UW Libraries Digital Collections

Pop-ups, Movables & Toy Books

2011-12-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

| Photo by Mary Levin

UW Libraries Special Collections explores the colorful world of pop-up, movable and toy books in a new exhibit called "Merry Company" that will run through March 12, 2012. This is from the 1932 book, "The Pop-up Pinnocchio: Being the Life and Adventures of a Wooden Puppet Who Truly Became a Real Boy."

Read more in the UW Today article "Paper poetry: The colorful world of vintage pop-up, movable and toy books (with slide show)" by Peter Kelly.

NEW - Ruth & Louis Kirk Moving Image Collection

2011-10-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

The Ruth and Louis Kirk Moving Image Collection is a substantial body of regionally important work directly related to the history, the landscape, and the people of the Pacific Northwest.

The films document subjects including Native American communities, national parks, environmental issues, historic preservation and archaeological projects in the Northwest, including the Marmes Rockshelter, the Ozette Indian Village and the Manis Mastondon sites.

Visit http://content.lib.washington.edu/filmarchweb/kirks.html

NEW - Labor Archives Digital Resources Portal

2011-07-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

The Labor Archives of Washington State has hundreds of photographs and digitized documents showing workers, industrial settings, strikes and union activities, civil rights campaigns, and more. This portal highlights items from those collections.

Office and Professional Workers protest, Seattle, 1946

UW Digital Collection first in US to use RISM metadata

2011-06-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

The RISM Zentralredaktion which oversees an international project that centrally catalogs music manuscript materials has written an announcement on their web site about the University of Washington Libraries "Music Library Digital Scores Collection" project which harvested RISM metadata from their database.

The article can be viewed at: http://www.rism.info/en/home/newsdetails/article/2/rism-metadata-in-digital-collections.html

RISM also hosts an online catalog and has made links from their catalog to our digital images (Some versions of the catalog will not reflect our images until their July updates).

For direct access to our project go to: http://content.lib.washington.edu/mmweb/index.html

Don Wallen: An American Still Life

2011-05-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

The University of Washington is proud to include the work of Don Wallen, a gifted and deeply passionate Northwest artist, in its online Modern Photographers Collection.

Visit the collection and read a short biography of his life at http://content.lib.washington.edu/hupyweb/wallen.html

Join us for Library Snapshot Day - TODAY!

2011-04-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

Tell us why you can't live without us! Submit your comment:

to our online comment box

on Twitter <#uwlibsnap11>

on Facebook

or in person at any library

The UW Libraries are important to me because...

New Digital Collection: Panorama Photographs

2011-02-15T11:59:00.000-08:00

World Record Tuna fish

2011-01-05T11:48:00.000-08:00

1913: The Largest Tuna Ever Taken with Rod and Line (680 lbs.)

2011: A giant bluefin tuna fetched a record 32.49 million yen, or nearly $396,000, in Tokyo on Wednesday, in the first auction of the year at the world's largest wholesale fish market.
Seattle Times article on 754 pound fish.

G. William Skinner Map Collection

2010-12-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

Dr. Skinner was a leading proponent of the spatial approach to Chinese history and the use of maps as a key class of data in ethnography. This collection of over 600 maps comes from his personal collection and covers a variety of demographic and economic themes applied to the study of agrarian societies in China, Japan, and France.

http://content.lib.washington.edu/skinnerweb/index.html

A Ballot for the Ladies: Washington Women get the Vote

2010-11-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

The exhibit, a Ballot for the Ladies, was created by ISchool graduate Kylie Fullmer and displayed in the lobby outside Special Collections. It lives on in virtual form. The exhibit traces the fight for suffrage from the first attempts to final victory, and includes photos and artifacts from the time.

Washington was the fifth state in the nation to grant voting rights to women, preceded by Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Idaho. Women in those states and the other, mostly western, states that followed played a prominent role in the fight for national suffrage.

View the exhibit on the Libraries Digital Collection site: http://content.lib.washington.edu/exhibits/suffrage/index.html.

Drexel Freshmen Get Help From 'Personal Librarians'

2010-09-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

With students spending more research time in front of the screen and less in the stacks, librarians at Drexel University are trying a fresh approach to helping new freshmen navigate their resources: "personal librarians."

The Personal Librarian Program assigns each of the university's 2,750 entering freshmen to a librarian.

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Drexel-Freshmen-Get-Help-From/26906/

Latest UW Flickr Collection: HATS

2010-09-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

Bonnets, headdresses, crowns, veils- they're all featured in this collection of people in hats or hat-like items from around the world.

