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Speaking of Joseph Persico, the finding aid for the papers of Mr. Persico has recently been updated to include a chronological index of speeches, press releases, and transcripts written by Persico primarily for Governor and Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller.

The exhibit Intellectuals in Exile is now on display in the lobby of the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives (October 11-December 31, 2006; University Library January-May 31, 2007). The exhibit includes items drawn from the collections of several individuals in the German and Jewish Intellectual Émigré Collection including Karl O. Paetel, Benedikt Dolbin, Roy C. Bates (Kurt Bauchwitz), Walter Maria Kotschnig, and others. The exhibit was curated by Mary Osielski and Sandy Hawrylchak with preservation assistance by Katie Mullen. The exhibit coincides with Thursday's program "University in Exile: Refugee Scholars, the New School for Social Research, and the German and Jewish Intellectual Émigré Collection" at 4pm in the Standish Room of the Science Library. Update: An abridged version of the exhibit Intellectuals in Exile is now on display in the lobby of the University Library through May 2007.

University at Albany alum Harvey Milk (class of 1951) is the featured leader for October 10th at the GLBT History Month website. While the papers of Harvey Milk are held by the San Francisco Public Library, researchers can review the column Milk wrote for the Albany Student Press while a student at the University in the Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives.

In addition to American Archives Month, October is also designated as GLBT History Month, which provides an ideal opportunity to highlight collections in the Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives. The Department's subject guide for Human Sexuality and Gender Identity collections has expanded a great deal in recent months as new inventories and finding aids have been added for a number of collections including the Capital District Gay and Lesbian Community Council, Steven F. Dansky, Campus Action, and others. Another collection researchers should be aware of is the papers of Joseph Norton. In addition to material related to Joseph Norton's career as a professor in the School of Education at the University at Albany, the papers also include two cubic feet of correspondence, minutes of meetings, and printed materials relating to Norton's involvement in the gay liberation movement. Norton was an advisor to the Gay Liberation Front in New...

October is American Archives Month and New York State's theme for Archives Week (October 8-14) this year is Archives-Bridges from the Past to the Present. Events began a week early as is customary in the Capital Region with the Annual Capital Region Archives Dinner at the Executive Mansion on October 4th. The featured speaker was author Joseph Persico and the evening was capped off for attendees as they were treated with a visit to the Mansion's second floor. The Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives commemorates Archives Week with the program "University in Exile: Refugee Scholars, the New School for Social Research, and the German and Jewish Intellectual Émigré Collection" sponsored by the University Libraries, Center for Jewish Studies, and the College of Arts and Sciences on Thursday, October 12th at 4pm in the Standish Room of the Science Library. Details about parking and directions are available here.

In anticipation of the symposium The Next Generation of Death Penalty Research: Priorities, Strategies, and an Agenda presented by the Capital Punishment Research Initiative and the School of Criminal Justice on October 6-7, 2006, the new finding aids highlighted in this posting are from the National Death Penalty Archive. Steven Hawkins Steven Hawkins was the executive director of the National Coalition Against the Death Penalty (now known as the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty) based in Washington, D.C. Hawkins has worked as an advocate for civil and human rights representing persons under a death sentence. The papers contain meeting subject files that include extensive minutes of board meetings, speeches, fundraising and reception notes, and pamphlets and other papers relating to his attendance at board and committee meetings with related organizations, such as the Death Penalty Information Center and Amnesty International. The papers also contain copies of police reports,...

The Marcia Brown Research Room will be closed on Wednesday, September 27th from 7-9p.m. while a class is in session. Research assistance will be available in room 351 in the Department of Special Collections and Archives during this time.

The National Death Penalty Archive in the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives continues to expand. Last month, over 80 cubic feet of records from Abe Bonowitz, Bill Pelke, Bill Babbitt, and Michael Mello were transferred to the Department of Special Collections and Archives. Bonowitz of Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Pelke of Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, and Charlie Lanier of the Capital Punishment Research Initiative even braved one of the hottest days of the summer in August to bring more records to UAlbany! You can read Abe's account of the trip and his encouragement to others to consider transferring their records to the National Death Penalty Archive here.

Just in time for the anniversary of his receipt of the New School Graduate Faculty Founders Medal on September 25th, the Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives is pleased to announce that the finding aid for the papers of Arnold Brecht is now available. Brecht was a Prussian official who was dismissed after defying Hitler in the last free speech in the German parliament. He was a professor of political science, public finance, and international law at the New School for Social Research. His principal work was Political Theory (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1959). The collection is primarily copies of original documents including letters and printed materials housed at the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz, Germany and is divided into six series: 1) Biographical and autobiographical materials, family documents, 1865-1974; 2) Correspondence, 1905-1976; 3) Writings of Arnold Brecht, 1904-1976; 4) Course and lecture notes, notes and clippings on various lecture...

On Sunday, October 1st, Albany's bard, novelist William Kennedy, and local historian and State Assemblyman John McEneny will discuss the historic districts, people, and events that figure so prominently in Kennedy's work. I have heard Kennedy and McEneny speak on several occassions and both usually offer interesting as well as personal accounts of the city of Albany. The event begins at 1p.m. at the Albany Institute of History and Art and will continue with a self-guided walking tour of Albany's South End. The Department of Special Collections and Archives is the repository of the papers of William Kennedy, which are available to the public. The Department also holds many other collections related to the history of the South End and Albany.