From the vaults -- past events and exhibits at Hoole

This time of year brings to mind some cool film screenings we did in 2001, 2002, and 2003 at the Bama Theater in downtown Tuscaloosa right around Halloween.

In 2001, we screened the 1956 film The Bad Seed, which was based on the creepy novel by William March -- whose papers are at Hoole! In 2002, we screened the 1967 film, In Cold Blood, which was based on Truman Capote's stellar book on a quadruple homicide in rural Kansas -- which he researched with his childhood friend and fellow Monroeville, Alabamian, Harper Lee. In 2003, we screened the 1955 semidocumentary film, The Phenix City Story, which was shot in Phenix City not long after the crime took place that was the subject of the film. All three films were introduced by scholars from UA and beyond that added an interesting and unique perspective to the film itself. To read about the events and exhibits that the Hoole Library has done in the past several years, visit http://www.lib.ua.edu/libraries/hoole/happenings/pastexhibitions.htm

And tune in next year... it may be time again for another cool and creepy film event!

Corolla Digital Initative

Imagine over 100 years of The University of Alabama's yearbook, the Corolla, fully searchable and accessible with the click of a mouse! The UA Libraries have launched a project that will do just that --the Corolla Digital Initiative. Yearbooks are a source of history, humor and nostalgia, and are used by scholars interested in the history and culture of higher education.

We are using this as an opportunity to allow alums, groups of alums, individuals, and others interested in the project to sponsor the digitization of a Corolla in honor of a family member or friend, or just because! For more information about the project visit the Corolla Digital Initiative page, and to see what we've done so far, click here. To sponsor a Corolla, contact Jody DeRidder at jlderidder@ua.edu or 205.348.0511.

October is Archives Month!

Celebrate Archives Month in Alabama! Alabama has joined in the nationwide celebration of Archives Month. The poster was designed by Jessica Lacher-Feldman using images from several repositories statewide. To download a pdf of the official Alabama Archives Month poster, visit the Society of Alabama Archivists (SALA) website at http://www.alarchivists.org and visit the section on Archives month for more information, including a statewide calendar of events. The Society of Alabama Archivists' annual meeting is also held in October and will take place next week, October 25-26 at Troy University Dothan in Dothan, Alabama.

Hear Hair Here! Hairdos and Hair Don'ts from the Hoole Library's Sound Recording Collections

Please visit the Hoole Library and check out some of the biggest and wildest hair in the music industry. We were looking for a little levity, and found some in the incredible album covers in our collections. Most of the covers come from the Wade Hall Sound recording collections, and others from the Ed Hall collection (no relation!). The most difficult part was selecting from the thousands of sound recordings we hold at the library. Among the categories featured are "The Pantheon", "Just for Men", and "The Higher the Hair, the closer to God". The exhibit will be in the Hoole Library lobby through the Fall 2007 semester.

Welcome to What's Cool @ Hoole!

We hope that the Cool@Hoole blog will serve to several purposes -- to show off and highlight new items, to tie into exciting events, exhibits, happenings, initiatives, and news about the library, and to serve as a venue and forum for questions and to build a greater understanding of the who, what, when, where, and why of the special collections library!

Here is a detail of the Tiffany stained glass window you will see upon entering our library. It was installed permanently in our building, Mary Harmon Bryant Hall, in 1993. Donated by the Alabama UDC in 1926, it is a signed Tiffany window featuring several elements that Tiffany developed including confetti glass (as seen in the hydrangeas behind the knight). An excellent article on the window was published by Alabama Heritage.