Fun Stuff!!

Collecting Online Music Project

2010-08-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

The University of Washington Libraries has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities start-up grant of $18,881 to support a planning meeting to discuss issues and possible solutions pertaining to the curation and preservation of born-digital music. The Project Director will be Ann Lally (Digital Initiatives).

For further information visit the NEH site: http://www.neh.gov/ODH/Default.aspx?tabid=111&id=208

Western Washington Landmarks

2010-08-11T10:39:00.000-07:00

Dams, bridges, other architectural achievements - view some of Western Washington's greatest man-made structures in this collection of historical images.

North Head Lighthouse, Cape Disappointment at the mouth of Columbia River, Washington

Bathing Beauties

2010-07-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

Our latest collection of Flickr images is up just in time for the warmer weather here in Seattle. Visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/uw_digital_images/sets/72157624208591447/

Looking for the TYEE Yearbooks?

2010-06-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

Gas Food Lodging

2010-06-10T11:46:00.001-07:00

Can you imagine dragging a typewriter onto an airplane instead of your laptop or eReader? Take a look at travel and tourism in the past with photographs from our latest set of Flickr images.

South Asian Oral History Project interviews now part of a long term exhibit at Ellis Island

2010-05-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

The University of Washington Libraries' South Asian Oral History Project interviews accessible from http://content.lib.washington.edu/saohcweb/index.html are now being used for a long term exhibit at Ellis Island.

The History Channel is producing an audio installation for a long-term exhibit at Ellis Island National Immigration History Museum. The audio installation will play short, spoken comments from migrants about their journeys to America including the stories of South Asian Immigrants. The excerpts will be read by a voice over actor, in both the native language and in English. This audio will stream continuously out of speakers embedded in the wall.

The exhibit is scheduled to open in 2011.

FACT OR FICTION

2010-05-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

The rates for student housing and expenses at the UW were once $2.75 per week for young men and $4.50 per week for young ladies.

Fact. Those were the charges, in 1889. See the actual advertisement in
the UW Libraries Digital Collections.

Why did ladies have to pay more?

Crooked by Mountain Weather

2010-05-12T10:52:00.001-07:00

We've added our monthly Flickr image set = Fantastic Nature.

Striking imagery of natural scenes in Washington State. What is unique about these photographs is that they were all taken in the first half of the 20th century (or earlier)!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/uw_digital_images/sets/72157623944721504/

Wooden bathing suits, bacon wrapped feet, rabbit fur baths

2010-04-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

What?! We're not sure about what is going on in some of these photographs. All we know is they look like people are having fun and being entertained. This latest batch of images was added to our Flickr Commons Pool last week.

The Flickr Widget

2010-03-10T13:47:00.001-08:00

Roy Tanck's Flickr Widget requires Flash Player 9 or better.

Get this widget at roytanck.com

Alaska Theatre of Sensations

2010-03-10T10:40:00.001-08:00

Alaska Theatre of Sensations, originally uploaded by UW Digital Collections.

Welcome to the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition!

Washington's first World's Fair was held on the campus of the University of Washington more than a century ago putting Seattle on the map as a gateway to the Pacific Rim. Nearly 4 million people attended.

You can go back in time to stroll down the Pay Streak, hop on a carnival ride, purchase a souvenir or refreshment, or take in an "educational" exhibit like the Igorrote village or the baby incubator.

View the collection in the Flickr Commons!

Little girls shooting rifles

2010-03-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

What do little girls with guns, pet chickens and calvary tents have in common? They are all photographs from H. Ambrose Kiehl's family collection taken at the turn of the century. Check out the newest digital collection at http://content.lib.washington.edu/kiehlweb/index.html

Looking Glass for the Mind: 350 Years of Books for Children

2010-03-01T11:20:00.000-08:00

Volume 16 of the Internet Scout Report features our own Looking Glass for the Mind Exhibit. Here is what they said:

The University of Washington Digital Collection of children's books starts off with a wonderful piece that touches on the beloved memories children's books bring back for so many, but also on the reasons why a university library would collect children's books. Several of the reasons given regard what children's books can teach us: printing and book illustration history, the "study of the gradual changes in familiar tales to reflect changes in societal acceptance and sensibilities," social and ethnic history, the historical role of women, and shifting views on education.

