Category Archives: Archives

What we did on your summer vacation, Part 1

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“So, what do you, like, DO at the library all summer?” is one the most frequent questions students and faculty ask library staff as one school year ends and another begins.  I mean, it’s only reasonable to expect that library staff  play Scrabulous and Minesweeper in an empty library all summer while kindergartener-sized tumbleweeds roll past the periodicals racks.

Well, it may surprise you to learn that we do quite a bit!  Though we still have plenty of summer students, faculty and staff, and camp kids to keep us company, we still find time both to carry out our normal duties and to work on bigger projects and initiatives.  Here’s a taste of what we’ve done between graduation and today…

  • Our biggest news first…we completed our library staff by hiring two new library staff members:  Jack Weinbender, our new Library Assistant whose first day with us was June 17, and Meredith Sommers, our new Information Resources Librarian/College Archivist, who will begin  July 13.  We’ll post profiles of both of them soon on this blog so you can get to know them better!
  • Mary Jackson tagged dozens of new web resources for the library’s del.icio.us page
  • Ordered, cataloged, processed, and shelved hundreds of new books, DVDs, and CDs
  • Gary Daught, Mary Jackson, and Jeff Harbin attended BCLA Shared Catalog Committee meetings at Maryville College at the end of May
  • Jeff cleaned up and shifted photography lending shelves
  • Jeff shifted S-Z section of lending books
  • Gary presented on the peer review process to two Scholarly Communication classes in Milligan’s M.Ed. program
  • Jeff refreshed new book display with over 150 new books, not one of them published before 2008
  • Jeff attended two online Interlibrary Loan tutorials and exponentially expanded pool of potential DVD and CD lenders
  • Gary attended a webinar on WorldCat Local, and implemented Milligan’s “quick start” WorldCat Local environment
  • Readied reserve shelves for next year, removing many outdated items and adding course-relevant materials, and moved out empty shelving unit to create more space in reserves area
  • Gary closed out the fiscal year, reconstructed acquisitions fund code hierarchies, and reallocated funds in the library management system
  • Gary initiated a review of current periodical/journal subscriptions with faculty
  • Added extra shelving unit to provide more room for growing DVD collection, shifted current items and moved furniture to create more space in DVD room
  • Jeff cleaned up and organized both the circulation desk and the Interlibrary Loans area
  • Gary and Jeff wrote a grant proposal for the library’s “Librarians Bearing Gifts” faculty outreach project
  • Worked with faculty to improve our lending collection of music books
  • Gary and Jack organized receipt of and binding requests for M.Ed. theses
  • Gary and Jack eliminated backlog of periodical check-ins
  • Obtained ten additional circulating student-use laptops, bringing our total to twenty.

Whew!  And though the days of summer are quickly sifting through our fingers like so many grains of Myrtle Beach sand, the library staff has much more to accomplish in the 5 1/2 weeks (!) before the fall semester begins.  Be sure to check out Part 2 of this update as the new school year draws closer.

Library staff member promoted to administrative faculty

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ginger It is our pleasure to announce the promotion of Ginger Dillon to full-time professional status on the staff of the Milligan College Library, effective January 1, 2009. Ginger will carry the title of Archives and Technical Services Librarian, with the rank of administrative faculty. Ginger is a Milligan College alumnus (Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, 2002). She received a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, Archives Concentration from East Tennessee State University in 2005.

Ginger worked in the Library and the Milligan College Archives both as a student and casual part-time employee from 1998 to 2005. She was formally hired as archivist of the Milligan College Archives (half-time) in December 2005. In August 2007, Ginger was hired for an additional 20 hours per week as a paraprofessional in our Technical Services Department, ordering new materials and assisting with cataloging. Ginger has worked hard to enhance the professionalism and visibility of the Archives, and she brings a modern attitude, keen thinking, and technical savvy to her work in Technical Services.

