Since Thanksgiving is getting closer I thought I'd share with you some of the things I'm thankful for...

First, I'm thankful for sleep. This past week has been full of exams and papers for me and I will be thankful tomorrow night when I can finally sleep in my bed at home. This lullaby sounds like it could put me to sleep right here.

Secondly, I'm thankful for wine. My family drinks wine at every meal, especially Thanksgiving. It is a staple at family events and I am looking forward to having a glass and relaxing.

Now this third one goes out to my grandma who I am very thankful for. She is quite the character and I bet if you ask her what she is thankful for, she would say bananas.  My grandma loves bananas so much I have contemplated buying her a banana tree. And once a banana goes bad, she makes banana bread, which I am also thankful for, because it's the most delicious bread you will ever eat.

Lastly, I am thankful for family.  I love holidays when everyone comes over for food and drink.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Today I thought would be a great day to blog about the German Studies Collection.  This weekend UW Madison with Humboldt College are paying tribute to Jost Hermand on his birthday.  Earlier this year the UW payed tribute to Hermand as the most famous living scholar of German literature and culture, whom still teaching in Berlin and Madison.


Within our German Studies Collection is a sub-collection called The Wisconsin Workshop. Beginning in 1969 the Department of German at the University of Wisconsin, Madison sponsored “The Wisconsin Workshop,” an annual, interdisciplinary conference traditionally held in the fall and focused on a topic related to German culture. It was remarkable in the way it brought together young and mature scholars of German literature, arts, culture, and history, creating a transatlantic bridge for scholarly exchange about “things German.” 


Reinhold Grimm and Jost Hermand, the department’s two senior Vilas Research Professors, organized the annual event with support from younger colleagues and published the volumes from 1970 until 1982 in Germany and from 1986 until 1994 under the imprint of the University of Wisconsin Press.The selected proceedings of each Wisconsin Workshop were published in volumes that have accompanied and documented major trends in the discipline of German Studies. Many of these volumes are considered path-breaking contributions in the field, others have become standard reference works.


We hope you take a look at his collection, especially all you Germans out there. And lets all say a Alles Gute zum Geburtstag to Jost Hermand.

Today we have another new collection to share with you, the UNTAC Archives.  The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia is mainly a radio archive and can be considered as a Cambodian historical item. The collection features the democratic transition in Cambodia in early 1990s, after the end of Cold War. The radio program was established in 1992, began broadcasting in 1992 and ended in 1993. The radio was a very effective tool for UNTAC to get its information on the electoral process, human rights and other UNTAC’s activities to Cambodian people across the country. 


The collection consists of around 232 programs in which comprises of 2,462 paper documents and 2,113 distinct tapes. The transcript and other types of text-based documents are in English, Khmer or/and French, while audio tapes are only in Khmer except some interviews with non-Khmer speakers.


Take a listen and let us know what you think.

Now there is a new way to search some of our digital collections.  UW Forward, a resource discovery tool that offers a unified search interface for library data, has added five of our digital resources to its search library.  You can now search through these collections along with UW System library holdings.  The collections that can be found in UW Forward include Africa Focus, Artists' Books, Publishers' Bindings Online and SouthEast Asian Images and Texts. Take a look at this new search system and let us know what you think!

The Mueller Bros. Brewing Co.

Two Rivers History is another collection we recently went live with.  The collection contains the Hubert R. Wentorf Photo Collection and Fisher-Hamilton Industries Product Catalogs.

Mr. Wentorf was both a local photographer and a collector of historical photographs. His images focus on local landmarks, industries and institutions, and people going about daily life in Two Rivers. Many of his photographs include group shots of organizations and civic groups.

Artists Sketch of Hamilton Manufacturing Company

The Fisher-Hamilton catalogs document the products manufactured by the company and the evolution of these products (and the company itself) over the years. These catalogs serve as a valuable resource to antique hunters.

Take a peek at this great image collection. Maybe you will find a little history of your own.

Bethesda Spring

Last Friday, we showed you our new Bunny Berigan Collection. Today I wanted to highlight another of our new collections, the Waukesha County History Collection.The materials selected document the industries, people, and structures important to the development of Waukesha County. Many of the images come from Warren S. O’Brien, a prolific Waukesha photographer.


The 1870s marked the beginning of the Springs Era in the city of Waukesha. As mineral springs were discovered and their waters bottled, Waukesha’s health and tourism industries flourished. Large and small bottling plants cropped up, giving rise to Waukesha’s beverage and bottling business. 

Fountain Spring House

Known as the “Saratoga of the West,” Waukesha became a nationally recognized destination for those seeking relaxation and restoration of the mind and body. Beautiful parks dotted the landscape, lakes offered recreation opportunities, and grand resorts welcomed visitors.


This image and text collections highlights this era is Waukesha history.


Take a peek and let us know what you think!

Bunny with his trumpet, 1937

This month we went live with three new collections within our State of Wisconsin Collection, I wanted to highlight one of them for you today.  


Bunny Berigan, Fox Lake's Own is an image collection of everything from the famous trumpeters days in Wisconsin.  Although born in Hilbert, Wisconsin, Bernard “Bunny” Berigan, a prominent jazz trumpeter, is considered Fox Lake’s own. He moved there with his parents when he was only a few months old. 


At the end of his sophomore year in the Fox Lake, Bunny transferred to a Madison high school. Bunny joined a band with his Uncles and was discovered by Hal Kamp. He signed Bunny to play with the Kamp Orchestra leaving for a European Tour. During this tour Bunny made his first big trumpet solo.

Bunny Berigan Band at Paramount Theater, NYC in 1937

When Bunny got home he was famous. He was associated with such great names as Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Red Norvo and Frankie Trumbauer. Later Bunny led his own band.


The collection is full of great images throughout Bunny's life. If your a Bunny fan or a jazz fan this is the perfect collection to put on some music and take a peek at the making of a jazz legend.

Tomorrow is the start of the Wisconsin Library Association Annual Conference. Since this year's conference is being held in Wisconsin Dells, we thought we would highlight some of the collections that have images from the Dells.


The image on the left is from the Great Lakes Maritime History Project Collection.  The caption says this is the Alexander Mitchell, at landing in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, passengers are posing on both decks.


The image on the right is from the Brittingham Lantern Slides Collection.  The picture is A view of rock formations and water in the Upper Dells of Wisconsin.


Both of these collections can be found in the State of Wisconsin Collection.  


We hope everything goes well at the conference this week and maybe we will see some of you there!