Archives of the Ninth Air Force Processed and Digitized
07/30/2014
Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK Archival Services, a division of University Libraries, recently completed the processing and preservation of the Archives of the Ninth Air Force Association (9AFA). The collection was originally processed in 2012, but significant materials have been added since. This includes association records such as meeting minutes, reunion materials, and correspondence from Thomas R. Olsen, the last President of the 9AFA. Other additions include military records of Edward F. MacLean, first President of 9AFA, including rare archival footage of the D-Day invasion.
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During the project, a selection of fascinating historic images from the 9AFA Archives were digitized and made available online. These include historic World War II-era photographs of Ninth Air Force personnel and bomb strikes in addition to a complete run (1991-2012) of the association’s newsletter, The Ninth Flyer. The digital materials can be accessed at . Funding for the project was generously provided by the 9AFA.
Archival Services is one of the largest repositories in the world of historical information on the Ninth Air Force Association and the related B-26 Marauder, one of the most successful medium range bombers in World War II. These resources and others that document the history of World War II may be viewed by visiting Archival Services located in the Polsky Building in downtown Akron. Business hours are Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional information about Archival Services and its collections can be accessed on the department’s website at .
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AC&Y Railroad Historical Society Donates Collection
07/30/2014
The Akron, Canton & Youngstown (AC&Y) Railroad Historical Society recently donated its significant collection of historic records to Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK Archival Services, a division of University Libraries. The AC&Y Historical Society is a group of rail historians, modelers, and railfans who share a common interest in the AC&Y and its predecessors. Since its inception in 1993, the group has worked to preserve the history of the AC&Y for future generations and has amassed a substantial collection of original records on the history of the railroad.
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The AC&Y Railroad was a 171-mile single track railroad running east-to-west from Mogadore to Delphos, Ohio. Organized in 1907, the railroad grew during the rubber boom of the 1910s and by the 1920s was recognized as the most profitable Class I railroad in the nation. It merged with other railroads throughout its history and existed as an independent operation until 1981.
The AC&Y Historical Society Collection consists of approximately 60 cubic feet of materials that document the history of this small, yet important local railroad. The collection includes authorizations for expenditures, accident files and reports, land records, legal documents, maps, drawings, waybills, timetables, station records, correspondence, annual reports, publications, photographs, and a few small artifacts. The collection, which dates from 1915-1998, will be of use to a wide variety of researchers including students, historians, hobbyists, scholars, and anyone with an interest in local railroads and the history of transportation.
The AC&Y Railroad Historical Society Collection and other resources on local railroads are available by visiting Archival Services located in Room LL10 of the Polsky Building in downtown Akron. Business hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional information about Archival Services and its collections can be accessed on the department’s website at .
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Opie Evans Exhibit Extended
07/30/2014
Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK Archival Services, a division of University Libraries, is pleased to announce that the exhibition on the photography of Opie Evans at the Dr. Shirla R. McClain Gallery of Akron’s Black History and Culture has been extended until early November. Evans was a local reporter, broadcaster, publisher, and businessman and one of the earliest African-American photographers in Akron. His photography documents the local African-American community as well as other segments of the city’s population from the mid-1940s through the early 1970s.
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The exhibit, which is titled “This is Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKwith Opie Evans: The Rubber City as Seen through the Lens of One of Its Earliest African-American Photographers,” features 58 photographs from Mr. Evans’ catalogue that capture the work and leisure of Akronites—particularly African-Americans—from every walk of life from the end of the Second World War through the civil rights era. This includes leaders, politicians, and professionals in addition to the indigent and working class. The images are from Evans’ collection that is part of the extensive holdings of Archival Services.
The exhibit, which was guest curated by S. Victor Fleischer, University Archivist, Head of Archival Services, and Associate Professor of Bibliography, was a collaboration between the McClain Gallery, the Pan-African Center for Community Studies, and Archival Services of University Libraries. According to Fleischer, “the photographs are incredibly significant as they visually document an important and transitional time in the city’s and the nation’s history and capture a segment of the local population that is seldom documented elsewhere.” He adds: “We are pleased that the exhibit is being extended so that more people will have the opportunity to see it and learn something new about African-American history and Akron’s past.”
The Opie Evans Papers and other historical resources on local African-American history and the history of the region are available by visiting Archival Services located in Room LL10 of the Polsky Building in downtown Akron. Business hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional information about Archival Services and its collections can be accessed on the department’s website at .
