Projects
Under the cooperative agreement the staff at the University of Maryland Libraries and the National Agricultural Library have completed a number of projects, including those listed below.
National Agricultural Library
USDA History Collection
- Surveyed and processed entire collection of 660 linear feet (30% to folder level)
- Processed 8,000 published volumes and journal issues into NAL's general collection
- Developed web finding aid which won Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) Fredric M. Miller Finding Aid Award in 1999
- Continue to acquire and process additional materials received from Departmental historians
- Provide research, reference, and reproduction services for a variety
of users
Screwworm Eradication Collections
Collection development
- Acquired, surveyed, and processed several subject related collections
- Developed web finding aids at http://www.nal.usda.gov/speccoll/screwworm
Promotion of collections
- Created CD-ROM sampler, STOP Screwworms: Selections from the Screwworm Eradication Collection
- Provided speakers for various meetings
- Developed numerous brochures, bookmarks, and other promotional materials
- Created and produced several traveling exhibits
30th anniversary
- Produced exhibit for the 30th anniversary of the Mexican-American Commission for the Eradication of Screwworm
- Provided talking points to ARS speakers
- Produced and transcribed oral histories documenting the history of
eradication of the screwworm from the United States and Mexico
Continuing activities
- Provide reference and research services
- Acquire and process collection materials
- Develop new promotional materials
Agent Orange Collection
- Surveyed and processed entire collection
- Developed web-based finding aid with introduction by Alvin L. Young, donor
- Completed digital conversion of all documents and created links to
provided for full text online
Additional activities
Online exhibits
- Popcorn: Ingrained in America's Agricultural History
- Historic Cereals Research Photograph Gallery
- An Illustrated Expedition of North America: Bodmer and Maximilian in the American West Early
- Developments
in the American Dairy Industry
Digital conversion and access to various USDA publications
- Report of the Pomologist, nineteenth century annual reports by the USDA Pomologist
- Bibliography on Peach Yellows by Erwin F. Smith
- Selected Forest Service Historical Photograph collection images
University of Maryland Libraries
Appraisal
- Morley Jull, Papers of
- Poultry Department, Records of the
- Animal Science Department, Records of the
Additional Materials Added to Collections
- Baltimore County Extension, Records of the
- Ronald Bamford, Papers of
- Botany Department, Records of the
- John
Bitting Smith Norton, Papers of
Processed
- Amoss, William L., Papers of
- Brooke Family, Papers of the
- David Edward Brown, Papers of
- Farmers' Institute, Records of the
- Maryland State Board of Agriculture Reprots of Leaf Tobacco Sold, Archives of the
- Maryland Tobacco Improvement Foundation, Archives of the
- Prince George's Community Council, Records of the
- Francis Renner, Papers of
- James A. Reveal, Papers of
- Richard White, Collection of
Photographs
Project staff have completed a survey of approximately half of the
Archives and Manuscripts' large photographic holdings, discovering in
the process many agriculture-related images. In addition to placing
photographs in better boxes and inert plastic sleeves, descriptive and
administrative information are being entered into a database that will
greatly enhance access to images for both researchers and staff. This
project is ongoing.
Riversdale
Bookshelf
Riversdale Mansion, an early nineteenth-century house located approximately
six miles north of the national capital, between Hyattsville and College
Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, was home to two generations
of Calverts, descendants of Maryland's founding family. George and his
Belgian-born wife, Rosalie, moved into the mansion in 1803. Their son,
Charles Benedict Calvert, who is recognized as the founder of the present
day University of Maryland, also made Riversdale his home and turned the
plantation into an agricultural showcase.
To compliment the mansion's recently restored library, the project staff
have undertaken the task of identifying reading materials that George
and Rosalie Calvert would have likely read while living at Riversdale
from 1803 to 1838. The list of books along with supporting materials will
be available online.
USAIN-NEH National Program
for the Preservation of Agricultural Literature:
Bibliography of the Agricultural Literature of Maryland, 1820-1945
As part of the National Program for the Preservation of Agricultural Literature
(NPPAL), staff at the University of Maryland Libraries have compiled a
bibliography of the literature of agriculture and rural life in Maryland,
published from 1820 through 1945, and available online.
During Phase VI (2006-2008) of the NPPAL project, UM Libraries will be
microfilming the publications designated as having the greatest significance,
as funding allows. As part of this process, staff will be locating, assessing,
and selecting specific copies of the publications.
For more information about these projects and collections, please contact the Project Archivist, Ann Hanlon (ahanlon[at]umd.edu)
Image Credits
This photograph is part of the Historic Cereals Research Photographs Collection, part of the Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library. The photograph depicts a steam plow outfit plowing wheat near Nephi, Utah.
