When we started this blog way back in 2011, we never could have guessed just how far it would go. From that first post about our “War of the Rebellion Atlas” maps being used by the U.S. Marine Corps to our coverage of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, the hidden stories in our archival…
Author: Eric Ames
Assistant Director for Marketing & Communication, Libraries and ITS and adjunct lecturer in Department of Museum Studies, Baylor University.
Celebrating the life of Rev. Clay Evans of Chicago, Illinois (1925-2019)
The world lost a titan in the field of African-American religion on November 27 when the Rev. Clay Evans passed away at the age of 94 in his home city of Chicago. Evans was the founder and long-serving pastor of the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church and an accomplished recording artist and songwriter. The Baylor Libraries’…
Celebrating Aretha Franklin
The passing of legendary artist Aretha Franklin has elicited an outpouring of praise from around the world, including in both mainstream and music-centered journalism outlets. Everyone from Rolling Stone to Pitchfork, the Detroit Free Press and Waco’s own Tribune-Herald have paid tribute to the “Queen of Soul” since her death from pancreatic cancer last week…
Visions of Rapture 2018: The Online Exhibit
The third annual Visions of Rapture exhibit celebrates the music from Baylor’s Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, specifically the 45 rpm discs that were released without cover art during their original pressings. Working with students in Prof. Andrew Baker’s ART 3333 course on Type and Design, the project showcases their visions of what cover art…
Remembering the West Explosion, Five Years Later (Classic Post)
On April 17, 2013, the course of history for the town of West, TX was changed forever. The following day, we wrote a brief blog post on the nature of recovery, perseverance and the fleeting nature of memory, data and life in general. Today, on the fifth anniversary of that devastating day, we are reposting…
State of the Union for the State of the Art: An Update from the Riley Digitization Center
They say life has only two constants: death and taxes. But sometimes “They” forget to add the other immutable law of the universe: change. In any system, there is no such thing as complete static, total immobility, immutability. There’s always some change at work, even if it’s on a molecular level, and given enough time,…
A Second Helping of Thanksgiving Gratitude Courtesy Rev. Selsus E. Tull
Anyone can post an article about Thanksgiving the week of; what would happen if you got another chance to think about gratitude, thanksgiving and spirituality the week after? To find out, read this guest post by Professional Writing senior Will Overton on the theme of thanksgiving throughout the sermons of Rev. Selsus E. Tull. A…
Illustrating a Milestone: 50 Spencer Sheet Music Covers for 50 Percent Online
This blog post was written by Baylor Libraries intern Will Overton. Will is a senior professional writing major from Dickinson, TX working in the Office of Marketing Communication for the Libraries and ITS. Music has been a part of American culture since the Colonies were founded hundreds of years ago. Many examples of American sheet…
Read All About It: Waco Historic Newspapers Digital Collection Launches
Waco’s renaissance as a national name – due largely thanks to our resident “Fixer Uppers” Chip and Joanna Gaines – has done much to elevate the city’s name and reputation in the eyes of a national audience. But for the local audience of the late 1800s and early 1900s, if you wanted to read about…
Feeding an Elephant, One Book at a Time: Supporting the Hathi Trust Digital Library
Modern researchers rely on access to information in a manner that was unthinkable less than a generation ago: the Internet, with its light-speed connection to all the resources of the world’s libraries, archives and cultural heritage institutions. But even with the explosive growth in digital collections there remains an untold number of books and other…
Contributing to the Social Welfare History Image Portal at Virginia Commonwealth University
The Frances G. Spencer Collection of American Popular Sheet Music is many things: big, colorful, historically significant and occasionally eye-opening in its imagery and lyrics. And as of this week, you can add another descriptor: a supporter of a project sponsored by the Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries. The opportunity to support the Social Welfare History…
Our Summer With Gabby: Hosting a Waco ISD Summer Intern
Fans of our Facebook page may recall seeing this photo at the start of the summer: This fresh-faced young lady is Gabriella “Gabby” Hernandez, a rising senior at Waco ISD’s University High School (home of the Trojans) and our 2017 Prosper Waco summer intern here at the Baylor University Libraries! Gabby spent 80 hours with…