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System Upgrade on Sunday, January 31, 2021

January 30, 2021 by Katherine Ryner

On Sunday, January 31, 2021, from 6 am to 6 pm 2 pm, USMAI systems will experience downtime due to a system upgrade.  

During this time there will be no access to the St. Mary’s Catalog or the USMAI Catalog, and there will be no off-campus access to any of our databases or e-journals.  

We apologize for the inconvenience!

Filed Under: Web Resources

Primary Source Database: AM Explorer

May 2, 2019 by Amanda VerMeulen

The St. Mary’s College of Maryland community now has access to over 60 significant collections of digitized archival material.

Adam Matthew Digital is a UK-based publisher of unique primary source material from leading archives and libraries around the world. Content spans the humanities and social sciences, from medieval manuscripts to 20th century global politics.

Adam Matthew provides access to all of their collection through one search engine called “AM Explorer.” Alternatively, you can access individual collections directly through the library’s A-Z Databases list.

Read on to learn about just a few of the collections available, some of the primary source materials they contain, and ideas for use in research and classes.

Colonial America

This collection features manuscripts and other documents from the National Archives (UK) from the early 17th through early 19th centuries. Content focuses on the early settlement of the colonies, American Indians, the American Revolution, legislation, trade, and the frontier–perhaps of special interest to local historians of St. Mary’s.

Maryland: Correspondence with the Secretary of State, 1688-1696: Addresses from Maryland to Their Majesties King William and Queen Mary: Council proceedings, 1693-1696 (Part 1), CO 5/718 Part 1

Highlight from the collection

Librarian Kent Randell, immediately upon finding out that the College has subscribed to AM Explorer, eagerly utilized this valuable resource and has already cited their Colonial History collections for his series of articles on the Susquehanna estate for the Maryland Genealogical Society Journal. Above is an excerpt of a memorandum regarding the case of Richard Smith, Jr., who was one of the most prominent Protestants to support the Catholic Third Lord Baltimore’s government until the “bitter end,” even after the Protestant Associators razed Lord Baltimore’s government in the Fall of 1689.  Richard Smith, Jr. refused to recognize the provisional rebel government and was imprisoned by the Protestant Associators, and above is an excerpt of a memo regarding his case prepared for the English Lords of Trade. Smith’s wife, Barbara (Morgan) (Rousby) Smith, traveled to England and successfully appealed to the Lords of Trade to have her husband removed from “gaol” (jail).

American Indian Newspapers

Forty-five digitized titles are available here, spanning around 200 years of U.S. history.  These newspapers include publications by tribal nations, students, and Christian missionaries in English and indigenous languages of the U.S. and Canada.  All of these papers are fully searchable and may allow for research contrasting the coverage and interpretation of events in indigenous versus mainstream publications.

Wassaja, May 1916, © The Newberry Library

Highlight from the collection

Indian School Journal was published by the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School from 1900-1980.  The monthly edition’s contents are the work of the Office of Indian Affairs (OIA), while the weekly edition was written by students.

Some of the issues provide a look into the everyday life, thoughts, and activities of the students, while others give insight into the OIA’s agenda.  Articles in the April 1906 issue, for example, seem to push assimilation as an imperative, bringing up negative stereotypes about the so-called blanket Indians, who remained committed to tribal traditions.  However, at times the articles directly respond to racist ideas with tongue in cheek humor; a mention of Comanche Chief Quanah Parker praises him as one good Indian who isn’t dead.

African American Communities

Focusing on communities in Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and North Carolina, the collection includes primary sources from the 19th and 20th centuries.  Researchers can find items including oral histories, newsletters, correspondence, family papers, and photographs. These materials may interest those studying race relations, housing problems, desegregation, the Civil Rights movement, and African-American culture and identity.

“All We Want is Freedom …”, n.d., © Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center

Highlight from the collection

Interview with Kara Walker

The collection contains many video and audio oral history interviews, along with their transcripts.  Subjects include Quincy Jones, Koko Taylor Spike Lee, Gloria Naylor, and Cornel West. In this interview with visual artist Kara Walker, she describes the influence of artist Adrian Piper on her work, and the ways she uses silhouetted figures to interpret minstrelsy and romantic novels of the South.  Interviews may give viewers context for the work of the individuals highlighted, and a greater appreciation for the experiences shaping their lives and responses to overt and institutionalized racism.

Medical Services and Warfare

This collection gathers materials related to the Crimean War, the American Civil War and the First World War. The emphasis is on medical developments and their relationship to these conflicts, examining treatment during war and the influence in turn of war on medical breakthroughs.  Materials in this collection include clinical notes and medical records, correspondence, personal accounts, studies, military records, and the Florence Nightingale papers, containing handwritten letters that are searchable by keyword.

