Salted, Pickled, and Smoked: Preserving the Cultural Heritage of New Bedford’s Fishing Community

nbfhc_Salted24x36When: Saturday, May 21, 2016 | 11:00 am – 3:30 pm

Location: New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Visitor Center | 33 William Street | New Bedford, Mass. | Click here for directions.

Do you have a connection to New Bedford’s fishing heritage? Share your memories at this free, public Fishing Heritage Digitizing Day organized by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.

The event is part of a year-long effort to digitize the cultural heritage of New Bedford’s fishing community. The project is a collaboration involving the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, the New Bedford Public Library, MIT Sea Grant, the Claire T. Carney Library at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and the Joseph P. Healey Library at University of Massachusetts Boston. Funding for this project is provided through a Common Heritage grant program from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Staff from University Archives & Special Collections at UMass Boston and volunteers from the department’s Mass. Memories Road Show program will be on hand to register contributors, scan images, and record stories. The photographs and stories collected at this event will be added to the department’s online collection at openarchives.umb.edu.

Read more about this event hereDownload the flyer for “Salted, Pickled, and Smoked” and remember to share it with your friends.  


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.

Exhibition in Healey Library explores Thompson Island histories

Thompson's Island, 1927. Image from the Thompson's Island collection in University Archives & Special Collections at UMass Boston.

Thompson Island, 1927. Image from the Thompson Island collection in University Archives & Special Collections at UMass Boston.

Exhibition: Learning By Doing – Thompson Island Histories: A student curated project

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 12, 2016 | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Location: Walter Grossmann Gallery, Joseph P. Healey Library (5th floor) | 100 Morrissey Blvd. | Boston, Mass. | Click here for directions.

Since the 1830s, Thompson Island has been home to successive educational institutions that have shared a commitment to “learning by doing.” These schools have left a rich collection of historical materials—today stewarded by the Healey Library at UMass Boston in partnership with Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center.

There is no single way to tell the history of Thompson Island. Five graduate students in the History Department’s “Interpreting History in Public” course each offer a unique approach to the history of UMass Boston’s island neighbor. Our student curators have prepared exhibition proposals and two sample panels exploring a chosen historical theme.

Please join us in exploring Thompson Island history.

Sponsored by the Public History Track in the Department of History and by University Archives & Special Collections in the Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Supported in part by the Patricia C. Flaherty ’81 Endowed Fund.

Download the flyer for this exhibition and the opening reception and help us spread the word.


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.

High Wheelin’ around the UMass Boston campus

University Archives & Special Collections in the Healey Library at UMass Boston recently accepted a donation of the complete run of The Wheelmen magazine (1970-2015) from donor Stephen Hartson, the magazine’s Publications Chair, and his father, Robert Hartson.

After signing the donation forms, Stephen Hartson treated us by taking a spin around the plaza outside the Healey Library on his replica of a late 19th century high wheeler, or “ordinary” bicycle. Stephen made it look effortless, gliding smoothly over the stone and concrete of the plaza (see video below).

Stephen Hartson rides a high wheeler, or ordinary, bicycle outside the Healey Library at UMass Boston from UMass Boston Archives on Vimeo.

For more information about researching the history of bicycling, visit umb.libguides.com/bicycling. To read more about bicycling collections in University Archives & Special Collections, click 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.

Yankee Baleeiros! The Shared Legacies of Luso and Yankee Whalers: Exhibit on display in Healey Library

ss_LusoPanel-pdf-panel_5In celebration of Cape Verdean Week, a traveling exhibition from the New Bedford Whaling Museum is on view in the Walter Grossmann Gallery on the 5th floor of the Joseph P. Healey Library, through May 2, 2016.

Co-sponsored by the William Monroe Trotter Institute and the Transnational, Cultural, and Community Studies program (TCCS) at UMass Boston, the exhibition celebrates the interwoven Luso-American stories of the Azorean, Cape Verdean, and Brazilian communities to the United States from early immigration in the 18th century through the latter half of the 20th century. For more information about the exhibition, click here.

Currently on view at the Joseph P. Healey Library through Monday, May 2, 2016.

When: Through May 2, 2016

Location: Joseph P. Healey Library, University of Massachusetts Boston | 100 Morrissey Blvd. | Boston, Mass. | Click here for directions.

Mass. Memories Road Show heads to Hyde Park on Saturday, May 14

Hyde Park MMRS flyer finalWhen: Saturday, May 14, 2016 | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Location: Hyde Park Community Center | 1179 River Street | Hyde Park, Mass. | Click here for directions.

Do you have a connection to the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts? Do you live or work in Hyde Park? Are your roots in Hyde Park? Share your memories and take your place in Massachusetts history at this free, public event.

Please bring 2-3 photographs in their original format (digital or print photographs) and your stories to be recorded. We will scan unframed pictures and copy digital images and return the images back to you. All images will be added to the online collection at openarchives.umb.edu.

Local support for the Hyde Park Mass. Memories Road Show is provided by the Friends of the Hyde Park Library, The Hyde Park Community Center, and Spin350 Creative. Learn more about the Hyde Park Mass. Memories Road Show here.

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. It is produced by the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston and is co-sponsored by the Patricia C. Flaherty ’81 Endowed Fund.

Download the flyer for the Hyde Park Mass. Memories Road Show here and remember to share it with your friends and family members!