Maxwell Library

Honoring a Pioneer

BBENSON@bridgew.edu — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 19:04:15 +0000

Honoring a Pioneer BBENSON@bridgew.edu Mon, 09/25/2023 - 15:04

Professor, librarian research trailblazing social services work of 1889 alumna

September 26, 2023

Brian Benson, G'23

The name Alice Pettee Adams may not be recognizable in America. But in Japan the 1889 graduate was even honored by the country’s emperor.

The Asian nation remembers Adams for her pioneering social services work. And, as a Bridgewater State librarian and professor discovered on a research trip to Japan, her memory and impact lives on.

"She’s really an unknown person here on our campus,” said Dr. Minae Savas, a Japanese studies professor. “When we got to Okayama (a Japanese city of more than 700,000), we realized how significant she was.”

Adams’ work was profound indeed. A few years after graduating from Bridgewater, she traveled as a Christian missionary to Japan, beginning what

A bust of Adams.

would become 45 years of service to the country. Committed to helping the poor, Adams turned her home into the country’s first settlement house, a place where staff lived within the community they served and partnered with residents to address social issues.

Despite financial challenges, she steadfastly supported the poor. The house, which became known as Hakuaikai, eventually included a kindergarten, hospital and day nursery.

The original Hakuaikai facility was destroyed in World War II. However, Adams’ organization lives on in name and spirit. Today’s Hakuaikai includes modern hospital facilities, a nursing school, a nursing home, and a day care center.

“The location is different, the function is different, and the needs of society are different,” said Savas, who traveled with Dr. Orson Kingsley, senior librarian and head of Maxwell Library’s Archives and Special Collections. “But it’s true she is the one who really built the foundation.”

Savas and Kingsley toured Hakuaikai, where they saw a bust and oil painting of Adams and met with staff including the son and daughter of Dr. Yoshio Sarai. Sarai worked with and took over running Hakuaikai from Adams.

“That was one of the most incredible connections,” Kingsley said. “That direct link was amazing to find out about.”

Kingsley and Savas decided to research Adams’ historical significance after her great-niece donated a collection of letters and other materials to BSU.

Savas and Kingsley visit Adams' grave.

During the trip, funded by grants from BSU’s Center for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship, they collaborated with Professor Munehisa Yoshitoshi of Okayama University and scholars from Doshisha Women’s University who are interested in continuing to study Adams. The Okayama newspaper Sanyo Shimbun even wrote an article about their research.

Now back on campus, Kingsley and Savas look forward to sharing their work highlighting an alumna who truly embodies Bridgewater’s motto, “Not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”

“It’s our responsibility to accurately tell people what she has done and all the contributions in Japan,” said Savas, who sees an opportunity to discuss Adams in her Japanese culture classes. “I think it’s very important for our university identity.”

Do you have a BSU story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu.

It’s our responsibility to accurately tell people what she has done and all the contributions in Japan. I think it’s very important for our university identity.

Dr. Minae Savas, a Japanese studies professor

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More Than Books

HHARRIS@bridgew.edu — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 15:43:21 +0000

More Than Books HHARRIS@bridgew.edu Wed, 11/09/2022 - 10:43

Event highlights myriad resources available at Maxwell Library

November 17, 2022

Heather Harris Michonski

Starting a research paper can be overwhelming for many, which is why Dipti Mehta, head of reference at Maxwell Library, wants students to know support is available at 51�Թ��.

“The librarians are here to connect and help students so they can avoid the frustration and overwhelming feelings they may have when it comes to doing research or writing a paper,” Mehta said.

The library is more than just a building that houses books and other records. It offers a full range of services for students that includes access to online resources, including databases and journals; study rooms; borrowing privileges; and research assistance.

Mehta recently organized and hosted a party at the library to remind students that help is available for those who seek it.

Freshman Katreena Stanley, who is studying health sciences, attended the event.

“I have trouble writing essays, so I came to get advice. They were helpful and provided me with different topics to think about and evidence to support those topics,” Stanley said.

Fellow freshman Tristan McPherson of Norton came to the event on the advice of his history professor Paul Rubinson.

McPherson is enrolled in Rubinson’s “Totally 80s” first-year seminar and was looking for guidance regarding a paper he’s working on for the class.

Rubinson was happy to see Tristan take advantage of the event.

“It can sometimes feel dreary coming to the library, especially for undergraduates, but if they learn how to (use the resources) they will have a leg up and the next time they are assigned a paper they will have no trouble finding what they need,” he said.

For those who aren’t sure how to navigate the library there are plenty supports, both in person and online, to show students how to best use what’s offered.

