Where are you from? is one of the first questions people ask when meeting someone new. Knowing where a person is from is a way to understand, connect, or relate. Where you are from does not define you but it adds important contextual information. For archivists and people doing archival research, the origins of documents, … Continue reading The Power of Provenance
For months, co-directors Jim Dubinsky of the English Department and Bruce Pencek of the Library, along with Heidi Nobles have been working to plan and seeking to provide for every detail necessary to make this three-week long NEH-supported Summer Institute for College and University Teachers a reality. This past Monday (the 11th) was the first … Continue reading In Support of the Veterans in Society NEH Summer Institute
A century ago, the most recognizable face on Virginia Techs campus probably wasnt that of the college president (Joseph Eggleston) or the football coach (Charles Bernier) but instead belonged to a beloved figure now all but forgotten in campus lore, William Grove Uncle Bill Gitt, Virginia Techs original campus character. Born to William and Amanda … Continue reading William Uncle Bill Gitt, Virginia Techs Original Campus Character
When she wasn’t designing offices for Silicon Valley giants like Apple and IBM, Sigrid Rupp was busy traveling around the world, writing and sketching the scenes that caught her eye. From 1966 to 2003, she visitedover 30 countries, traveling extensively throughout North America, Europe, and East Asia. With an eye for design inenvironments both natural … Continue reading The Art and Travels of Sigrid Rupp
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is, geographically speaking, a large entity. We have campuses in multiple locations, research centers throughout the state, and Virginia Cooperative Extension (which includes107 county and city offices, 11 agricultural research and Extension centers, and six 4-H educational centers). Here in Blacksburg, there are more than 135 buildings, an airport, … Continue reading Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute: 1915
I started working with Special Collections in September. I wasn’t sure what to really expect. I had previously done artifact analyses at my high school, but the work I have done here has been a bit different. The majority of collections I have worked on with Special Collections are either Civil War related or Engineering … Continue reading The Definition of Processing as Told From an Empathetic Intern
The Joseph P. and Margaret James Collection Sometimes, despite all of the proactive efforts we make in Special Collections to find new and interesting collections to add to our holdings, some of the best materials just fall right into our laps, thanks to the thoughtfulness of generous donors. Such is the case with the Joseph … Continue reading An Unexpected Treasure
In the early 1920s, the first female students at Virginia Tech were not quite welcome. They had special rules to follow, there were no dormitories for women, and male students would throw water on them as they passed by the dorms. But one day, Ruth Terrett, a civil engineering student, decided to show the men … Continue reading Climbing the Water Tower: How Women Went from Intruders to Leaders at Virginia Tech
Original materials. One-of-a-kind documents. This is what one expects to find in Special Collections. Any Special Collections. All Special Collections. It is our business. But every once in a while, you come across a unique document and, “surely,” you say to yourself, “there must be another copy of it somewhere.” Yes, it is unique because … Continue reading The First Rochester Conference on High Energy Physics . . . . . . . . A Unique Discovery
To day was spent in taking positions and [feeling?] of enemy it was soon asertained that the enemy were falling back troops were immediately started in pursuit. We were rear guard and held the works in front during the after noon and night.“ This was Captain Benjamin M. Pecks entry in his pocket diary on … Continue reading Benjamin M. Peck’s Civil War Pocket Diaries