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Libraries, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, Special Collections and Archives

Victor O’Malley scrapbook, 1918 – 1920

Recently, the University of St. Thomas Archives was given a scrapbook compiled by St. Thomas Military Academy (STMA) graduate, Victor O’Malley.  A native of Waunakee, WI, Victor attended STMA from 1918 to 1920, his junior and senior years in high school.  During his time at there, he was a member of the academy football team and the Cauirdhe na H-Eireann (Friends of Ireland) club.

STMA students with cannon

Victor O’Malley (left) and friend stand next to Foley Theater

His scrapbook gives us a unique view into student life on the College of St. Thomas campus of the time. He collected programs, ticket stubs, soda fountain menus and other memorabilia documenting how he spent his time outside of the classroom.

ROTC pennant Play ad

I’ve been especially intrigued by some of the photos of the neighborhood around campus which are included in the scrapbook.  While the streetcar line no longer runs along Selby Avenue, several of the houses and buildings are still standing in the neighborhood.

Selby-lake street care STMA student at grocery store

(left ) Selby-Lake streetcar near the St. Thomas campus

(right ) Store near the corner of Dayton and Cleveland Avenues

For another of view of campus on from the same time period, you can view the short film “A Day at St. Thomas” on YouTube.

 

Archbishop Ireland Library, Kudos, News & Events, Science, Special Collections and Archives

Chemistry Department & Libraries Work Together to Preserve Books

More Books with Spew

We all know that UST Libraries have a wonderful collection of rare and archival materials. Sometimes, however, taking care of so many old books can be a challenge, especially when they are discovered to be growing things they’re not supposed to. Who knew that we had a real-world chemistry problem sitting right here on campus!? 

Books with SpewBooks with SpewWhen Mr Curt Le May, Director of the Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library, approached the Chemistry department for help in identifying white film forming on the surface of leather bound 300-year-old books, Meghan Talbot, chemistry major and a research student under Dr. Marites Guino-o, was glad to help.

Meghan Talbot

Meghan collected the white film/powder by using a spatula and carefully scraping off the residue found on the surface of the leather bound book, “Histoire des variations des églises protestantes.”  Through a combination of three characterization techniques (FTIR, Mass and NMR spectroscopy), she deduced that the white film/powder is a spew (or speu). A spew is a combination of carboxylic acids that originated from the leather itself, and leather dressing used to increase the leather’s preservation and flexibility.

“Being able to work on a project such as this was a great honor. It was a very interesting experience to be able to work with a book that was evidence of a time in which I had learned about in previous history classes. I am glad that the work that I was able to do has the ability to help the library preserve books, such as this one, as they are such a crucial connection to our past.” ~Meghan Talbot

We at the library are grateful to Meghan for helping us find out what the white substance was, so we could find a way to safely remove it and keep these books for future Tommies. Cooperation across the campus can certainly be a great thing!  

Kudos, Libraries, News & Events

Welcome, Dr. Sullivan!

We at UST Libraries are excited to welcome our President-Elect and share with her our tradition as “the intellectual and technological crossroads of information resources, teaching, and learning at UST.” 

To get started, here are some highlights we hope Dr. Sullivan will find helpful and interesting as she transitions into her new position (and that we thought you library-lovers out there might like to check out, too!):

Our Newly-Designed Website and Online ResourcesNew site screenshot

Providing easy-to-use mini research portals to through our Google-like Summon search engine, catalog, research Subject Guides, and more.  Read more about it here.

Great Scholarship

USTRO

UST Research Online, our online reseach repository, is a wonderful place to familiarize yourself with the work being done by faculty and students

Virtual Tours and Histories of  St Thomasarchive_photos 

University Archives Photograph Collection contains a fascinating array of images related to the school’s history

Historic Walking Tour of the Saint Paul campus is a great way to get oriented with the history of the campus – can you find the pictures of Lake Mennith?

Written Histories of St. Thomas and the Saint Paul Seminary:

stpaul academyThere have been many books written about UST.  Here are two of the most popular:  

More can be found in the University Archives.  

 

*For more information about our President-Elect, Dr Julie Sullivan, please visit the St Thomas Newsroom.