Archives Service Center - News

News on the Pittsburgh Academy Journal

As mentioned in our March 5 post, the ASC recently acquired a journal belonging to Joseph H. Larwill, while he was a student at The Pittsburgh Academy in the early 1800s. Writer Brian O'Neill from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote a nice piece about it. See also the University press release from May 2. The journal is digitized and online.

ASC Digitizes MLK Jr. March Photographs

The ASC recently acquired a large collection of 35mm negatives from photographer Charles R. Martin, which included 189 images taken of a peaceful march that occurred in Pittsburgh on Sunday, April 7, 1968. This day was declared by President Lyndon Johnson as a National Day of Mourning to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated in Memphis three days earlier. These images depict people from all walks of life, men and women, black and white, young and old dressed in their Sunday best confronting policemen as they make their way from the Hill District to Downtown, Pittsburgh. Mr. Martin and Alma Speed Fox, who was the Executive Director of the NAACP Pittsburgh chapter at the time of the march, were recently interviewed by KDKA reporter Dave Crawley as they remembered the day's events.

ASC Acquires Pittsburgh Academy Journal

The ASC recently acquired a journal belonging to Joseph H. Larwill, presumably while he was a student at The Pittsburgh Academy in the early 1800s. It contains several miscellaneous letters and numerous lessons on mathematics, including geometry, simple and compound interest, and fractions. This is the only manuscript in the University Archives from The Pittsburgh Academy period. It has been digitized by the DRL and is available online through the finding aid.

ASC Adds More P&LE Images to Historic Pittsburgh

The Archives Service Center added 355 more images to our Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company online collection. These new images (scanned from glass plate negatives) feature infrastructure improvements, such as roundhouse construction and coaling plants. Other images depict worker housing in McKees Rocks; the Carrie Furnace site in Rankin; safety posters from 1919; and work along the L.E. & E.R.R (Lake Erie & Eastern Railroad) routes.

ASC Closed in Observances of MLK Day

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Monday, January 21 in recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We will reopen the following day.

More Church Histories Added to Historic Pittsburgh

Digitized by the Digital Research Library, the Archives Service Center recently added several more church history titles to Historic Pittsburgh. These include churches in the North Hills neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

ASC Reading Room

The Archives Service Center reading room is back in business after having been recently damaged by a water leak. Come and see us during our regularly scheduled hours: Mon-Fri, 9 am - 4:45 pm.

ASC Reading Room

Due to a water leak, the Archives Service Center reading room has been temporarily moved to the lobby on the 2nd floor. We can only accommodate a few patrons at a time BY APPOINTMENT ONLY, but with at least 24 hour notice, we can also send ASC material to the reading room in Special Collections located in Hillman Library. Also patrons will be unable to use microfilm at the ASC. We apologize for the inconvenience.

ASC Processes Two Nationality Room Collections

The University Archives recently processed two collections that document the planning and construction of two Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning: Hungarian Nationality Room Committee Collection Austrian Nationality Room Committee Collection.

ASC Adds More P&LE Images to Historic Pittsburgh

The Archives Service Center added 954 more images to our Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company online collection. These new images, which cover areas such as Shousetown, Rankin, Aliquippa, McKees Rocks, Coraopolis, Beaver Falls, and Youngstown, Ohio, document passenger stations, rail crossings, floods from 1907 and 1913, the P&LE Terminal Building, construction of the Ohio River Bridge (1909), and exterior and interior views of railroad cars.

ASC Adds New Image Collection to Historic Pittsburgh

The Archives Service Center added a new image collection to Historic Pittsburgh: Walter J. Teskey Photograph Collection. The subjects depicted in the 130 photographs primarily cover two topics: the Pittsburgh floods of 1936 and 1937, and images of trains and scale models.

Can you help us identify these locations?

Thank you Historic Pittsburgh users for helping us identify some of our "unknown" locations from the Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection. Now we have 25 images that we're unsure of where they were taken. Can you help us? If so, please send us an email.

Can you help us identify these locations?

Do you know where any of these 48 images from the Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection were taken? If so, please help us identify their location by sending us an email. A street, neighborhood or general vicinity would greatly help us. Thank you!

ASC Closed for Memorial Day

The Archives Service Center is closed on Monday, May 28 in observance of Memorial Day. We will reopen the following day at our normal operating hours.

ASC Adds More City Photographer Images to Online Collection

The Archives Service Center added 180 new images from 1907-1923 to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. This latest addition includes several parks, such as Lawrence, Arsenal, Ormbsy, McKinley, Wabash and Washington. Also included are new images documenting the Southside, such as the construction of the 22nd Street Bridge, various houses, and the construction of the Mission Street Pumping Station.

Historic Pittsburgh Chronology Updated

The Historic Pittsburgh Chronology was updated to include events from 2011.

Pittsburgh Mapping and Historical Site Viewer

"Most people don't know the history of their street, neighborhood, or even city. The Pittsburgh Mapping and Historical Site Viewer provides a window into the past, allowing anyone to see how the city took shape over time. It shows how the city of 22,433 people in 1835 changes over time: how neighborhoods grow and expand, while others were planned but never built. Street names change over time, empty lots become buildings, and schools and churches open and close...The maps were made by cutting and georeferencing hand-drawn paper maps made over 100 years ago [the G.M. Hopkins maps online in Historic Pittsburgh]. Using historic maps, some more than 175 years old, this interactive map highlights sites in the National Registry of Historic Places among others."

CONSOL Energy Inc. West Virginia and Eastern Ohio Mine Maps and Records Collection

The Archives Service Center is pleased to announce the online availability of a finding aid to its CONSOL Energy Inc. West Virginia and Eastern Ohio Mine Maps and Records Collection (AIS.2004.22). This collection contains coal mine maps as well as surface maps and detailed information on mine accidents in West Virginia and Eastern Ohio. Additionally, there are technical drawings, related documents, traverse and survey books, publications and photographs. This collection supplements ASC's CONSOL Energy Inc. Mine Maps and Records Collection (AIS.1991.16), which contains similar materials for southwestern Pennsylvania.

More Darlington Material Digitized

The Archives Service Center selected several more collections from the Darlington Library to be scanned by the Digital Research Library. Ephraim Douglass, a trader in western Pennsylvania and a soldier in the Revolutionary War, documented the stock and sale of supplies at Forts Pitt and Kittanning during the 1770s in four ledgers. Douglass's business partners during these years were his brother, Joseph, Devereaux Smith, and Richard Butler. The Rolling Rock Training Camp Ledger contains information from July 9-August 4, 1917 of guard duty in the military training camp near Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Information such as names, hours worked, and addresses were recorded in this ledger. The Monongahela Navigation Company collection summaries from annual reports (1840-1897) the damage to locks and dams on the Monongahela River due to floods and ice. The Thomas Mellon and William B. Negley Day Book contains names of clients and records of payment from their seven-year partnership. Mellon, founder of Mellon Bank and patriarch of the Mellon family, began his professional career as a lawyer, but in 1853 he established a firm with his nephew, William B. Negley. The Northern Liberties Bridge Company Ledger comprises transactions, minutes from meetings, and contracts made with the state of Pennsylvania regarding the Mechanics Street Bridge, which was built in 1836 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

ASC Adds More City Photographer Images to Online Collection

The Archives Service Center added 647 new images from 1905-1940 to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. Topics include photographs taken for the Mayor's office which document redevelopment of Downtown, visitors, and photographs of letters and telegrams received by the Mayor; photographs of plans and drawings for street equipment such as light posts, monuments, and manholes; notable neighborhoods include Schenley Park, Downtown, Perry Hilltop, Friendship, the Hill District, and the North Side; notable people and groups include Carnegie Steel Co., Duquesne Works employees, Stephen Foster's family (including an view of Foster's tombstone), and Charles Lindberg landing at Bettis Airfield and arriving at Pitt Stadium.

