Category Archives: Announcements

Announcements from University Archives & Special Collections.

College of Liberal Arts, Dean’s Office records: Now available for research

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College of Liberal Arts, Dean’s Office: records, 1971-2009

College of Liberal Arts, Dean’s Office: records, 1971-2009

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston is pleased to announce that the College of Liberal Arts, Dean’s Office records, 1971-2009, are now open for research.

This collection, spanning 14.5 linear feet, documents the development and growth of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Massachusetts Boston from 1971 to 2009, particularly the activities of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Senate, as well as course and program development. Records include carbon copies, photo copies, notes, reports, correspondence, memos, resumes, budgets, strategic  plans, accreditation information, enrollment status reports, program and regents’ reviews, self-studies, statistics, class scheduling, and agenda and meeting minutes for the Faculty Council and the CLA Senate.

Series I includes files that were maintained by Dean Louise Smith, dating from 1971 to 2006. Records from Series V were most likely maintained by Edna Seaman, Associate Dean from 1980 to 1992. Items of note include records for the Writing Proficiency Exam review by the Office of Civil Rights, Senate Actions to improve the exam from 1988 to 1993, and the diversification plan from 1975 to 1979. Also of note is information pertaining to the development of a Black Studies department at UMass Boston from 1974 to 1980.

If you have any questions or if you would like to schedule a time to explore the collection, email library.archives@umb.edu or call 617-287-5469.

View the finding aid for this collection.

These records have been processed as part of University Archives & Special Collections’ Save Our History! campaign. As part of UMass Boston’s 50th anniversary, University Archives & Special Collections is calling for the transfer of founding documents and organizational records from all units on campus. These units include (but are not limited to) academic departments, administrative units, institutes, centers, and student groups. Read more about transferring University records to UASC.

UMass Boston Archives staff give presentation at Society of American Archivists annual meeting

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Joanne Riley, University Archivist and Curator of Special Collections in the Healey Library at UMass Boston (left) and an SAA conference attendee discuss the department's poster.

Joanne Riley, University Archivist and Curator of Special Collections in the Healey Library at UMass Boston (left), and SAA conference attendee discuss the department’s poster.

Last week, archivists from University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston headed to Washington, D.C., for the joint annual meeting of the Council of State Archivists (CoSA), the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA), and the Society of American Archivists (SAA). On Thursday and Friday of this year’s conference, called ARCHIVES*RECORDS: Ensuring Access, Andrew Elder, Jessica Holden, and Joanne Riley presented as part of the professional poster session on our efforts to establish successful ongoing relationships with community archives and organizations.

SAA PosterOur poster, titled “University Archives and Community Organizations: Ensuring Access through Collaboration,” looks closely at our ongoing relationship with The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA) and our collaborative efforts to preserve and provide access to 79,000 mortuary records from the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters. Elements of the collaboration included shifting stewardship of the records from the Foresters to TIARA to UMass Boston, integrating TIARA’s efforts in processing and indexing the records into the Archives’ workflow, providing in-person and electronic access to the records, and hosting public events that celebrate the partnership and educate the public about the records. This poster illustrates the lessons learned during the records’ journey from an active business to a community organization to an archives and special collections department at a large, public research university.

View the poster and handout 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.

Wayland Mass. Memories Road Show collection online now

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Doll carriage parade, 1950 'At one time every year, Cochituate had a doll carriage parade. Pictured: me and my daughter Paula Athanas. Contributor: Polly Athanas.'

Doll carriage parade, 1950 ‘At one time every year, Cochituate had a doll carriage parade. Pictured: me and my daughter Paula Athanas. Contributor: Polly Athanas.’

The images and stories gathered at the Wayland Mass. Memories Road Show on March 8, 2014 are now available for research. Held at the Wayland Middle School, the event was organized by the Town of Wayland’s 375th Anniversary Committee. Two dozen local volunteers collaborated with a team of UMass Boston staff members and “Roadies” from past Mass. Memories Road Shows to welcome adults and children with connections to the town.

More than 125 individuals contributed 375 photographs documenting personal memories of friends and relatives in Wayland and beyond. A large number of contributors shared photographs of themselves and their families engaged in a wide range of community activities over the years. Adults and children at play on Dudley Pond and Lake Cochituate, performing in musical bands and orchestras, and competing in sports events–these photographs demonstrate a series of strong connections established among the town’s residents. The collection also includes photographs of town events such as Halloween parades, road races, high school graduation ceremonies, and Riverfest, an annual celebration of the Sudbury River which runs through the town.

Pictured, from left to right: Pat Tally, Ken Keyes, and John Russell. Location: 101 Pelham Island Road. Contributor: John Russell.

Mud football aftermath, early spring 1984  Pictured, from left to right: Pat Tally, Ken Keyes, and John Russell. Location: 101 Pelham Island Road. Contributor: John Russell.

Other photographs and stories portray young and old at work enhancing the quality of life in their town: building playground structures, planting trees, and conserving open space. Contributors further shared memories and images of the founding of Shir Tikvah (the first Jewish temple in Wayland), the construction of the Islamic Center of Boston, and sharing learning experiences with Boston students in the METCO program. Local businesses such as Russell Garden Center, Raytheon, Liberty Pizza, Nisbet’s Variety Store are well represented in the collection, as are public service agencies such as the police and fire departments.

