Luv yer politicians' papers

Politicians' papers was a great session not only for learning about the holdings of specific special collections, but also to learn more about the process and problems with acquiring any political papers.

• Betty Carter, University Archivist at UNCG, discussed the recent acquisition of the papers of Kay Hagan and Howard Coble and her "newbie" perspective on entering into the game of acquiring politiians' papers.
• Tim West, Director of the Southern Historical Collection at UNC Chapel Hill, talked about their large holdings and the need to consider not only politicians' papers, but also a wide variety of collections of political individuals, such as local activists, political journalists and judges.
• Maury York, assistant director for special collections at ECU, discussed Eastern Carolina University's collection of political papers. ECU's focus areas are general NC history, military history with emphasis on naval and maritime history, american missionaries, and tobacco related collections. Within those areas they have a strong politicians' papers collection that includes some oral histories.

They also discussed the challenges of acquiring political papers including:

• balancing the acquisition of large collections against the potential use and value of the collection.
• absorbing the expenses required both in terms of money and staff time.
• marketing and promoting the collection once acquired.
• meeting donor requirements (some collections may have strict restrictions).
• initiating the process of digitizing collections or dealing with electronic records.
• dealing with issues of copyright in relation to the collection.

Some interesting areas for the future include the possibility of these and other libraries collaborating on future acquisitions, coordinating acquisitions, and also conducting studies of use of these collections. ECU also has a cool class for first year students that requires the students use a primary source from the collection. Because of this assignment, many of these students become interested in using primary sources in their future assignments. Sounds great to me!!

Going to the NC Lib Assoc Conference?

Come hang with the cool kids then @ the NCLA 58th Biennial Conference. The Government Resources Section has some fun programs all conference long. Stop by and get your government information fix.

Politician’s Papers focuses on the papers of politicians held in various special collections across the state. Betty Carter, University Archivist at UNCG, Maury York, Assistant Director and Head of Special Collections at ECU, and Tim West, Curator of Manuscripts and Director of the Southern History Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill, will talk about acquiring these collections and their importance to research. We created this session in conjunction with UNCG’s recent acquisition of Kay Hagan’s North Carolina Senate papers, and it is the inaugural Ridley Kessler Memorial Program. Wednesday, October 7, 1:30 pm – 2:45 pm.

Come join us at the Exploring NC EDIS session for a world wind tour of the North Carolina Economic Development Intelligence System. Hosted by our fearless navigator, Tammy Lester, a Data Analyst for the EDIS, we will explore a statistical and mapping tool that provides economic and demographic data for economic developers, businesses and the general public. Remember, there’s power in numbers! Thursday, October 8, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Digital Government Resources from the State Library will feature all of the cool new stuff the State Library is doing for YOU! Jennifer Davison, Head of the Government Documents branch, and Amy Rudersdorf, Director of the Digital Information Management Program will highlight a variety of digital projects from the NC State Publications Collection to NC Mosaic to the Historical NC Census Data. Digital collections galore! Thursday, October 8, 4:15 pm - 5:15 pm

The Hottest Business Meeting in Town will be in the early morning hours (you don’t sleep at conferences anyway, right?). This is a key meeting for all Government Resources Section members and wannabes. We will be electing new officers and discussing the new directions the Government Resources Section can take. You don’t want to miss it. Be a part of the future! Friday, October 9, 8:00 am – 8:45 am

All about Census 2010 is a timely panel presentation on the importance of the Census 2010 efforts, the upcoming data releases through the Census 2010 and American Community Survey, as well as what libraries across the state can do to help promote Census 2010. The presenters are Bob Coats, Governor's Census Liaison in the Office of State Budget and Management, Beth Hayden, Demographics and Reference Librarian in the State Library, and Laura Strickland McClettie, a Team Leader with the Charlotte Regional Census Center. Don’t forget that all agencies and institutions in this state are directly affected by the Census results. Come and learn what you can do to achieve a complete count! Friday, October 9, 9:00 am – 10:15 am