International Mother Earth Day April 22, 2012

FAU Libraries Oral History Digital Collection features the interviews of Dr. Leonard Berry who discusses his environmental work experiences and research contributions. This effort is in celebration of  Dr. Berry’s renowned career of teaching from a global perspective to foster an awareness of environmental issues.

In observance of International Mother Earth Day, FAU’s Digital Library highlights the contributions of  this Distinguished Research Professor, whose work spans three continents. In Africa and Asia, Dr. Berry studied tropical environments and assisted in regional planning for the Government of Tanzania. Since coming to the United States in 1970, he has worked on environmental and development training programs for the U.S. Agency for International Development(USAID), United Nations Development Program, and United Nations Environment Program. The British-born environmentalist also worked for the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility in a number of capacities.  

Founder and director of  FAU’s Center for Environmental Studies, Dr. Berry, who was also an FAU Provost, is Director of the Florida Climate Change Initiative and principle investigator on several projects including a Florida Department of Transportation study to assess the impact of sea level rise on transportation infrastructure. In 2010, he was named an FAU expert on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Listen or read Dr. Berry’s interview conducted as part of the Department of History’s Oral History project.

FAU Libraries presents workshop for Open Access Week

 Join us for an upcoming workshop Wednesday October 26 in Wimberly Library (LY136) as FAU Libraries promotes Open Access Week October 24-30, 2011.  Discussion will center on resources and initiatives that provide immediate and unrestricted access to information.  Learn about the history of the Open Access movement and what librarians and faculty can do to promote Open Access. Discover current open access trends on campus and through statewide initiatives. Explore FAU’s institutional repository collections, the possibilities of open access publishing on campus using the Florida Open Journal system, and textbooks online at the Orange Grove Repository. Can’t attend? Check out FAU Libraries Open Access LibGuide for more information.

HBOI Lecture, July 20: Oyster Restoration Efforts on the Treasure Coast

FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) presents “Oyster Restoration Efforts on the Treasure Coast,” as part of its Ocean Science Lecture Series. The discourse will be led by research scientist Dr. Vincent Encomio, head of the Oyster Restoration Research Project at the Florida Oceanographic Society.

A delicacy, oysters are also critical to the health and quality of coastal waterways by filtering estuarine water, such as the Indian River Lagoon, and providing habitat and food for estuarine species. Dr. Encomio’s lecture will be held at HBOI’s Johnson Education Center.

 Location: 5600 US 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL
 Time: July 20, 2011 at 7 p.m.
 Phone: 772-242-2506

Explore the HBOI Collection of faculty papers in the FAU Digital Library repository.  HBOI is a research institute of Florida Atlantic University that works to expand opportunities in ocean technology, coastal and deep sea exploration and research, marine biotechnology, aquaculture, ocean and human health, and marine science education.

Rare American Civil War Etchings @ FAU Digital Library

FAU Digital Library presents the American Civil War Collection in tribute to the 150th anniversary of the war between the States.

Originally characterized as “scarce and very interesting,” FAU Libraries’ featured Conferederate War etchings in the Elliot Cross and James A. Cross Civil War Collection are satirical sketches sympathetic to the Confederacy. The etchings were produced by German born artist Adalbert John Volck (1828–1912), a lifelong Balitmore resident, under the pseudonym V. Blada, an anagram for Adalbert. Volck’s etchings were published in Sketches from the Civil War in North America, 1861, ’62, ’63.


The Cross Collection is named for the late Elliot Cross and son James Cross. James Cross  donated to the FAU Libraries his father’s collection of purchased papers, lithographs and prints, currency, letters and memorabilia.

The etchings depict caricatures and cartoons that summarize the mood of one of America’s bloodiest conflicts. Daily witness to the American Civil War is accounted in rare, original materials held at FAU Libraries’ Special Collections & Archives.

