Image October is Archives Month in the United States, and what better way to celebrate than with a new exhibit?

Upon helping a researcher based in Shelter Island, New York, last month, I had to peruse the Institute Archives’ expansive Horsford collection, which I hadn’t done before. Among fun items, such as colonial currency dated to 1775, an 1839 newspaper story of a young girl becoming a pirate, and a lady throwing a summer party in the Roaring Twenties, where attendees had to dress up as Colonial Quakers, something else caught my eye: wax seals.

Our second post in honor of Women’s History Month explores and celebrates the countless achievements of women throughout the Rensselaer community over the past several decades.

For the month of March, in honor of Women's history, the Institute Archives and Special Collections celebrates the history of women at Rensselaer. This post highlights Those Who Led the Way and covers 1834 through the 1980's. At the end of March we’ll highlight the countless achievements of women (faculty, staff, students, alumnae) from the 1900s to the present.  

This year has been quite different, and so is this post. Late December usually finds us digging deep into the collections to share some witty holiday cheer, and tangible reminders of the past at Dear Old RPI.

Earlier this week my colleague Jenifer posted about emerging technologies in archives.  In keeping with the themes promoted for International Archives Week, this post will focus on our efforts to preserve digital content in the Institute Archives and why it’s so important.

This week is International Archives Week. Around the globe archivists are celebrating how they Empower Knowledge Societies! In keeping with the celebration, I’d like to first share what we do, who we serve, and how.

With all that’s going on during the worldwide corona virus era, it can be challenging to think long term.  But that’s what archivists do, and this pandemic is no different.  So I’d like to take this opportunity to share information about an annual national event called Preservation Week.  Why am I writing about this to our blog readers?  Because YOU can get involved!

The ’87 Gymnasium was dedicated in June 1912. Planning for the new facility went back a couple of years earlier to 1910 when a Board of Trustees committee was established to investigate the feasibility of developing a department of physical culture at the Institute. The committee concluded that a completely equipped modern gymnasium was necessary if such a department was to be established.