2008 Woodie Awards
Special collections preserve local history
Amanda Woods
Issue date: 12/1/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
The special collections in the Lupton Library houses, preserves and provides access to many historical items related to the university, the city of Chattanooga and the South.
Many items relate to the Civil War.
Most materials in the department are donated by people with a connection to the university, library officials said.
A majority of the donations belonged to someone's parents or to a prominent Chattanooga family.
Officials said the department is more of a museum collection, dealing with the university archives, manuscripts, personal papers, local history, rare books and archives of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and the Arlie Herron Collection.
The collections in this department are rare materials that are unique and cannot be replaced, library officials said.
The standard for determining what piece of material is rare or not depends on the number of copies in the world, what the asking price is in galleries and if there is a similar archive in the library, officials said.
For example, material is considered rare when there are less than 50 copies of it in the world.
Dean of the library Teresa Liedtka said of the department, "The special collections is a unique niche of the library."
In the Civil War collection, there are letters from Union General John T. Wilder, who stayed in Chattanooga after the war and became the mayor.
The letters to his wife give insight into the war and description of uniforms.
The department recently received a donation of Civil War prints from Sally Diamond Rosenberg, in memory of her parents Felix and Estelle Diamond.
Liedtka explained her wish for more students to use the available resources the library holds.
"We are here to help faculty and students as a service-oriented tool to share the wealth of primary sources of research," she said.
Special collections librarian Steven Cox deals with processing, preserving and conserving the collection.
He uses a dehumidifier to save the materials for the long haul. The archive room has lower temperatures, dimmer lights and acid-free boxes.
Because these items are fragile, they can only be viewed or used in the library on the second floor in the special collections reading room.
The items are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Some of the materials can be accessed on the Internet by patrons all over the world, Cox said.
The special collections department is gaining support by teachers at the university, Liedtka said.
Many professors want their students to find primary sources for their work, such as original letters, she added.
Though it is not required, appointments are recommended by the library staff.
Cox encouraged faculty and UTC students to take advantage of the resources his department holds.
He said, "We're here and we've got great stuff."
Many items relate to the Civil War.
Most materials in the department are donated by people with a connection to the university, library officials said.
A majority of the donations belonged to someone's parents or to a prominent Chattanooga family.
Officials said the department is more of a museum collection, dealing with the university archives, manuscripts, personal papers, local history, rare books and archives of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and the Arlie Herron Collection.
The collections in this department are rare materials that are unique and cannot be replaced, library officials said.
The standard for determining what piece of material is rare or not depends on the number of copies in the world, what the asking price is in galleries and if there is a similar archive in the library, officials said.
For example, material is considered rare when there are less than 50 copies of it in the world.
Dean of the library Teresa Liedtka said of the department, "The special collections is a unique niche of the library."
In the Civil War collection, there are letters from Union General John T. Wilder, who stayed in Chattanooga after the war and became the mayor.
The letters to his wife give insight into the war and description of uniforms.
The department recently received a donation of Civil War prints from Sally Diamond Rosenberg, in memory of her parents Felix and Estelle Diamond.
Liedtka explained her wish for more students to use the available resources the library holds.
"We are here to help faculty and students as a service-oriented tool to share the wealth of primary sources of research," she said.
Special collections librarian Steven Cox deals with processing, preserving and conserving the collection.
He uses a dehumidifier to save the materials for the long haul. The archive room has lower temperatures, dimmer lights and acid-free boxes.
Because these items are fragile, they can only be viewed or used in the library on the second floor in the special collections reading room.
The items are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Some of the materials can be accessed on the Internet by patrons all over the world, Cox said.
The special collections department is gaining support by teachers at the university, Liedtka said.
Many professors want their students to find primary sources for their work, such as original letters, she added.
Though it is not required, appointments are recommended by the library staff.
Cox encouraged faculty and UTC students to take advantage of the resources his department holds.
He said, "We're here and we've got great stuff."
