Results of the Inventory

It’s finals week here at Morningside and I’m nearing the end of one phase of this project.  The blog has been pretty quiet, but I’ve been hard at work inventorying the collection.  With that process nearly complete, I have published the initial results on the blog (you will see a new page titled “The Inventory”) or you can view the results here http://digitizethecr.wordpress.com/the-inventory/

At this time we are only looking for these particular issues.  You will find the issue number by the date or sometimes by the listing of the newspaper staff often found in each issue.  In case you were wondering, 1988-2001 are not listed because they have already been microfilmed.

Help us find these issues.  Please email me at vos@morningside.edu by June 1st if you have any of the missing or damaged issues listed.  Thanks for your help.

 

WWI Honor Roll

I wish I would have had this ready to post last Friday on Veterans Day.  In this issue of the Collegian Reporter, dated September 26, 1917, you will find a listing of those from Morningside who were serving in the war.  Note that the listing includes not only students, but also some of their instructors, including Professor H. G. Campbell and his wife.

This is just another example of the great historical detail you will find in the issues of the Collegian Reporter.

(Click on the link below to view a scanned image of the article)

WW I Honor Roll

Maroon the Color

I’d like to highlight some of the things I’ve found as I’ve made my way through the early years of the Collegian Reporter.

This article in the Collegian Reporter demonstrates the newspaper’s role in reporting important events in the college’s history.  The school colors are fundamental to a college’s identity, and yet how often do we know when and why they were chosen?  Now you know.

(Click on the link below to view a scanned image of the article)

Maroon the Color

Inventorying the collection

For a little more than a month I have been working on the inventory of the print copies of the Collegian Reporter that are stored in the college archives.  Using an excel spreadsheet, I note the date, volume and issue, number of pages of each issue, size of the newspaper and the condition, and make any other notes that I think are helpful.  So far I have inventoried the newspapers up to 1914.

Using that information I will compile a list of newspapers that are missing or damaged and publish that list on this blog.  While our collection is fairly complete, this is our best opportunity to assemble the most complete run possible.  It will be several months before the inventory is complete and we will know for certain what issues we are looking for, but if you have questions I encourage you to contact me at vos@morningside.edu

(I do hope to publish the list as I go along.  First I need to figure out the best way to format that information and post it here…hopefully I will have the first few decades ready later this month….)

HRDP/REAP

In addition to the gift from our donor, the project is also funded by a grant from the Historical Resource Development Program, which is funded through the Resource Enhancement and Protection Act and administered through the State Historical Society of Iowa.  It is a competitive process and the Collegian Reporter Newspaper Project was one of 26 projects selected this year.  “HRDP/REAP provides grants to preserve, conserve, interpret and educate the public about Iowa’s historical resources.”  More information about the projects funded this year can be found at http://www.iowahistory.org/about/news/2011/08-23_REAP_grants.html

Further information about REAP can be found at http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/REAP.aspx

In the beginning…

Was an idea.  I would like to start out this blog with a big THANK YOU to Kent Watkins.  Without his initial contribution to this project, it is unlikely that we could have pursued the digitization of the Collegian Reporter at this time.

Welcome to my blog!

This blog will be used to communicate with those interested in the Collegian Reporter Newspaper project.  I will use the blog to provide details about the project,  update the progress on the inventory, identify newspaper issues needed for the project and to communicate the release of the online version.  Stay tuned!