The expectations and information seeking behaviors of library users are changing, facilitated by the rapid evolution of the World Wide Web, new electronic resource access models, and remarkable developments in mobile communication technology. The Library and its staff is committed to responding to these changes with creativity and innovation, resulting in superior service to the Milligan College learning community. Ginger’s promotion, and the flexibility it provides, is a further reflection of this commitment. Please join us in extending congratulations.

Founders’ papers now open for research!

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Josephus and Sarah Eleanor Hopwood in 1886

Josephus and Sarah Eleanor Hopwood in 1886

The Milligan Archives has just completed processing work on the Josephus and Sarah Eleanor La Rue Hopwood Collection and is excited to announce that it is open for research!

The Hopwood Collection contains financial paperwork, correspondence, student assignments, and artifacts spanning from 1865 to 1935 – the majority of the Hopwood’s lifetimes and the entirety of their marriage, ministries, and careers as Christian educators.

When Josephus and Sarah Eleanor came to the Buffalo Male and Female institute in 1875 the campus consisted of a single building on an acre of land. The Hopwoods worked tirelessly to build the little Institute into a place where young men and women could be educated in the arts and sciences, could develop good habits and useful skills, and gain a strong knowledge of the Bible. Six years later the school received its state charter and became Milligan College. This collection provides a glance into the everyday work undertaken by the Hopwoods, their supporters, friends, and students on behalf of not only Milligan College, but also of Virginia Christian College (now called Lynchburg College), Lamar College, and Mountain Mission School. We hope that the Josephus and Sarah Eleanor La Rue Hopwood Collection, as well as the Hopwood Correspondence Collection, will provide a unique and valuable resource to researchers interested in the Hopwoods, the history of Christian education and the Stone-Campbell Movement in Northeast Tennessee, and Milligan College. Contact us for more information!

Living history: Navy V-12 alumni share their stories

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Tuesday afternoon I joined members of the Phi Alpha Theta history honors society for a luncheon with local alumni of Milligan’s Navy V-12 program. These men came to Milligan between summer 1943 and summer 1945 as part of the Navy’s WWII officer training program. During those two years, the Milligan student body was composed entirely of Navy trainees and the campus was considered a naval base. Jane Anne Thomas organized the luncheon as part of Project Profile, which aims “to bring people in the Milligan community together with students, staff, and faculty they would not otherwise know.”

While we ate, the students, Theresa Garbe, Dr. and Jane Anne Thomas, and I talked to the V-12 alumni and their wives about classes and military training at Milligan. We took notes, were shown photographs of the men as uniformed students, and heard stories about what Milligan Blues inspection on Anglin Fieldwas like in the wartime 1940s. Back then, Stan Johnson told me, Milligan only had four buildings – the Administration Building (Derthick), Hardin Hall (then a dorm), Pardee Hall, and Cheek Gymnasium. Trainees woke up at 6am, reported for drill on Anglin Field for an hour, and went to “chow” at 7. Classes were taught by Milligan’s civilian faculty, including Sam Jack Hyder and Ivor Jones. A typical class load was between 17 and 20 hours with strong emphasis on math, engineering, and naval history. Basketball, baseball, wrestling, and football teams were formed and competed against other schools. In addition, an obstacleObstacle course course was set up in the athletic field and a running course wound around campus and up Pardee Hill (now Sutton Hill). Lights went out at 10pm after a long day of classes and physical training.

Many, but not all, of the young men who went through the V-12 program were deployed. After the war, some stayed in the Navy while others returned to civilian life. In 1945 Milligan was decommissioned as a naval base and launched a vigorous student recruitment campaign to help make the transition back into civilian use. In 1980 the first reunion of the Milligan V-12 alumni was held, and since then further reunions have been organized every couple of years. In talking with these alums, we could feel that they had good memories of their time on campus, were impressed with how far the college has come, and were delighted to share their stories about the V-12 and beyond with us.

If you would like to learn more about the Navy V-12 at Milligan, come by the Archives. We have lots of pictures and other materials to see!