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Every year hundreds of students from the University at Albany and other institutions from around the world use the Department of Special Collections and Archives' collections. Most of these uses are thought of as fairly traditional-theses, dissertations, papers, oral history interviews, an occasional exhibit, etc. A couple graduate students happened to send me links to their projects over the weekend that used the Department or its collections in some way this semester and I thought I would share them here. "The Journey of a Curious Doll" was created by Jenn Russell as part of her IST 659: Digital Imaging & Web course. (It isn't displaying properly for me using Mozilla Firefox, so take a look using IE or another browser.) Jenn's project used the Department exhibit "The Secret Lives of Toys and Their Friends," as well as the entire Main Campus, as its setting and you will note that a...

Subject guides for manuscript collections and record groups related to Athletics and Sports and for the New York State Modern Political Archive are now available. The Grenander Department's Subject Guides bring together collections from each of the distinctive manuscript and archival collections - the Archives of Public Affairs and Policy, Business, Literary, and Miscellany Collection, German and Jewish Intellectual Émigré Collection, and University Archives. Over thirty Subject Guides are available on the Department's Website with more added on an ongoing basis. If you are interested in collections related to a topic not listed on the Subject Guide page, contact a member of the Department's staff for assistance.

From the press release available in PDF format here. The University at Albany's Libraries have added another, varied collection of political papers to its important archive, New York State Modern Political Archive. The collection, received from Syracuse University Libraries, includes the papers from 22 former new York Congressional members and 41 legislators who served in the New York State Legislature. This acquisition was completed to strengthen scholarly research and to support the long-term preservation and access to New York's political history by placing the materials at the University at Albany Libraries' premier political archive, which includes more than 300 collections from advocacy groups, poliitcal activists, and legislators integral to New York State's public policy. According to Brian Keough, head of the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, "The continued development of the New York State Modern Political Archive will better serve scholars and students of modern political history...

Finding aids recently added to the Department of Special Collections and Archives' Website are briefly described below. Be sure to visit the finding aid for additional information about the collection. Duncan Blanchard The papers of Atmospheric Sciences Research Center scientist and professor Duncan Blanchard include manuscripts and correspondence. William Kennedy The inventory for the papers of William Kennedy continues to be updated with the most recent additions including the series for Kennedy's O Albany! and Charlie Malarkey books. National Organization for Women--Albany (N.Y.) Chapter The collection includes correspondence, minutes, by-laws, financial reports, subject files on women's issues, and printed materials pertaining to NOW with particular strength in documenting the Albany and New York State chapters. The records of this women's organization pertain to sexual discrimination in education and employment, reproductive rights, gay and lesbian rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, and other gender-related issues. Alexander Semmler The inventory for the papers...

The last evening the Department of Special Collections and Archives will be open during the Fall 2006 semester is Wednesday, December 13th. The Department will be open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm from December 18 through January 19. The Department will be closed on December 25-26 and January 1 and 18. The Department's complete hours can be found here.

The M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives is fortunate to have undergraduate and graduate students working on a variety of projects including arranging and describing collections, conducting research related to our collections, and many other initiatives. Here is another posting from one of these students, University at Albany graduate student Kali Roy. My name is Kali Roy and I am a graduate student in the Information Science Program at the University at Albany, SUNY. I also work as a student assistant in the University at Albany’s M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives. In general, I aid David Mitchell (Curator pro bono of the Miriam Snow Mathes Historical Children’s Collection) with collection maintenance. This collection maintenance can involve seemingly mundane tasks such as shelving, searching Minerva and OCLC for copies of books for the collection, and providing preservation housing for the collection artifacts, such as phase boxes,...

The week of November 20th the Grenander Department will be open Monday-Wednesday and Friday from 9a.m.-5p.m. The Grenander Department will not be open the evenings of November 21st-22nd and will be closed on Thursday, November 23rd. The Department's complete hours can be found here.

The Fall 2006 issue of UAlbany Magazine includes the new column "Ask Geoff" from University Archivist Geoffrey Williams. In the first column "Ask Geoff" answers questions about the number of names the University at Albany has had over its history, what a normal school is, and whether the downtown campus was the school's first location. Update: The latest issue of UAlbany Magazine is now online. Geoff Williams is a graduate of Colby College and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and joined the faculty of the University at Albany as University Archivist in 1987. Additional information about the University Archives is available online and by asking Geoff! Geoff will be responding to questions alumni, students, and friends pose about the University at Albany. To submit a question for "Ask Geoff," e-mail gwilliams@uamail.albany.edu.

The M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives is pleased to announce the acquisition of the papers of Ronald B. Stafford. Stafford represented the North Country for a 37-year State Senate career which included membership on several committees. He ended his career as chairman of the powerful Finance Committee. Stafford, a Republican, was the first chairman of the Senate’s Higher Education Committee. During his Senate career, he chaired the Senate Finance Committee, Higher Education Committee, Codes Committee, and the Judiciary Committee. In 1974, as Chairman of the Senate’s Higher Education Committee he helped shape and create the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), a landmark program that opened access to college for New Yorkers who would otherwise have been unable to afford opportunities in higher education. He was a protector of the environment through his involvement in Adirondack Park affairs. Stafford was instrumental in bringing the 1980 Olympic Winter Games to...

Subject guides for manuscript collections and record groups related to Schenectady, New York and Rensselaer County, New York are now available. The Grenander Department's Subject Guides bring together collections from each of the distinctive manuscript and archival collections - the Archives of Public Affairs and Policy, Business, Literary, and Miscellany Collection, German and Jewish Intellectual Émigré Collection, and University Archives. Over thirty Subject Guides are available on the Department's Website with more added on an ongoing basis. If you are interested in collections related to a topic not listed on the Subject Guide page, contact a member of the Department's staff for assistance.