Kenneth Spencer Research Library

Supply chain issues and lower staffing levels have continued to affect our ability to process new collections in the first half of 2022, but despite this we have continued to process and describe new materials. We’ve also been able to return to a project that has long languished, in which we are inventorying and describing the official records of the University of Kansas, including creating finding aids for record groups that were previously undescribed in an easily accessible, online way. Look for updates to our record group listings throughout the rest of this year and beyond!

You’ll see some newly described record groups in the list below, amongst our other newly processed collections.

William Coker collection, 1932-2004 (RH MS 1550)

Hodgeman colony history collection, 1879-1963 (RH MS P977)

Chester Owens collection, 1923-2010 (bulk 1950s-1980s) (RH MS 1549, RH MS R496)

Paul A. Black photograph album, approximately 1916-1938 (RH PH 564)

Philippine-American War diary by a U.S. officer, March 25-April 6, 1900 (RH MS C93)

Dotti McClenaghan “Follies” collection, 1959, 1963 (bulk 1959) (RH PH 563)

Pace and Mendenhall family photographs, 1909, 1925-1935, undated (RH PH 562)

Jerauld R. Crowell papers, 1963-2018 (RH MS 1551, RH MS R497, RH MS R498, RH MS S76, KC AV 115)

Independent Order of Good Templars of Jefferson County, Kansas, Lodge No. 17 records, 1874, 1876 (RH MS P978)

June flood of 1908 at Kansas City postcards, June 1908 (RH PH P2843)

Walter Thomas Bezzi journals, 1975-1985 (RH MS 1552)

Bullene family bible, [bible printed in 1833, includes information dating up to 1926] (RH MS 1546)

J.C. Nichols Investment Company covenant book, November 1922 (RH MS P976)

Bell Memorial Hospital photograph, 1918 (RH PH P2842(f))

Clarence Kivett papers, 1977-1995 (RH MS 1547)

Harris family papers, 1965-2019 (RH MS 1543, RH MS Q483)

Perry Alan Werner photograph collection, December 1977-September 1978 and undated (RH PH 561)

1890s family photograph album, probably from Kansas, 1890s (RH PH P2845)

James Milton Turner correspondence, July 1884 (RH MS P979)

Langston Hughes play scripts, 1937-1958 (RH MS 1554)

Robert C. Wilson collection, 1967-1999 (RH MS 1556, RH MS R501, KC AV 119)

“The Order of the Little Bears” notebook, April 7, 1942-May 1943 (MS C317, MS P761)

Personal papers of Thomas N. Taylor, 1961-2016 (PP 631)

Hinton family papers, 1921-2016 (RH MS 1558, RH MS Q489, KC AV 120)

“These Were People of Mercy” Stoner family genealogy, December 2019 (RH MS D302)

John Parks enlistment papers, October 1, 1863 (RH MS P980)

Joshua William Beede letters, April 6, 1899 and August [1899?] (RH MS P981)

Postcards addressed to Lillian Mitchner, 1910 (RH MS P982)

Records regarding Faculty and Staff at the University of Kansas, 1880s-2020 (bulk 1930s-2000s) (RG 41)

Records of Radio, TV, and Film at the University of Kansas, 1923-2019 (bulk 1950s-1980s) (RG 40)

Records of the Office of Public Safety at the University of Kansas, 1925-2019 (RG 48)

Personal papers of Neil J. Salkind, 1970-2017 (PP 632)

Personal papers of Anton Rosenthal, 1984-2020 (PP 633)

Personal papers of Larry Martin, approximately 1972-2010 (PP 630)

Living the Dream, Inc. invitation, 2020 (RH MS P988)

Margaret Kramar collection, March 2017 (RH MS P987)

John Swift school records, 1950-1956 (RH MS P986)

Amelia Pardee Ellis McQueen collection, 1862-1997 (RH MS P985)

Blue Rapids Supply Company brochures, February 1940, September 1941 (RH MS P984)

“Grandmother’s Letters,” by Louisa B. Simpson, 1847-1864 (RH MS P983)

U.S. Committee on Public Information Division of Women’s War Work collection, December 1917-July 1918 (MS 371, MS Qa40)

Personal papers of Donald Stull, 1967-2015 (PP 583)

Personal papers of Charles D. Bunker, 1901-1937 (PP 634)

Marcella Huggard
Manuscripts Processing Coordinator

This is the second installment in a series of posts introducing readers to student employees who make important contributions to the work of Spencer Research Library. Today’s profile features student assistant Alex Williams, who started working in Spencer’s Public Services unit in Spring 2019. Alex is an undergraduate majoring in creative writing with a minor in women, gender, and sexuality studies; she is graduating from KU in Spring 2023.

What does your job at Spencer entail?

I am a Public Services student employee, so my job consists of retrieving materials from our stacks to bring to patrons using the Reading Room, manning the reception desk, and returning or shifting materials in the stacks.

Why did you want to work at Spencer Research Library?

A few years ago, my first-year seminar class took a tour of Spencer Research Library. The curator leading our tour, Elspeth Healey, mentioned the library would be hiring soon and I left my name and contact information. I worked as a library aid in high school and was intrigued by the variety of materials held at Spencer. 

What has been most interesting to you about your work?

The variety of patrons that come into the library and hearing about their research projects. We get people who are local to Lawrence looking at regional history and then we’ll have someone from another country looking for Special Collections materials. There is always a chance to learn something new about Spencer when new patrons come in.