ASC Closed on March 9, 2012

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Friday, March 9 for Pitt's Spring Break. We will resume our normal business hours on Monday, March 12.

ASC Displays Original Pitt Charters

To help celebrate Pitt�s 225th �birthday� on February 28, we have borrowed from the Pennsylvania State Archives the original charters that formally established the Pittsburgh Academy (1787) and then the Western University of Pennsylvania (1819), forerunners to the University of Pittsburgh (1908). The first pages from both of the original charters will be on display in the Audubon case in Hillman Library from February 27-May 18. Reproductions of all the pages of the charters will also be on display near the exhibit case. Both charters have been digitized and are available for viewing from our Documenting Pitt homepage. We are grateful to the Pennsylvania State Archives for allowing us to borrow both charters and put them on display during this important celebration of Pitt�s history.

ASC Closed in Observances of MLK Day

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Monday, January 16 in recognition of Martin Luther King Day. We'll resume our normal operating hours the following day.

Pittsburgh Then and Now Website Features ASC Photos

The Archives Service Center has been working with Diana Nelson Jones, city neighborhood reporter and writer of the City Walkabout Blog for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on something she calls The Storefront Project. Jones' goal is to visually show the evolution of Pittsburgh�s neighborhoods and started with the Center Avenue corridor in the Hill District. To date, nearly 200 images have been scanned specifically for this project from our Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection with many others selected from images already online in Historic Pittsburgh. You may be interested in reading the article that introduced the project on August 14, 2011 and visiting the project website. You may also be interested in viewing the Pittsburgh Then and Now website. Since the project is ongoing, watch for more updates in the coming months!

ASC Closed for Winter Break

The Archives Service Center will be closed for the University of Pittsburgh's winter break from December 23rd thru January 2nd. We will reopen during our normal operating hours on Tuesday, January 3rd. Please note that your emails to us during this time may not be answered until we return from break. Happy Holidays!

ASC Releases More Athletic Media Guides on Documenting Pitt

The Archives Service Center updated our Documenting Pitt website with more Athletic Media Guides. Specifically, we extended coverage of the football and basketball media guides through 2011, and also added missing guides since 1950. The browse feature was also rearranged to better locate exact years for the respective sports.

ASC Creates Finding Aid to AIS Maps & Atlases

The Archives Service Center created a finding aid that lists the maps and atlases found in the Archives of Industrial Society (AIS) that are not associated with any particular collection. The maps are mainly of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and the southwestern Pennsylvania region. The atlases mostly include Sanborn maps, Hopkins plat books, atlases of the city of Pittsburgh and environs, and of counties in Pennsylvania.

ASC Closed over Thanksgiving Break

The Archives Service Center will be closed Thursday and Friday of this week (Nov. 24-25) in observance of Thanksgiving. We will resume our normal hours on Monday, Nov. 28. Happy Thanksgiving!

ASC Adds AV material to Steffi Domike collection

The Archives Service Center recently processed a substantial size of AV material that is part of the Steffi Domike collection. Domike worked as an electrician's assistant at Clairton Coke Works where she belonged to the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Local 1557 and was a union and equal rights activist. She became a filmmaker and went on to document steel industry labor movements of the Pittsburgh area, including the 1892 Homestead Strike and the community impact of the closing of U.S. Steel's National Duquesne Works in the 1980s. Materials relating to the oral history project Crashin' Out: Hard Times in McKeesport and the documentary film/book The River Ran Red include grant proposals, research articles, publicity articles, and archival images. Production films from Women of Steel and The River Ran Red are also included.

Finding Aids to Oral History Collections Available

The Archives Service Center has recently created finding aids to two important oral history collections that aurally document Pittsburgh history. The Ethnic Fraternal Organizations Oral History Project consists of tape recorded interviews from a project conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Department of History in 1975 which explores the roles and influences of ethnic fraternal organizations in the Jewish, Black, Croatian, Italian, Polish and other ethnic communities in the Pittsburgh area. The Pittsburgh Renaissance Project: The Stanton Belfour Oral History Collection was initiated and carried out by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in 1971-1973 with funds from the Buhl Foundation. The purpose of the collection was the "...creating [of] a new research source a living record of the Pittsburgh Renaissance obtained from the oral reminiscences of Pittsburghers' own lives and activities which would supplement documentary files and provide for the qualitative enrichment of the written record."

Browse ASC Finding Aids

The Archives Service Center has implemented a new feature to browse our finding aids by subject, topic, repository, and more. This has replaced our research guide since it is comprehensive and includes all ULS archival and manuscript collections. Check it out!! [Works best in Firefox.]

ASC Closed on Labor Day

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Monday, September 5 for Labor Day. We will reopen during our normal operating hours on Tuesday, September 6.

ASC Processes Joni Rabinowitz Papers

The Archives Service Center recently processed the papers of Joni Rabinowitz, a Pittsburgh socialist and activist who has been involved in a number of organizations issues, and movements relating to social, political, and economic justice since the 1960s, such as the New American Movement. Included are organizational records, leftist counterculture literature, legal records, personal papers, and materials relating to the many issues, projects and campaigns, in which Rabinowitz has been involved.

ASC Adds More City Photographer Images to Online Collection

The Archives Service Center added 591 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. These images are part of an effort to digitize delicate glass plate negatives dating from 1901 to approximately 1926.

ASC Closed on Friday for ULS In-Service Day

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Friday, August 12 from 11 am-4:45 pm in order for staff to attend a library-wide in-service training day.

ASC Now Services Consolidation Coal Company Records

The Archives Service Center recently received the records of the Consolidation Coal Company, which were recently transferred to Pitt from the Hagley Museum and Library (Delaware). Known then as Consol when it was incorporated in Maryland on March 8, 1860 for the purpose of effecting a merger of a number of coal operators mining the Georges Creek basin in Allegany County, Maryland, this company is the forerunner of today's CONSOL Energy, Inc. Minute books and contract files provide the most comprehensive documentation in this collection. We are pleased this collection is now available to researchers at Pitt.

ASC Adds Over 1,000 More City Photographer Images to Online Collection

The Archives Service Center added 1016 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. These images are part of an effort to digitize delicate glass plate negatives dating from 1901 to approximately 1926. This recent addition documents Bigelow Boulevard, the Boulevard of the Allies, Market Square, and various neighborhoods, playgrounds, and parks dating from 1906-1923. A dozen of these new images include negatives that were recently returned after significant conservation work by Chicago Albumen Works. These images document local businesses, the historical D.P. Reighard House, and the 5th Battalion Mushball Team.

ASC Scans Pitt Football Photos from 1920s

The Archives Service Center recently processed the Allan F. Jones Photographs, a collection of photographs that are believed to document the 1922 summer Pitt football training camp. Among those identified include Head Coach Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner, who coached the Pitt Panthers from 1915-1923, and players Nicholas Schuler, Edward "Ned" Newbaker, JC Winterburn, Marsh Johnson, Milo Gwosden, John E. "Tiny" Miller, Edward J. "Ned" Ashbaugh, and Frank W. "Pie" Williams. These photographs are digitized and online as part of the University of Pittsburgh Historic Photographs.

ASC Launches New Pittsburgh Speech & Society Project Website

The revamped Pittsburgh Speech & Society Project Website focuses on disseminating research and educational materials relevant to the Pittsburgh dialect and now includes conversational interviews that capture examples of such dialect. We are grateful to Dr. Barbara Johnstone, Professor of Linguistics and Rhetoric at Carnegie Mellon University, who conducted the project (along with Dr. Scott F. Kiesling, Associate Professor of Linguistics at Pitt) and donated the interviews to the Archives Service Center and subsequently partnered with us to create the new site.

