Online Exhibits and Digitization Projects

Online Exhibits

The Miller Nichols Library Exhibition Committee, a volunteer group of librarians and staff, presents a number of exhibits each year designed to showcase materials housed in the Miller Nichols Library. The Committee has mounted the following materials online. Many are an extension of traditional exhibits available for viewing in the Miller Nichols Library.

• Musicians Local No. 627 and the Mutual Musicians Foundation: The Cradle of Kansas City Jazz
  
  An Internet Web exhibit on the history of Kansas City’s Local 627, the African-American Musicians Union founded in 1917 and now known as the Mutual Musicians Foundation. The exhibit presents photographs, sound recordings and other historic information documenting union functions, social events and the bands and members of Local 627 who created the internationally recognized Kansas City style of jazz. The exhibit is based upon the 700-piece Mutual Musicians Foundation Photograph Collection held in the Department of Special Collections.
  

• The Brush Creek Follies: Photos, Sound & Video from the Arthur B. Church KMBC Radio Collection.
  For nearly 20 years in Kansas City and across the Midwest, Saturday nights meant a date with KMBC's "Brush Creek Follies." Whether in the audience or in the living room, fans made the weekly broadcasts an area favorite. For 14 years the "Brush Creek Follies" held the number-two spot in the nation among rural music radio programs.
  • This site was selected by Yahoo! Picks as the website of the day for July 18, 2003.
  • Listen to a KCUR-FM program about the Brush Creek Follies, broadcast Feb. 25, 2002. Prepared by reporter Steve Bell, this KCUR production won a first prize at the Public Radio News Directors International (PRNDI) conference in Montreal on July 19, 2003. A PRNDI award is considered among the highest honors in broadcast news. The program was also honored at the annual Missouri Broadcasters Association awards banquet on June 7, 2003, where it won second place for "Best Feature Broadcast."

• "Voices of World War II: Experiences from the Front and at Home"
  A website created to focus on World War II and how it was experienced in Kansas City through the popular media - KMBC radio. The project demonstrates best practices and standards for digitization of archival sound materials.
  View a Gallery of World War II-era Sheet Music (umkcspecialcollections.cdm.oclc.org/cgi-bin/browseresults.exe?CISOROOT=%2Fcoll16)

• Visit the Jazz Age in Kansas City at the Kansas City: Paris of the Plains Web Exhibit.
  Kansas City: Paris of the Plains chronicles life in Kansas City during the Jazz Age, a time when the city was one of the most dynamic arts centers in America. The exhibit examines the social, cultural, literary, and political heritage of Jazz Age Kansas City and highlights personalities of the era. The web exhibit is based on a special UMKC exhibition that went on display at the Miller Nichols Library on 26 Oct. 2000. Pictures of this special exhibition are available at the following link: http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/ParisOfThePlains/announce.htm The online exhibit features additional images and sounds from the period.

• Liturgical Music from the Middle Ages: UMKC's Book of Gregorian Chant.
  
  Special Collections holds a book of Gregorian chant from the Middle Ages. Compiled from several sources and bound together in a single volume, the manuscript contains plainchant dating from the 10th to the 16th centuries. It was fashioned in its present form probably during the 16th century when the Medieval Latin church switched to the use of large choirbooks in its liturgy, but the book also contains original chants written by scribes centuries earlier.
  

• Club Kaycee
  A Website devoted to Kansas City jazz history featuring photographs, music and sound files, and additional information about the golden age of Kansas City jazz. Hosted by the Marr Sound Archives, noted for its collection of jazz recordings which encompasses all styles and movements of jazz.
  
  
• Nat "King" Cole: The Early Years: 1936-1942.
  
  
  Before his international acclaim as a pop vocalist, Nathaniel Adams Coles built an indelible reputation as a jazz pianist in the groundbreaking combo, The King Cole Trio.
  
• Native Americans & Their Shadow Catchers
  
  A new exhibit showcasing several 19th-Century photographs of Navajo and Apache Indians as well as the photographers who captured their images.
  
• National Issues, Local Concerns: Resources for Native American Studies at UMKC.
  Home to such indigenous peoples as the Kansa (Kaw), the Shawnee, and the Wyandotte, among others, the Kansas City area is rich in Native American history and culture. With almost 100,000 Native Americans currently residing in the Kansas City metropolitan area, issues that confront Native Americans at the national level remain an important local concern.
  
