Shansi: Oberlin and Asia -- A digital collection documenting the sharing of the ideals of learning and labor

The Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association, the Oberlin College East Asian Studies Program, and the Oberlin College Archives and Library proudly announce the availability of the online digital collection Shansi: Oberlin and Asia.

Documenting the activity of Oberlinians in Asia from the 1880s to the 1950s, this teaching and research collection contains correspondence, newsletters, maps, reports, journal entries, photographs and other materials from the Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association Records and personal paper collections in the Oberlin College Archives. Featured in the collection is a short clip of silent film footage of activities in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China in the 1948. Other Shansi motion picture films are available for viewing at the Oberlin College Archives.

The digital collection represents a small percentage of the total amount of materials in the Oberlin College Archives that relate to the work of missionaries and Shansi Representatives in China as well as other countries.

The collection can be accessed from the Oberlin College Archives web site or the Oberlin College Library web site. For further information please contact the Oberlin College Archives by email (archive@oberlin.edu) or by phone (440-775-8014).

The project to create this digital collection was funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to the Five Colleges of Ohio (Next Steps in the Next Generation Library: Integrating Digital Collections into the Liberal Arts Curriculum, 2010)

Oberlin College Archives King-Crane Commission Digital Archival Collection

The Oberlin College Archives is pleased to announce the availability of The King-Crane Commission Digital Collection. Oberlin College President Henry Churchill King (1902-1927) led President Woodrow Wilson’s American Section of the Inter-Allied Commission on Mandates in Turkey, known as the King-Crane Commission, following the end of World War I (June –August 1919).

As the fate of the territories of the Ottoman Empire was being negotiated at the Paris Peace Conference, the Commission was tasked with “acquainting itself as intimately as possible with the sentiments of the people of these regions with regard to the future administration of their affairs.” Although their report was suppressed at the Paris Peace Conference and subsequent treaties ultimately supported British and French colonial aspirations, this effort is nevertheless an important moment in US history--indeed in Oberlin's history.

In order to increase the study of the King-Crane Commission—within Oberlin’s classrooms and beyond, Maren Milligan, Visiting Assistant Professor of Middle East North African Studies in the Oberlin College Politics Department, and Oberlin College Archivist Ken Grossi applied for and received an Ohio Five Next Generation Library Mellon Grant to bring together in a single online digital collection materials relating to the work of the King-Crane Commission. The creation of this digital collection was a collaborative effort between Milligan and staff members of the Oberlin College Archives and the Oberlin College Library. Theodore Waddelow ’11 served as the Research Associate for the project.

The core materials of the collection consist of the King-Crane Commission Records filed in the Henry Churchill King Presidential Papers at the Oberlin College Archives. Other institutions provided materials to expand the research potential of the collection, including the Hoover Institute Archives at Stanford University – The Donald Brodie Papers, and The University of Illinois Archives – The Albert Lybyer Papers. The King-Crane Commission project team continues to work with other institutions, including the University of New Hampshire – William Yale Papers, and the Library of Congress – George Montgomery Papers, to locate materials to add to the digital collection.

However, perhaps more important than the papers of the Commission members are the petitions submitted by people of the region. The project team has sought to locate and curate the petitions submitted by various peoples of the region, thus restoring these lost voices.

The online digital collection includes an interactive map, tracing the route of the Commission’s work in the Middle East, and detailed instructions to assist researchers in navigating the collection of over 600 items. For further information about the King-Crane Commission and to view the collection (correspondence, reports, maps, photographs, petitions) please see the following url address -- http://www.oberlin.edu/library/digital/king-crane/.

Ohio Wesleyan University Enhanced Podcast Project

The enhanced podcast project was designed as a value-added technology component to JOUR 370 Media Law. In the fall 2010 Media Law students created multimedia that explain a case to their peers, involved significant peer review and was searchable on the open web. The projects are a resource to other Media Law students seeking deeper understanding of complex topics. Students were encouraged to seek out plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses and experts to contribute to the podcast, as well as implement other digital storytelling techniques. Students in the class completed 10 podcasts on topics ranging from fleeting expletives to net neutrality. Four of the podcasts are included in the Ohio Wesleyan University Digital Repository. The project will continue with future student work added to the repository based on quality and significance.

College of Wooster Libraries publishes oral histories of local farmers

With the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Next Generation Libraries Grant, students taking Innovations in Agroecology taught by Dr. Matthew Mariola from the College of Wooster travelled throughout Wayne County, Ohio with digital audio recorders to interview local farmers, learning about their daily lives, their agricultural processes and their thoughts on hot issues in farming such as organic food, genetically modified crops, and government subsidies. A partnership with the College of Wooster Library's Digital Resource Commons (DRC) will ensure the long term digital preservation of these oral histories. We hope you find the work these students did as interesting as we did.

Link to Farmer Oral History Collection - http://drc.wooster.edu/handle/2374.COLLW/9