ASC Closed for Memorial Day

The Archives Service Center is closed on Monday, May 30 in observance of Memorial Day. We will reopen the following day at our normal operating hours.

ASC Releases Guide to University Archives' Film and Video Material

The Archives Service Center mounted a new finding aid that provides a detailed inventory of all the film and video material held in the University Archives. This collection (ca. 1928-ca. 2001) of over 2,300 items mainly pertain to Pitt athletics, but also document various University events and history. The moving image material ranges from interviews and speeches by prominent University figures to sports highlight videos and University institutional messages. Types of media include VHS tapes, Betacam SP tapes, � inch U-matic tapes, and 16 millimeter film.

ASC Processes More Labor Collections

The Archives Service Center recently processed two more labor collections. The United Steelworkers of America Dues Protest Committee Scrapbook documents the fallout of the United Steelworkers of America 1956 convention and its 1957 international union election. The Howard Scott Labor Ephemera Collection includes photographs, ephemera, buttons and badges purchased by Mr. Scott to create a comprehensive body of artifacts documenting working class culture in western Pennsylvania during the twentieth century.

ASC Processes Charles C. McGovern Papers

The Archives Service Center recently processed the papers of Charles C. McGovern (1873-1962), who served in the National Guard and held numerous political positions in Allegheny County, Pa., including County Controller and County Commissioner. The materials in this collection range in date from 1893-1981 and include certificates, correspondence, campaign materials, photographs, journals, programs, publications, newsclippings, speeches, court documents, address books, notebooks, bills and government and military records.

ASC Processes University Archives' Collections

The Archives Service Center recently processed several collections relating to University history, including Accreditation Reports, University of Pittsburgh Office of the Chancellor, State-Related Status of the University of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh History and Memorabilia Collection, Nationality Rooms Program Files, and the Black Action Society Files.

Head of ASC Wins MARAC Election

Ed Galloway, Head of the Archives Service Center, has been elected Chair of MARAC, a professional archival organization that serves the mid-Atlantic region, including Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. He will begin his two-year term at the conclusion of MARAC�s spring conference, which takes place in early May. Ed has been a member of MARAC for the past 18 years and has served the organization in various capacities.

ASC Wins Award for Frick Finding Aid

The Archives Service Center is the recipient of a finding aid award by MARAC (a regional archives association). We won 2nd place in the annual competition for our finding aid to the Helen Clay Frick Foundation Archives. We will receive this award at the spring meeting of the association in May. Thanks go to former Frick project archivists Matthew Yount (now Supervisor of Annandale Archives, United States Steel Corp) and Alesha Shumar (now University Archivist at University of Tennessee) for their work to process the collection and create the guide to it. They will both be recognized with certificates and prize money. Congratulations!

ASC Adds Alumni Publications to Documenting Pitt

The Archives Service Center added 60 years' worth of alumni publications published by the University of Pittsburgh between 1926 and 1985 to our Documenting Pitt website. Scanned by the ULS Digital Research Library, the publications document news of University events and activities to alumni, and are especially rich during the WWII years. The seven titles represented on the website reflect the changes and growth happening at Pitt during these six decades.

ASC Processes Liane Norman Papers

The Archives Service Center recently processed the papers of Liane Ellison Norman (1937-), a Pittsburgh writer. She has contributed articles, editorials, columns, and book reviews to a number of local and national publications. A majority of the collection (1955-2008) consists of her work addressing social issues, war, violence, and the hazards of nuclear energy.

ASC Releases Finding Aids to Oral History Collections

The Archives Service Center recently created finding aids for two oral history collections. The Women, Ethnicity and Mental Health Oral History Project was a comparative oral history study by Corinne Azen Krause of three generations of Italian, Jewish and Slavic American women of the Pittsburgh area. The study was undertaken as a search for specific information about women and about ethnicity on the premise that such information will prove value to curriculum planners, educators, and professionals responsible for the delivery of mental health services. The collection consists of 225 interview transcripts. Mr. George H. Love was interviewed eleven times between September 19 and October 24, 1988 at the request of Wesley W. Posvar, Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, in recognition of Love's contribution to American business. The collection contains a complete transcript of the interviews and 12 cassette tapes (19 hrs 46 mins).

ASC Processes More Labor Collections

The Archives Service Center recently processed and created finding aids to two additional labor collections. The Service Employees International Union Local 585 was chartered in 1969 and represented health care employees, nonprofessional school district workers, and county civil servants in western Pennsylvania until 2002 when the local was disbanded. The Bakery, Confectionery, and Tobacco Workers International Union Local 12 represents workers at commercial bakeries in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

ASC Closed on March 11, 2010

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Friday, March 11 for Pitt's Spring Break. We will resume our normal business hours on Monday, March 14.

ASC Processes More Collections

The Archives Service Center recently processed and created finding aids to several more collections, including the Edith Tait Deedrick Photograph Collection of the Socialist Party, Preservation Pittsburgh Records, Ukrainian National Association Branch No. 63 (Ford City, Pa.) Records, and the National Slovak Society Lodge 168, Leechburg, Pa. Records. The materials are open for research use in the ASC Reading Room.

ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

The Archives Service Center added 349 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection.

ASC Processes Papers of Prominent African American Pittsburghers

The Archives Service Center has opened for research use the papers of Frank Bolden (1914-2003), world-renowned war correspondent for The Pittsburgh Courier newspaper; K. Leroy Irvis (1919-2006), legendary Pennsylvania legislative leader; Percival L. Prattis (1895-1980), journalist with The Pittsburgh Courier and the first Black reporter to gain access to the U.S. House and Senate press galleries; and Tim Stevens (1945- ), past president of the Pittsburgh branch of the NAACP. The four collections represent almost 200 linear feet of biographical information, correspondence, subject files, scrapbooks, images, newspaper clippings, and other materials. Please see the University of Pittsburgh's press release for more information.

ASC Inventories P&LE Records

The Archives Service Center completed a box-level inventory of the entire Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Company Records. The collection, which comprises almost 1,000 linear feet, documents the many facets of the management and operation of the railroad company throughout its long history, mainly from the 1860s through 1999. Not only does the material contain information about the P&LE, but also the various branch lines were controlled by the New York Central Railroad System (1883-1968) and later by Penn Central (1968-1970). The collection is open for research use, but only a box-level inventory exists at the present time.

ASC Closed in Observances of MLK Day

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Monday, January 17 in recognition of Martin Luther King Day. We'll resume our normal operating hours the following day.

ASC Processes More Collections

The Archives Service Center recently processed and created finding aids to several more collections, including the Pittsburgh Peace Institute Records, Community Media Inc. Records, Searle Scrapbooks, and Conversation with Roberto Clemente Recording. In addition, the Alfredo A. Roggiano Papers were processed by the University Archives and are open for research use. Dr. Roggiano, professor of Hispanic languages and literatures at Pitt (1963-1984), was a renowned Argentine poet and Director of the Revista Iberoamericana, a leading scholarly journal of Latin American literature.

ASC Closed for Winter Break

The Archives Service Center will be closed for the University of Pittsburgh's winter break from December 24th thru January 3rd. We will reopen during our normal operating hours on Tuesday, January 4th. Please note that your emails to us during this time may not be answered until we return from break. Happy Holidays!

Finding Aids to Former Acting University Chancellors Now Available

The University of Pittsburgh Archives released finding aids to records of several former Acting Pitt Chancellors: Charles B. Nutting (1955-1956), Stanton C. Crawford (1965), and David H. Kurtzman (1966-1967).

ASC Closed over Thanksgiving Break

The Archives Service Center will be closed Thursday and Friday of this week (Nov. 25-26) in observance of Thanksgiving. We will resume our normal hours on Monday, Nov. 29.