  
• 4 Women Writers
  Women Writers celebrated Black History Month in 1999 by showcasing resources available at the Miller Nichols Library for the study of African-American women's literature. Items on display for this exhibit included selections from the work of four important authors: Maya Angelou, Zora Neale Hurston, Ntozake Shange and Alice Walker. The exhibition was open for public viewing on the second floor of the Miller Nichols Library from 17 February - 7 May 1999.
  
  
• The Press of the Text: Rare Books and Artists' Books of the 20th Century
  The Press of the Text was the first Miller Nichols Library exhibition to include an online component. The exhibition of rare fine press and artists' books from the 20th century drew primarily on the holdings of the UMKC Libraries Special Collections Department. Most of the examples were from American presses, but a few were British fine printings. The exhibition was open for public viewing on the first floor of the Miller Nichols Library from 23 January - 7 May 1999.

Digitization Projects

Special Collections and the Marr Sound Archives have been involved in a number of digitization projects and the creation of online exhibits, including:

• The Diary of Nancy Holmes Corse
  On March 27, 1858, her eighteenth birthday, Nancy Holmes Corse of Enosburg Township, Franklin County, Vermont began keeping a diary. She continued writing until May 4, 1859 - 91 pages later. This resource consists of digitized versions of the original diary pages with corresponding transcriptions of the text, enabling users to view and search both the original hand-written page alongside a typed text alternative. The Diary of Nancy Holmes Corse is housed in the Department of Special Collections. The project was initiated in 2004 by a UMKC student, Lauren Petrillo, the UMKC English Department and the Department of Special Collections.

• The Victorian Studio Portrait Photograph Collection (http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?page=index;c=umkcportic)
  
  Captured from life, the Victorian Studio Portrait Photograph Collection is comprised of 229 Victorian and vintage original photographic prints dating from the mid 19th Century to the early 20th Century. Formats include Cartes-de-Visite, Cabinet Cards, Tintypes, etc. The bulk of the collection comes from studios in Missouri and Kansas, but studios throughout the United States and even a few in Europe are represented. Within the Missouri studios, the majority represent Kansas City photographers. This collection holds an eclectic selection of images for the researcher or anyone interested in 19th and early 20th Century photography. The digital collection consists of 339 scanned images and is hosted by the Missouri Digital Library.
  

• The Kansas City Sheet Music Collection (virtuallymissouri.umsystem.edu/umic/scoresic)
  
  The Kansas City Sheet Music Collection contains over 660 titles published from 1874 to 1966. The collection includes prominent works such as Euday L. Bowman's "Twelfth Street Rag," (shown left) published by J.W. Jenkins' Sons Music Company, the most significant Kansas City publisher of sheet music. Other notable compositions include Scott Joplin's "Original Rags," published by the Carl Hoffman Music Company in 1899. Highlights of the collection are several compositions that celebrate Kansas City itself. Of particular historical relevance are pieces about the Kansas City A's baseball team, Fairyland Park, the Plaza lights, Electric Park, and the city in general, such as "Kansas City Blues," "Kansas City High School Cadet March," "Kansas City My Home Town," "Kansas City Pep," and "Kansas City's Triumphal March." The collection also includes works by important local composers such as Charles L. Johnson and Lucien Denni, who formed their own publishing companies in order to publish sheet music. Hosted by the Missouri Digital Library, the 660+ titles in the collection comprise over 4600 scanned images.

• The Richard W. Bolling Photograph Collection (digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?page=index;c=bollingic)
  
  Richard W. Bolling (1916-1991) served with eight different presidents and through several crucial events in U.S. history as a Missouri Democratic Representative to Congress from 1949 to 1983. His long tenure gave him a unique perspective as a witness to such historical events as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Watergate, and the assassination of a president. Bolling served on several House committees including the Select Committee on Committees, the Joint Economic Committee, and the Committee on Rules. The collection contains over 2,100 photographs documenting his life and career.
  