After the homepage is the index to the exhibit with an introduction, a brief history of the first children's book publishers. To the left is the "Index" of topics that the books cover. Visitors will find a multitude, including "Fables", "Grammar, Spelling, Elocution & Rhetoric", "Math & Money", "Activity Books", and "Prejudice & Bigotry". Under the topic "Fables", visitors should check out The Baby's Own Aesop, illustrated by Walter Crane, who began an illustrating apprenticeship at the age of fourteen.

http://content.lib.washington.edu/childrensweb/exhibit.html

UW Libraries participates in Flickr Commons theme of inaugural collection: “Winter Sports”

2010-02-22T22:33:00.000-08:00

University Libraries Special Collections and Digital Initiatives announce the launch of a partnership with Flickr online photosharing service with a collection from the Libraries on the theme of “Winter Sports," to celebrate the Winter Olympics. To view the collection, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/uw_digital_images/

Additions from the Libraries collections to the Flickr commons pool are planned for the second Wednesday of each month.

The UW Libraries is only the second university library to contribute images -- the first one was Oregon State. Participating institutions include New York Public Library, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. National Archives, Swedish National Heritage Board, Bibliothèque de Toulouse. See other participating institutions.

Flickr Commons has two main objectives, to increase access to publicly-held photography collections, and to provide a way for the general public to contribute information and knowledge

Under "The Commons," cultural institutions that have reasonably concluded that a photograph is free of copyright restrictions are invited to share such photograph under their new usage guideline called "no known copyright restrictions."

Flickr Commons was launched on January 16 2008, when Flickr released their pilot project in partnership with The Library of Congress.

Popular Library Exhibit is back ... as an online version

2010-02-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

From June 2009 through October 2009, the UW Libraries featured a centennial exhibit for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific-Exposition of 1909. More than 3 million people from countries across the world attended the 1909 expo which lasted for four months and left an indelible mark on the City of Seattle.

The centennial exhibit has been modified into a permanent online format located at http://content.lib.washington.edu/exhibits/aype/index.html

King County Collects goes live

2010-01-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

King County Collects presents a selection of the best-of-the-best from the shared collection held by 61 historical societies, libraries and museums, all members of the Association of King County Historical Organizations. This project, hosted by the University of Washington Libraries, encourages visitors to search a topic across all these collections, which richly document Seattle and King County history.

http://content.lib.washington.edu/imls/kccollects/

UW Digital Collection Site Improvements

2010-01-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

We have made a few improvements to the UW Digital Collections website to make it easier to use.

You can now search within a collection from the results page. When you are searching for items in a specific collection you can append your search criteria right from the results instead of having to return to the collection.
You can see what collection an item belongs to. Now you can find out what collection an item you are viewing belongs to without having to read through the metadata. The repository collection identification is at the top of each item page.
You can return directly to the collection from the search page. That collection ID at the top of the item view page is also a link that will take you directly to the collection information page. No more having to use the back button to find it again.
You can now browse through all the collections from a list. Go to http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/browse.php to browse through all the items on the Digtial Collection site. Select the collections from the dropdown list.

We hope these site enhancements will make your visit easier. Let us know what you think by commenting below.

New Images Added to Social Issues Collection

2009-12-15T12:05:00.000-08:00

Blanche Morgan (1912-1981) was a set and costume designer for the Seattle Negro Repertory Company, a subsidiary of the WPA's Federal Theater Project which put on plays with African-American actors. She was also a watercolor artist and interior designer for Frederick & Nelson. She studied at the University of Washington and was a member of Women Painters of Washington, Northwest Watercolor Society, and the National Association of Women Artists. Her art departed from the traditional attitudes of loose, whimsical images done with watercolor, concentrating more on crisp, precise form and design. She exhibited in New York as well as the Oakland Art Museum, Seattle Art Museum and other regional venues.

View her items here.

Tacoma Then and Again

2009-11-30T09:56:00.000-08:00

"Then and Now" photography of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, and parks in Tacoma. High quality digital scans of historic photographs of Tacoma’s urban core have been paired with contemporary digital photos shot from the same vantages. The goal of this project is to demonstrate through photography the ways that the landscape, environment, and architecture of Tacoma have both changed and remained the same.

http://content.lib.washington.edu/tacomaweb/index.html

South Asian Oral History Project

2009-11-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

The SAOHP represents one of the first attempts in the U.S. to record pan-South Asian immigrant experiences in the Pacific Northwest using the medium of oral history.

South Asian Oral History Project

UWeek Article: Explore beautiful old world, regional maps

2009-11-12T09:57:00.000-08:00

New Collection of Rare Maps

2009-10-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Explore the latest addition to the UW Libraries Digital Collections: World and Regional Maps from the 16th -19th c.

http://content.lib.washington.edu/mapsweb/index.html

Last building from 1909 moves

2009-09-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

Cunningham Hall - one of the last remaining buildings from the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition that took place on the UW campus was moved yesterday. How often do you get to see a 100 year old building move? Actually, how often do you see any building move? Two of Digital Initiatives' student workers were interviewed while they watched.

