Archives & Special Collections, UAA/APU Consortium Library

Of the various projects this week: it's time to flatten this 1944 report with photos glued to the pages: the photos have rolled up and this isn't very good for viewing it or storing it.

How do we do that without cracking/damaging the emulsion on the photographs? We build a humidification chamber. Does that sound complicated? It doesn't have to be. A container with a little bit of water, a baking rack that sits well above the surface of the water, and a plastic bag to fit over the top of the whole thing. These pages with two photos are taking about 45 minutes to relax and pages with one page only take about 15 minutes. Then we place it on a flat surface with non-reactive weights on it until the humidity in the document stabilizes to the room's ambient RH and the item stays flat.

That's really summarized, but it's amazing what some inexpensive supplies can do and how quickly this process can happen with not a ton of labor time. If you'd like to look at the National Park Service's great instructions on how to do this with a lot more information than we've given you, you can find that resource here: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/conserve-o-gram-13-2-flatten-folded-rolled-paper.htm

We have some thanks to give! Due to the amazing and time-consuming work put in by a couple of Archives volunteers, we now have full text transcriptions to all the Ruben Gaines audio recordings we've digitized and placed on the Alaska's Digital Archives.

Thanks to Alice Cone and Robin Hanson who between them transcribed 222 (!) individual recordings, those transcripts are in the description of the items on the Digital Archives. If you'd like to listen or read some them, either because you're a Ruben Gaines fan or just want to admire the sheer hard work that went into this project, all of them are online at: https://vilda.alaska.edu/digital/search/searchterm/sound!uaa-hmc-0110/field/type!all/mode/exact!all/conn/and!all

Whether your siblings are the ones you were born with or the ones you have chosen, we wish you the best on

Two members of the 11th Weather Squadron, identified as Jim Blackwell (left) and "F.X." Kenny (right) pose with, a cat identified as "Kodiak" and a puppy, identified as "Stratus." Kodiak and Stratus were the squadron's pets on Annette Island. For more information about the photo: https://vilda.alaska.edu/digital/collection/cdmg13/id/27627/rec/36

Sometimes wonderful things come in little packages!

This mailer arrived this morning with a collection of black and white photos from a civilian worker documenting construction of a section of the Alaska Highway.

We're so thankful to our donors who care for the precious documentary heritage of Alaska created by their family and friends and then gift these one-of-a-kind materials to us so we can preserve them and provide access to them.

The guide to this particular collection will be up on our website soon, but in the meantime, if you're curious about the collections we have related to either the military or civilian Alaska Highway construction, we have a guide to our collections that contain materials related to it. https://libguides.consortiumlibrary.org/ASChighwayconstructioncollections

Participating in the Campbell Creek Science Center's celebration of the National Historic Iditarod Trail and the ceremonial start of the Iditarod on Saturday was great fun! We met a lot of people, were able to share historic photos from along the trail's route and from the race itself. We also encouraged people to write down their dog names and will add those sheets to the Archives collection.

So many great names! And thanks to all the kiddos who added their artistic skills to the mix. Especially since this archivist had to look up how to draw a stick figure dog.

We're celebrating the Iditarod Ceremonial Start! We're excited to have been invited to have a table at the Campbell Creek Science Center on Saturday, March 7 from 10-2. Come see the mushers as they arrive and find out more about mushing in Alaska, public lands, and the Iditarod National Historic Trail from all of the orgs who will be there!

It may be Groundhog Day but we think this hoary marmot at Denali National Park is way more deserving of the spotlight.

From the Loren Taft photographs, August 1997.

Since we don’t have fabulous outfits like these, we’re staying home today. Be safe on the roads please!

The Consortium Library is closed today due to unsafe road conditions. Monday is a holiday, so weather permitting, we’ll be back in office on Tuesday. If you need to reach us, best bet is to email us through the Contact Us form on our website which we’ll be checking. https://archives.consortiumlibrary.org

Photo from the Randy Brandon photographs. For more info about it: https://vilda.alaska.edu/digital/collection/cdmg13/id/22163/rec/27

We don’t get a ton of holiday cards here in the Archives but even if we did, this would still be special. How often do you see a hard hat on an ornament? We’re loving the holiday card sent to us by the construction crew working on our new space. Thanks guys! You’ve been great!

Edit as of 9:30 am: we're back up! Phones and internet are working.

We’re without telephone and internet in our section of the building this morning. You should still be able to call, email, or use our webform, but we might not be able to respond until we get back online. Fingers crossed the delay is brief!

Photo from the Bill Bacon photograph files.