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IDA Project Highlights: Labor Day
September 3rd, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

September 7, 2009 is Labor Day. For me it has always been the sure sign that summer is over. But have you ever stopped to consider the true meaning of this holiday? According to the U. S. Department of Labor website, “Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

First celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City, the holiday was not celebrated on the first Monday in September until 1884. The idea of a “workingman’s holiday’ grew with the development of labor unions and by 1894 twenty-nine states had adopted the holiday.

Some highlights of labor history in Illinois:

(Source: Chronology of Illinois Labor History: UIUC) http://www.library.illinois.edu/irx/chronology.htm

March 1867 – an act making eight hours a legal day’s work was passed.

May 4, 1886 – Haymarket protest meeting at which a bomb was thrown, killing 8 police officers and wounding about 65 other persons.

1894 – The Pullman strike

Workers at Pullman Car Company strike over wage cuts. American Railway Union called general railroad strike in sympathy. President Cleveland sent federal troops to Chicago in defiance of Governor Altgeld.

November 1905 – The Industrial Workers of the World was founded in Chicago.

1909 – Ten hour day law for women passed.

1929 – Children required to complete elementary grades before going to work.

1943 – Equal Pay for Women Act passed.

IDA collections with labor history materials:

Pullman State Historic Site

Southeast Chicago Historical Society

More information on Labor Day and Labor in Illinois:

Websites:

The History of Labor Day – U.S. Department of Labor

http://www.dol.gov/OPA/ABOUTDOL/LABORDAY.HTM

Labor Day Information and Resources: USA.gov

http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Labor_Day.shtml

Labor Day: History.com

http://www.history.com/content/laborday

(Includes a picture gallery and videos)

Oral History Project in Labor History: Roosevelt University

http://www2.roosevelt.edu/library/oralhistory/oralhistory.htm

Illinois Labor History Society

http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/

Chronology – Illinois Labor History

http://www.library.illinois.edu/irx/chronology.htm

Bibliography:

Matejka, Michael G. Fiery struggle : Illinois fire fighters build a union, 1901-1985. Chicago : Illinois Labor History Society, c2002.

Newton-Matza, Mitchell. Intelligent and honest radicals: the Chicago Federation of Labor and the Illinois legal system, 1919-1933. Thesis/Dissertation: Thesis (Ph. D.–Hist.)–Catholic University of America, 1999.

Orear, Les, and Orear, Linn. Chicago’s packinghouse workers: their story. Chicago, IL: Illinois Labor History Society, c2004.

Scipes, Steven R. “Kim”. Trade union development and racial oppression in Chicago’s steel and meatpacking industries, 1933-1955. Thesis/Dissertation: Thesis (Ph. D.)–University of Illinois at Chicago, 2003.

Stein, R. Conrad. The Pullman strike and the labor movement in American history. Series: In American history. Berkeley Heights, NJ, USA : Enslow Publishers, c2001.
Digital Projects
IDA Project Highlights: Dr. Alice Hamilton
August 17th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

“Living in a working-class quarter, coming in contact with laborers and their wives, I could not fail to hear tales of the dangers that workingmen faced. . . .” – Alice Hamilton

In 1909 occupational diseases were a growing concern. The preliminary investigations of the Commission on Occupational Diseases found that workers in occupations as varied as the metal industries, mining, leatherworks, mills and bakeries, woodworking, distilleries and others were exposed to working conditions and toxic substances that all had a damaging effect on their health. The members of the Commission reported “It is well known that much of the sickness and mortality now caused by various trades are not fated or necessary. Much of the evil can be prevented or mitigated by methods already known to science and embodied in the best regulations and laws….We do well to conserve the force of steam and mine, but the health and vigor of our people deserve much more attention and care.” Governor Deneen agreed that this important work had only just begun and asked for appropriations to continue the work of the Commission.