UW Libraries Menu Collection

2009-08-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

UW Libraries Menu Collection

Freshwater and Marine Image Bank

2009-08-17T14:05:00.001-07:00

Digital Initiatives wants to acknowledge the fabulous work that Wayne Gloege accomplished over the years while creating the Freshwater and Marine Image Bank. Wayne digitized over 20,000 items including maps, photographs and engravings of freshwater and marine fish, shellfish and mammals and their habitats. This comprehensive resource also includes items on sport fishing, the Panama Canal, polar exploration, commercial fisheries and dams.

This database is accessed by people around the world and many of his images have been included on blogs and other social networking sites to illustrate ideas or because the images are interesting; in addition, hundreds of libraries around the world link directly to this database. The Freshwater and Marine Image Bank is an amazing resource. Thank you Wayne for all your hard work!

View the collection at http://content.lib.washington.edu/fishweb/index.html

New Collection: UW Student Newspapers Archive

2009-08-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

This is a pilot project to provide access to digital facsimiles of the student newspapers published at the University of Washington's three campuses over time. These papers are the historical records of each campus as seen through the eyes of the students, faculty, and staff who contributed to each issue.

At this time we have digitized:

* Independent— November 1993 to February 1996
* Ledger— November 1996 to December 2005
* Daily— September 1967 to February 1968
* Commons— October 1995 to April 1997

Browse the newspapers by date or search by keyword across articles, advertisements, and photo captions. http://content.lib.washington.edu/dailyweb/index.html

Lost and found films at the Library

2009-07-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

The UW Audio Visual Services Materials Library has more than 1,200 reels of film from the late 1940s through the early 1970s, documenting life at the University through telecourses, commercial films and original productions. Some of the short films are easily identifiable, but many more remain mysteries. Who shot these films and why? Can you help answer those questions?

Read the full UWeek article at http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?id=50783.

Three AYPE exhibits open June 1 at Suzzallo/Allen Library

2009-05-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition: When the World Came to Campus will be in the Suzzallo Exhibit Room, 102, Women's Work at the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in the lobby outside Special Collections in the south Allen basement and Capturing the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition: Frank H. Nowell, Exposition Photographer in the balcony above the north Allen lobby. All three will open June 1.

UWeek has more information about the exhibits at http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?visitsource=uwkmail&id=50023. You can also view many of the featured images in the Libraries Digital Collections at http://content.lib.washington.edu/extras/ayp100.html

Prizewinners!

2009-05-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

Smith Family Day prize winners at the AYP Expo for Fattest Smith, Thinnest Smith, Prettiest Smith, Homliest Smith. Can you imagine such a contest today?

http://content.lib.washington.edu/u?/ayp,1254

ResearchWorks at Washington

2009-05-05T13:40:00.001-07:00

Colleges, Schools, Departments and Research Centers can easily present their scholarly work to prospective students, faculty, granting institutions, as well as colleagues and other interested individuals around the world resulting in higher visibility for their work. https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/

250+ Killer Digital Libraries and Archives

2009-03-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

We are on this list in several places: 250+ Killer Digital Libraries and Archives.

We are part of #139 King County Snapshots and #166's American Memory Project under American Indians of the PNW.

We are also under #174 Northwest Digital Archive, #180 Western Waters Digital Library, and of course #228.

You can also get to our collections via #269 OAIster. WOW!

Goodbye Seattle PI: 1863-2009

2009-03-17T09:52:00.001-07:00

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer printed its final edition today, becoming the nation's largest daily newspaper to shift to an entirely digital news product. Take a look at MOHAI's collection of archival photographs at http://tiny.cc/SeattlePI

Explore by Topic

2009-03-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

A great way to discover what we have in Digital Collections is to browse through our topic lists. Here you will find subject categories, essays, curriculum packets and more. Go to http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/topics.php

Jewish Archives Collection goes live

2009-02-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

Washington State has a large and active Jewish community that has been part of its history for over 150 years. It is notable for its large Sephardic component (Jews who trace their ancestry back to Spain and Portugal) that enjoys a culture distinct from that of Ashkenazic Jews (those from Central and Eastern Europe).

The University of Washington Libraries has placed online a growing collection of photographs dating from the mid 1800s to present day, that relate to Jewish life and history in the Pacific Northwest, as well as nationally and internationally. Represented are only a selection of the thousands of images in the Washington State Jewish Archives Photograph Collection.

