Report: “University of Iowa Museums and Library Working Together to Preserve the Past”

From the Iowa City Press-Citizen:

This year, both UI Libraries and Museum of Natural History have received grant money from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs to help preserve the past and make its study as accessible as possible.

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The Darwin Turner Audio Collection is named after a former chair who headed up the Afro-American Studies Department from 1972 to 1991. It’s thanks to Turner’s efforts that the library has such an extensive audio collection.

Through the 1970s, speakers came to campus as part of this project, giving lectures typically ranging from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. Recordings were stored away, in the hopes a better form of permanent audio storage could be developed.

Sorting through the collection, McCartney spotted names like poet laureate Rita Dove, author Ralph Ellison and civil rights leader Julian Bond, among other icons.

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Digital Librarian Daniel Johnson is taking point on the project, though the actual work of digitization will be done by a company on the East Coast. Once finished, the audio will be available through Iowa Digital Library.

Read the Complete Article (approx. 1000 words)

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