The University of South Carolina’s Topper archaeological dig site – home to some of the most significant research on earliest man in America – will be the subject of an hour-long episode of “Time Team America,” a new PBS television series airing at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 15 on SCETV stations, including Beaufort's WJWJ. The Topper site, along the Savannah River, in nearby Allendale County (just outside the former boundaries of Beaufort District) has altered our understanding of the orginal residents of North America, the Clovis people.
The accompanying website, Topper, has loads of information about the site, the people who inhabited it, and the archaelogical dig. After the episode is broadcast, you can access replays online via the Time Team website.
14 July 2009
13 July 2009
"Documents R Us" for Teachers
Among the responsibilities of a working librarian/archivist is one to help insure that the profession continues into the next generation. One way to encourage and foster appreciation of the work we do as well as help students learn about their own history and the history of others, is to introduce them to the wonder of documents. A very good source for primary documents manipulated into digital formats is the Teaching with Primary Sources Direct.
From the History.com e-newsletter:
From the History.com e-newsletter:
The Library of Congress has launched a new online resource for educators entitled Teaching with Primary Sources Direct. TPS Direct enables educators to integrate primary sources into their classrooms by creating customized lesson plans based on documents and artifacts from the Library’s extensive collections. Applicable across grade levels and content areas, this project allows educators to search the TPS database for content-rich activities.
Through TPS Direct, educators can download lessons in PDF format with goals such as Analyzing Photographs, Analyzing Maps, and Connecting with Primary Sources. The professional development and teaching tools help educators identify excellent sources within the Library’s collection to build students’ critical thinking skills in an engaging way. Given the wealth of information available online, TPS Direct helps make the process of locating ideal classroom materials easier for busy teachers and administrators. Visit http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/tpsdirect/ today and get started on TPS Direct!
The Library of Congress has also just announced a new teacher’s page, with links to classroom materials and professional development resources offered by the LOC. Educators will want to visit this site frequently to find out what’s new from the LOC and find a wealth of resources for the classroom: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/
10 July 2009
"River of Everlasting Memories"
Beaufort Water Festival makes its 54th appearance today and concludes on Sunday, July 19th. In between, there will be concerts, a parade, dance, races and competitions, crafts, talent and antique shows, watercraft tours, and plenty of libations, both of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties.
Details can be found in a variety of media including the Beaufort Gazette, (yes, I know that this goes to the Island Packet website but that's just the lay of the land now), the [print only] Island News, the [online only] Beaufort Tribune, and on the Water Festival's website.
I posted local poetess, Edith Bannister Dowling's poem about the Water Festival on July 15, 2008.
For the more research minded, the Beaufort District Collection has a few relatively fragile scrapbooks about the Water Festival during the 1960s in our archival holdings. We'll be happy to show you the scrapbooks if you come in to the Research Room during our regular hours of operation.
Please note: Charmaine, our Beloved BDC docents, and I will show an in-house customer any in-house material we have (that is, if we can find it within a reasonable amount of time in this incredibly overcrowded workspace and public research room). Just don't come expecting to take home copies of any of the images or pages of the scrapbooks! For details why this is, read the "Eternal Conundrum" entry that immediately precedes this one.
Details can be found in a variety of media including the Beaufort Gazette, (yes, I know that this goes to the Island Packet website but that's just the lay of the land now), the [print only] Island News, the [online only] Beaufort Tribune, and on the Water Festival's website.
I posted local poetess, Edith Bannister Dowling's poem about the Water Festival on July 15, 2008.
For the more research minded, the Beaufort District Collection has a few relatively fragile scrapbooks about the Water Festival during the 1960s in our archival holdings. We'll be happy to show you the scrapbooks if you come in to the Research Room during our regular hours of operation.
Please note: Charmaine, our Beloved BDC docents, and I will show an in-house customer any in-house material we have (that is, if we can find it within a reasonable amount of time in this incredibly overcrowded workspace and public research room). Just don't come expecting to take home copies of any of the images or pages of the scrapbooks! For details why this is, read the "Eternal Conundrum" entry that immediately precedes this one.
08 July 2009
The Eternal Conundrum for Special Collections Stewards
One of my many conundrums, and a conundrum inherent within the cultural heritage field, is how to provide appropriate access to materials while simultaneously providing appropriate stewardship for ensuring that those materials will still exist and be useable 100 years from now.
There are no hard and fast rules for how the competing issues should balance over time. Indeed, there are no hard and fast rules for how the competing issues should balance over the course of an hour.
Sometimes, I feel like I'm making things up as I go. Sometimes, I have no doubt, BDC customers think that I'm favoring one person or request over another person's request more or less on how I feel that day. [Please note: They are wrong because the goal of my professional life is to treat everyone equally badly regardless of race, color, national origin, socio-economic status, gender, height, breadth, religious affilition, political party, etc.!]
Take for example the question of digital photography of rare materials. Approximately 50% of the special collections in SC allow it; about 50% don't. Digital manipulation is just so easy these days that I don't want to imply encouragement of others to commit copyright infringement. Therefore, I tend to lean more to the "don't" side of the issue, particularly when images of photographs or artwork created after 1923 are involved. I tend to be a cautious person about other folks's property (which probably has a good bit to do with why I am a special collections field worker in the first place).
Being a reader in rare book libraries is a thought-provoking blog entry from Sarah Werner about the relative responsibilities of special collections librarians, special collections customers, and the eternal conundrum of access vs. preservation. I caution you that the blog entry is fairly long and comments are pretty intense.