This report discusses the branches of industry in which “conditions deleterious to the health of the workers has been found to prevail”. It outlines some of the dangers to which workmen were exposed and offers suggestions for improvement of those conditions and led to the 1911 report.

The 1911 Report contains the findings of the Commission, after an investigation that lasted a little over nine months. The list of industrial poisons that workers were exposed to is quite extensive. While the report is quite eye-opening, one of the Commission members, Dr. Alice Hamilton, was a historic figure of great interest.

Dr. Alice Hamilton (1869-1970), physician, social reformer and a pioneer in the field of industrial toxicology in the United States was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on February 27, 1869. Her sister was the well-known classics scholar and author Edith Hamilton. In 1893 she received her medical degree from the University of Michigan. Following internships in Minneapolis and Boston she did post-doctoral work at the Universities of Munich and Leipzig in Germany, at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, and at John Hopkins University in Baltimore. She was appointed professor of pathology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 1897.

In 1902 she accepted a position as bacteriologist at the Memorial Institute for Infectious Diseases in Chicago. During the typhoid fever epidemic in Chicago that same year when she made a connection between improper disposal of sewage and the role of flies in transmitting the disease her findings led to a reorganization of the Chicago Health Department. Dr. Hamilton became director of the Occupational Disease Commission when Governor Charles Deneen created it in 1910. She noted the health problems of many of the immigrant poor workers were due to the unsafe conditions to which they were exposed while working. With no laws regulating safety at work, employers routinely fired ill workers and replaced them with new ones. The Occupational Disease Commission was the first commission of its type in the world and led to several workers’ compensation laws being passed in Illinois. This important report contains the findings of the Commission.

Dr. Hamilton lived and worked for nearly a decade Chicago’s Hull House (a settlement house in the middle of Chicago’s working class slums, where social activists lived and worked for progressive causes). Her friendship there with reformer Jane Addams sparked her interest in what was then called “occupational disease”. Focusing her scientific research skills on industrial diseases, she became a special investigator for the United States Bureau of Labor in 1911. By 1916 she had become a leading American authority on lead poisoning and one of the handful of worldwide specialists on industrial diseases. Her reports on lead, and later on rubber and munitions, led to improved safety standards nationwide.

She went on to become the first woman on the faculty of Harvard University in 1919 and later its first professor of public health. During the course of her long career, Hamilton published numerous studies on industrial toxicology, several books, and an autobiography.

Alice Hamilton died on September 22, 1970, in Hadlyme, Connecticut.

Image: Alice Hamilton during her first year at harvard, 1919.

Image Source:The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University

For more information about Dr. Alice Hamilton:

Websites:

Video from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Alice Hamilton and the Development of Occupational Medicine

Alice Hamilton Collection: An inventory of the collection at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Alice Hamilton, M.D.

Alice Hamilton (1869-1970), Physician, Public Health reformer

Changing the face of Medicine: Biography: Dr. Alice Hamilton

Chemical Achievers: The Human Face of the Chemical Sciences: Alice Hamilton

Pashaei, Fatima. “Remembering Alice Hamilton.” Job Safety and Health Quarterly (JSHQ) volume 13, no. 3, Spring 2002

Women in Chemistry: Alice Hamilton

Bibliography:

Hamilton A. Exploring the dangerous trades: the autobiography of Alice Hamilton, MD. Boston: Little, Brown, 1943.

Sicherman, Barbara. Alice Hamilton. Alice Hamilton: A Life in Letters. Harvard University Press, 1984. Second publishing- University of Illinois Press, 2003.

Governor’s Special Message Transmitting the Report of the Commission on Occupational Diseases, April 1909

Report of Commission on Occupational Diseases to His Excellency Governor Charles Deneen, 1911
Digital Projects
IDA Featured Project: The Illinois Blue Book
August 7th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

Part of the Illinois State Library’s digitization project, The Illinois Blue Book is one of the most comprehensive sources of state government information. It is a nationally recognized source for information about Illinois’ executive, judicial and legislative branches of government.