• R.A. Long's City and Country Homes Photograph Album (http://umkcspecialcollections.cdmhost.com/cgi-bin/browseresults.exe?CISOROOT=%2Fp4027coll4)
  
  An album of 72 photographs of the city and country homes of Kansas City lumber baron and philanthropist, R.A. Long (1850-1934). Longview Farm was Long's country estate and Long's city home was Corinthian Hall, now the Kansas City Museum. Designed and planned by Kansas City architect Henry Hoit, Longview Farm was to be a model for farm beauty and harmony as well as improved agricultural and livestock management. The farm was constructed in just 18 months and consisted of a mansion and 50 additional structures when it was finished in June of 1914.
  

• View a Gallery of World War II-era Sheet Music (umkcspecialcollections.cdm.oclc.org/cgi-bin/browseresults.exe?CISOROOT=%2Fcoll16)
  
  This gallery of digital images includes 355 scanned reproductions of the covers of hundreds of sheet music titles popular during World War II, including works by both prominent and obscure composers. The song titles have been drawn from the Popular American and Kansas City Sheet Music Collections held in the Department of Special Collections. All of the song titles have been cataloged and appear in the Libraries' online Merlin catalog. Most of the titles can be found using the subject heading -- World War, 1939-1945 -- Songs and music .
  

• Photographs from the Baron Missakian Collection (digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?c=missakianic;)
  
  Baron Missakian captured the images of Kansas City's resident and visiting performers during the Jazz Age, a time when Kansas City was one of the most dynamic arts centers in America. His camera documented the worlds of classical music and dance, but also the new popular entertainments, vaudeville and the movies. The collection contains over 350 photographic portraits of great beauty and creativity. The photographs were digitized by the Special Collections Department and are made available at the Missouri Digital Library, where the collection can be browsed and searched.
  

• Photographs from the Wilbur "Buck" Clayton Collection (digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?c=missakianic;)
  
  A seminal figure in the evolution of jazz, Buck Clayton (1911-1991) distinguished himself as an arranger, composer, trumpeter and band leader. There are over 1500 photographs in the collection, documenting his career from 1928-1991. In addition to portraits of Clayton and other musicians, the photos document musical performances, tours and venues, and Clayton's experience as a music educator. The photographs were digitized by the Special Collections Department and are made available at the Missouri Digital Library, where the collection can be browsed and searched.
  

• "Voices of World War II: Experiences from the Front and at Home"
  A website created to focus on World War II and how it was experienced in Kansas City through the popular media - KMBC radio. The project demonstrates best practices and standards for digitization of archival sound materials.
  View a Gallery of World War II-era Sheet Music (umkcspecialcollections.cdm.oclc.org/cgi-bin/browseresults.exe?CISOROOT=%2Fcoll16)

• Paul Creston - A Self-Taught Master of Rhythm: Photographs from the Collection.
  
  Over 120 photographic portraits of American composer Paul Creston, as well as signed portraits of other conductors and performers. Highlights of the collection include the signed portraits of Leopold Stokowski and Arturo Toscanini, and photos of Creston with other major composers such as Virgil Thompson, Alan Hovhaness, and Hector Villa-Lobos.
  

• Demonstrating Digital Access and Preservation: The Kansas City Journal-Post.
  
  View the Diamond Jubilee Section of the Dec. 31, 1929 Journal-Post.
  "The Kansas City Journal-Post in 1929 rounded out seventy-five years of continuous publication. In that three-quarters of a century this great city has grown from a babe in the cradle to its present stature. It is with the idea of depicting the astonishing development of this city and to give its fellow businesses a chance to make known the parts they have played in this growth, that the Journal-Post presents its Diamond Jubilee section." - Kansas City Journal-Post, December 31, 1929 (page 3).
  

• Listen to President Harry S. Truman's Acceptance Speech at the 1948 Democratic National Convention, his Radio Address on Democratic Women's Day September 27th, 1949, and Excerpts from other Presidents' Speeches digitized from recordings in the Marr Sound Archives (a project in support of the Presidential Studies Collection at Miller Nichols Library).
• Resurrecting a 20th Century Musical Giant: The Electronic Music of Raymond Scott
• The Shawnee Sun: Jotham Meeker and Kansas' First Newspaper
• Kansas City History in Sound & Image: Digital Projects in the Dept. of Special Collections
• Building a Digital Library: Special Collections Projects and Community Partnerships