Hello friends.
My name is Natalie and I am pleased to bring you the inaugural post of the Cincinnati State Archives Blog.
Preservation Week just came to a close but here at the archives, every day is about preservation. As part of the Preservation Week festivities, (yes, festivities–there was cake) I had the opportunity to tour the library and archives at Hebrew Union College. They really have a spectacular collection and everyone should make a point to visit. Cincinnati has such a rich, fascinating history and we are but one of many local institutions preserving that memory.
The tour got me thinking about the many ways we preserve history. There is the obvious– temperature and humidity control, storing records in acid free containers, keeping greasy fingers off the photos–but we also preserve by promoting our holdings. This may seem counter-intuitive because by increasing awareness we possibly increase the number of greasy fingers but that is a chance we are willing to take. By advocating for the collections we seek to ensure their existence in the future. Institutions like ours have to justify themselves to funding sources, donors and other forms of support. We must nurture partnerships with other institutions and pursue records to add to our collections.
One way we advocate for our collections is through exhibits, both physical and digital. Currently we have an exhibit on display featuring the 40 year history of the Alumni Association at Cincinnati State. Our next exhibit, one I am personally very excited about as it will be the first I contribute to, will feature the history of the Cooperative Education program here. As you may be aware, co-op education began in 1906 at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati State has played an integral role in co-op education since 1966. Back then the college had to make 50 phone calls just to arrange the first co-op job and now has connections to over 800 employers.
The archives at Cincinnati State tell an important part of the story of Cincinnati. We are excited to share that with you, and invite you to view our upcoming exhibits in person and on the web.
In other archives news: After 80 years, the missing 25 minutes of Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ have been recovered from an Argentine archive and restored to the film. Read the full story here.
And for more information about preservation week, and how you can protect your own treasures, visit: http://www.atyourlibrary.org/passiton
Unfortunately, the name of this young man was omitted from his article. Perhaps he will stumble across this post about his post.
cinstatearchives.com 