On December 10, 2009, WKU Libraries celebrated its annual holiday as a tradition in the beautiful Kentucky Building with a band and good food. As part of the tradition, Dean Binder and Department Heads gave out the Margie [...]
On the afternoon of December 9th, 2009, WKU Libraries welcomed Second Secretary Liu Jiangyi and Attache Liu Xiao from the Education Office of the Embassy of People’s Republic of China at Washington DC. They were on [...]
E.A. Diddle came to WKU in 1922 as athletic director. He coached the football team through 1929 and the baseball team until 1957. But as most people know, he came to fame waving a red towel while coaching the [...]
Professor Haiwang Yuan’s book, Princess Peacock: Tales from the Other Peoples of China (Libraries Unlimited, 2008), has been selected as one of the American Folklore Society Children’s Section 2009 Aesop Accolade Award recipients. Yuan serves as WKU Libraries Professor and [...]
Porter Bros. manual (image courtesy of Filson Historical Society)
Allen County native Eugene A. Porter (1841-1922) was a farmer and entrepreneur who, together with his three brothers, developed the “corn cob crusher,” a machine that processed corn into livestock feed. [...]
More than 1,200 people participated in this year’s Christmas in Kentucky event hosted at the Kentucky Library & Museum this past Saturday, December 5. Children visited with Santa and Mrs. Claus in the Kentucky Room while others watched Mr. Magic in the Western Room. Big Red [...]
GaleCengage now allows unlimited user access to Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) and Times Digital Archives at no additional cost. This initiative means no turnaways when trying to access these databases that previously were limited to 1-3 users. Usually when a library increases user access, the publisher pricing model [...]
A record crowd of over 1,200 attended the fourth annual “Christmas in Kentucky” event Saturday, December 5th. Guests enjoyed a variety of holiday inspired activities including ornament making, gingerbread sampling, Santa and Mrs. Claus and of course Big Red.
The County Delegation Presidents Club was formed in February 1932. It was an outgrowth of the older county clubs that students were placed in upon arrival at WKU. These county clubs were formed to help students connect with their peers. A county with a large number of students stood on [...]
Need the perfect gift? Do all your holiday shopping during the Holiday Open House in the Museum Store at the Kentucky Library & Museum. The Museum Store is stocked with a wide array of Kentucky-crafted items including jewelry, pottery and glassware as well holiday themed [...]
This Saturday, December 5 is Christmas in Kentucky at the Kentucky Library & Museum from 11 am to 2 pm. This free family event will be full of fun with ornament making, open hearth cooking, a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus and Big [...]
Gilbert Marshall Mulligan's Civil War correspondence
The Johns and Moore families of Trigg County and the Mulligan and Brown families of Allen County, Kentucky have left a historical record of more than 400 letters that is now available to researchers at the Kentucky [...]
The Kentucky Library & Museum hosted the first annual WKU Student Organizations Holiday Ornament Competition. Each organization was given a bag of basic ornament making supplies and a tree to decorate. A tree decorating reception was held November 17th with celebrity [...]
Many Hilltoppers know the story of the Van Meter Hall ghost. It is said to be that of a workman who met his death during the building’s construction in 1910-11. Perched on the [...]
Looking for a place to entertain the relatives over the Thanksgiving holiday? Come to the Kentucky Library & Museum. Featuring more than 500 pieces of furniture, paintings and other decorative art items that date from as early as 1300 B.C. to the mid-twentieth century, the [...]
On Thursday, November 19, Peruvian Folk Rock Artist Oscar Pajares Ruiz performed Peruvian folk music and dance to an enthusiastic audience of faculty and students at Java City-Helm Library.
The WKU Theatre Department performed “Cinderella: The World’s Favorite Fairy Tale” for school audiences at the Kentucky Library & Museum. The story of Cinderella as she is known in China, Russian and by Native Americans as told by Cinderella herself.
Born in 1897 at Borah’s Ferry in Butler County, Lena Grey Annis taught school for 44 years in Kentucky, West Virginia and Arizona. After her death in 1996, two of her nieces found a treasure trove of family history among her [...]
Barry Kitterman was this month’s featured speaker in our Far Away Places series. He talked about his experiences in 1970s Belize as well as about his novel and creative writing on Thursday, November 19 at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Bowling Green, KY. A book signing followed.