ASC Processes Alvin P. Shapiro Papers

The Archives Service Center recently processed the papers of Dr. Alvin Shapiro, a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh's medical school (1956-1998). He concentrated his research on hypertension, clinical pharmacology, and psychosomatic response with particular focus on the links between hypertension and stress, as well as renal function and hypertension related to systemic scleroderma. He was very active in the administration of the University of Pittsburgh's Medical School as well as Presbyterian University Hospital. Notably, he headed the study section of the Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program, which produced the first large-scale study of hypertension.

Correction: ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

Reposting this announcement originally from June 3, 2010 to correct a bad link. The Archives Service Center added 511 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. Scanned from glass plate negatives by the ULS Digital Research Library, these images document significant changes in roads, infrastructure, and neighborhoods in Pittsburgh from 1911-1912. The images feature prominent projects such as the lowering of the hump in Downtown as well as the continued efforts to provide the city with modern water treatment, bridges, and roads. Photographic copies of plans and drawings are also included.

ASC Supports the Retrographer Project: Exploring Pittsburgh�s Photographic History

Dane Pieri, a senior at Carnegie Mellon University studying design and human-computer interaction, has created the Retrographer Project designed to geotag historical images of Pittsburgh. �Geotagging� adds latitude and longitude data to an historical image so that its geographic location can be identified on a map. The ULS Archives Service Center contributed digitized images from our Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection since it primarily documents the built environment throughout the twentieth century. The collection also includes neighborhood designations making it ideally suited for Dane�s purposes. We plan on expanding the current boundaries of this project (Oakland and Shadyside) to also include adjacent neighborhoods. Retrographer is ready for YOU to start contributing your knowledge of Pittsburgh history!

ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

The Archives Service Center added over 3,800 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. This large addition of glass plate negatives (1913-1921) scanned by the ULS Digital Research Library includes images of the development of the Lanpher Reservoir; plans for bridges, bridge ornamentation, and road construction projects featuring street layouts and surrounding industries ; the Tuberculosis Hospital; water treatment plants such as the Aspinwall Pumping Station and the Brilliant Pumping Station; the lowering of the "Hump"; and improvements and street widening of downtown Pittsburgh. This represents the last update of images for the next several months.

Many Darlington Manuscript Collections Now Online

Twenty-two manuscript collections from the Darlington Library are now scanned and available on the Darlington Digital Library website. This represents 1,708 items consisting of over 34,000 page images. Some of the digitized collections include the Darlington Family Papers, Alexander Addison Papers (which comprise correspondence from Andrew Jackson, Alexander Hamilton, and Henry Bouquet), the Ohio Company Papers, Fort Pitt Trading Post ledger, and the Brackenridge Papers (founders of the Pittsburgh Academy).

ASC Releases Finding Aid to Oral History Collection

The Archives Service Center released a finding aid to our State and Local Government Archives Oral History Collection, which includes transcripts of interviews, audiocassettes, research notes, newspaper clippings, and sundry items. Interviewees are notable figures in state and local government, especially those who were involved in the areas of environmental issues, electoral campaigning, urban redevelopment, civil rights, the role of gender in governance, and details of the workings and processes of governing.

ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

The Archives Service Center added 539 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. Scanned from glass plate negatives by the ULS Digital Research Library, some of these images visually record the monumental efforts required to lower the hump in Downtown which affected Grant Street, Diamond Street, and Oliver, Fifth, Sixth, Webster and Wylie Avenues specifically, as well as other neighboring streets. We now have over 400 images, including photographs and planning diagrams, that document this effort. Other images in our new addition include area streets and the further document Pittsburgh's development of water treatment facilities.

ASC Welcomes New Staff

The Archives Service Center welcomes two new staff members: Laura Brooks (Office Administrator) and Zach Brodt (Records Manager). Welcome!

ASC Closed on Labor Day

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Monday, September 6 for Labor Day. We will reopen during our normal operating hours on Tuesday, September 7.

ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

The Archives Service Center added 375 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. Scanned from glass plate negatives by the ULS Digital Research Library, these images feature the construction of the Negley Run Sewer, the Atherton Avenue (Baum Boulevard) Bridge, Ross Pumping Station, as well as various views of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. This release includes images and street plans detailing the lowering of the Hump District in Downtown.

More University Archives Collections Open for Research Use

The University of Pittsburgh Archives released a finding aid to the records of former Pitt Chancellor Rufus Henry Fitzgerald, who served between 1945-1955. In addition to the day to day files, there are those that document the construction of several large buildings on campus as well as the development of the Medical Center during this time. The papers of Cynthia Sutherland, a professor of English Literature and Women�s Studies at the University of Pittsburgh (1968-1996), document her teaching interests which encompassed a broad range of subject matter including: Elizabethan through eighteenth-century drama, modern drama, myth studies, folklore, children�s literature, fantasy and science fiction literature, psychoanalysis and identity, representations of women in literature, and the influence of women authors on drama and literature.

ASC Releases Finding Aid to Tri-State Conference on Manufacturing Records

The Archives Service Center created a finding aid to its Tri-State Conference on Manufacturing Records. The Tri-State Conference on Manufacturing was founded in 1979 as the Tri-State Conference on Steel, which was a coalition of labor unions and activists that fought the effects of deindustrialization. The group created or became involved in several regional projects concerning unemployment and plant closures, such as the Steel Valley Authority. This large collection includes correspondence, newsletters, and meeting minutes regarding the activities of the Tri-State Council on Steel and Manufacturing.

ASC Opens Two More Collections

The Archives Service Center opened two more collections for research use. The Paul LeBlanc Papers consist of mainly left-leaning, typically socialist, material collected by LeBlanc in his professional and personal life, including magazines, newspapers and articles. There is also information about various socialist groups, especially the Fourth International Tendency, of which LeBlanc is a member. The other newly processed collection is the Ralph Kaiser Papers on the Allegheny County Home Rule Charter. Ralph Kaiser was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (Democrat) from the City of Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1989 and served until 2002. During his time in the House, he held a position as a member of the Allegheny County Charter Draft Committee, the main organization behind the push for the Allegheny Home Rule Charter. This collection contains newspaper clippings of articles, meeting minutes, agendas, correspondence, and ephemera related to the home rule charter.

ASC Opens John W. Oliver Papers

The Archives Service Center opened for research use the John W. Oliver Papers. Dr. Oliver, professor and head of the department of history at the University of Pittsburgh (1923-1954), taught courses in American history and technology. He served as chairman of the National Archives Commission to lead a campaign to establish a new National Archives building in Washington, D.C. He also served as chair of the Western Pennsylvania Historical Survey (1929-1936) which produced a five volume survey on Western Pennsylvania�s economic and social history. Professor Oliver�s papers include personal and professional correspondence, lectures to numerous organizations and schools, various newspaper clippings detailing his achievements, and working manuscripts, among other documents related to his life.

ASC Digitizes Images from Paul Slantis Photograph Collection

The Archives Service Center added a new image collection to Historic Pittsburgh: Paul Slantis Photograph Collection. The online collection contains 523 images taken by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette photographer Paul Slantis between 1946 and 1956. All the images originate from 4 x 5 inch safety negatives and depict a variety of Pittsburgh and regional scenes, including industry, streets, portraits, aerial shots, notable personalities, people and activities, and architecture. Many of the images were published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette during this timeframe.

ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

The Archives Service Center added 390 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. Scanned from glass plate negatives by the ULS Digital Research Library, these images from 1912 primarily document the lowering of the hump near Ross and Grant Streets and Fifth Avenue.

ASC Opens Marilyn Skolnick Papers for Research Use

Marilyn Skolnick, an avid environmentalist, was successful at pushing for change in transportation issues due to her participation in numerous environmental and transportation organizations throughout the western Pennsylvania area during the last 30 years. The Marilyn Skolnick Papers mainly focus on material she collected from various organization and committee meetings. These papers include reports, correspondence, news clippings, memos, agendas, minutes, notifications, legal transcriptions, and environmental information.