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Goodyear Donates Historic Films
07/30/2014
Last year, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company donated its extensive collection of historic motion picture films to Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK Archival Services, a division of University Libraries. The collection consists of over 3,000 films that visually document the history of the world’s largest and most influential rubber company.
The films date from 1898 to 2007 and are in a variety of formats including 16mm and 35mm nitrate and acetate base film as well as Beta, VHS, and DVD formats. They are a treasure trove of information on a variety of important topics in American and world history including labor, factory conditions, tire and rubber production, lighter-than-air flight, parade balloons, war products, and amateur and professional racing.
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Some of the more important historic events captured in the collection include the maiden flight of the USS Akron, the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, one of the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parades, the unveiling of Admiral Richard Byrd’s snow cruiser, the 1960 breaking of the land speed record, the building of the Alaska Pipeline, and the Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKRubber Strike of 1936. Also included is blimp footage of numerous sporting events such as Super Bowls, Olympics, and NASCAR and Grand Prix races.
The films, which are now inventoried and available to the public, are of use to students, historians, scholars, and documentary film makers. These and other resources on the history of Goodyear and the rubber and polymer industry are available by visiting Archival Services located in Room LL10 of the Polsky Building in downtown Akron. Public hours are Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional information about Archival Services and its collections can be found on the department’s website at .
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Archival Services Awarded NFPF Grant
07/30/2014
The National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) recently awarded Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK Archival Services, a division of University Libraries, a $13,440 grant. The NFPF, located in San Francisco, California, is a non-profit organization created by Congress to help save America's film heritage. It supports activities nationwide that preserve American films and improve film access for study, education, and exhibition.
The grant will be used to transfer volatile nitrate-based 35mm motion picture film from the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company onto polyester safety film and to provide access copies for public viewing. The work will be performed by a vendor in Hollywood.
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Four one-of-a-kind films were chosen for this initial project, all of which document the history of the USS Akron (ZR-4), a helium-filled U.S. Navy rigid-airship and one of the largest flying objects in the world. Its crash in a thunderstorm off the coast of New Jersey in April 1933 was the largest loss of life for any known airship crash and spelled the beginning of the end for the rigid airship in the United States Navy. Although its career was short-lived the USS Akron was one of the most significant airships in the history of lighter-than-air flight, and its construction, christening, maiden flight, test trials, and operations are captured in these rare films.
These and other films on the history of Goodyear and the rubber and polymer industry are available by visiting Archival Services located in Room LL10 of the Polsky Building in downtown Akron. Business hours are Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional information about Archival Services and its collections can be found on the department’s website at .
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Archival Services Commemorates Civil War Sesquicentennial
07/30/2014
Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK Archival Services, a division of University Libraries, recently commemorated the Civil War Sesquicentennial by digitizing and making available online over 200 rare letters from its collections that document the War Between the States. The project was implemented by Kent State University School of Library and Information Science student Adam Wanter. Wanter not only digitized the letters, but also created metadata about each item under the direction of Archival Services faculty and staff and uploaded them to the archives’ digital repository in order to share them with a broader audience online. The letters can be accessed at .
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The letters represent four distinctly different collections held in Archival Services: The William McCollam Papers, the John J. Polsley Papers, the Joseph Sailor Letters, and the Alvin Coe Voris Letters. The collections document the profound effects the war had on the people of Ohio and the region. They cover military and camp life of both soldiers and officers, battles and skirmishes, and soldiers’ and citizens’ thoughts on the war as it unfolded.
These collections and other resources on the history of the Civil War can be viewed by visiting Archival Services located in Room LL10 of the Polsky Building in downtown Akron. Public hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thru Friday. Additional information about Archival Services and its collections can be found on the department’s website at .
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AC&Y Railroad collection comes to UA
08/13/2014
Railroad historical society donates significant collection to Archival Services at Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK.
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The Akron, Canton & Youngstown (AC&Y) Railroad Historical Society donated its collection of photographs, maps and other historic records to Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK Archival Services, a division of University Libraries.
The collection consists of about 60 cubic feet of materials that document the history of the small, yet important local railroad. The assemblage, which dates from 1915-1998, includes land records, drawings, waybills, timetables, station records, correspondence, a few small artifacts and other historic treasures.
The AC&Y Railroad was a 171-mile single-track railroad running east-to-west from Mogadore to Delphos, Ohio. Organized in 1907, the railroad grew during the rubber boom of the 1910s and by the 1920s was recognized as the most profitable Class I railroad in the nation. It merged with other railroads throughout its history and existed as an independent operation until 1981.
