Author Archives: University Archives and Special Collections

Open access journal on eLearning practice and pedagogy launches on ScholarWorks

Date
Posted by
Comments0

Current Issues in Emerging eLearningWe’re excited to announce the launch of a new, open access journal on ScholarWorks, the institutional repository for scholarship and research out of UMass Boston. Current Issues in Emerging eLearning (CIEE) is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal of applied research and critical thought on eLearning practice and emerging pedagogical methods. The journal is published by the Center for Innovation and Excellence in eLearning, and sponsored by the College of Advancing and Professional Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

In their foreword to the inaugural issue, editor-in-chief Apostolos Koutropoulos and managing editor Alan Girelli describe their intentions with this new publication: “We are eager to help build a community around the research and scholarly use of eLearning theory and eLearning technologies within and across educational sectors. You as a reader, researcher, and practitioner play a vital role in this emerging community. As you read through the articles, we encourage you to contact the writers with your thoughts, comments, and ideas, and be in contact with the Center for Innovation and Excellence in eLearning […] In this way we will continue to participate in mindful and active engagement with these intriguing emerging topics, and continue to establish findings on eLearning as a distinct body of knowledge, serving as a connection point for critical thought in the field.”

Apart from the foreword by Koutropoulos and Girelli, the contents of the inaugural issue of Current Issues in Emerging eLearning include:

The editors will be releasing a formal call for papers for upcoming issues soon. Visit scholarworks.umb.edu/ciee for more information.

ScholarWorks at UMass Boston is a hosted, open access, institutional repository that establishes a new foundation for providing access to scholarly work and research. ScholarWorks is the digital collection of UMass Boston’s intellectual output that centralizes, makes accessible, and preserves knowledge produced by the institution. A service of the University Libraries, the site is fully indexed and accessible via search engines like Google. At present, there are more than 4,000 publications openly available to researchers around the world through ScholarWorks.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Service moves and construction in the Healey Library

Date
Posted by
Comments0

UPDATES:

Wednesday, April 9 (10:00 am): At the end of the day on Wednesday, April 9, the Curriculum Resource Center (CRC) space on the 5th floor of the Healey Library will close for renovations. The CRC collection has been relocated to the 4th floor of the Library. If you have any questions about accessing the CRC collection, please stop of the Reference Desk. The Graduate and Faculty Research Center on the 5th floor of the Library will remain open.

Healey Library

WHY?

In response to a recent flooding and equipment failure, the Healey Library needs to undertake on short notice a number of important collection and service moves and construction in the coming weeks and months.

These necessary shifts and relocation moves started on Monday, April 7, and the areas of the Healey Library most affected by these disruptions will be the 4th and 5th floors.

We appreciate your patience and we apologize for any noise or inconvenience during this period of change!

HOW WILL THIS AFFECT ME?

We want to ensure that the UMass Boston community has access to all Library services, collections and resources during this period. Please let us know immediately if you need assistance…

WHERE SHOULD I GO FOR COMPUTER AND STUDY SPACE?

  • Graduate and Faculty Research Center on the 5th floor will still be in available for use, although it may get noisy at times in that area.
  • Computers on the 4th floor of Healey will still be in available for use, although it may get noisy at times in that area.
  • Quiet study areas on the 6th floor will not be affected by the construction
  • Group study areas on the 8th floor will not be affected by the construction
  • General use computer labs on the 3rd floor and the Upper Level (UL) of the Library will not be affected by the construction

QUESTIONS? CONCERNS?

Please contact library.admin@umb.edu or call 617-287-5910 with questions and visit www.umb.edu/library for updates. We are working on compiling a list of additional information and a complete list of library services and resources we expect will be impacted during this period.

Provincetown Mass. Memories Road Show Images and Stories Online Now

Date
Posted by
Comments0
'My wife Susan Soults modeling as a mermaid for an Atlantic Coast Fisheries promotion for frozen fish to be sold in the Midwest, 1964.' Contributor: Tony Jackett.

‘My wife Susan Soults modeling as a mermaid for an Atlantic Coast Fisheries promotion for frozen fish to be sold in the Midwest, 1964.’ Contributor: Tony Jackett.

The images and stories gathered at the Provincetown Mass. Memories Road Show on September 28, 2013 are now available online. Held at the Veterans Memorial Community Building, the event was organized by the Provincetown Public Library, Council on Aging, Town of Provincetown, Provincetown Art Commission, and Provincetown Monument and Museum.  Two dozen local volunteers worked together with a team of UMass Boston staff members and “Roadies” from past Mass. Memories Road Shows to welcome individuals with connections to the town.

About 120 individuals contributed over 300 photographs documenting personal memories of friends and relatives in Provincetown and beyond. Overall, the collection reflects both the rich cultural heritage and artistic character of the town and its residents. Several contributors brought images and stories about work or recreation at sea, while others shared photographs of such local businesses as the Old Colony Tap, Phantasy Photo, and the Now Voyager and Cape & Dagger bookstores. Images of weddings in the “hippie” era of the 1960s and 1970s and same-sex union ceremonies in more recent years are among the personal occasions preserved. The collection also includes photographs of town celebrations such as the prom at Provincetown High School, and the 4th of July and Carnival parades.