Visit the online collection

Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Centennial Celebration

2009-02-10T11:18:00.000-08:00

In 1909, the A-Y-P put Seattle on the map, celebrating the culture, industry and innovation that still define our region today. Visit the UW Libraries portal to view many images, maps and documents from this city's first world's fair.

http://content.lib.washington.edu/extras/ayp100.html

More press for Early Advertising Collection

2009-02-05T10:36:00.000-08:00

Windows in time: Advertisements of the old West on display in new digital collection

By Peter Kelley
University Week

Beer as a healthful family tonic? Cigarettes you can "smoke all day" long with no ill effects? Asbestos that does triple duty as a furniture polish, insect repellent and carpet cleaner?

http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?visitsource=uwkmail&id=46899

Another Digital Library collection featured in the Internet Scout Report

2009-01-20T10:25:00.000-08:00

The UW Libraries Digital Collection - Early Advertising of the West, 1867-1918 -
was featured in the January 9th issue of the Internet Scout Report

http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/2009/scout-090109-re.php#2

New additions to Ethnomusicology Collection

2008-12-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

Lots of new additions to the Ethnomusicology Musical Instrument Collection: Geographical region of Zimbabwe added, ensemble type list added to browsing, new videos added, and much more to come...
http://content.lib.washington.edu/ethnomusicweb/index.html

Early Advertising of the West, 1867-1918

2008-12-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

Over 450 print advertisements published in local magazines, city directories, and theater pamphlets from 1867 to 1918. Themed groupings include health care and hygiene products, liquor, tobacco, machinery, manufacturing, transportation, fashion, food and household goods and local tourism.

This is a very interesting and fun collection - check it out at
http://content.lib.washington.edu/advertweb/index.html

The collection was publicly featured on December 1.

Charles Pearson Added To Modern Photographers Collection

2008-12-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

http://content.lib.washington.edu/hupyweb/index.html

Charles Pearson was born in Pecos, Texas in 1920. He is mainly a self-taught photographer except for a short apprenticeship with his uncle, Alfred Knight, a photographer in Vancouver, British Columbia. He worked as a freelance photographer in Vancouver, B.C. then enlisted in the Army Signal Corps for three years during World War II where he served as a photography lab supervisor and combat photographer. Starting in 1946, he specialized in food and architectural photography. He documented work of many of the major northwest architects. His work has been shown in a number of group and one-man exhibitions and published in many magazines and books. He also taught classes at Edmonds Community College and North Seattle Community College.

The quality and high level of his work was noted by a number of architects in a 1980 AIA nomination for "Recorder of Architectural Accomplishments." He was noted as "investing countless hours on site waiting for just the 'right sun angles' to describe a building 'architecturally' and then make flawless prints with the architectural sense of space. This, Mr. Pearson has been most successful in accomplishing." "His photographs have warmth, interest, and the magic of capturing your eye. Charles is one of the few real talents."

Northwest Historical Annual Reports Collection Goes Online

2008-12-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

Corporate annual reports are a unique historical document that not only
chronicles the life of the company but changes in industrial and graphic
design and the evolution of the economic structure of a region. The
Northwest Historical Annual Reports Collection is a growing digital
collection of annual financial reports of companies currently or
historically based in the Pacific Northwest. The collection includes annual
reports dating from the 1930s and provides a continuous run of annual
reports for most of the companies up to the 1990s.

http://content.lib.washington.edu/reportsweb/index.html

The companies and annual reports presented here are just a small part of
Foster Business Library annual reports collection that includes reports from
over 800 U.S. and international companies.

New Civil Rights Web Site features Media from UWL Collections

2008-12-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

The recently developed Civil Rights Digital Library (www.civilrightslibrary.org) features two collections from the University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections. The Civil Rights Digital Library Initiative represents one of the most ambitious and comprehensive efforts to date to deliver educational content on the Civil Rights Movement via the Web.

The initiative promotes an enhanced understanding of the Movement through its three principal components: 1) a digital video archive of historical news film allowing learners to be nearly eyewitnesses to key events of the Civil Rights Movement, 2) a civil rights portal providing a seamless virtual library on the Movement by connecting related digital collections on a national scale, and 3) a learning objects component delivering secondary Web-based resources - such as contextual stories, encyclopedia articles, lesson plans, and activities--to facilitate the use of the video content in the learning process.

The initiative receives support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Direct link to UW contribution
http://crdl.usg.edu/voci/go/crdl/contributingInstitutions/viewColl/6162