Originating in 1861 as a privately published roster of legislators, the Blue Book has evolved into a historical publication complete with biographies, articles, illustrative photographs and helpful information for Illinois citizens. Recent issues of the Blue Book also include lists of toll-free state telephone numbers and updated listings for Illinois news media – including contact information.

This collection, from the Illinois State Library, contains keyword/subject searchable versions of the Illinois Blue Book (1900-present).

If your library would like to get involved in a digitization project, find out more about the Illinois State Library Digital Imaging Program.
Digital Projects, General, Technology
ALS and LearningTimes Announce ATLAS
July 7th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

Alliance Library System (ALS) and LearningTimes are pleased to announce the debut of ATLAS (Alliance Trail to Learning and Syndicated Sites) at http://www.atlaspodcasts.org. ATLAS is a new set of social media tools ALS is using to promote information and historical photos about Illinois history. ALS and LearningTimes partnered to create this innovative and exciting new model of collaborative digital imaging collections using multimedia and social networking tools to bring historical times to life, and involving a community at large in its creation.

The project debuted June 29th with an online conference. A recording of the event is available at
http://www.atlaspodcasts.org/webcast-2009-06/ .

The Cullom-Davis Library at Bradley University will serve as the first partner library to produce additional podcasts on Illinois history to be added to the site. They were involved in the first set of ten podcasts, providing the material for the five from Peoria. At the heart of the ATLAS project are digital images of historic people, places, documents and objects. The images are combined with audio descriptions and placed on a map of Illinois to produce an engaging new interactive learning model for libraries and their customers.

The project began with ten short high-quality podcasts about nineteenth century Illinois and famous women from the first hundred years of statehood. Produced in association with LearningTimes, each podcast spotlights a specific person or topic area. ATLAS visitors are able to mouse over a city in Illinois and select a story of interest, featuring engaging commentary and information. A searchable database allows users to search sound files, narratives and photographs. The programs may be enjoyed right from the ATLAS site, or downloaded to a portable audio player.

The ATLAS site will support dozens of additional podcasts. To encourage continued growth and wide participation, LearningTimes trained over 50 librarians from all over the state to produce their own podcasts. Based on the popular LearningTimes program “Producing Great Audio and Video Podcasts,” these online workshops offered concrete approaches for bringing each of the elements of a great podcast together. Participants learned the practical skills and techniques they need to produce high-quality, highly engaging audio and video podcasts. Participants are expected to share two images relating to Illinois history and additional podcast modules which will become part of the project website.

“We are thrilled to introduce this exciting new tool to the library community” said Kitty Pope, ALS Executive Director. “As we dig our way out of this recession, Central Illinois libraries are embracing their new role as the one community organization that crosses all boundaries and creates a forum to work together. I believe ATLAS will highlight this emerging role and build a bridge for inter-agency cooperation. I can see libraries working with a whole new group of folks on this project, from the small business to historic sites and recreational facilities, the opportunities for creating podcasts to add to the map are endless. This is a great project, for these challenging times.”

“We are delighted to be the first library partner in this exciting historical project and have a lot of wonderful material to contribute,” stated Barbara Galik, Director of the Cullom-Davis Library at Bradley University. “Our Access Services Librarian, Skip Burhans, will work with students to research selected topics, choose images, and write and produce podcasts for the site.”

LearningTimes CEO John Walber added: “We are honored to participate in this unique program. ATLAS enabled us to combine our skills in online community development, podcast production and training, and map-based podcasting, with the great stories of Illinois heroes. We hope this is just the beginning of a great and expanding future for the ATLAS collection.”

To participate in upcoming ATLAS events, join the ATLAS google group at http://groups.google.com/group/AllianceATLAS?lnk=gcimv

The ATLAS project was funded through a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the Illinois State Library, a division of the Office of Secretary of State.