ASC Releases Finding Aids to More Labor Collections

The Archives Service Center released finding aids to two more labor collections: International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine & Furniture Workers Local 601 Records and United Steelworkers of America Local 1843 Records.

ASC Closed for Memorial Day

The Archives Service Center is closed on Monday, May 31 in observance of Memorial Day.

ASC Releases Finding Aids to Labor Activist Organizations

The Archives Service Center released finding aids to two labor activist organizations. Environmentalists for Full Employment formed in 1975 to demonstrate that environmentalists and organized labor share common concerns and need to work together to address these issues. This collection includes research files regarding environmental and labor issues, such as occupational hazards, pollution, and clean energy. The Alliance for Progressive Action was formed during the spring of 1991 as a coalition of labor and grass roots organizations in Pittsburgh, Pa., that was involved in labor, environmental, social, political and civil rights issues.

ASC Releases Finding Aids to More Labor Collections

The Archives Service Center released finding aids to four collections we hold documenting the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation and two documenting the United States Steel Corporation Duquesne Works. Plus we created finding aids for the following labor collections: International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America Contracts, Pittsburgh Typographical Union No. 7 Records, and International Union of Operating Engineers Local 95 Records.

ASC Releases Finding Aids to More Collections

The Archives Service Center released finding aids to five labor collections. Plus we created finding aids for these collections: A. M. Byers Company Personnel Records, Pittsburgh Mercantile Company Records, South West Pennsylvania and Eureka Pipe Line Companies Records, Robert J. Simonds Papers, D. A. Booth Collection on Dravo Corporation, and the Robert Jurich Scrapbooks.

ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

The Archives Service Center released another 463 digitized images from our Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection. These glass plate negatives depict many Pittsburgh neighborhoods and streets in 1911. We now serve more than 5800 online images from this photo collection.

ASC Releases two new University Archives Collections

The Archives Service Center released the papers of Percival Hunt, a professor in the English Department at Pitt (1921-1948). Several files deal with the drafts and publication of his books, Samuel Pepys in the Diary and 15th Century England. He also wrote books about the teaching of composition and those are reflected in the collection as well. Of particular interest is a diary that Hunt kept on his trip around the world. The Gene Kelly Alumni Files contain materials collected by Virginia Nicklas, retired Pitt Stewardship Administrator, relating to the actor and Pitt alumnus, Gene Kelly. The small collection is comprised of 22 file folders which contain correspondence, news clippings, a scrapbook and a photo album.

ASC Creates Finding Aids to More Labor Collections

The Archives Service Center released new finding aids that describe eight local labor unions. We also created a finding aid to the Gaston LeBlanc Papers. LeBlanc was a union organizer and president of the United Stone & Allied Products Workers of America. This collection includes biographical information about LeBlanc, as well as records of the US&APWA and other labor unions.

Videos Added to Historic Pittsburgh

Our Historic Pittsburgh website now contains video content from partner institutions. To get started, the Historic Pittsburgh Video Collection presently contains 12 short film clips by Bill Beal, a Pittsburgh filmmaker active from the 1940s through the 1990s. The films belong to the Library & Archives at the Senator John Heinz History Center, who received an LSTA grant to support the reformatting of the films. We hope to mount more videos in the future from local collections, including ones from the Archives Service Center.

ASC Opens More New Collections for Research Use

The Archives Service Center recently processed three new collections which are open for research use. The Pittsburgh Speech & Society Project conducted interviews with Pittsburgh-born residents with the goal of studying the sociolinguistics of Pittsburgh speech, known informally as 'Pittsburghese.' The collection consists of 48 interviews on 51 CDs. The Peace and Freedom Center of Pittsburgh Records contain meeting minutes, correspondence, posters, results from opinion polls and information concerning different events associated with the Pittsburgh-based anti-war group active in the 1960s and 1970s. The Pittsburgh Symphony Society Records consist of organizational records, committee activities, contracts, active and inactive Society membership cards, brochures, advertisements, financial records and ledgers, scrapbooks, and newspaper clippings. The Society was formed in 1927 to support the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

ASC Opens New Collections of Political Papers

The Archives Service Center recently processed the collections of two notable politicians in western Pennsylvania. The Peter F. Flaherty Papers primarily document Flaherty's terms as mayor of Pittsburgh (1970-1977), although he also served as the United States Deputy Attorney General (1977-1978) and County Commissioner of Allegheny County (1984-1996). The Elmer J. Maloy Collection documents Maloy's term as mayor of the city of Duquesne, Pennsylvania. Elected in 1937, he implemented various reforms on behalf of the rank and file workers in the steel industry.

ASC Adds Press Releases to Documenting Pitt

The Archives Service Center added 50 years' worth of press releases published by the University of Pittsburgh between 1952 and 2002 to our Documenting Pitt website. Scanned from microfiche, our collection of 16,000 press releases contain newsworthy announcements of campus events, renowned visitors, and special achievements of students, faculty and staff. There are now more than 100,000 pages of text to search on Documenting Pitt.

ASC Opens Several New Women's Studies Collections

The Archives Service Center recently processed several new collections that document the women�s movement, particularly in Pittsburgh. These collections include Bosanka Evosevic Papers, Susanna Downie Papers, and Jean Witter Papers. Also the Pennsylvania Commission for Women Records is also now available for research use.

Finding Aids to Former University Chancellors Now Available

The University of Pittsburgh Archives released finding aids to records of several former Pitt Chancellors, including William Jacob Holland (1891-1901), Samuel Black McCormick (1904-1920), John Gabbert Bowman (1921-1945), and Edward H. Litchfield (1965).

ASC Receives More Garden Club of Allegheny County Records

The Archives Service Center processed additional material relating to the Garden Club of Allegheny County (GCAC). This collection documents the functions and activities undertaken by GCAC, a chapter of the Garden Club of America. The material, dating between 1913 and 2009, includes organizational records such as board and membership meeting minutes, official club reports, publications, events, correspondence, and club ephemera.

ASC Opens New Environmental Collections

The Archives Service Center recently processed the Pennsylvania Environmental Council Collection. We also significantly revised and updated the guide to the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Health Department Lead Survey Records. Both of these collections are open for research use.

ASC Creates Finding Aids to More Labor Collections

The Archives Service Center released new finding aids (ie, collection guides) that describe two dozen labor collections we hold. Some of these document local labor unions like the United Brewery Workers Local 267 or the United Steelworkers of America, Local 178. Others pertain to labor organizations or companies, such as the Rainbow Kitchen or the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee. Still others document collections of individuals, including Francis C. Shane and Thomas M. Kerr. Some of these latter collections also contain significant oral history collections donated to ASC by Lawrence F. Evans and John P. Hoerr.

ASC Implements Archivists� Toolkit

The Archives Service Center recently implemented a data management system, known as Archivists� Toolkit (AT), to broadly support a range of archival activities, including accessioning, locating and describing archival materials. The finding aids, or collection guides, we now produce for our collections are created in AT. This workflow streamlines the process of creating, revising and mounting uniform finding aids for our collections. For instance, you will notice a slightly different method of citing collection numbers (e.g., the Fort Pitt Supply Company Records is no longer referenced as �ais197503,� but as �AIS.1975.03�). Also note that during the six month transition to AT, we were prevented from releasing new finding aids to recently processed collections. So in the coming days we will be announcing many new collections that are now open for research use.