Born in Kevil, Kentucky, 29-year old Sarah Elizabeth Burkey, Singer-Songwriter, Recording Artist, and Actress, has performed all over the US and toured in 18 countries. Today at Java City she performed her original compositions as well as her arrangements of well-known [...]
Featuring more than 500 pieces of furniture, paintings and other decorative art items that date from as early as 1300 B.C. to the mid-twentieth century, theSnell-Franklin Gallery at the Kentucky Library & Museum opened on Friday, November 13, 2009.
The Kentucky Library & Museum has contributed a photo of author Alice Hegan Rice to an upcoming exhibit at Louisville’s Speed Museum relating to its founder, Hattie Bishop Speed.
A lifelong resident of Louisville, Alice Hegan Rice (1870-1942) published many popular novels and stories, [...]
Robert Dickey was the featured speaker in this month’s Kentucky Live! on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at Barnes & Noble. Dickey attended WKU and graduated from Centre College. Following a stint in the marines and [...]
Dr. Joe E. Sarnowski, Chair of the Department of English at San Diego Christian College in El Cajon, California, has just published his book, The Literary Achievement of the American Poet Robert Penn Warren: His Life-Long Struggles with Morality,' [...]
WKU Libraries held its anual Halloween Potluck Party on the morning of Friday, October 30th, 2009 in Room 111 in the Raymond Cravens Library. Big prizes were' [...]
Due to the running of the Medical Center 10K Classic, the Kentucky Library & Museum will open at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 31st. Regular hours resume on Sunday, November 1st.
A large crowd gathered at Java City today to hear Nashville’s premier percussion group “The Love Drums” as they played a wide variety of rhythmic selections ranging from Middle Eastern, to Caribbean and traditional African sources. Joining Ed Haggard, Thomas Anderson and Marquetta Dupree [...]
Gail Raley (right), Judy Perkins (left, with her granddaughter) and Jonathan Jeffrey, Kentucky Library & Museum Manuscripts Coordinator, holding Miller day book
William Makel Miller (1806-1886) was one of the founders [...]
The Civil War came to Bowling Green in mid-September, 1861, with the arrival of General Simon Bolivar Buckner and about 1,300 Confederate soldiers. They were soon joined by more than 20,000 troops who set up camp in and around the town. [...]
Lynwood Montell spoke at the KY Library & Museum on the evening of October 29 about his newest book, Tales from Kentucky Funeral Homes. An author of [...]
Yesterday at Java City, we had a double dose of talent! Jazz guitarist/vocalist Rachel Pearl and folk rock singer/songwriter Treva Blomquist entertained the enthusiastic crowd with a variety of tunes ranging from their unique originals to songs by such diverse artists as Bruce Springsteen, Etta [...]
Western students had fun Saturday, October 17th, at the Kentucky Library & Museum learning the techniques of fabric dying. Dr. Laura McGee did a demonstration for the students. Some students were so enthused they completed two tie dyed scarves!
Twenty two local children spent their fall break at the Kentucky Library & Museum Arts Day Camp. While they were aptly improving their artistic skills, the campers also recycled waste paper into new hand made paper and learned about fabric transfer by designing and [...]
Archives are not a digital Mecca where every text of every document is online and searchable by keyword ~ archivist Luncinda Glenn, Graduate Theological Union Archives.
That being said, more and more individual images and documents are going online every day, along with descriptions of collections. [...]
On October 16, 2009, a panel discussion on John Brown by Drs. Glenn Lafantasie, John Hardin and Robert Dietle was conducted in Helm Library 100. This discussion was co-sponsored by the History Department and the Department of Public Library Services, Western Kentucky University. Scores of WKU [...]
In the 19th century, equity court (sometimes called chancery court) was the forum where Kentuckians sought justice for wrongs that could not adequately be remedied in a court of law. For example, where a court of law [...]
Before there was a WKU, Bowling Green was home to a number of private colleges. One of these was Ogden College. Located between State and Chestnut Streets, Ogden opened in 1877 as a boy’s school offering a 2 year prepatory course and 4 year college [...]
Professor Debbie Kreitzer from the Department of Georgraphy and Geology is the first speaker in the tenth series of talks on “Far away Places with Strange Sounding Names” sponsored by the friends of WKU Libraries and the Kentucky Museum. Debbie teaches [...]
