The University of South Dakota’s University Libraries is set to host an open house for the newly renovated special collections area on the third floor of the I.D. Weeks Library on USD’s campus Thursday, April 18, from 4-6 p.m.
The open house is free and open to the public, and snacks and refreshments will be available.
The third floor of the library is home to the Archives & Special Collections; Digital Humanities initiative; Digital Imaging Lab, Digital Library and Photographs; and the South Dakota Oral History Center.
The Archives & Special Collections houses collections of manuscripts and rare books, as well as the institutional archives for USD. Materials held by Archives & Special Collections relate to local, state and regional history and politics, including Native American history and culture. Archivist and Special Collections Librarian Ryan Burdge will be present to give guided tours of the collections, giving attendees a behind-the-scenes look at where and how these valuable resources are kept and preserved.
Digital Humanities Librarian Lindsey Peterson, Ph.D., and a team of undergraduate and graduate students will share their editorial work on the Civil War & Reconstruction Governors of Mississippi project (CWRGM), a digital documentary edition of over 20,000 archival documents sent to Mississippi’s governors during the Civil War and Reconstruction. The CWRGM team will discuss their efforts to use metadata, transcriptions, subject tags and annotations to digitally disseminate this vast collection of documents, which feature the voices of thousands of Americans from diverse backgrounds as they engage with their government during a tumultuous and pivotal era of U.S. history.
Sarah Hanson-Pareek, head of the Digital Imaging Lab, Digital Library and Photographs, will discuss USD’s holdings in the Digital Library of South Dakota. The Digital Imaging Lab, Digital Library and Photographs is home to an advanced imaging facility, mechanisms for providing open access to USD’s cultural heritage collections through the Digital Library of South Dakota and the curation of unique photographic materials housed in the Archives & Special Collections.
Attendees will also have a chance to visit the South Dakota Oral History Center with Director Samuel Herley, Ph.D., and examine sample transcripts and recordings from its collections, which include the American Indian Research Project and South Dakota Oral History Project. The South Dakota Oral History Center, founded in 1966, contains more than 5,000 recordings from some 50 tribal nations and all 66 counties in South Dakota. The combined resources of the South Dakota Oral History Center make it one of the largest collections of oral histories and historical recordings on the northern Great Plains.
The schedule of events for the open house is as follows.
4-4:20 p.m. – Opening
Invocation by Sungmanity Oyate H’oka
Introductions by Damon Leader Charge, director of tribal outreach, Sanford School of Medicine
4:20-4:50 p.m. – Tours and learning sessions
Archives & Special Collections tour
Digital Humanities initiative information sessions
Digital Imaging Lab, Digital Library and Photographs information session
South Dakota Oral History Center listening stations
5:15-5:30 p.m. – Speakers
John Little, Ph.D., director of Native recruitment and alumni engagement
Cheryl Maloney, master’s student
5:30-5:50 p.m. – Tours and learning sessions
Archives & Special Collections tour
Digital Humanities initiative information sessions
Digital Imaging Lab, Digital Library and Photographs information session
South Dakota Oral History Center listening stations
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