ASC Updates Pittsburgh City Photographer Online Collection

The Archives Service Center added over one thousand images to our online collection of Pittsburgh City Photographer images. Most of these were scanned from the original glass plate negatives; others from the deteriorating acetate negatives. These latter images present a significant preservation challenge due to a process known as Cellulose-Acetate Film Deterioration or �Vinegar Syndrome� that affects the CP negatives created between 1931-1939. We selected 333 negatives which were conserved by the Chicago Albumen Works with support from the University Library System.

ASC Closed on March 12, 2010

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Friday, March 12 for Pitt's Spring Break. We will resume our normal business hours on Monday, March 15.

ASC Adds Radio Publications to Documenting Pitt

The Archives Service Center added 62 Radio Publications to our Documenting Pitt website (Assorted Publications). In March 1924 the University of Pittsburgh established an educational radio station broadcasting through Westinghouse Station KDKA. Authorities in various fields of research and teaching, mostly from the University, gave talks on topics ranging from art to science. These talks were summarized in the pamphlets, called Radio Publications, and distributed widely. The talks were discontinued in 1930 for reasons of economy, but the publications document the research and ideas of some of the most prominent faculty of the University.

ASC Adds Publications on Nationality Rooms to Documenting Pitt

The Archives Service Center added to our Documenting Pitt website 42 publications that describe the 27 currently established Nationality Classrooms in the Cathedral of Learning. The assorted publications include dedication programs, information pamphlets, and brochures that describe the building of the rooms and the opening ceremonies. Most have photographs of the people on the individual committees and also of the rooms.

ASC Adds Remaining Hopkins Maps to Historic Pittsburgh

The Archives Service Center added twelve more real estate plat maps of Pittsburgh created by the G.M. Hopkins Company to the Historic Pittsburgh Maps Collection. They include Volume 1 and Volume 2 from 1889 (City of Pittsburgh), 1895 (eastern vicinity), 1896 (southern vicinity), 1897 (northern vicinity), Volume 3 from 1900 (City of Pittsburgh), Volume 4 from 1901 (City of Pittsburgh), Volume 1 from 1907 (Allegheny City), Volume 3 and Volume 4 from 1911 (City of Pittsburgh), Volume 8 from 1915 (eastern vicinity), and Volume 11 from 1940 (northwest vicinity). These additions represent the conclusion of a project by the ASC to identify and digitize all the Hopkins maps produced for Pittsburgh between 1872 and 1940.

ASC Closed in Observances of MLK Day

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Monday, January 18 in recognition of Martin Luther King Day.

ASC Closed for Winter Break

The Archives Service Center will be closed for the University of Pittsburgh's winter break from December 24th thru January 3rd. We will reopen during our normal operating hours on Monday, January 4th. Please note that your emails to us during this time may not be answered until we return from break. Happy Holidays!

ASC Adds More Yearbooks to Documenting Pitt

The Archives Service Center selected another two decades of yearbooks to be added to our Documenting Pitt website. The years 1981 to 1999 from the Panther Prints are now available online.

Pitt-sponsored Exhibition on Slavery in Pittsburgh Now Accessible Online

The University of Pittsburgh-sponsored exhibition �Free at Last? Slavery in Pittsburgh in the 18th and 19th Centuries,� which was on display recently at the Senator John Heinz History Center, lives on in a compelling Web version. Built by a team from Pitt's University Library System, the site guides viewers through a virtual tour of the award-winning exhibition seen by thousands between October 2008 and April 2009. Read more in Pitt press release.

Two New Image Collections from Heinz History Center Added to Historic Pittsburgh

The Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center added two new image collections to our Historic Pittsburgh website. The Hebrew Institute Photographs collection contains 27 photographs spanning 1915-1984 that document school classes, the laying of the cornerstone, and the Hebrew Institute's first school bus. The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railway Company Photographs collection contains 248 photographs, spanning 1903-1924, depicting railroad construction projects, bridges, and stations.

ASC Closed over Thanksgiving Break

The Archives Service Center will be closed Thursday and Friday of this week (Nov. 26-27) in observance of Thanksgiving. We will resume our normal hours on Monday, Nov. 30.

ASC Adds More Hopkins Maps to Historic Pittsburgh

The Archives Service Center added eight more real estate plat maps of Pittsburgh created by the G.M. Hopkins Company to the Historic Pittsburgh Maps Collection. They include an 1882 atlas; Volume 3, Volume 4 and Volume 5 [1890]; Volume 1 [1898]; Volume 2 [1899]; a 1910 atlas; and Volume 2 [1914]. These additions are part of an ongoing project by the ASC to identify and digitize all the Hopkins maps produced for Pittsburgh between 1872 and 1940. Twelve more volumes will be coming soon in the following months.

ASC Updates Pittsburgh City Photographer Online Collection

The Archives Service Center is pleased to announce the largest update to its online Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection with the addition of nearly 2,000 digitized images. The new images are part of an initiative to reformat all the glass plate negatives in the Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection (AIS.1971.05) to facilitate preservation and access. The images found in the newest addition, which represent the earliest ones in the collection (1901-1908), document improvements to city infrastructure, such as the construction of the Aspinwall and Ross Pumping Stations, the development and condition of roads in many neighborhoods (e.g., Shadyside, Point Breeze, and Morningside, among others), and residents and construction workers in these neighborhoods.

ASC Opens Jay Waldman Papers for Research Use

The Archives Service Center processed the Jay C. Waldman Papers (AIS.2007.10) that document the fifteen years (1971-1986) he served as a close aide to former PA Governor Dick Thornburgh. Waldman served Thornburgh in various offices and capacities, including Thornburgh's tenure as U.S. Attorney for Western Pennsylvania, Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, and Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

ASC Processes Photograph Collection Documenting Johnstown, Pa.

The Archives Service Center processed the Russell H. Heffley Photograph Collection (AIS.2009.05) that documents the industrial history of Johnstown, Pa. Comprising 648 images, this collection features interior and exterior mining views, advertising photographs for area businesses, and views of the people and the city of Johnstown at its peak as a steel town during the mid-twentieth century.

Wendell Wray Papers Open for Research Use

The Archives Service Center opened the Wendell Wray Papers (UA.90.F88) for research use. The collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Wendell Leonard Wray, the first African-American male to both graduate from Carnegie Tech Library School and be hired at Pittsburgh�s Carnegie Public Library. Wray relocated to New York City where he directed the Harlem-based North Manhattan Project, and later the Schomburg Center for Research in Black History. Later, he taught at the University of Pittsburgh�s School of Information Science, specializing in the instruction of oral history and African-American bibliography.

ASC News in the Pitt Chronicle

The Pitt Chronicle, a newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh, featured two stories in its September 30th issue on digitization activities by the Archives Service Center. The article, "New Pitt Web Sites Tells Story of Early Pittsburgh As Seen Through the Lens of the Jewish Community", focuses on the release of our NCJW Oral History Project website. The other, "Pitt's Library System Digitizes, Mounts Works of Fred Wright, Noted Labor Cartonist", describes our new image collection devoted to the Labor History Series drawn by UE cartoonist Fred Wright.

Local Publicity on Release of NCJW Oral History Collection Online

The Archives Service Center recently released website, Pittsburgh and Beyond: The Experience of the Jewish Community, has received the attention of The Jewish Chronicle and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

ASC Releases NCJW Oral History Collection Online

The Archives Service Center announces the release of a new website devoted to the oral history collection created by the Pittsburgh Section of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) and housed by ASC. Pittsburgh and Beyond: The Experience of the Jewish Community comprises over one thousand hours of interviews of Jewish men and women in Pittsburgh between 1968 and 2001. Conducted by volunteers, the 516 interviews provide a window into the Jewish community's impact on academic, business, civic, cultural, medical, political, religious, and social evolution and development in Pittsburgh, as well as national and international events. The audiocassette tapes were digitized and mounted online accompanied by detailed abstracts and other descriptive information which can be searched. Also see the press release issued by the University of Pittsburgh.