Join WKU Libraries in honoring Drs. Scott Lyons and James Navalta, Editors-in-Chief of International Journal of Exercise Science, the first open access journal at WKU, on Monday, October 19, at 2 p.m. in Helm Library, Room 100. Reception following brief presentation.
Retired WKU chemistry professor Don Slocum recently discovered several pieces of paper in a clump behind the siding he pulled off his back porch during a renovation of his Chestnut Street home. He assembled the torn and stained pieces and sent [...]
Gourd painting was the focus of a recent workshop at the Kentucky Library & Museum. Over twenty people from age three to retirees participated in the Kentucky Library & Museum Gourd Painting workshop. Participants painted pumpkins and witches as well as other autumn themes.
More [...]
Author and Cultural Historian Jim Cullen discussed The American Dream and how it relates to this year’s Big Read book, The Great Gatsby. Dr. Cullen spoke to a group of about twenty at Barnes & Noble on October 12 giving a brief history of [...]
Archives are not the place to run in to check a quick fact and then again, sometimes they are. Archives generally are about indepth research. It takes time to read through original sources and find the information that will prove or disprove your hypothesis about a person or event. Often [...]
Mr. Guillerman spoke as part of our Kentucky Live series on Thursday, October 15th at Barnes & Noble on Campbell Lane.
Michael D. Guillerman worked for the Peabody Coal Company from 1974 to 1991. Over his long career, his jobs included belt shoveler, timberman, shooter, [...]
Construction on a college campus is an ongoing occurrence and that certainly seems to be true of WKU. Current renovation and construction projects include the Chapel, Van Meter Hall, Snell Hall and the College of Education. University Archives holds records of construction projects dating back [...]
Science Librarian Charles H. Smith recently spent several days at a Darwin conference in Brazil. He was invited by the conveners of the international ‘Echoes of Darwin’ symposium, the Institutos [...]
The Beehive Design Collective’s ecology oriented group called the “Appalachian Power Shift” gave a stirring presentation on the “True Cost of Coal” to a crowd on the Java City patio today. [...]
Holy Cross archivist Sarah Campbell stated that “archives aren’t lending libraries.” Special collections serve a different mission than lending libraries. They hold unique, one of a kind items that need special care and handling in order to preserve them for as long as possible.
Think about the different conditions that you subject a [...]
The debate team, now known as the WKU Forensics Team, has been around nearly as long as WKU. And they’ve been winning awards all through the years. The University Archives holds some documents regarding the team. These include programs for oratorical contests dating [...]
David Keeling, head of WKU’s Geography and Geology Dept. spoke to a large enthusiastic crowd on Namibia at this month’s Far Away Places series at Barnes & Noble this past Thursday, October 1. Keeling most recently visited Namibia in November, [...]
The red towel tradition began in the 1940’s. According to Chip Royal, an AP feature writer “A towel came flying down out of the air at Madison Square Garden and landed on a spectator’s head — and another basketball fan met' [...]
Barbara Niss, archivist at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York responded: “Archives are not where information comes all neatly wrapped in a package; they are a place for searching and thinking and piecing together bits and pieces of fact, near-fact and outright [...]
Five hundred elementary students participated in Native American days at the Kentucky Library & Museum. Held over a two day period, this event rotated children through four stations where they learned about Native American life and culture from experienced Native American reenactors. [...]
On Thursday, October 24, 2009 Dean Mike Binder, Library Public Services Head Brian Coutts and Rob Harbison toured the new WKU-O Building under construction with Owensboro Campus Director Gene Tice. [...]
The Manuscripts & Archives section of the Kentucky Library & Museum has recently added this fascinating letter to our collection. On May 19, 1833, Philadelphia merchant Joseph Trimble Baldwin, traveling through Kentucky on his way to Nashville, penned a letter to his young wife [...]
Jimmy Sacca, Billy Vaughn, Don McGuire and Seymour Spiegelman were students at Western Kentucky State College (now WKU). In 1952 they hit the big time as the Hilltoppers quartet with their song “Trying.” The group had several more hits including ”P.S. I Love You” and performed [...]
Unveiled in early August,“The Story of Duncan Hines 1908 - Today” recently went online. Featuring images from the Duncan Hines Collection, this web site explores the history behind the Duncan Hines brand of food products, which is owned by Pinnacle Foods, a [...]