Students can always simply walk into the building and talk to staff, or use the “Ask a Librarian” option by filling out a form on the Maxwell Library website. Also offered are one-on-one consultations, both in person and via Zoom. They typically last 35-40 minutes and can be booked using an online form, Mehta said.

When available there is also a live chat option where librarians can communicate, and answer questions students may have.

Stanley said, now that she has a better understanding of what the library offers, and how to access its resources she feels more comfortable coming back, not just for research but because it’s a prime spot to study.

“I’ll be back for the quietness,” she said.

Do you have a BSU story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu

The librarians are here to connect and help students so they can avoid the frustration and overwhelming feelings they may have when it comes to doing research or writing a paper.

Dipti Mehta, head of reference at Maxwell Library

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A Place of Their Own

JFINKELSTEIN@bridgew.edu — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 13:59:23 +0000

A Place of Their Own JFINKELSTEIN@b… Fri, 06/24/2022 - 09:59

BSU's Archives and Special Collections is home to a wide – and surprising – array of items

May 2, 2022

John Winters, G’11

Story Series

Bridgewater Magazine

JFK Letter
Date stamped November 22, 1963, this letter is possibly one of the last things signed by President John F. Kennedy. It was acquired by BSU in 2011, along with a collection of papers belonging to U.S. Representative Hastings Keith, donated by his daughters. The letter is a simple happy birthday greeting to the Brockton-born Republican representative. As such, it is not that valuable for research purposes, but “unique and collectible,” Dr. Kingsley said. Two other JFK letters are also in the general collection.

A letter from President John F. Kennedy dated the morning of his assassination, three Civil War-era rifles, a portion of Seamus Heaney’s papers, original prints of Norman Rockwell’s famous Four Freedoms series, and a large and growing collection highlighting women in American sports are just a few of the thousands of items to be found in 51�Թ��’s Archives and Special Collections.

Housed on the third floor of the Maxwell Library and overseen by Dr. Orson Kingsley, the department’s contents tell the story of the institution, but also touch on people and matters regional, national and even international.

Earliest Class Photographs, 1856-1858
Ambrotypes represent the second generation of photography, following on the heels of the daguerreotype. The earliest portraits of Bridgewater State students were captured in this format. The good news is that a handful of the students are identified; the bad news is that the limitation of ambrotypes means these images are one of kind with no duplication possible.

As head of Archives and Special Collections, Dr. Kingsley wears many hats. Safeguarding the often-delicate items in his charge, procuring materials from donors and ensuring that researchers will want to make use of the vast collection are among his responsibilities. He also creates exhibitions to showcase the department’s belongings.

“I’m trying to create a center here that would be enticing for people to come to for research, beyond our own students and faculty,” he said. He points to the Women in Sports Collection as something that would likely draw future researchers to BSU.

The first dedicated space for the campus archives was in a banker’s vault in the basement of Tillinghast Hall, which was built in 1917. In 1971, a dedicated location for the archives was created in the newly built library, and S. Mabell Bates was named the archivist. The space was increased with the 2007 renovation of the library, and in July 2011, Dr. Kinglsey, a professionally trained archivist, was hired.

As the name of the department indicates, there are two parts to the enterprise. University Archives comprises the institution’s history. This includes curriculum records, past catalogs, school photos, yearbooks, master’s theses, student records and the like.

Tillinghast Cookbook
Dating from 1768, this handwritten cookbook belonged to the family of Nicholas Tillinghast, the institution’s first principal, who served from 1840-1853.

Special Collections takes a wider perspective, and includes hundreds of manuscript collections, including some papers and audio recordings from the poet Seamus Heaney (he visited campus in 1982 and 1990) and rare photos of fellow poet Robert Frost (he visited in 1959).

Also part of this collection are faculty research materials, as well as papers and items connected to local history, such as the papers of local author Louise Dickinson Rich, which draw the occasional researcher. Ms. Rich was well known in her day and earned degrees from Bridgewater State in 1923 and 1931.

Gandhi Letter
This signed letter from Mahatma Gandhi was donated in 2010 by Abraham Thomas, professor emeritus of sociology and anthropology. “It’s one of the items that people like to see,” Dr. Kingsley said.

Donors, including many alumni, provide the lifeblood of Archives and Special Collections. Some have a connection to the university or the area and want their donations to have a safe, permanent home. “People want their items to be where they will be taken care of and where people will see them and be able to make use of them,” Dr. Kingsley said.

It is up to him to create systems to make the vast amount of material easy to find for visiting researchers. And, as a curator of the materials, he can give shape to the collections. “Recently, I’ve been trying to diversify our types of collections, with a focus on the university’s social justice theme,” he said. He is also working to digitize parts of the collection to make them even more widely available, a time-consuming and ongoing process.