URM Workshop Announcement

University Archives and Records Management is offering a session through the Office of Human Resources' "Faculty and Staff Development Program" series on Thursday, October 1, 2009 from 9-11 a.m. at 342 Craig Hall. This workshop will provide an overview of records services available at no-cost to University departments. Participants will receive an overview of campus-wide retention policies and regulations for records management, as well as information about records storage and shredding options. In addition, we will discuss use of the University Archives for the storage of historical records including faculty papers, administrative records, and student organization records.

Pitt Announces Labor History Cartoon Website

In conjunction with Labor Day, the University of Pittsburgh announced the release of the ULS website, Drawing on the American Labor Movement: Labor History Cartoons of Fred Wright. The cartoons are part of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) collection held by the Archives Service Center since 1975.

ASC Closed on Labor Day

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Monday, September 7 for Labor Day. We will reopen during our normal operating hours on Tuesday, September 8.

Images Added to University Archives Image Collection

Today the Archives Service Center added more images to the University of Pittsburgh Archives image collection. The images of the Pitt campus were shot by Ken Kobus and donated to the Archives Service Center along with his photograph collection documenting the railroad and steel industries.

ASC Releases Harold Corsini Photograph Collection

The Archives Service Center has mounted a selection of 600 photographs by noted photographer Harold Corsini. Corsini (1919-2008) worked as a freelance photographer in Pittsburgh for much of his long life. The images selected for digitization, taken during the 1940s-1970s, best represent the creative and commercial content of Corsini's work as a professional photographer as well as an artist. They comprise commercial photographs taken for local and national businesses, industrial photographs taken for US Steel as well as images from WWII and of Southeast Asia and East Africa. The images can be searched or browsed by topic. The ASC acquired his 55,000+ photographic collection in 2007. Please consult the collection finding aid for more information.

ASC Opens Michael M. Dawida Papers

The Archives Service Center has opened the Michael M. Dawida Papers for research use. Dawida (D-Carrick) served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1979-1984) and then in the Pennsylvania State Senate (1985-1995). The papers, primarily documenting his state senate career, include legislative files, subject files of the various public issues that concerned Dawida, news releases, correspondence, and videotapes of "Senate Journal," a television program hosted by Dawida. Please see the online collection guide for more information.

New Map Viewing Interface for Historic Pittsburgh

We improved the viewing interface for the G.M. Hopkins Company maps on the Historic Pittsburgh website. Now the map plates can be enlarged and more easily navigated using the Zoomify interface. You can now zoom in on a map plate and drag it around to move within it. We also improved the ability to browse map plates from each volume. Users can now freely download map plate images as 200 dpi JPEG files for noncommercial and educational purposes.

Radio Interview regarding ASC Coal Mine Maps

Archives Service Center and Preservation personnel, in collaboration with staff from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, are working on a major project associated with an important component of our CONSOL Energy coal mine maps. A reporter for The Allegheny Front, an environmental radio station, recently produced a story about the project called New Information From Old Mine Maps. It includes comments from Amy Baker, our conservator for the project.

Historic Pittsburgh City Directories Now Available

We created a new full-text collection within our Historic Pittsburgh website. The Historic Pittsburgh City Directories collection contains 125 directories published between 1815 and 1945. The majority of the directories were published by J.F. Diffenbacher and R.L. Polk & Company. While most of the directories cover Pittsburgh and Allegheny City, a portion includes Homestead and nearby boroughs. Thanks to the Heinz History Center and Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation for contributing many of their city directories for this project!

New Image Collecton Added to Historic Pittsburgh

Today the Archives Service Center added a new digital image collection to Historic Pittsburgh. The Ken Kobus Photograph Collection features 246 images documenting the railroad and steel industries in Pennsylvania taken primarily during the 1980s and early 1990s. CONRAIL and the LTV Steel Company are the main focus of the collection while secondary points of interest include the Pennsylvania Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad, Amtrak, and Union Switch and Signal. Please consult the finding aid for more information about the physical collection.

New Collection Open for Research Use

The Archives Service Center opened the Leighton E. Orr Papers (AIS200903) for research use. This collection contains the technical reports generated by Orr in his work as a professional consultant specializing in ceramics and glass.

New Collections Open for Research Use

The Archives Service Center opened three new collections for research use from our Archives of Industrial Society (AIS). They are the Electrical Workers of Western Pennsylvania Oral History Project (AIS199115), the Gail M. Rockwood Papers (AIS200020), and the Pittsburgh Brewing Company Scrapbooks (AIS200708). We also opened two collections from the University Archives (UA): Elizabeth Elmer Papers (UA90F86) and Ivan Elagin Papers (UA90F85).

ASC Closed on July 3

In honor of Independence Day, the Archives Service Center will be closed on Friday, July 3. We will reopen during our normal operating hours on Monday, July 6.

University Records Management Office News

The University Records Management (URM) office, part of the Archives Service Center, recently published its June 2009 Newsletter. It highlights and describes the implementation of a new itemized service for all Pitt accounts using BRM services. This service becomes effective on August 3, 2009.

ASC Digitizes Fred Wright Cartoons

The Archives Service Center has digitized and mounted online work by former United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) staff cartoonist Fred Wright. The web site, Drawing on the American Labor Movement, features the entirety of Wright's "Labor History" series in addition to a sampling of his other works. This series of 177 cartoons describes some of the conflicts and hardships faced by workers during the American labor movement, from the colonial period to the Vietnam War.

ASC Closed for Memorial Day

The Archives Service Center is closed on Monday, May 25 in observance of Memorial Day.

New Collections Open for Research Use

The Archives Service Center opened the Denominational Ministry Strategy Collection for research use. Also we mounted a finding aid that provides an overview of the entire United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) records. Since this collection is so large (3,000 linear ft.), it has been arranged at record group, subgroup and series levels with finding aids reflecting these distinctions. The majority of the collection is open for research use.

New Collections Open for Research Use

The Archives Service Center opened three new collections for research use. They include the Patricia Pelkofer Papers, the Ralph E. Griswold, GWSM, Inc. Collection, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

University Archives and Records Management Workshop

Offered by the University's Human Resources department, this workshop will provide an overview of records services available to University departments through the University Records Management and University Archives programs. Participants will receive an overview of campus-wide retention policies and regulations for records management. It will also cover services available through BRM, the University�s contractor for off-site records storage and shredding. In addition, the presenters will discuss use of the University Archives for the storage of historical records including faculty papers, administrative records, and student organization records. The workshop is scheduled for Friday, April 3 from 9-11 am in 342 Craig Hall. For more information and/or to register, please visit the HR website.

ASC Closed on March 13, 2009

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Friday, March 13 for Spring Break. We will resume our normal business hours on Monday, March 16.

New Collections Open for Research Use

The Archives Service Center opened three new collections for research use. They include the Garden Club of Allegheny County and the Ohio Company Papers. Also we created a collection guide to the Allegheny County (Pa.) Coroner's Office Records.

Preservation fair: Saving Your Family Treasures

Come join local archivists, museum curators and preservationists tomorrow (Sat., February 28) from 10 AM - 4 PM at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to learn more about what you can do to preserve your family history. Over 30 individual conservators and vendors of conservation supplies and services will be on hand to address your conservation issues. Bring books, photographs, film, letters and other documents, paintings, textiles and family treasures for free conservation advice. No appraisals or valuations will be given. The event is free with Museum admission; no separate registration is required.

University of Pittsburgh Press Digital Editions Website Updated

The Digital Research Library updated the University of Pittsburgh Press Digital Editions Website today. The site now contains 522 titles published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. The digitized titles were contributed by the Archives Service Center.