Rick Ring's comment that "Access policies are often the result of two things in an archive/special collections: the institution's traditions and the personalities of the staff" rings (bad pun intended) true. Perhaps more than in any other part of library land, the personality of the Special Collections head holds more sway in daily operations and tenor of access than any other factor. And while I don't think access strictly depends upon the personality of the steward in charge of special collections, his/her personality does most definitely influence the terms under which materials can be manipulated. Please note: No one has ever accused me of having a blase personality!
Let me hear what you think.
There are no hard and fast rules for how the competing issues should balance over time. Indeed, there are no hard and fast rules for how the competing issues should balance over the course of an hour.
Sometimes, I feel like I'm making things up as I go. Sometimes, I have no doubt, BDC customers think that I'm favoring one person or request over another person's request more or less on how I feel that day. [Please note: They are wrong because the goal of my professional life is to treat everyone equally badly regardless of race, color, national origin, socio-economic status, gender, height, breadth, religious affilition, political party, etc.!]
Take for example the question of digital photography of rare materials. Approximately 50% of the special collections in SC allow it; about 50% don't. Digital manipulation is just so easy these days that I don't want to imply encouragement of others to commit copyright infringement. Therefore, I tend to lean more to the "don't" side of the issue, particularly when images of photographs or artwork created after 1923 are involved. I tend to be a cautious person about other folks's property (which probably has a good bit to do with why I am a special collections field worker in the first place).
Being a reader in rare book libraries is a thought-provoking blog entry from Sarah Werner about the relative responsibilities of special collections librarians, special collections customers, and the eternal conundrum of access vs. preservation. I caution you that the blog entry is fairly long and comments are pretty intense.
Rick Ring's comment that "Access policies are often the result of two things in an archive/special collections: the institution's traditions and the personalities of the staff" rings (bad pun intended) true. Perhaps more than in any other part of library land, the personality of the Special Collections head holds more sway in daily operations and tenor of access than any other factor. And while I don't think access strictly depends upon the personality of the steward in charge of special collections, his/her personality does most definitely influence the terms under which materials can be manipulated. Please note: No one has ever accused me of having a blase personality!
Let me hear what you think.
02 July 2009
Thomas Heyward, Jr., Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Beaufort has been blessed with a bevy of local notables throughout its history. In honor of the 4th of July, let's highlight the contribution of Thomas Heyward, Jr., one of South Carolina's four signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Heyward, Jr., son of Daniel Heyward and his wife Mary Miles Heyward, was born at Old House Plantation, St. Luke's Parish, on July 28, 1746. Old House Plantation, near where Hwy 336 heads toward Ridgeland in what is now Jasper County, was his father's plantation. Trained in the law in Charleston and in England, he was an attorney, planter, a Patriot, a judge, a soldier, and signer of the Declaration. In 1773, he married Elizabeth Matthews in Charleston.
During the American Revolution, he was captured when Charleston fell to the British in 1779. While Heyward was imprisoned at St. Augustine, his wife Elizabeth died in Philadelphia. They had one son who survived until adulthood. In 1783, Heyward returned to his rice-growing White Hall Plantation. From 1785 to 1809, he split his time between his White Hall Plantation in St. Luke's Parish and his Charleston residence at 87 Church Street.
On May 4, 1786 he took as his second wife, Elizabeth Savage. They had three children who reached adulthood, married, and procreated children who survived into adulthood, who thence married and procreated Thomas Heyward, Jr.'s grandchildren. Thus, there are numerous living Thomas Heyward, Jr. descendants. Thomas Heyward, Jr. died on April 17, 1809 and is buried in the family cemetery at Old House.
For the past 23 years, the Sons of the American Revolution have held a ceremony at Old House Cemetery commemorating Heyward's service to our country. The 2009 ceremony is this Saturday morning at 10am. Here are directions from the Island Packet to reach Old House Cemetery :
The Beaufort Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is named the Thomas Heyward, Jr. Chapter in his honor.
Beaufort County Library has many resources to share with you about our native son, Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Heyward, Jr., son of Daniel Heyward and his wife Mary Miles Heyward, was born at Old House Plantation, St. Luke's Parish, on July 28, 1746. Old House Plantation, near where Hwy 336 heads toward Ridgeland in what is now Jasper County, was his father's plantation. Trained in the law in Charleston and in England, he was an attorney, planter, a Patriot, a judge, a soldier, and signer of the Declaration. In 1773, he married Elizabeth Matthews in Charleston.
During the American Revolution, he was captured when Charleston fell to the British in 1779. While Heyward was imprisoned at St. Augustine, his wife Elizabeth died in Philadelphia. They had one son who survived until adulthood. In 1783, Heyward returned to his rice-growing White Hall Plantation. From 1785 to 1809, he split his time between his White Hall Plantation in St. Luke's Parish and his Charleston residence at 87 Church Street.
On May 4, 1786 he took as his second wife, Elizabeth Savage. They had three children who reached adulthood, married, and procreated children who survived into adulthood, who thence married and procreated Thomas Heyward, Jr.'s grandchildren. Thus, there are numerous living Thomas Heyward, Jr. descendants. Thomas Heyward, Jr. died on April 17, 1809 and is buried in the family cemetery at Old House.
For the past 23 years, the Sons of the American Revolution have held a ceremony at Old House Cemetery commemorating Heyward's service to our country. The 2009 ceremony is this Saturday morning at 10am. Here are directions from the Island Packet to reach Old House Cemetery :
Traveling north on S.C. 170, turn left onto S.C. 462. After about eight miles, there is a historical marker on the right. At the marker, turn right onto a dirt road. Old House Cemetery is about 100 yards from the highway.
The Beaufort Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is named the Thomas Heyward, Jr. Chapter in his honor.
Beaufort County Library has many resources to share with you about our native son, Thomas Heyward, Jr.
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