The fall issue of Dress magazine includes a writeup on the reproduction of a Civil War era dress included in the A Star in Each Flag: Conflict in Kentucky exhibit. Made by Dr. Martha Jenkins, a long time museum volunteer and retired faculty [...]
A pair of brightly colored striped stockings are featured in an article in the Fall 2009 issue of Interweave Knits. Written by Joanne Seiff, the author of several books on knitting and fiber production, the article explores the possibility that this footwear was made by Mrs. James [...]
Tommy Womack, well-known singer/songwriter/ Nashville recording artist and Bowling Green native performed his favorites for the crowd today on the Java City patio.
Western Kentucky University Libraries has selected Sluggers #2: Horsin’ Around by New York Times bestselling writing team Loren Long and Phil Bildner as the winners of the third Evelyn Thurman Young Readers Book Award. The national award was created to honor the memory of former [...]
Irene Malone (Moss) Sumpter (1902-1996), a Warren County, Kentucky native and WKU graduate, was an author, genealogist and local historian. She was a member of the Samuel Davies chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames of America for the State [...]
Nancy Baird, WKU Librarian, kicked off the 2009-10 Kentucky Live lecture series at Barnes & Noble on Thursday, September 10. Baird provided a unique look into the Bowling Green area during the Civil War through the eyes of Josie Underwood, a young woman from [...]
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Professor Debbie Kreitzer from the Department of Georgraphy and Geology is the first speaker in the tenth series of talks on Far away Places With Strange Sounding Names sponsored by the friends of WKU Libraries and the Kentucky Museum. Debbie teaches classes [...]
WKU Libraries joined the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (ndltd.org) as an additional way to increase access to the University’s research at the graduate level. The NDLTD catalog provides an additional discovery service that supports the international outreach for disseminating scholary research at WKU. Among the member institutions are Yale [...]
Clara Ramsey DeWilde was a pretty typical WKU student in 1945. Born in Russellville, Kentucky in 1926, she was 19 when she came to Bowling Green. She lived in West Hall and created a scrapbook of photographs of her time on the Hill. These include friends [...]
On Sunday, September 13th VSA arts of Kentucky and the Kentucky Library & Museum kicked off the start of the Side by Side: VSA arts Statewide Exhibit with a reception at the Kentucky Library & Museum.
Researchers interested in the history of local government can access original minutes of the Bowling Green City Council at the Kentucky Library & Museum. The minutes document meetings of the Board of Councilmen from 1948-1967, the Board of Aldermen from 1955-1967, [...]
Matthew Fogle, Christian Rock Artist from Louisville, KY, performed today outside Helm Library. Students, faculty, and staff enjoyed Fogle’s musical talents as they soaked up the sun during the noon hour.
On October 3rd, get ready for fall by painting a pumpkin gourd at the Kentucky Library & Museum! Bring your mom, kids, or grandkids. Special family price for two! All materials are supplied. Workshop facilitated by Lynne Ferguson.
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Participants do have an option to paint a second gourd [...]
On October 2, participate in the the Bowling Green Gallery Hop, a unique collaboration between the city’s independent galleries, non-profit galleries and studio centers to provide Bowling Green with great artistic opportunities. The galleries, museums and studio centers from around the city open their doors four Friday evenings out [...]
On Sunday, September 13, The Kentucky Library & Museum and VSA arts of Kentucky will open Side By Side 2009 Statewide Exhibition with a reception at 2:00 PM (CDT). This exhibit is composed of pieces selected from VSA arts Side by Side projects from across [...]
WKU athletic records and photographs are a hot item in University Archives. We answer many questions related to coaching staff, student athletes and teams throughout the year. In order to facilitate research several series of records have been processed and detailed finding aids [...]
The Phi Kappa Phi records housed in University Archives have been processed. The finding aid is now available online through TopScholar: [digitalcommons.wku.edu] The records can be viewed in the Harrison-Baird Reading Room in the Kentucky Library & Museum daily Monday - Saturday 9 - 4.
On the evening of August 25, 2009, WKU Libraries launched its creative marketing event dubbed as “Snacks in the Stacks.” Food, music, and Las Vagas-style pokers brought in numerous MasterPlan students to the Helm-Cravens Library. Players who got [...]