American Left Ephemera Collection Website Updated

Dr. Richard Oestreicher selected new material for digitization from a collection of influential left-wing organizations in the United States that he recently donated to the Archives Service Center. This material was digitized by the ULS Digital Research Library and is now available online at the American Left Ephemera Collection Website. The site now contains 192 texts and 110 images.

University Records Management Office News

The University Records Management (URM) office, part of the Archives Service Center, recently published its February 2009 newsletter. Also, in conjunction with the University's contractor for records services, Business Records Management, the URM is conducting a survey for all authorized users of storage and shredding accounts. The intention of the survey is to get feedback from the University community on the services and performance of our program. The survey will be available until March 31, 2009.

New Collections Open for Research Use

The Archives Service Center opened 49 new collections for research use and updated the collection guides to 39 others. The new collections include the Environmental Action Foundation Records, several United Electrical collections, and the remainder of the Darlington manuscript collections. Search Collection Guides.

ASC Adds Honors Convocation Programs to Documenting Pitt

The Archives Service Center updated its Documenting Pitt website by digitizing a group of material known as the Honors Convocation Programs. The new additions comprise the Book of the Scholars from the Scholars� Day Assembly for 1932, 1934-1957, the Honors Convocation Programs for 1963, 1966, 1977-2008 and the Tap Day Program for 1976.

ASC in the News

As part of the media activities surrounding last week's announcement regarding the Mine Map Preservation project, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review published this article on January 16, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published this article on January 19, and the Observer-Reporter published this article on January 20.

ASC Closed on January 19 for MLK Day

The Archives Service Center will be closed on Monday, January 19 in recognition of Martin Luther King Day.

ASC Hosts Celebration of Mine Map Preservation Project

The University Library System announces today the commitment of $200,000 from CONSOL Energy Inc., the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection California District Office (PA-DEP), and the United States Department of the Interior Office of Surface Mining (OSM) to catalog, conserve and prepare coal mining maps held by the Archives Service Center for digitization. This collaborative effort will impact mine safety, mining operations, land reclamation, new development, and research. CONSOL Energy Inc. first began placing mine map materials with the Archives Service Center in 1991.

ASC Closed January 15, 2009

The Archives Service Center will be closed to researchers on Thursday, January 15, 2009 due to a special event being held in the archives. We apologize if this is an inconvenience.

ASC Welcomes New Archivists

The Archives Service Center welcomes Alesha Shumar and Zach Brodt as project archivists.

ASC Closed for Winter Break

The Archives Service Center will be closed Wednesday, December 24 thru Thursday, January 1. We will reopen during normal business hours on Friday, January 2. Happy Holidays!

ASC Says Goodbye

We are grateful for the many undergraduate and graduate students who worked in the Archives Service Center this past semester. Thank you for your hard work and accomplishments! We also say goodbye to our professional colleague Kate Colligan, who begins a new research faculty position in the Pitt Graduate School of Public Health. We wish Kate well in this new field.

More Book Signings

ASC Media Curator Miriam Meislik will be appearing at Bradley�s Books located in Macy�s Department Store downtown on Friday, December 12 from 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM to sign copies of her book, Historic Photos of Pittsburgh. She will be joined by Rick Sebak as he signs his books. Miriam will also be appearing at Borders Books in South Hills Village on Saturday, December 13 from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM.

ASC Archivist Book Signing

Miriam Meislik, Media Curator at the Archives Service Center and author of Historic Photos of Pittsburgh, will be joining other local Pittsburgh authors and musicians at the Senator John Heinz History Center's Holiday Book Fair on Saturday, December 6, 2008 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Redesign of ASC website

Today the Archives Service Center (ASC) released an improved design of our website. The navigation bar on the right-hand side now enables quicker reference and access to our pages, including the ability to search our collection guides, or finding aids, from anywhere on the site. New research guides and additional reference resources are now available too for collections in the Archives of Industrial Society and University Archives.

We have introduced a new form for ordering reproductions. This can be completed online and emailed or printed and mailed to us. Our University Records Management page contains helpful information about our services, including many forms needed to conduct your business with BRM and the University Archives.

We have added two new pages: Audio-Visual Materials and Digital Collections. These describe our efforts to collect and preserve media collections as well as highlights many of our materials we have digitized. And of course we have a News page to keep you updated on recently processed collections and other activities and events at the ASC.

We hope you benefit from this improvement and enjoy using the site to conduct your research.

Archives Service Center - News

News on the Pittsburgh Academy Journal

ASC Digitizes MLK Jr. March Photographs

ASC Acquires Pittsburgh Academy Journal

ASC Adds More P&LE Images to Historic Pittsburgh

ASC Closed in Observances of MLK Day

More Church Histories Added to Historic Pittsburgh

ASC Reading Room

ASC Reading Room

More Commencement Programs Added to Documenting Pitt

ASC Processes Two Nationality Room Collections

ASC Adds More P&LE Images to Historic Pittsburgh

ASC Adds New Image Collection to Historic Pittsburgh

Can you help us identify these locations?

Can you help us identify these locations?

ASC Closed for Memorial Day

ASC Adds More City Photographer Images to Online Collection

Historic Pittsburgh Chronology Updated

Pittsburgh Mapping and Historical Site Viewer

CONSOL Energy Inc. West Virginia and Eastern Ohio Mine Maps and Records Collection

More Darlington Material Digitized

ASC Adds More City Photographer Images to Online Collection

ASC Closed on March 9, 2012

ASC Displays Original Pitt Charters

ASC Closed in Observances of MLK Day

Pittsburgh Then and Now Website Features ASC Photos

ASC Closed for Winter Break

ASC Releases More Athletic Media Guides on Documenting Pitt

ASC Creates Finding Aid to AIS Maps & Atlases

ASC Closed over Thanksgiving Break

ASC Adds AV material to Steffi Domike collection

Finding Aids to Oral History Collections Available

Browse ASC Finding Aids

ASC Closed on Labor Day

ASC Processes Joni Rabinowitz Papers

ASC Adds More City Photographer Images to Online Collection

ASC Closed on Friday for ULS In-Service Day

ASC Now Services Consolidation Coal Company Records

ASC Adds Over 1,000 More City Photographer Images to Online Collection

ASC Scans Pitt Football Photos from 1920s

ASC Launches New Pittsburgh Speech & Society Project Website

ASC Closed for Memorial Day

ASC Releases Guide to University Archives' Film and Video Material

ASC Processes More Labor Collections

ASC Processes Charles C. McGovern Papers

ASC Processes University Archives' Collections

Head of ASC Wins MARAC Election

ASC Wins Award for Frick Finding Aid

ASC Adds Alumni Publications to Documenting Pitt

ASC Processes Liane Norman Papers

ASC Releases Finding Aids to Oral History Collections

ASC Processes More Labor Collections

ASC Closed on March 11, 2010

ASC Processes More Collections

ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

ASC Processes Papers of Prominent African American Pittsburghers

ASC Inventories P&LE Records

ASC Closed in Observances of MLK Day

ASC Processes More Collections

ASC Closed for Winter Break

Finding Aids to Former Acting University Chancellors Now Available

ASC Closed over Thanksgiving Break

ASC Processes Alvin P. Shapiro Papers

Correction: ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

ASC Supports the Retrographer Project: Exploring Pittsburgh�s Photographic History

ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

Many Darlington Manuscript Collections Now Online

ASC Releases Finding Aid to Oral History Collection

ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

ASC Welcomes New Staff

ASC Closed on Labor Day

ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

More University Archives Collections Open for Research Use

ASC Releases Finding Aid to Tri-State Conference on Manufacturing Records

ASC Opens Two More Collections

ASC Opens John W. Oliver Papers

ASC Digitizes Images from Paul Slantis Photograph Collection

ASC Releases More City Photographer Images

ASC Opens Marilyn Skolnick Papers for Research Use

ASC Releases Finding Aids to More Labor Collections