Annual Meeting on October 26
Neil Davis, the author of the recently published "Quotations from Bathroom Walls," has accepted our invitation to be the guest speaker at the Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Van Pelt Library, which will take place on October 26 from 5-6pm at the MTU University Residence, 2 Woodland Road, Houghton.
The Annual Meeting will feature home-made refreshments and will include a short business meeting and the election of board members and officers. All Friends and would-be Friends are encouraged to attend.
Candidates for Board Member:
June Hawthorne
George Love
Dana Richter
Candidates for Board Officers:
Chairman - Dee Vincent
Vice Chairman - Peck Cho
Secretary - Erin Minne
Treasurer - Terry Reynolds
Book Cart a Success
Almost exactly a year ago, the Friends' Board approved the idea of selling used books on a book cart placed in the main lobby of the Van Pelt Library. The most unique thing about the cart was that sales were NOT monitored. We relied on the honor and honesty of purchasers, expecting them to voluntarily place payments for used books they wanted in a cash box mounted on the cart.
The Board's experiment in patron honesty has largely been a success. In its first year of operation the on-your-honor book cart has yielded a bit over $500 in sales for Friends projects. A few books have been stolen, but the vast majority of patrons have faithfully paid for their purchases, and some have even dropped in extra change.
Because the experiment has been a success, the Friends used book cart will continue to inhabit its slot next to the Friends-sponsored "Popular Book Collection" shelves in the main lobby of the library. Next time you are in the Van Pelt Library, take a little time to look over the 'treasures' on the sales cart and maybe drop in a bit of your extra change if the mood strikes you...
Board Members Needed!
The Friends of the Library need you! Do you have a couple hours a month to help out the Van Pelt Library? There are openings on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Van Pelt Library. Being on the Friends board is open to all Friends members and requires attending our board meetings, which are the first Thursday of the month from 4-5pm in the Library room 309. Board members also provide services to the organization that require a few additional hours per month. Can you help? If you are interested, come to our next board meeting on Thursday, November 2 in Library 309 or email our chairman Dee Vincent (dee@mtu.edu). Students welcome!
More on Library's New Look
In the Spring we told you about the new furniture the Friends purchased for the Library. The new furniture created a more open, updated look and provided more functionality. Later in the Summer a light gray fabric was applied to the front of the circulation desk to visually pull the area together. Those who have seen the renovated area have commented on what a difference these changes have made in the way they feel about the Library. It is a more appealing place to be thanks to the Friends. We invite you to come see for yourself.
Report on 2000 Grant Awards
by Erik Nordberg, MTU Archivist
The MTU Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections completed the third year of its Research Travel Award program. The program is designed to provide support for individuals for travel, food, and lodging to carry out research using the collections of the MTU Archives. Financial support for the travel award program is provided by the Friends of the Van Pelt Library.
The first of this year's two $500 awards was presented to Donna Zimmerman, an Associate Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The award supported her graduate research project concerning the evolution of mining company locations in the Michigan's Copper Country. Zimmerman is completing work for a master's degree in Landscape Architecture and is focusing on Hecla Location, an area of Calumet Township bordered by highway US-41 and the Village of Laurium, which contains houses originally built by the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company to house its workers. The project was designed to document the construction and growth of the area while under mining company control and to investigate what post-company changes have occurred in the location and what meaning these houses hold in the contemporary cultural landscape.
The second of this year's awards was presented to Lisa Wilson, a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in support of her research into resurgent mining communities. Resurgent communities are those in which new mining facilities opened at, or close to, the site of older mining operations. Wilson plans to compare and contrast several such mining communities around the United States, including the mine and town of White Pine in Ontonagon County. Her research considered the social, economic and mine-related history of the area, the interconnections between the decline of traditional native copper mines, the push to open the modern White Pine mine in the 1950s, and the affect of these changes on the surrounding communities across the Copper Country.
The two award recipients visited Houghton during the summer to conduct research in the collections of the MTU Archives. These projects each have immediate short-term publication goals with the possibility of book-length work developing from this grant-funded travel. Both researchers also made public presentations about their research while they were in Houghton, publicly applauding the Friends for their support of the Research Travel Award program.
