Last evening Drexel faculty, students and staff gathered at Hagerty Library to mark the opening of the University Archives’ newest exhibition, Access Everywhere: Computing at Drexel, 1984 – present. The exhibition, which runs until December 10, begins with Drexel’s Microcomputing Project and the distribution of Macintosh computers to Drexel students and faculty in March 1984. Two professors at last night’s conversation were there for the distribution: Tom Hewett and Ray Brebach shared their memories of that dramatic era in Drexel’s history. Professor Jeremy Johnson added the perspective of a computer scientist as we discussed the impact of several key information technologies on Drexel over the last few decades. The speakers agreed that while the introduction of the Macintosh was the most dramatic change, the technology with most pervasive impact, that has changed education at Drexel the most, was wireless computing. Tom Hewett remembered the moment when a colleague first demonstrated how the Apple base station could connect everyone in a room to the internet, without cables. The conversation ranged from Drexel’s role as an innovator in computing to the complex relationship between books and hypertext to and the future of input devices beyond the mouse and keyboard.

Missed this discussion? You’ll have another chance to discuss these and more topics with Drexel faculty, students and alumni at 6 p.m. on November 10 at the Library Learning Terrace, when we screen Going National, followed by another panel discussion. We hope to see you then.

Faculty and students examine the new exhibition, "Access Everywhere," before the conversation

Lovers of computers, lovers of history, please join us tonight from 5 – 7 PM on the first floor of W. W. Hagerty Library for a special event. Kicking off the opening of Access Everywhere: Computing at Drexel, 1984 – present, we’ll have a conversation about the changing role of computers at Drexel. With faculty, students, staff and maybe even some alumns! Topics to be discussed will include email, internet, wireless access, and other computer advances that have brought Drexel to where it is today.

This event is free and open to the public. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided.

The University Archives will be closed for Columbus Day on October 10.  Please come see us during our normal hours (weekdays 1-5 p.m.) the rest of the week!

Today Drexel’s Business Librarian, Emily Missner, and I were present at the opening of the recently discovered Matheson Hall time capsule, making sure that the contents of the capsule were appropriately preserved.  Fortunately, contents were in excellent condition, preserved inside a sealed lead box.

In case you’re wondering what was inside the time capsule, here’s an inventory:

• Brochure: Answers to your questions about Drexel and the Drexel Plan of Cooperative Education
• Drexel Institute of Technology Bulletin: Undergraduate Curricula 1965-66
• Drexel Institute of Technology Blue Book (blank examination book)
• The Drexel Triangle, April 23, 1965
• The Ledger: The Quarterly Journal of the Undergraduate College of Business Administration, 1963-54 (three issues)
• Bus Ad Day card (Business Administration Day), circa 1965
• Mitchell, Robert B. and Stanley B. Tunick. Prentice Hall 1964 Federal Tax Course, Students Edition
• Two cigarette butts with the following names written in ink: W. Martin, E. Martin, Macauley, S. Smith, Carlo, Barry, Lucke, Halpin, McNamara, Mueller

1965 time capsule discovered during the demolition of Matheson Hall

Thanks for your patience over the past two weeks as we’ve been closed for post-flood repairs.  We still aren’t back to normal, but we’re close enough that we’ll be open our regular hours this week and for the rest of the term.  Come visit us any weekday afternoon (that is, Monday-Friday between 1-5 p.m.)  The records of 120 years of Drexel history are waiting for you to discover them.

The University Archives will be closed for the start of the fall term as we clean up from last week’s flood on the Lower Level of Hagerty Library.  Drexel Facilities is hard at work restoring the Lower Level, but it will be a few days before the Archives is back in business.  Until then, the best way to reach us is by email: archives@drexel.edu.

Faculty, students and staff, we hope you enjoy the start of a new academic year!

During Drexel’s break between summer and fall terms, September 6-16, the University Archives will be open by appointment only.  If you want to do research on Drexel history, please contact us to schedule an appointment.  We are closed for Labor Day on Monday September 5.

On the first day of fall classes, September 19, we will return to our regular session schedule: weekday afternoons from 1-5 and mornings by appointment.

Enjoy the break, students and teachers!  We’ll see you when you get back.

Our latest exhibition, “Researching Diversity at Drexel,” opened August 10. This week we’ll be hosting an opening reception with coffee and conversation about researching and documenting diversity. The reception will take place in the atrium of the W.W. Hagerty Library (33rd and Market Streets) on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 5 p.m. We hope to see you there!

Drexel opened its doors in 1891 as a technical school dedicated to educating men and women students of all races, religions, and backgrounds. However, the history of diversity at Drexel, as at any institution, is complex. This exhibition contains documents from the University Archives and essays written by students in Dr. Sharon Brubaker’s English 103 classes that explore issues of race, gender and cultural diversity at Drexel.

A guide for international students, Drexel University

Here’s a guest post from Archives intern Carolyn Halper:

The Drexel University Track and Cross-Country records have been processed and are now ready for research use.

This collection holds Drexel’s Track and Field photos, newspaper clippings, and administrative records dating from 1946 to 1994. The collection includes a number of event results and rosters, sports memos, and track meet programs, including those from the ECC and IC4A. It also includes a small amount of material regarding the recruitment process.

The Track and Field team was one of the first competitive sports teams formed at Drexel University in 1898. The program lasted until 1953, when the track season was cancelled due to practice restrictions. The team was again resumed in 1954 with the appointment of Richard F. Lyster as head coach, but it was not until 1970 that the team was officially reinstated. The teams were again eliminated in 1998 and have since been replaced by a Track Club, featuring sprinters and middle and long distance runners. The bulk of the collection involving both indoor and outdoor track comes from the 1970s and 1980s.

Researchers who want to use this collection can contact the archives.

82nd Annual Relay Carnival program

Hurdler, 1975

The Archives will be closed to researchers on Friday, July 15.  We’ll return all your calls and email on Monday morning. Have a great weekend!