The Red Cross Magazine, Vol. 15, No. 5, May 1920, © Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Highlight from the collection

HMS Terrible: Medical and Surgical Journal, available in 3 volumes from 1853-1856

It may not surprise researchers to learn that life aboard the HMS Terrible was…difficult.  The Royal Navy ship, which fought in the Crimean War, records the health problems of its crew in this journal.  The ship’s surgeon tracked the name, age, role on the vessel, date, and outcome of the visit; i.e. sent back to duty, hospitalized, or occasionally, death.  The last pages of the journal give a tally of the incidents of particular medical issues, as well as offer the surgeon’s additional notes. Major culprits for infirmary visits include contusions (bruises), wounds, ulcers, phlogosis (inflammation), and rheumatism, with the most common communicable disease as syphilis.  Researchers may gain insight into the health of sailors aboard ships in the Crimean War, as well as sympathize with at least one soul sent to the hospital due to the severity of an ulcer on his foot.

Filed Under: Teaching & Education, Web Resources Tagged With: featured

Support & Solidarity for SMCM Students: Information & Resources

September 5, 2017 by Amanda VerMeulen

Support & Solidarity for SMCM Students: Information and Resources
http://libguides.smcm.edu/support-and-solidarity


Inspired by the Amherst College Library’s Amherst Uprising Information and Sources site, SMCM now has a Support and Solidarity mini-website where we can share:

  • all statements of support from departments, staff units, and student organizations on campus
  • resources on self-care and support for students
  • diversity, inclusion and anti-bias initiatives on campus, and how we can all get involved
  • resources for learning more about diversity, inclusion, and openness
  • and an anonymous form to suggest additional resources, organizations, and tools.

This is still a work in progress and will continue to evolve.

Filed Under: Library Collection, Web Resources Tagged With: announcements, support and solidarity

Films on Demand

March 6, 2017 by Amanda VerMeulen

Film Reel

You can’t beat the convenience of streaming video, and thanks to our subscription to Films on Demand, you can stream thousands (YES, THOUSANDS) of documentaries and educational films. Covering a wide breadth of disciplines, from Anthropology to Women & Gender Studies to the Sciences, Films on Demand provides full films and segmented clips that can be streamed from anywhere and even embedded into Blackboard and shared with others.

These are high-quality films from producers like the BBC, ABC News, PBS (including Frontline), California Newsreel, Films for the Humanities & Sciences and National Geographic, among others. All films are licensed for classroom use. So whether you want to share a documentary with your students or classmates, or just need to get a documentary fix on a Saturday night, check out Films on Demand.

 

Filed Under: Library Collection, Web Resources Tagged With: database, in the collection, movies

Database Page New Look

January 25, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

If you’ve been to the SMCM Library’s databases page in the last few weeks you’ve probably noticed some changes from the previous version.

Don’t stress! The new versions has all the same great features (and databases!) just in a slightly different format.

New database page layout

The main difference is the new version defaults to an A-Z list of allllll the SMCM Library databases. Want to find suggestions based on subject (like the old version)? Just use the “All Subjects” drop-down menu under the search bar.

Speaking of the search bar, you can easily go directly to your favorite database (*cough*JSTORE*cough*) by searching OR using the A-Z letter links near the top of the page.

As always if you have any trouble or questions, Ask Us by sending an email to ask@smcm.libasnwers.com or calling the Reference desk at 240-895-4272.

Filed Under: Web Resources Tagged With: database, featured, website

Film & Television Literature Index

May 18, 2015 by Amanda VerMeulen

Popcorn

Photo by charamelody on Flickr

Are you looking for film or television reviews? Or maybe you’re convinced that some scholar, somewhere, must have written a critical analysis of Mad Men (spoiler alert: they have).

Look no further than Film & Television Literature Index (with Full Text!) for this information and so much more. Using the standard EBSCOhost interface, Film & Television Literature Index is a fantastic database for film and television research. In addition to reviews and critical papers, you’ll find articles on cinematography, production, screenwriting, and preservation/restoration.

Explore Film & Television Literature Index now (or learn more about it).

Filed Under: Library Collection, Web Resources Tagged With: database, film, in the collection, reviews, television

JSTOR Daily: For All the JSTOR Fans

April 14, 2015 by Amanda VerMeulen

JSTOR DAILY ON IPADWe know there are die-hard JSTOR fans out there, and apparently, so does JSTOR. In an effort to merge current events with JSTOR-housed scholarship, everyone’s favorite archival scholarly database has created the JSTOR Daily, a magazine that publishes daily blog posts, weekly features, and a biweekly newsletter to “provide the backstory to complex issues of the day.”

