New Digital Program Specialist at WSSU - Olivia Carteaux

This past June, the WSSU Archives was fortunate to be awarded a  LSTA grant through the State of North Carolina. The grant will fund a project to digitize and make available the entirety of the WSSU University Photograph Collection. A major part of this process will be creating original metadata to make the images searchable. Olivia will be responsible for creating the metadata for the project. Below is a brief message from Olivia introducing herself.

Hello, my name is Olivia Carteaux and I am the new Digital Program Specialist in Library Services at the WSSU Archives. I've been in NC since 1998, and in Greensboro since 2009, recently graduating with my MLIS from UNCG in 2014. I have worked in an audiovisual archive and have done some work with manuscripts, and look forward to adding photographs to the list, and learning about WSSU and Winston-Salem in the process sounds pretty all around fantastic to me. Aside from archives, non-commercial radio is my passion (I was GM of WUAG in Greensboro for 2 years), so I am also looking forward to getting acquainted with WSNC 90.1 FM.


Stay posted from updates on the project as we will be asking for the public's help in identifying many of the images that we are digitizing.

Larry Little: NC Black Panther Legacy

Please help us celebrate the donation of the Larry Little Manuscript Collection

to the Winston-Salem State University Archives

This reception is open to everyone.

For more information please call

Tom Flynn at 336-750-2426

or email to flynnth@wssu.edu

Personal Library of Dr. Simon G. Atkins

"A little library, growing larger every year, is an honorable part of a man's history. It is a man's duty to have books. A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries of life,” wrote abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher. Dr. Simon Green Atkins, educator, religious leader, community developer and founder of Slater Industrial Academy, now Winston-Salem State University, understood Beecher’s philosophy. Dr. Atkins managed to amass nearly 500 books over his 71 year lifespan.

The Simon Green Atkins Book Collection contains poetry by Virgil, edition of Carter G. Woodson’s The Journal of Negro History, and guides to understanding government and laws.

A complete bibliography of the personal library of the Atkins Family will be made available in the coming weeks.

Post written by Harvey Long.

2012 C.G. O'Kelly Friends of the Library - "Friends and Stars"

The date is quickly approaching as the WSSU C.G. O'Kelly Friends of the Library prepare for the annual Friends of the Library Dinner.  This year the theme is "Friends and Stars", and will include music, song, poetry, and dance.  The festivities will be held on Friday November 2nd at 6:30pm at the Greek Orthodox Fellowship Hall in Winston-Salem.

For Tickets please call 336-750-2442 or email washingtontl@wssu.edu

For more information please view the following promotional videos created by the staff of the C.G. O'Kelly Media Team.

Promo 1
Promo 2
Promo 3

WSSU Archives Presents the new James A. Gray Lecture Series Website

The Winston-Salem State University Archives would like to present the new James A. Gray Lecture Series site as a part of the Archives' Digital Library. Each speaker has a set of photographs, videos clips, a program or brochure from their specific engagement. The site itself can be searched by name, year and soon by a drop box to find a particular speaker.


The James A. Gray Lecture Series is a lecture series which brings in outstanding speakers from academia, public life and theology scholars to discuss topics such as gender and spirituality, the African-American family and the younger generations living spiritually in a secular society. These discussions and lectures have brought great conversation and ideas to contemplate to the campus of Winston-Salem State University since 1992 until today through an endowment from James A. Gray and we present them to you in our new digital library.

James A. Gray Lecture Series Collection

WSSU Building Exhibit and Digital Collection

The WSSU Archives is currently running an exhibit on the history of the WSSU Campus.  On display are some of the material from the first buildings on campus as well as a streaming photograph display.  This exhibit is running in conjunction with the newest collection added to the Digital Library.

The WSSU Building Collection contains the groundbreaking and building dedication programs.  These programs talk about the naming as well as the events surrounding the dedication or groundbreaking ceremonies.