Struggle for Quality of Life through the PRISM of Work

In observance of International Workers’ Day or Labor Day, FAU Digital Library brings you PRISM (Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements), a collaboratively digitized collection of the Florida Atlantic University and University of Central Florida libraries. PRISM, a collection of pamphlets, from the 19th and 20th centuries, reveals a gamut of burning issues reflective of leftist and liberal views  from around the world.

These issues are similar to the experiences of today. For example, fair trade is moving at a slow pace. Despite the growing number of organizations and projects addressing labor rights, social equality continues to be a rallying cry as was made apparent in parts of the Middle East, Europe, and even in Wisconsin, United States.

In a recent statement to observe World Day of Social Justice, International Labour Organization Director-General Juan Somavia declared:

Women and men without jobs or livelihoods really don’t care if their economies grow at 3, 5 or 10 per cent per year, if such growth leaves them behind and without protection.

International Workers’ Day, also referred to as May Day, had its origins in the United States with the 1886 founding of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). In 1955, AFL merged with the splinter group, Congress of Industrial Organizations, to become the AFL-CIO.

PRISM is one of several collections in PALMM (Publication of Archival, Library & Museum Materials), a cooperative digital initiative of the public universities of Florida to provide access to source materials for research and scholarship.

Celebrate al-Mutanabbi, 10th Century Classical Arab Poet

 @FAU Libraries

Commemorate the life and work of Iraq-born poet Abu at-Tayyib Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Mutanabbi during April’s observances of National Arab American Heritage Month and National Poetry Month.

Al-Mutanabbi Street is the centuries-old center of bookselling in Baghdad, a winding street filled with bookstores and outdoor book stalls named for the famed 10th Century classical Arab poet, Al- Mutanabbi, and has since remained the historic heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community.

Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Broadsides Collection @ FAU Digital Library features a suite of 133 letterpress-printed— handset metal and wood type—literary broadsides which also comprise original relief and handmade paper prints. This historic Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition project––one of only ten in the world––is permanently housed in the Jaffe Center for Book Arts on the third floor in the FAU Wimberly Library, Boca Raton.

An Online Directory of Special Collections

FAU Libraries introduces the Finding Aids Repository

This repository provides access to finding aids which include extensive descriptions and inventories of collections and resources held by the Special Collections Department of the FAU Libraries. Use these Finding Aids to search the university archives, rare books & historical collections, print music collections, selected faculty archives, and university photographs collections.

Make your research unique and find the unexpected

The American Revolution in the Marvin & Sybil Weiner “Spirit of America” Collection

Comprising the core of the Marvin & Sybil Weiner “Spirit of America” Collection is an extensive selection of primary materials dealing with the American Revolution. The items in the collection provide insight into the contemporary debates over the proper role of government and the powers of Parliament. Many of the materials pertain to the Stamp Act, which is often seen as the catalyst of the American movement towards independence.  Other topics of study might include the interpretation of the British mercantile system and the importance of trade between England and her colonies or an investigation into the publications of the day, which include published speeches and sermons.

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FAU Collections of the American Civil War

FAU Libraries and Special Collections are pleased to announce the launch of a new webpage dedicated to the American Civil War, FAU Collections of the American Civil War.

The new site will facilitate student and faculty research by describing collections and providing item-level lists of our materials relating to the American Civil War and the period 1850 to 1890. Many of these primary documents have not been previously researched and include diaries, photographs, letters, political pamphlets and cartoons, rare books, maps, illustrations and broadsides. A small sampling of topics includes state rights, abolition, presidential elections, women’s roles, Confederacy and Union generals’ field letters, Jefferson Davis and Confederacy financing, army medical care and post-war amendment debates.

Students, faculty and other researchers are encouraged to make an appointment so that items can be paged in advance of their visit. Tours, workshops and staff assistance are also available. To make arrangements,  please contact the Special Collections Department at LYSCA@fau.edu, or call 561-297-3787.

See upcoming library events and new resources related to the Civil War: Continue reading