The donated materials are available for use by students, historians, hobbyists, scholars and anyone with an interest in the operation of local railroads and the history of transportation.
About the AC&Y Historical Society
The AC&Y Historical Society is a group of rail historians, modelers and railfans who share a common interest in the AC&Y and its predecessors. Since its inception in 1993, the group has worked to preserve the history of the AC&Y for future generations and has amassed a substantial collection of original records on the history of the railroad. The organization is somewhat unique in that it is now one of the few railroad historical societies that is purely Internet-based. To learn more, visit the online.
About Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK’s Archival Services
UA’s Archival Services, which is part of University Libraries, collects, preserves and provides access to historic resources that primarily document the history of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK and the region. The department, which is located in Room LL10 of the Polsky Building in downtown Akron, is open to students, faculty, staff and the general public, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments are recommended, but not required. To learn more, visit .
Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.
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UA Archives to preserve rare airship films
08/13/2014
The films document the history of the USS Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK(ZR-4), one of the largest flying objects in the world.
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The USS Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK(ZR-4)was a helium-filled U.S. Navy rigid-airship — one of the largest flying objects in the world.
The National Film Preservation Foundation awarded Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK Archival Services, a division of University Libraries, a $13,440 grant. The funds will be used to transfer volatile nitrate-based 35mm motion picture film from The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company records onto polyester safety film and to provide access copies for public viewing.
The four one-of-a-kind films document the history of the USS Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK(ZR-4), a helium-filled U.S. Navy rigid-airship, one of the largest flying objects in the world. Its crash in a thunderstorm off the coast of New Jersey in April 1933 spelled the beginning of the end for the rigid airship in the U.S. Navy. Although its career was short-lived, the USS Â鶹ÊÓƵAPKwas one of the most significant airships in the history of lighter-than-air flight, and its construction, christening, maiden flight, test trials and operations are captured in these rare films. These and other films on the history of Goodyear and the rubber and polymer industry are available by visiting Archival Services.
“The grant is important because it qualifies us to apply for more substantial grants that if awarded will allow us to preserve additional historic films and make them available to the public for the first time.” says S. Victor Fleischer, UA archivist, head of archival services and associate professor of bibliography.
About the National Film Preservation Foundation
The National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF), located in San Francisco, Calif., is a nonprofit organization created by Congress to help save America's film heritage. It supports activities nationwide that preserve American films and improve film access for study, education, and exhibition. For more information about its programs, visit the online.
About Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK’s Archival Services
UA’s Archival Services, which is part of University Libraries, collects, preserves and provides access to historic resources that primarily document the history of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK and the region. The department, which is located in Room LL10 of the Polsky Building in downtown Akron, is open to students, faculty, staff and the general public, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments are recommended, but not required. To learn more, visit .
Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.
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UA Archives commemorates Civil War Sesquicentennial
08/26/2014
Digitization project makes rare war letters available online.
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More than 200 rare letters from Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK archival collections that document the War Between the States were digitized to commemorate the Civil War Sesquicentennial and are now available online. Kent State University School of Library and Information Science student Adam Wanter implemented the project under the direction of UA Archival Services faculty and staff.
A letter in the Joseph Sailor Collection.
The letters represent four distinctly different collections held in Archival Services: The William McCollam Papers, the John J. Polsley Papers, the Joseph Sailor Letters and the Alvin Coe Voris Letters.
The letters cover military and camp life of both soldiers and officers, battles and skirmishes, and soldiers’ and citizens’ thoughts on the war as it unfolded. These collections and other resources on the history of the Civil War can be viewed online at .
“The letters document the profound effects the war had on the people of Ohio and the region," says UA archivist S. Victor Fleischer who heads UA Archival Services and serves as an associate professor of bibliography. "Digitizing the letters not only helps to commemorate the war and honor the contributions of Ohioans, but also brings their experiences to light in order to educate a new generations of Americans about this important time in our nation’s past,”
About the Civil War Sesquicentennial
The 150th anniversary of the American Civil War is being commemorated by a number of organizations, both locally and nationally, including the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution and the Ohio Historical Society. For more information about the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011-2015) in Ohio, please visit the online.
About Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK’s Archival Services
UA’s Archival Services, which is part of University Libraries, collects, preserves and provides access to historic resources that primarily document the history of Â鶹ÊÓƵAPK and the region. The department, which is located in Room LL10 of the Polsky Building in downtown Akron, is open to students, faculty, staff and the general public, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments are recommended, but not required. To learn more, visit .
Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.
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