Article courtesy of ALS
Digital Projects, Technology
Welcome to ATLAS! Using Social Media to Promote Digital Photos
May 28th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
Alliance Library System(ALS) and LearningTimes are pleased to announce an online conference to debut ATLAS, a new set of social media tools to promote history and digital photographs. The conference will be held online using Adobe Connect on Monday June 29 from 9:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M. There is no charge for this exciting conference. Register.

ATLAS (Alliance’s Trail to Learning-Casts and Syndicated Sites) is a new set of social media tools ALS is using to promote information and photographs about Illinois history. ATLAS features a podmap of Illinois where the user can click on a city or geographic area to see what information is available. One of the sites for Peoria contains a videocast, podcast, and text about Lydia Bradley, the founder of Bradley University. A user can enjoy the video and audio on a computer or download to a handheld device. The products will also be available on I-tunes and users can subscribe to the topics of interest to them. In addition to the podmap, there will be an online community around the podmap for users to contribute resources, comments, and experiences. Learning Times is also using this technology with the Smithsonian Museum and the National Air Force Museum.

The program on June 29 will introduce librarians to ATLAS, its beginnings and where we hope to go next. The agenda for the program is below:
- Introductions – Kitty Pope, ALS Executive Director
- ATLAS project/background/history – Lori Bell, ALS Director of Innovation
- Meet Albert Cashier, one of the historical figures on ATLAS – Angie Green, ALS Library Development Consultant Meet
- Lydia Bradley on ATLAS – Valerie Brandon, ALS Innovation Administrator
- Podcast training – Jonathan Finkelstein, LearningTimes
- Introduction to and overview of ATLAS – John Walber, LearningTimes
- Project evaluation – Tom Peters, TAP Information Services, and Eric
- Questions – all
For more information on the project, please contact Lori Bell at lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com or 309-694-9200 ext. 2128. Register. This project was funded by an LSTA grant from the Illinois State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Digital Projects, News
Digital Collections Survey
March 16th, 2009 | Permalink | 1 Comment

Do you have a digital collection? For purpose of this study, a digital collection is defined as images, text, video or audio made available on the Internet or Intranet that has been digitized by any type of library or cultural institution.

We need your help for an Illinois’ Survey! Graduate School of Library and Information Science students are working on a research project to collect data for a statewide descriptive survey on digital collections (defined as a collection of images, text, video or audio made available on the Internet or Intranet in any type of library). The survey consists of 25 questions, takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete on SurveyMonkey, is available between March 16 and April 6. The results will be shared with you on WebJunction Illinois at the end of April.

Thank you for taking time to complete the survey. Your library’s digital collection is very important to us!
Digital Projects
IDA: The Illinois Digital Archives
February 10th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

On February 6, 2009 Alyce Scott from the Illinois State Library gave an OPAL presentation on the Illinois Digital Archives. Find links to the streaming audio, downloadable MP3 and slides on the WJIL Digital Illinois page.

This presentation is part of series hosted by OPAL: Online Programming for All Libraries. You can find a list of upcoming presentations in this series also on the Digital Illinois page.
Digital Projects
Digitization Symposium: Giving them What They Want
January 12th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

Immerse yourself in the bright, new digital world and learn about current projects, future trends, and how to manage your libraries digital resources. Come to North Suburban Library System on February 3 for the Digitization Symposium: Giving Them What They Want , and you will hear two cutting edge speakers, learn about some of the latest digitization projects in Illinois libraries and gather suggestions for and advice on making your library more digital. Lunch and a continental breakfast are included. Questions? Contact Donna Tieberg.

Go to L2 to sign up for this opportunity to gain information for planning and thinking about the future of libraries.
Digital Projects, LSTA Grant Update
LSTA Grant Update: Keep ‘Em Flying
August 20th, 2008 | Permalink | Comment?