Overall, the Wayland Mass. Memories Road Show collection provides a rich window on everyday life in this suburban town west of Boston.

Browse the Wayland Mass. Memories Road Show collection.

'A group of BEElieve beekeepers poses for a picture at [my] house after the group's first hive opening in Spring of 2012. Hive openings at backyard beekeepers' homes are a large part of educating the public about the hardworking and friendly bees. Many who have hesitated about beekeeping for years need to witness only one hive opening to make up their minds and get started. Pictured, from left to right: Janet Hading Pian, Anne Harris, unidentified, Kaat Vander Straeten, and Janot Mendler de Suarez.' Contributor: Kaat Vander Straeten.

‘A group of BEElieve beekeepers poses for a picture at [my] house after the group’s first hive opening in Spring of 2012. Pictured, from left to right: Janet Hading Pian, Anne Harris, unidentified, Kaat Vander Straeten, and Janot Mendler de Suarez.’ Contributor: Kaat Vander Straeten.

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.

The story behind the photos: Video interviews from the Mass. Memories Road Show

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The Mass. Memories Road Show team is thrilled to announce that the video interviews collected at Mass. Memories Road Shows over the past 10 years are starting to become available at openarchives.umb.edu. For this progress, we thank Lael Dalal, a summer intern from the archives program at Simmons College’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science, who has developed a workflow for editing and cataloging the videos and for uploading them to our online platform. So far, Lael has uploaded the videos for Brewster, Halifax, Irish Immigrant Experience, Milton, Stoughton, and, most recently, Provincetown.

In this blog post, Lael shares her experience working with the video interviews in the collection:

While at UMass Boston, I have had a chance to work with what I think are the most intriguing elements of the Mass. Memories Road Show collection–the video interviews. Before I arrived, I had only a vague idea of what a Road Show entailed. I quickly discovered that at each event participants bring photographs to be scanned and cataloged. In addition, they can sit for a short interview and explain the “story behind the photos” in front of a video camera. These wonderful videos, most of which were recorded by Jack Lerner and Liz Clancy of Best Dog Ever Films, offer invaluable context for the photographs and written stories in the collection.

Andre Rouse and his daughter Trinity at the Stoughton Mass. Memories Road Show

All of the videos record contemporary personal stories for posterity. Some are endearing and heartbreaking. One of my favorites is of Andre Rouse and his young daughter Trinity at the Stoughton Mass. Memories Road Show. They brought photographs of themselves over the years at Stoughton events and family gatherings. While the photos show them participating together in community activities, the video captures their sweet relationship and shows how a loving father has raised his daughter after his wife passed away.

Lawren F. Cohen at the Brewster Mass. Memories Road Show

Other very personal videos also provide a sense of what a community was like at a particular period in history. One of my favorites is from Lawren F. Cohen in Brewster, where he shares memories growing up by the ocean during the Great Depression. He describes the hardships he endured–including hunting for his family so they could eat– yet recalls the time fondly. He lights up and laughs when he recalls working at an old country store as a young man, where he and other “rouges” would hangout and cause a ruckus.

Cornelius McEleney at the Irish Immigrant Experience Mass. Memories Road Show

Cornelius McEleney at the Irish Immigrant Experience Mass. Memories Road Show is another video near to my heart. This thematic event focused on a particular cultural group, rather than on a town or city in Massachusetts. McEleney came from Ireland many years ago and towards the end of the video sings a beautiful song about the trials and tribulations of Irish immigrants who came to America. The song is a unique complement to the photos that he contributed.

The videos tell varied and multi-faceted stories and serve as important documents connecting the past to the present. You can view the videos at openarchives.umb.edu by browsing each Road Show and by searching for “video” in each Road Show’s collection.

Who’s Who? — Chancellor Carlo L. Golino and others look at plan for Columbia Point campus

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As part of UMass Boston’s 50th anniversary celebrations, students working with University Archives & Special Collections have been digitizing, describing, and making available photos from the school’s past. View our collection of University Archives Historic Photographs.

While every effort is made to identify individuals and events pictured, we can always use your help filling in some of the gaps! Every week we will post a new photo with missing information, and if you recognize the people or event simply make a comment below or email library.archives@umb.edu telling us what you know. With your help we can create an even better record of UMass Boston’s history!

In this photo, UMass Boston Chancellor Carlo L. Golino, left, and two unidentified men are photographed in front of a plan for the new Columbia Point campus detailing its different phases of construction. The Columbia Point campus first welcomed students in 1974 after spending the previous decade in Boston’s Park Square.

If you can help identify individuals in the photograph, please comment below or email library.archives@umb.edu.

Chancellor Carlo L. Golino (left) and two unidentified men in front of a plan for Columbia Point campus detailing its different phases of construction.

Chancellor Carlo L. Golino (left) and two unidentified men in front of a plan for Columbia Point campus detailing its different phases of construction. UASC-UAPHO-0003-0048-0003