Just in time for the start of the 2024 Olympics, a newly processed collection at the University Archives is about the life and career of James E. Counsilman. James E. Counsilman, or ‘Doc’, was a legend in the world of swimming as a swimmer, researcher, and coach. A pioneer of swimming and coaching, Doc Counsilman ..read more

Sometimes when working in an archives, you come across someone in a collection that you really connect to and admire; for me, one of these individuals is Maida Tilchen. Maida’s a Long Island-raised lesbian activist who came to Bicknell, Indiana as a community organizer for VISTA, a federal anti-poverty program. She eventually found her way into Bloomington’s lesbian and feminist community. I started processing Maida’s papers shortly after they were gifted to the IU Archives and quickly understood the weight and importance of her stories of LGBTQ+ rights and women’s liberation in 1970s Bloomin ..read more

The following is a guest post from Emily Paulson (MLS Candidate in the Luddy School of Informatics pursuing the music librarianship specialization) as part of the spring course ILS-Z604/FOLK-F804 Folklore Archives in the Digital Age. Photograph of Purple European Pasque Flowers taken by Emily Paulsen With spring in bloom and May celebrations on the horizon, I’ve found that my own favorite way to celebrate the end of a long semester is to sit back and relax in the sun listening to my favorite traditional Irish tunes. I love the storytelling and the history conveyed through this music, and ..read more

Over the past few months, I’ve had the pleasure of processing two collections of oral histories: one of I.U. president emeritus, Elvis J. Stahr, and the other of Czechoslovakian refugee and I.U. alumna, Alice Field Ginott Cohn. Part of this task has involved segmenting and describing the various topics of discussion. Consequently, I’ve spent a lot of time – perhaps too much time – listening closely to what these folks have to say about their lives. Having worked with these two collections for some time now, I’ve been struck by how different these oral histories are in both form and content. O ..read more

Behind the Curtain is a series highlighting IU Archives staff, partners from various departments of the IU Libraries, and students who make all of our work possible. Alex Caba, IU Archives Archives Assistant What was your title and role in the IU Libraries? I was a Graduate Assistant in the Indiana University Archives, for a year and a half. Additionally, during my time as an MLS student I have also enjoyed my work as a Scholars’ Commons Reference Assistant. What is your educational background? I got my bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in German Studies from Smith College in 2021. I ..read more

This post was originally authored by IU Archives graduate assistant Shannon Larson (now Shannon Tanhayi Ahari) in 2012. Shannon now works as the Librarian/Curator for European Studies at UCLA Libraries. According to IU legend, if a couple kisses within the Rose Well House at midnight on Valentine’s Day then that couple will stay together forever. Certainly the Rose Well House, with its charming façade and exquisite stained glass windows, is a romantic locale for any date. However, there is an even more romantic site on campus that not only has a love story to tell but is also the final restin ..read more

A newly processed collection, the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) Curriculum Committee records, shares all course adjustments for the college from 1937 to 1996, and it’s a wonderful resource for anyone researching the history of their academic department, exploring major curriculum and instruction changes at a major higher education institution, or simply wanting to look at what interesting courses were taught at Indiana University in the 80s. An example of a course change reference card sharing the addition of “Introduction to College Thinking” to the Junior Division courses. My backgrou ..read more

This blog post is adapted from research and quotes compiled by Sababu C. Norris, friend of the archives and graduate of Indiana University (MA ’82). Norris was a key part of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. portrait initiative, and his research and firsthand recollections of this ambitious project, involving the entire Greek system, were invaluable to the construction of this blog. A number of outstanding IU alumni who served as student leaders for the initiative also provided related materials from their individual archives. Key supporters throughout the MLK initiative included former IU ..read more

A newly processed collection, the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) Curriculum Committee records, shares all course adjustments for the college from 1937 to 1996, and it’s a wonderful resource for anyone researching the history of their academic department, exploring major curriculum and instruction changes at a major higher education institution, or simply wanting to look at what interesting courses were taught at Indiana University in the 80s. An example of a course change reference card sharing the addition of “Introduction to College Thinking” to the Junior Division courses. My backgrou ..read more

This post was written by former IU Archives Archives Assistant Ben Parnin, who is now the Archivist for Digital Preservation at the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections. Today the Kelley School of Business is a pillar of Indiana University. Making up 29 percent of the undergraduate enrollment, it is the second largest school on the Bloomington campus just behind the College of Arts and Sciences. The Kelley School of Business’s fame has drawn students from around the world. Despite this prestige, it did not always enjoy the same prominence as it does today and it went through sev ..read more