Not all the objects in Houghton Library’s collections have such illustrious, proud histories as a Shakespeare First Folio or Gutenberg Bible. Objects of less reputable association can provide just as striking of an encounter as these treasured relics, however. During the behind-the-scenes tour of Houghton on my first day of work at the library, I…
Collections Now Available for Research: August 2018
Houghton Library is pleased to announce the following collections are now described online and accessible in the reading room. Collection of Anderson Entertainment Bureau Printed Ephemera, circa 1900-1910 (MS Thr 1844) – processed by Melanie Wisner Boyle Family Papers, 1657-1903 (MS Eng 218) – processed by Michael Austin British Prompt Book Collection and Theatrical Manuscript…
Collections Now Available for Research: July 2018
Houghton Library is pleased to announce the following collections are now described online and accessible in the reading room. Dyke Benjamin Collection of John Ruskin and His Circle, 1815-1916 (MS Eng 1812) – processed by Magee Lawhorn José María Castañé Collection of 20th Century War-related Manuscripts, Photographs, and Objects, circa 1898-1990 (MS Span 185) –…
Born-Digital Blog Post #6: Accessioning Workflow part 1
This post continues the series, “Behind the Scenes at Houghton”, giving a glimpse into the inner workings of the library’s mission to support teaching and research. Thanks to Magdaline Lawhorn, Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Resident & Project Archivist, for contributing this post. Library and information professionals love developing workflows! Workflows make our…
Summer Spotlight: Soldier-Poets of World War I
Announcing the Summer Spotlight Series I am a recent graduate of Harvard College, and I began working as a library assistant at Houghton in May. Mostly, that means I hunt down books for patrons and return them to the shelf when they’re done. An indelible part of my subterranean stack-roaming has been a whole…
Collections Now Available for Research: June 2018
In surveying our collections for born-digital materials while also committing two staff to processing backlog collections and providing access at point of accession, we are excited to announce the following 22 collections are now more fully described and discoverable online. Russell Ball Photographs, circa 1920-1930 (MS Thr 1792) – processed by Betts Coup Lucia Berlin…
Born-Digital Blog Post #5 : Analyzing Results of the Survey
This post continues the series, “Behind the Scenes at Houghton”, giving a glimpse into the inner workings of the library’s mission to support teaching and research. Thanks to Magdaline Lawhorn, Administrative Fellow & Project Archivist, for contributing this post. So far in this series, I have discussed Houghton’s first steps in the born-digital initiative, the…
Collections Now Available for Research: May 2018
Houghton Library is pleased to announce that the following collections now have descriptive finding aids and are available for research in the library’s reading room. José María Castañé Collection of German Wartime Propaganda Flyers in Russian, 1942-1944 (MS Russ 144) – processed by Irina Klyagin Angna Enters Collection, 1929-1962, and undated (MS Thr 1784) –…
Born-Digital Blog Post #4: Digital Forensic Workstation
This post continues the series, “Behind the Scenes at Houghton”, giving a glimpse into the inner workings of the library’s mission to support teaching and research. Thanks to Magdaline Lawhorn, Administrative Fellow & Project Archivist, for contributing this post. A functional workstation is pivotal to every archivist’s work, especially when dealing with the born-digital environment…
Langdon Warner through his Archive
In 2016, I stumbled across a surprising body of materials at Houghton Library while conducting research for my dissertation project on the establishment of East Asian art history as a discipline in the United States, circa 1900-1960. I had been aware for some time of the life and legacy of Langdon Warner (1881-1955)—the first curator…