On the evening of August 26, 2009, M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan students had a good time in the Kentucky Museum at an event dubbed as “Night at the Museum,” a marketing effort to bring more students into the facility [...]
On September 27, 2009, Western Kentucky University Libraries, including the Kentucky Library & Museum, participated in the university’s M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan in the Preston Center. Several hundred students came to the Libraries’ booths to [...]
On September 25, 2009, faculty from the Department of Library Public Services, Western Kentucky University, had its annual retreat at the Barren River State Park resort. Dean Binder came to the lunch and answered the faculty’s questions afterward.
On August 26, 2009, WKU Libraries kicked off the 2009-2010 academic year with Dean Binder’s presentation on the past year’s highlights, followed by departmental reports by Brian Coutts, Head of Library Public Service; Connie Foster, Head of Technical Service; and Timothy Mullin, Head of' [...]
The Kentucky Library & Museum Batik Workshop taught by Laura McGee was a wonderful success. Photos show participants using wax resist techniques and dying their silk crepe de chine scarves.
In order to keep the staff up-to-date, the Kentucky Library & Museum will close for staff training on August 25 & 26. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause patrons and visitors.
Early in the twentieth century, William R. Reynolds, Jr. (1878-1955), Cave City’s photographer, produced a series of photographs documenting life in this small southcentral Kentucky town. His work, carefully reproduced from glass plate negatives, has been [...]
At the time he retired in 1954 after more than 46 years at WKU, history professor Arndt Mathis Stickles (1872-1968) held the record as the longest serving professor at an accredited institution of higher learning. His publications included Elements of Government: Political Institutions, [...]
The Kentucky Library & Museum is offering a Batik Silk Dying Workshop with Dr. Laura McGee on Saturday, August 15 from 10 am- 12 noon. “We always look forward to working with Laura,” says Lynne Ferguson, WKU Libraries Artist-in-Residence. “She’s a very talented artist and brings her wealth of experience [...]
Tempie Jane (Bell) Witten (1901-1985), a native of Grayson County, Kentucky, taught elementary and high school for more than 40 years. This manuscript collection of more than 1,500 items includes genealogical research on the Bell, McCrady, Skaggs, Salsman, Witten and other families; [...]
WKU Libraries is hosting Erwin Woodye, Chief Librarian, from the University of Belize as part of an administrator exchange program sponsored by COBEC (Consortium for Belize Educational Cooperation). Established in the late 1980s, COBEC’s purpose is to link post-secondary educational institutions in Belize and other [...]
A new addition to the Manuscripts collection of the Kentucky Library & Museum is an 1844 letter from John C. Easton, a Taylorsville, Spencer County, Kentucky lawyer, to his brother James. He discusses the forthcoming presidential election, including [...]
Dr. Bryan Carson, Special Assistant to the Dean of Libraries for Grants and Projects, was recently elected to a three-year term as Director-at-Large on the Board of the EPSCoR Scientific Information Group (ESIG), a national consortium of librarians that are eligible to receive National Science [...]
In case you could not attend the Southern Kentucky Book Fest or just didn’t have enough disposable cash to purchase all the books you liked, we now have in the circulating collections many titles of authors featured at the 2009 festival by authors who wrote about Kentucky or who are from Kentucky.
A large crowd gathered at Java City today to hear Nashville’s premier percussion group “The Love Drums” as they played a wide variety of rhythmic selections ranging from Middle Eastern, to Caribbean and traditional African sources. Joining Ed Haggard, Thomas Anderson and Marquetta Dupree 
Yesterday at Java City, we had a double dose of talent! Jazz guitarist/vocalist Rachel Pearl and folk rock singer/songwriter Treva Blomquist entertained the enthusiastic crowd with a variety of tunes ranging from their unique originals to songs by such diverse artists as Bruce Springsteen, Etta 
Singer/songwriter/WKU student Lauren Conkin entertained the crowd at Java City today with her unique lyrics and melodic sounds.
Tommy Womack, well-known singer/songwriter/ Nashville recording artist and Bowling Green native performed his favorites for the crowd today on the Java City patio. 
Professor Debbie Kreitzer from the Department of Georgraphy and Geology is the first speaker in the tenth series of talks on Far away Places With Strange Sounding Names sponsored by the friends of WKU Libraries and the Kentucky Museum. Debbie teaches classes 
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