Seamus Heaney Nobel Prize
Material Some of the paperwork that accompanied the Irish poet, playwright and translator’s Nobel Prize for Literature, signed by the laureate himself, is part of a growing collection of Irish literature.

Some of the department’s most intriguing items are featured here. And, in future issues of Bridgewater, look for a regular column featuring items from the University Archives.

Women in Sports Collection

Donors Linda Lundin and Kathleen Bertrand, ’70, have made numerous donations to the archives, forming the basis of what is fast becoming a must-see for researchers tracing the history of sports and/or baseball in the United States.

One of the highlights – among many – is a baseball signed by Mildred Ella Didrikson Zaharias, better known as “Babe,” and generally hailed as one of the greatest athletes of all time. Name a sport, and she dominated it, winning two gold medals in the 1932 summer Olympics and later winning 10 major Ladies Professional Golf Association championships. She also played baseball, and in March 1932 during a barnstorming tour, pitched against the Red Sox. The archives is proud to possess a baseball signed by Ms. Didrikson and some of her teammates.

Other items in the Women in Sports Collection include a scrapbook that once belonged to Mary Pratt, who played for the Rockford Peaches, a women’s professional baseball team that played from 1943-1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team was the centerpiece of the 1992 film, A League of Their Own. The scrapbook is notable for its beautifully carved cover, and it contains original photos and news clips about the team.

Also in the collection is a 1940’s baseball uniform worn by Madeline “Maddy” English, who played for the Racine (Wisconsin) Belles from 1943-1950 and was, at 18 years old, one of the youngest among the founding members of the All-American Girls Baseball League. In a single game in 1947, she stole seven bases. The uniform was donated to the University Archives by her niece, Madeline Mitchell.

Civil War-Era Rifle with Bayonet

Because BSU does not have a museum, donated items like this 1863 rifle with bayonet are kept in Archives and Special Collections. This is one of three Civil War-era rifles owned by BSU. The other two date from 1864 and 1870 and do not have bayonets.

They are part of the Lincoln Collection, which grew out of the institution’s relationship with the Lincoln Group of Boston. Three former professors, Thomas Turner, Jean Stonehouse and Jordan Fiore, were members and leaders in the organization. The group’s archives are kept at BSU.

Norman Rockwell Original Prints

It’s hard to imagine work by Norman Rockwell more well-loved than his Four Freedoms series. The archives contains four of these original prints, though their provenance is unknown. Dr. Kingsley shared them with the public in a 2018 exhibition he arranged on campus, The Art of Propaganda: Posters of World War I and II.

Yes

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More Than Book Smart

BBENSON@bridgew.edu — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 15:05:13 +0000

More Than Book Smart BBENSON@bridgew.edu Wed, 11/03/2021 - 11:05

New library dean leads BSU in digital era

November 4, 2021

Brian Benson

In an age where information is literally at one’s fingertips, Maxwell Library remains an essential part of 51�Թ��, fulfilling a role the library’s new leader knows far exceeds that of a book repository.

“One of the things we often come up against is the long-held, culturally instilled belief of what a library is,” said Kevin Kidd, who recently became the institution’s first dean of Maxwell Library. “People still think of libraries as (places for) books in a very traditional way. There is so much more we do now.”

No longer limited to just working with the physical books on shelves, librarians’ expert guidance these days helps patrons sift through seemingly limitless volumes of studies and articles to find what they need for an assignment or project. They also partner with faculty on research, organize events, participate in curriculum development, and teach students how to conduct research, Kidd said.

Kidd, who discovered a passion for libraries in graduate school, began his career as the internet was rapidly changing the nature of research. With a background in library technology, he most recently led the Schumann Library & Learning Commons at Wentworth Institute of Technology.

“I think libraries are really central to the mission of any university,” said Kidd, who brings experience designing software and systems. “Everything you do in a library now is mediated by technology.”

This perhaps became most apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the BSU community largely learned and worked remotely. Librarians supported research by answering phone calls, emails, texts, and online chat messages. They connected patrons to video tutorials and curated web-based subject guides.

Kidd’s involvement with libraries extends into his Easton community, where he serves on the board of Ames Free Library. He is excited to now work at another institution serving the region.

“I liked the community aspect and feeling like I was going to work in the neighborhood,” Kidd said.

He also looks forward to supporting BSU’s renowned undergraduate research program.

“We’re not trying to sell some product to somebody,” Kidd said. “We’re really trying to help people become truly educated. I believe in that mission.”

Do you have a BSU story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu.

We’re really trying to help people become truly educated. I believe in that mission.

Kevin Kidd, Maxwell Library dean

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Photo by Luis Pires, '23