'Our wedding day, gorgeous warm November afternoon. On the deck overlooking Provincetown Harbor, 1971. Contributors: Deborah and Dennis Minsky.

‘Our wedding day, gorgeous warm November afternoon. On the deck overlooking Provincetown Harbor, 1971. Contributors: Deborah and Dennis Minsky.

Browse the Provincetown Mass. Memories Road Show collection.

The Mass. Memories Road Show is a statewide digital history project that documents people, places and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories. In partnership with teams of local volunteers, we organize public events to scan family and community photographs and videotape “the stories behind the photos.” The images and videos are indexed and incorporated into an online educational database. Since its launch, the project has gathered more than 8,000 photographs and stories from across the state. It is supported in part by the Patricia C. Flaherty ’81 Endowed Fund at UMass Boston.  

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston was established in 1981 as a repository to collect archival material in subject areas of interest to the university, as well as the records of the university itself. The mission and history of UMass Boston guide the collection policies of University Archives & Special Collections, with the university’s urban mission and strong support of community service reflected in the records of and related to urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, war and social consequence, and local history related to neighboring communities. To learn more, visit blogs.umb.edu/archives.

Mass. Memories Road Show heads to Wayland

Date
Posted by
Comments0

Wayland Mass. Memories Road ShowWhen: Saturday, March 8, 2014 – 10 a.m – 2 p.m.

Location: Wayland Middle School, 201 Main Street, Wayland, Mass. Click here for directions.

Do you have a connection to Wayland, Massachusetts? Share your memories and take your place in Massachusetts history at this free, public event. Please bring up to three photographs related to your experience of Wayland. The photos will be scanned and immediately returned to you at the event. All images and stories collected at Mass. Memories Road Shows are available online at openarchives.umb.edu.

The Mass. Memories Road Show is a statewide digital history project that documents people, places, and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories.

The Mass. Memories Road Show is produced by the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston and is co-sponsored by the Patricia C. Flaherty ’81 Endowed Fund.

The Wayland Mass. Memories Road Show is also sponsored locally by the Town of Wayland, 375th Anniversary Planning Committee.

Read more about the Wayland Mass. Memories Road Show here and here.

In the event of a snow storm, this Road Show will take place on Sunday, March 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Questions? Email carolyn.goldstein@umb.edu.

New book on Boston Harbor cleanup uses Healey Library collection

Date
Posted by
Comments0

Each summer (and at least once each winter) Boston-area residents wade in the clean waters off the dozen or more beaches along Boston Harbor. Twenty-five years ago, however, Boston Harbor had a very different reputation: as one of the filthiest Harbors in the United States. The Harbor’s “Dirty Water” even inspired a 1966 song by the California-based band The Standells.

In his new book Trapped Under the Sea: One Engineering Marvel, Five Men, and a Disaster Ten Miles Into the Darkness, Boston Globe Magazine staff writer Neil Swidey tells the story of the cleanup and of an important final step in the construction of a nearly 10 mile tunnel that would carry billions of gallons of treated wastewater into the Massachusetts Bay.

From the website for the book: In the 1990s, Boston built a sophisticated waste treatment plant on Deer Island that was poised to show the country how to rebound from environmental ruin. The state had been dumping barely treated sewage into the water for so long that Boston had America’s filthiest harbor, with a layer of “black mayonnaise” coating the seafloor. Fisheries collapsed, wildlife fled, and locals referred to floating tampon applicators as “beach whistles.” But before the dumping could stop, a team of divers had to make a perilous journey to the end of a 10-mile tunnel—devoid of light and air—to complete the construction. Five went in, but not all of them came out … [In Trapped Under the Sea, Swidey recounts the] harrowing story of five men who were sent into a dark, airless, miles-long tunnel, hundreds of feet below the ocean, to do a nearly impossible job—with deadly results.

Judge A. David Mazzone speaking at 2001 Honorary Degree Dinner. Judge Mazzone was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws at the 2001 Commencement.

Judge A. David Mazzone speaking at 2001 Honorary Degree Dinner. Judge Mazzone was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws at UMass Boston’s 2001 Commencement.

The Boston Harbor Cleanup Case was a landmark one for Massachusetts. The initial order and subsequent timetable of U.S. Federal District Judge A. David Mazzone set into play one of the largest public works projects ever undertaken in New England at a total cost of over $3.8 billion. It resulted in the construction of a new primary wastewater treatment center at Deer Island (“the Boston Harbor Treatment Plant”), facilities at Fore River Shipyard in Quincy to process sewage sludge, a tunnel from Nut Island to Deer Island, and a 9.5 mile outfall tunnel to discharge treated effluent offshore in Massachusetts Bay. These four major construction projects were designed to deal with the problem of untreated sewage water which had been dumped into Boston Harbor for decades. The case was originally filed in three separate lawsuits, culminating in Judge Mazzone’s 1985 ruling that made the cleanup of the Boston Harbor a non-voluntary, court-ordered mandate.

The Chamber Papers of Judge A. David Mazzone on the Boston Harbor Clean Up Case (1985-2005) were donated to University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston in 2005, shortly after Judge Mazzone passed away. Swidey used Mazzone’s papers as part of the research and documentation for his book.

Read more about Trapped Under the Sea, including information about upcoming author events, here.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.

University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.