Friends Increase Support for Archives' Grant Programs
by Erik Nordberg, MTU Archivist
At their September meeting, the FVPL board approved funding increases for two grant programs administered by the MTU Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections. The Friends will provide $300 towards the 2001 Local History Grant and $1,200 for the Research Travel Award program. This is an increase from funding in previous years, when the Friends provided $250 and $1000 respectively. It is hoped that the increases will improve the number of applications and enhance the impact of these popular grant programs.
The Local History Grant program is designed to support local projects that use the collections of the MTU Archives. Proposals were required to have a public history component and the support of a local non-profit or governmental agency. 2001 will see the third cycle for the grant program; previous grants have supported projects connected to the Painesdale and Calumet Theatre centennial celebrations, documentation of the history of the Portage Lake District Library, and an exhibit of historical photographs taken by turn-of-the-century photographer Adolph Isler. Applications will be collected through mid-December, with funded projects completed during the 2001 calendar year.
The Research Travel Award program is designed to provide support for travel, food, and lodging to carry out research using the collections of the MTU Archives. Proposals are judged by a variety of criteria, with emphasis given for the utilization of unique archival resources, short- and long-term publication goals, and general plan and timetable for work. The 2001 award program will be the fourth cycle for this award; previous awards have supported research into the role that Irish immigrants have played in Lake Superior mining communities, the involvement of Michigan mining companies in the New Mexico uranium industry, and the adoption of the English language by European transplants to Michigan's Copper Country. Applications will be reviewed in January, with funded travel to be completed by the end of August.
Award decisions are made by an awards committee drawing input from a variety of sources. Last year's awards committee consisted of three individuals: Larry Lankton from the MTU Social Sciences Department, George Love of the Friends of the Van Pelt Library, and Erik Nordberg, representing the MTU Archives. For further information about the awards program or about the collections of the MTU Archives, contact archivist Erik Nordberg at 487-2505 or via e-mail at copper@mtu.edu.
Are you a Wiz with Microsoft Publisher or Access?
The Friends of the Van Pelt Library need you!
The Friends publish our newsletter three times per year, and for the last several years we have been ably assisted by Rebecca Fitzgerald. Becky has received her degree and moved on (congratulations Becky!) but now we need some help on Microsoft Publisher! Faith Morrison has agreed to continue editing the newsletter, but some help is needed in putting the articles into a nice format for publication. If you can volunteer to help with this (should only take a couple of hours 3 times per year) please contact Faith (Faith Morrison, fmorriso@mtu.edu; 906-487-2050). You can live far from Houghton and through the wonders of the internet you can be active with the Friends! Please consider helping us out.
On a similar note, the Friends were delighted for the last few years to have Wil Slough on the board. Wil was an active and able board member who volunteered to make order from the mess of the Friends membership database. This task is completed, but Wil has taken a new job in Minnesota (Congratulations, Wil!) and has resigned his position as board secretary. The Friends are looking for a person who is MS Access-able who would be willing to take over the management of the database. Interested individuals should contact Dee Vincent (dee@mtu.edu) or Faith Morrison (fmorriso@mtu.edu).
Econo Foods Receipts
Keep those receipts coming in!
Last year the Friends of the Van Pelt Library collected Econo receipts that totaled $30,361.11. Econo Foods will in turn donate 1% of that total, $303.61, to the Friends to support the purchase of computer equipment for the Library. Although this is a modest amount, with a bit more effort we could generate far more substantial sums. For example, the Finlandia University library (formerly Suomi College) generated over $11,000 in donations!
We need your help! Please collect your receipts from Econo Foods and send them to us! We will take care of getting them to Econo. Please send your receipts by intercampus mail to either Faith Morrison (chemical engineering) or Terry Reynolds (social sciences). Want to help more? Put out a collection box in your area and encourage your coworkers to bring in their receipts for our Library. We know that there was a drop off box in the Information Technology Department in the basement of the EERC (many thanks to Ruth Koivo!) and one in the Administration building (thanks Dee Vincent!), but if we spread this effort across campus we will double or triple our receipts in no time.
Campus Campaign
Remember the Friends when you donate to the MTU Campus Campaign. You can earmark your donation to go to the Friends of the Van Pelt Library. And we'll be glad if you do!