What part of your job do you like best?

I love working in the stacks. It’s fun the browse through the stacks and look at the different materials we have. Whether it’s putting back items or moving in newly processed materials, I just find it really fun to see everything. Occasionally, after I have completed all my work, I’ll make a little scavenger hunt game for myself and see how many different editions of Moby Dick or Sherlock Holmes I can find in Special Collections. The science fiction collection is another area I frequently investigate. I may even be doing my own research project with the sci-fi materials in the future.

What piece of advice would you offer other students thinking about working at Spencer Research Library?

This seems like a very basic piece of advice: ASK QUESTIONS. I don’t mean just to the supervisors. Ask the patrons about they’re research projects. Ask the curators about classes, exhibits, or collection areas. Not only does it help you engage with the collections, but it creates community. I think that’s why I enjoy Public Services so much because I get to interact not only with the Spencer’s materials but the individuals who utilize them.

Alex Williams
Public Services Student Assistant

Hello and happy Pride Month!

The Bruce McKinney collection at Kenneth Spencer Research Library holds many pieces of LGBTQIA+ materials and memorabilia. McKinney was a Kansas activist for gender and gay rights. His collection of papers ranges from pamphlets for rallies and centers for queer individuals all over the country to stickers and pins.

For example, McKinney’s papers document the work of the Wichita, Kansas, LesBiGayTrans Center, an organization with which he worked closely.

Some items in the McKinney collection highlight the history of the LGBTQIA+ community at the University of Kansas. The documents below focus on LesBiGay Awareness Week events held in 1995.

Additionally, McKinney’s papers includes information to help learn more about the queer community. I was particularly interested in the information written on bisexuality and even a paper about how to defend homosexuality in instances where individuals use the Bible against them.

Some of the more fun things to look at were the many different bumper stickers that McKinney saved!

Have a happy and safe Pride!

Alex Williams
Public Services Student Assistant

Not a federal holiday, but a celebration and a remembrance. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14th as Flag Day, celebrating the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777. Flags are a particular manifestation of symbols. A flag can indicate an idea, a group, a place, or an area. With the adoption of an official flag for the United States of America, there was a unified way to signal the influence of the USA. With that noted, maybe we can look at how it and a few other flags have been used through the years!

Here we have one of several KU flags, this one a 1928 design. Used in this manner, it is very similar to a national flag, showing identification and support for the University of Kansas.

Flags sometimes come with the hint of violence. Here we have a photo of students around their flag to fight for on May Day in 1895. Having your flag captured was quite the sign of disgrace!

While flags can be used as positive symbols – representing enthusiasm, identification, etc. – flags can also be used as negative symbols. Here at a KU an anti-Vietnam war Student protest in May 1970, black flags are displayed along with a U.S. flag on a coffin near a U.S. flag at half-mast. The same flags used for celebration here demonstrate shame and loss.

And while a flag can be used to isolate and claim dominion, flags can be used to show hope, alliance, and gathering together as in the dedication ceremony for Allen Fieldhouse in 1955.

Flags have been and are used in many different ways in many different circumstances: in humor, in celebration, in victory, in defeat, in shame, and in pride. Flag Day may specifically celebrate the adoption of a United States flag, but isn’t a bad day to think of all the flags we fly!

Shelby Schellenger
Reference Coordinator

On the Find Collections page of the Spencer Research Library website, you will find a variety of resources for the collections housed at Spencer. These resources not only provide information about the collections but also suggestions for locating materials. Additionally, the page provides access to the library’s Digital Collections, where researchers have free, public access to digitized items from the collections.

Tucked into the plethora of featured Digital Collections resources is KU ScholarWorks: Archives Online, part of the university’s digital repository. What exactly is this digital repository and what all does it entail? Read on to learn more about this valuable resource!

What is KU ScholarWorks?

KU ScholarWorks is a digital repository of scholarship and other scholarly works all by faculty, staff, and students at the University of Kansas. The repository also includes digitized records and materials from University Archives. KU ScholarWorks is part of the numerous Open Access initiatives at the university. The primary goal of KU ScholarWorks is to provide access to research and historical items while helping with the long-term preservation of the materials for generations to come.

What Spencer resources are included in KU ScholarWorks?

To go directly to the items in KU ScholarWorks related to the collections at Spencer, use the link on the Find Collections page mentioned above. On the Archives Online page, the departments and collections – referred to as sub-communities – are listed for browsing. University Archives materials are featured prominently and include resources about different university departments such as the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, collections related to Kansas Athletics, and information about student organizations.

While many of these sub-communities are related to the materials in University Archives, there are also resources available for Special Collections and the Kansas Collection as well! Some examples of what is available are publications related to exhibits such as 50 for 50: Celebrating Fifty Years of Kenneth Spencer Research Library; information about specific collections such as African American Experience Collections by Deborah Dandridge; and resources about certain topics or types of materials such as All That in This Delightfull Gardin Growes by Sally Haines.

What are some ways to find resources in KU ScholarWorks?

Not sure where to find information related to a specific topic? No worries – there are a variety of search features and filters to help locate relevant items in KU ScholarWorks! Researchers can utilize the Search feature to look for items that include keywords related to their topics. It is also possible to browse and search within specific communities such as the Archives Online community. Researchers also have the option to explore available materials by Author, Subject, and Date Issued – all features available on the KU ScholarWorks homepage as well as on individual community pages.

Happy researching!

Emily Beran
Public Services