming week, and SCUAns are feeling a little nostalgic (maybe even more than usual). We're taking a look back at some of the places Mass Aggie, Mass State, and UMass students have called home over the years: their dorm rooms.

10/16/2020

The SCUA family salutes virtual visitors to UMass Amherst Family Weekend! We regret not being able to welcome you to our reading room this year, but we hope you will find connection and camaraderie nonetheless. SCUA has abundant resources on our website and in our online digital repository, Credo (https://credo.library.umass.edu/). Questions about UMass history? Email the archivists at [email protected]

Photo of Frank A. Waugh, influential professor (and founder of the department) of landscape architecture, and his extended family, ca. 1938-39, University Photograph Collection.

10/14/2020

Today is National Dessert Day, or so we hear, so we give you this photograph from the 1930s of Dairy Industry students in Flint Laboratory doing the important work of making ice cream.

University Photograph Collection

10/09/2020

County Court, Inferior Court of Common Pleas, and Court of General Sessions of the Peace, Vol. 01, 1677–1728

On Monday, October 12, SCUA will be closed, and SCUA staff will be taking the day off for the holiday still widely observed as Columbus Day but increasingly as Indigenous Peoples Day. We’ll be back in our remote saddles on Tuesday, with the reading room operating on our current schedule.

How we tell history matters, and whose stories we tell matters. As in many archives, SCUA’s few records connected to local Native American populations contain the points of view of white settlers. The first volume of the Hampshire Council of Governments court records begins soon after the end of King Philip’s War, and its cases include rumors of sightings of “Indians” and of settlers selling liquor to them (people spreading such rumors—or lying—and selling liquor without a license were punished severely). We know the names and a little about the lives of many settlers who came before the court or who appear in other documentation, but there are so many other lives that we don’t have records of. History and the historic record matter and must be preserved, but records must be read and understood with context and care, with gaps acknowledged and—when possible—filled.

https://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums704-i7728

10/08/2020

W E B Du Bois Center at UMass Amherst

Our friends in the UMass Amherst AfroAm Department are celebrating their 50th Anniversary this month! Visit their website to learn more and register for their virtual symposium (October 22-24) https://blogs.umass.edu/afroam50th/

10/01/2020

Are you UMass Amherst student, staff, or faculty? SCUA's reading room is currently open to you! Appointments are required (at least 24 hours in advance: https://libcal.library.umass.edu/reserve/scua), and we are operating with limited hours, capacity, and onsite staff, but SCUA staff are excited to get out from behind our computers and haul out our physical collections for you to explore in the socially-distanced comfort of our 25th-floor reading room. Questions? email us: [email protected].

Photograph, ca. 1900, University Photograph Collection

09/28/2020

Letter from W. E. B. Du Bois to Henry Herrick Bond, December 29, 1932

"...I can see no future for mankind until they are emancipated from the present power of concentrated wealth." Du Bois noted the ability of wealthier tax-payers to hire lawyers to keep their tax burden down and called the Republican party "the great refuge of corporations and rich men."

Letter from December 29, 1932, W. E. B. Du Bois Papers

Written in response to Bond's letter (mums312-b190-i184), Du Bois argues that "we have a political system by which favorable laws and sympathetic administration of them depend upon corporation payments into the coffers of political parties; of course, most of the great taxpayers are Republicans, bec...