Keep ‘Em Flying: The Lake County Discovery Museum’s WWII Collection

The Lake County Discovery Museum received an $85,000 LSTA Grant to digitize its World War II collections. This project includes the scanning of the fronts and backs of nearly 12,000 postcards, dating from 1940 through 1945, printed by Curt Teich & Company of Chicago. About fifty of the production files used to create the postcards will be available with the original postcards. The production files include original photographs, artist design work, hand-colored proofs, and other items used to create the look of the postcard such as tile, wallpaper, carpet, or fabric.

Postcards were a cheap and efficient way of advertising. During WWII, guidelines and restrictions were set up to control advertising. Companies could continue to advertise if they were producing goods for the civilian market; informing consumers on how to conserve or repair goods; trying to keep their name before the public because they were selling their goods directly to the government; or if the message supported the war. The Teich Company printed advertising postcards that covered all these approved uses.

The postcards in the collection show the military life of men during the war, but there is also a significant collection of materials on women during WWII. The USO printed a large number of postcards for servicemen and women, and all six organizations that form the USO – the YMCA, YWCA, National Catholic Community Services (NCCS), Salvation Army, Jewish Welfare Board, and the National Travelers Aid Association – are represented.

The Lake County, Illinois materials from the Museum’s Fort Sheridan Collection provide a comprehensive view of life at the Fort and the role of a military installation during a major conflict. Fort Sheridan (1887-1993) was a U.S. Army Post established along the shores of Lake Michigan, north of Chicago. During WWII the Fort served as a recruit center, trained troops, and also assumed administrative control of the POW camps in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Instructional pamphlets on rationing and Civil Defense, envelopes with war propaganda stickers, a German POW booklet, and sheet music with audio files are among the items that are now available on Digital Past.

The Museum will be mounting a temporary exhibition of these materials, which will run September 27, 2008 through January 4, 2009. In addition to displaying many of the archival materials digitized for this grant, the exhibit will include a Red Cross Nurse’s uniform and two wedding dresses – one of them made from the groom’s parachute. On October 11 and 12, the Museum will offer a weekend of special presentations. Visitors will meet authentically dressed WWII reenactors, and have the opportunity to see first-hand some of the vehicles and equipment used by both American and German soldiers. Presentations throughout the day will focus on different aspects of soldiers’ lives during the war.
Digital Projects, LSTA Grant Update
LSTA Grant Update: William R. Thompson’s Digital Photographic Collection
August 18th, 2008 | Permalink | Comment?

Lincoln Trail Libraries System is proud to announce a new digital collection available at http://www.digitalgems.info. This collection entitled the “William R. Thompson’s Digital Photographic Collection” is a unique look at the 99th Pursuit Squadron (later a part of the Tuskegee Airmen).

In 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was activated at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois, becoming the first all-black fighter squadron in the United States Army Air Corps. William R. Thompson, trained at Chanute Field as an armaments officer, and then became one of the squadron’s first black officers. Thompson and the 99th Pursuit Squadron moved to Tuskegee, Alabama, and then North Africa.

The 99th Pursuit Sqaudron was the first of four squadrons to see combat in World War II as the famed Tuskegee Airmen. Thompson was an avid photographer while overseas. These photographs, many taken by Thompson himself, represent the accomplishments and everyday life of the Tuskegee Airmen during the War.

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Digital Projects

Digital Projects

IDA Project Highlights: Labor Day

Digital Projects

IDA Project Highlights: Dr. Alice Hamilton

Digital Projects

IDA Featured Project: The Illinois Blue Book

Digital Projects, General, Technology

ALS and LearningTimes Announce ATLAS

Digital Projects, Technology

Welcome to ATLAS! Using Social Media to Promote Digital Photos

Digital Projects, News

Digital Collections Survey

Digital Projects

IDA: The Illinois Digital Archives

Digital Projects

Digitization Symposium: Giving them What They Want

Digital Projects, LSTA Grant Update

LSTA Grant Update: Keep ‘Em Flying

Digital Projects, LSTA Grant Update

LSTA Grant Update: William R. Thompson’s Digital Photographic Collection