Two Collections Added to the WSSU Digital Library

Two more collections were recently added to the Digital Library.  The first collection added is the WSSU Published, "Journal of Best Practices in Health Professions Diversity".  This journal is produced by the the WSSU School of Health Sciences and there are currently 4 issues available online.  More issues are being scanned and will be available in the near future.

The second collection added is the student created newspaper, the "News Argus".  The Archives has made available every issue currently in their holdings.  The run covers the years 1962-2011 and is text searchable.  The Archives would like to thank the staff at the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center for scanning the "News Argus" as well as the Yearbooks.  Both collections wouldn't have been available as fast as they were if it weren't for their great work.

WSSU Archives Launches its digital collections in the new Digital Library

After months of scanning, uploading, and adding metadata, the WSSU Archives has finally launched its new Digital Library.  Using cloud technology, the Digital Library allows the Archives to share documents, photographs, and movies.  Attached to each image, movie, or document are metadata fields describing the collection it came from as well as the item itself.  Keywords were added so that the items are searchable within the collections level.

The first three collections available on our new Digital Library are: The WSSU Yearbooks, Commencement Programs, and Teaching Portfolios.

The Yearbook collection was scanned and made text searchable by the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center.  The Yearbooks cover the years of 1935-2010.

The Commencements Programs (1926-2007) list the names of graduates as well as any award winners for that graduation year.

The Teaching Portfolios are a collection of WSSU Faculty portfolios that were submitted for many of the teaching and service awards available at the university and within North Carolina.

Please visit the newly uploaded collections and feel free to leave a comment here or at the Digital Library with your thoughts and ideas.  Thank you and keep an eye out for our next collection to be uploaded.  The next collection will be the student newspaper The News Argus.

Preservation Week 2011

Sunday marked the beginning of the 2011 Preservation Week.  This year preservation week runs from 4/24/2011 until Saturday 4/30/2011.  The WSSU Archives would like to welcome any questions or comments regarding the preservation of material.  Below is a link to this years events and poster provided by the Society of American Archivists.

SAA Preservation Week Events
SAA Preservation Week Poster

Exhibit: Mr. Ram and Miss WSSU

Here is the official advertisement for the current display in the Archives.  Photographs and ephemera documenting the history of the Mr. Ram and Miss WSSU on campus will be shown in the Archives through the end of the spring semester.

WSSU Archives Website Updated

Over the past couple of months there have been several changes that occurred to the WSSU Archives Homepage.  I welcome you to visit the new website and encourage any suggestions for it.  WSSU Archives

The biggest change was to the Manuscript Collection.  The new title of the link is University Records & Manuscript Collection.  The Archives holdings are divided into three headings: University Records, Manuscript Collections, and Photograph Collections.  Each of the three sections contains some updated finding aids or new collections that were recently processed.  Below are a list of the most recent updates.

University Records:
RG 1.2 - Simon G. Atkins Collection  Although the finding aid is the same, it is the first use of Archivists' Toolkit by the WSSU Archives.  We are continuing to populate Archivists' Toolkit and look to move as many of our finding aids over to the software.

RG 1.2 - Francis L. Atkins Collection

Manuscript Collections:
MC 2 - C.E. Gaines/Clint Johnson Collection  This collection contains material related to their work on the book "They Call me Big House"

Photograph Collections:
Two different photograph collections were created.  One contains photographs related to the coaching and athletic directing career of C.E. Gaines.  The second one contains general photographs of the and for WSSU.
RG 8.1 - C.E. Gaines Photograph Collection
RG 8.2 - General Photograph Collection

Camera 'Flash' Back

I couldn't resist with the title.  The other day while taking photographs of the Archives to document some of the changes that have occurred, we thought it would be fun to photograph some of the cameras from our collection.  Although I doubt any of the cameras still work, it was interesting looking at the digital camera we were using and realizing that it will, one day, be obsolete like the cameras we were photographing.  Here are a couple of shot taken of the WSSU Camera Collection.

