Marbl Blog

by David Faulds, Rare Book Librarian, dfaulds@emory.edu

A bibliographical mystery in MARBL's rare book collection is a small eleven page pamphlet, published in 1860, titled List of Negroes at Hagley, Weehawka & True Blue Plantations. The text is an inventory of slaves with the name of the plantation followed by the name of the plantation owner and the names of the individual slaves, divided into men, women and children with "House servants" being a separate category for True Blue plantation.

The Writers exhibition, on display in the Schatten Gallery until November, features photographer Nancy Crampton’s pictures of authors,poets, novelists, journalists and other writers. A small selection of MARBL materials, chosen by guest curators from the Emory community,complements each photo. The materials illuminate the connections the writers have with each other and the special collections in MARBL. The guest curators were asked to write an essay explaining how their own research has been influenced by using primary source materials, and we will be featuring them here once a week. The following essay is by Richie Hofmann about Natasha Trethewey.

by Amy Hildreth Chen, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English, Research Assistant to Kevin Young

What "early in the morning/it shines its glassy eye"?

The Window.

What "sees me wander/ in and out/ and never stops to cry"?

The Door.

These riddles and more can be found in Lucille Clifton's first children's book, What Watches Me? A Writing and Drawing Book for You (1968). The cardboard, spiral bound book invites young readers not only to respond to Clifton's riddles, but also to draw their answers on the provided blank pages.

The Writers exhibition, on display in the Schatten Gallery until November, features photographer Nancy Crampton’s pictures of authors, poets, novelists, journalists and other writers. A small selection of MARBL materials, chosen by guest curators from the Emory community, complements each photo. The materials illuminate the connections the writers have with each other and the special collections in MARBL. The guest curators were asked to write an essay explaining how their own research has been influenced by using primary source materials, and we will be featuring them here once a week. The following essay is by Rock Delliquanti about Maurice Sendak.

by Elizabeth Russey Roke, Manuscript Archivist, MARBL

Few people live past 100. Fewer still fill those years with untiring enthusiasm for service and scholarship. In more ways than one, Josephus Roosevelt Coan was exceptional. Born to a farming family in Spartanburg, SC, he went on to graduate from Howard and Yale. 

After serving as a missionary in Africa, Coan eventually settled in Atlanta where he worked as a professor. The Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library is pleased to announce the opening of the Josephus Coan papers, one of the most complete African Methodist Episcopal (AME) collections in MARBL’s holdings.  A small exhibition of selected items from the collection is currently on display in MARBL.

by Sara Logue, Research and Public Services Archivist, MARBL

In the time leading up to the Civil War, the southern states were tasked with deciding how they were going to move forward after it was determined that Lincoln was to be the next President. South Carolina made the first move towards secession at the end of 1860. Mississippi, Florida and Alabama soon followed. It was time for Georgia to make a decision, not only about whether or not they wanted to still be joined with the North, but if their secession would lead to a united front in the south.

It is with great pleasure that the Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library announces the opening of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference records as of May 1, 2012. Made possible by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources to uncover hidden archival and special collections, the SCLC records will shed new light on a hugely important, and largely undocumented, civil rights organization.
 
The collection consists of the records of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1957-2007, with the bulk of the material from 1968-2003, including records from various offices and departments; files of various programs; financial and legal records; printed material; photographs; audiovisual materials; and artifacts and memorabilia.

The Writers exhibition, on display in the Schatten Gallery until November, features photographer Nancy Crampton’s pictures of authors, poets, novelists, journalists and other writers. A small selection of MARBL materials, chosen by guest curators from the Emory community, complements each photo. The materials illuminate the connections the writers have with each other and the special collections in MARBL. The guest curators were asked to write an essay explaining how their own research has been influenced by using primary source materials, and we will be featuring them here once a week. The following essay is by Sally Wolff-King about Eudora Welty.

by Erika Farr, Coordinator for Digital Archives, MARBL

Two events this week remind me why archives, digital stewardship, and curation are not only vital to documenting our cultural moment but also can prove enthralling and inspirational.

The first of these events is wonderfully local. The Emory University Libraries celebrated the opening of the WRITERS exhibition on Monday sampling some of the dynamic collections of personal, literary papers housed in MARBL and revealing the impact these collections and the artists who created them have had on a wide array of guest curators. In Professor Ronald Schuchard's introductory essay for the exhibit entitled "The Imaginative Culture of MARBL," he describes the archive as a space for "communal delight, awe and use." This heady mix of joy and utility drives the archival mission and guides the development of MARBL's Digital Archives program, in particular. As is true throughout the archives field, MARBL increasingly acquires computing-related materials, such as disks, floppies, drives, hardware, and all sorts of other digital miscellany. The practical and necessary demands of how to manage such material should not obscure the ultimate goal of providing researchers with the "communal delight" of exploring these digital treasures.

The Writers exhibition, on display in the Schatten Gallery until November, features photographer Nancy Crampton’s pictures of authors, poets, novelists, journalists and other writers. A small selection of MARBL materials, chosen by guest curators from the Emory community, complements each photo. The materials illuminate the connections the writers have with each other and the special collections in MARBL. The guest curators were asked to write an essay explaining how their own research has been influenced by using primary source materials, and we will be featuring them here once a week. The following essay is by Elizabeth Chase about Margaret Atwood.