It’s an interesting resource that could serve as a source of research ideas for students or even a teaching tool for faculty interested in finding links between news, current events, and academic scholarship. Take a look at some of their recent posts:

  • Is TV for Toddlers Really That Bad?
  • All the Young Dudes: Generic Gender Terms Among Young Women
  • What Role Did Laura Keene Play on Abraham Lincoln’s Last Night?
  • The Erotics of Backgammon

You can learn more about JSTOR Daily, subscribe to their biweekly newsletter, or follow them via RSS Feed, Facebook, or Twitter.

Filed Under: Web Resources Tagged With: announcements, jstor, magazine

Happy Birthday Rosa Parks

February 18, 2015 by Amanda VerMeulen

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks in November 1956
Photograph: Photographer not identified/Library of Congress

February is Black History Month, and while we all take time to recognize and reflect upon our nation’s history, present, and future, we can also make Black History Month come alive thanks to the Library of Congress.  Today (February 4) would have been Rosa Parks’ 102nd birthday, and surely not by coincidence, an exhibit of her letters and photographs opens at the Library of Congress.

Selections from the 10,000 item collection will be available for public viewing on the first floor of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building from March 2 – 30, and then will be included in the current exhibition The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle For Freedom, which is open through September 12, 2015 on the second floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building.  Both exhibits are open Monday – Saturday from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM.

Pictures of some of the items are available here from The Guardian (full article here) and just from these few pictures, the breadth of the collection is astonishing: there are images of poll tax receipts, a Presidential Medal of Honor, a pancake recipe, and even a letter complaining about not being allowed in the library.  Rosa Parks’ act of refusing to give up her seat on the bus is well-known throughout our country – it is rightfully regarded as a seminal moment in not only the civil rights movement, but the whole of U.S. history.  To be able to see her thoughts and words in her own handwriting provides a stark perspective of what led her to strike one of the first blows against Jim Crow.  Looking at and reading these documents allows us to appreciate the immense significance and courage of her actions – not just on that day in December 1955, but in the ensuing decades until her passing in 2005.

If you can’t make it up to D.C. to view the exhibit, fear not – the Library of Congress will be posting some of the collection online later this year.  And you can always check out some of the SMCM Library’s materials about Rosa Parks and the larger U.S. civil rights movement.

-Conrad Helms

Filed Under: Musings, Web Resources Tagged With: Black History Month, civil rights movement, library of congress, online archives, photographs, primary sources

LACMA’s Works of Art Online

May 14, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

Sous-Bois by Paul Cezanne, courtesy of the LACMA digital collection

Sous-Bois by Paul Cezanne, courtesy of the LACMA digital collection

Earlier this year the Los Angeles County Art Museum revamped their website to include a searchable collection of over 20,000 downloadable images of artwork in their collection that are in the public domain. These are high resolution images, folks! The quality is outstanding and the search interface is fantastic. In just 5 minutes I’ve manage to pull up Magritte’s The Treachery of Images (This is not a pipe), Renoir’s Two Girls Reading, and examples of 15th century Islamic calligraphy.

This is an excellent resource for art students, researchers, or simply art enthusiasts. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Web Resources Tagged With: art, images, LACMA, public doman

The Debut of the Digital Public Library of America

May 6, 2013 by Amanda VerMeulen

George Thomas Library - Medical Librarian University of Utah

George Thomas Library – Medical Librarian
University of Utah

April 18, 2013, marked the debut of the DPLA, the Digital Public Library of America. You’ve never heard of the DPLA?  You’re not alone.  Lots of librarians have been reading and hearing about it since October 2010 when a group of 40 leaders from libraries, universities and foundations met to try to make the dream of a free, digital public library a reality.

The DPLA has ambitious goals to create “an open, distributed network of comprehensive online resources that would draw on the nation’s living heritage from libraries, universities, archives, and museums in order to educate, inform, and empower everyone in current and future ­generations.” Did they succeed?

The DPLA received important grant funding and formed important partnerships with organizations like the National Archives, the N.Y. Public Library, and the Smithsonian Institute to name a few.  That means you can search the DPLA website to access digital collections at all of the partner institutions.  Search by exhibit collection, place, timeline, or date. 

Check out an exhibit on Activism in the USA or Parks and Public Spaces.  Check out how many items are dated from the year you were born by using the timeline (11,750 from my birth year – see if you can find it).

Is the DPLA finished?  Does it have “everything”?  Even if we could figure out what “everything” is that wouldn’t be likely.  And not everything accessible through searches in the DPLA is in the public domain so user still have to be sure they comply with copyright laws.  But – it is the auspicious beginning of portal to a wide variety of important, historical, and really interesting books, historical records, images,  and audiovisual materials.  It might lead you to materials that can help you with that next project . . . or help you find a way to send a rainy afternoon.  Check it out.

Filed Under: Web Resources Tagged With: DPLA

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