"Mr. Ram & Miss WSSU: a visual history"

The Archives is proud to announce the completion of its latest exhibit, "Mr. Ram & Miss WSSU: a visual history."  As the time quickly approaches for the election of the new Mr. Ram and Miss WSSU, the Archives wanted to show a glimpse into the history of the competition.  The exhibit contains several photographs documenting events in the process of electing Mr. Ram and Miss WSSU, including coronation ceremonies and presentations at football games.  The photographs range in date from 1945-1991.  Also incorporated into the exhibit is the 1935 WSTC yearbook open to the photo of Miss WSTC 1935, Hazel Bingham.  The exhibit shows some WSSU memorabilia as well as the October 1965 News Argus article about the Miss WSSU winner.

Below is an image from the exhibit of Miss WSSU 1971-1972.

Basketball Legacy Weekend Leads to Mass Photo Identification Project

On the weekend of January 21st and 22nd, WSSU honored several of its alumni basketball players during “Basketball Legacy Weekend”. On Friday the 21st, the Department of Athletics held a legacy basketball game. The WSSU Archives took the opportunity to set up a photo identification table in the lobby of the Gaines Center.


As the C.E. Gaines collection is being re-processed, it became apparent that many of the images in the collection were unidentified. These images were scanned and printed on paper and included in a binder based on the type of image it was. The images were broken down into six categories. The images fit into one of the following categories, Male or Female and then Action Shots, Individual Portraits, and Team Shots.

The copies of the images were then brought to the legacy game to allow students, staff, families, and former players to view. They were asked to identify, on the images, any information they could remember, whether it be a date, player, or game. The identifications are now being verified by the WSSU Archives using yearbooks and other material.

The process was a great success and as a result we now have a collection of images that are largely identified.

Below is an example of the success of the project. Thanks to the help of several former players, we were able to identify all three WSSU players in the photo quickly and efficiently.

Sunny Riggell (#13), Joe Cunningham (#25), and Willis Bennett (#45)

Snowy View of Old Atkins Hall c.1975

Due to the weather calling for snow in the Winston Salem area today and tomorrow, I thought it might be nice to post an image of WSSU during a previous snow storm.  The photo below is a view of Old Atkins Hall c.1975.  Old Atkins Hall was built in 1915 and served as a dormitory for women.  For more on the building please follow the link below the photograph.

History of Old Atkins Hall

I-pad Aids Preservation

The WSSU Archives is working on a project to assist with both access and preservation of documents related to the early history of the University. This project entails the careful scanning of documents that are in danger of deterioration. These documents were scanned and attached to a metadata form so that the context of the document is not lost. These scans are then uploaded to the Archives I-pad so that researchers can still gain access to them without risking any further damage. The documents are still housed with the rest of the collection but are secluded for preservation. The metadata form was printed and included where the document was so that a researcher knows about the shift and we maintain original order. The goal of the project is to continue the preservation of the collection but also maintain a high level of access to the records.

Below is an example of the finished product.

Maya Angelou Collection Headed to the Schomburg Center in Harlem, NY

Maya Angelou’s papers were acquired by the Schomburg Center in Harlem, NY. Maya Angelou who has been a frequent speaker on the WSSU campus was a part of a deal that will send the large collection to Harlem, NY. For more details on the contents of the collection please read the NY Times article linked below.

Schomburg Center Acquires Maya Angelou Archive

UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching

As the time approaches for Professors to submit their portfolios for a chance to win this prestigious award, I thought it would be nice to present a list of past winners of the award.

Each year, since 1995, the UNC System presents an Award for Excellence in Teaching to a professor from each of the member institutions. Below is the list of previous winners from WSSU

2010 – Janice Witt Smith
2009 – Edwin D. Bell
2008 – Dennis Felder
2007 – Irene Phillips
2006 – Cassaundra M. El-Amin
2005 – Francine Giles Madrey
2004 – Himanshu Gopalan
2003 – Gloria King Clark
2002 – Nelson Adams
2001 – Donald MacThompson
2000 – Shirley F. Manigault
1999 – Michael A. Brookshaw
1998 – Adnee M. Bradford
1997 – Ike Ambrose Okonta
1996 – Mary E. Clancy
1995 – Elwanda Delores Ingram