Raise your glass in honor of the Beer and Cheese Fest in Madison this weekend! We thought we would take a look through our collections for images to celebrate those two things we love here in Wisconsin!

The State of Wisconsin Collection brings together, in digital form, two categories of primary and secondary materials: writings about the State of Wisconsin and unique or valuable materials that relate to its history and ongoing development. And of course features some of the best images of CHEESE AND BEER!

This a view from the steps of the Court House in the center of the square in the business section of Monroe, Wisconsin, on Saturday, September 14, 1940 - Cheese Day. This celebration was held every 5 years. The crowd has gathered to witness a Dairy Maid milking contest.

This collection also contains a great book titled Cheesemaking in Wisconsin: a short history! The book contains text and great pictures of cheese factories all around Wisconsin!

And we can't forget to mention the great breweries here in Wisconsin. In the Kenosha City directory of 1858-9, it was recorded that this brewery was located on North Water Street, on the corner of the first alley south of Lemon Street. The brewery annually converted seven to ten thousand bushels of malt into beer. Conrad Muntzenberger came to Kenosha in 1847 and operated this brewery until 1875.

This month we thought we would share with you The Real Estate Collection. The Real Estate Collection is intended to provide online access to scholarly research, teaching materials and examples of commercial work in real estate done by celebrated University of Wisconsin professor James A. Graaskamp and others.

James Graaskamp taught real estate at the UW-Madison from 1964 to 1988 and was chairman of the Real Estate Department from 1968 until his untimely death in 1988. Graaskamp built the teaching side of the Real Estate program into national prominence.

This digital collection contains over 165 of Landmark Research’s consulting reports completed between the late 1960s to the early 1990s. There are appraisals, market and feasibility studies as well as other types of research and analysis. The collection provides a sampling of the extraordinary work of this truly remarkable man. We are all proud to have played a small role in preserving it and making it available to others with the support of the Counselors of Real Estate and the Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association.

Take a look at the appraisals from some prominent Madison locations.

The Latin American Cartonera Publishers Database is another of our visually interesting collections. The Cartonera publishing phenomenon began in Buenos Aires in 2003 and was spearheaded by writers and artists interested in reconfiguring the conditions in which literary art is produced and consumed. This initial enterprise called Eloisa Cartonera has not only changed the publishing scene in Argentina but also the scene across Latin America by functioning as a model and an inspiration for the development of the following Cartonera publishing projects in Latin America.

All of the Cartonera books are hand-made from recycled cardboard collected off the streets by cartoneros, or garbage pickers, who then sell the cardboard they collect to the Cartonera publishers and in some cases work on the production process of the actual books themselves. The cardboard covers are hand painted and assembled in a process that reconfigures the relation of the worker to his work by sidestepping exploitation of the worker and maintaining the unique artistic qualities of each individual cover produced.

We encourage you to check out these covers for yourself. Enjoy!

Recently the UW Digital Collections went live with the Journal of Design Manufactures collection. These journals were published in London from 1849 to 1852. They were edited by Henry Cole and Richard Redgrave. Focusing on decorative and applied arts, the journal aimed to improve British industrial design and educate public taste. Actual samples of fabric and wallpaper were included in the issues, and designs analyzed. Attention was also devoted to critiques of contemporary pottery, glass and metals. Other contents include news items, book reviews, and original papers on topics ranging from copyright to the importance of botany study to design. The 1851 Great Exhibition is heavily discussed. Illustrations are scattered throughout. The six compilation volumes presented here constitute the full run (36 monthly issues) of this short-lived journal. Each volume includes six issues with a contents index. Original volumes are held at the UW-Madison, Kohler Art Library.

Check 'em out! Maybe it will give you some design ideas!

Welcome 2010 LSTA Grant Recipients!

On Wednesday, January 13th, the UWDCC will host Wisconsin public librarians at a day-long workshop to aquaint these 2010 LSTA grant recipients with the UW Digital Collections Center, its staff, digitization process and more!

Approximately 20 librarians, representing ten libraries or library systems throughout the state, will enjoy staff presentations on scanning, metadata creation, copyright, marketing digital collections and more.

Since 2005, the UWDCC has partnered with Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI)and public libraries to digitize and make available online, materials that present Wisconsin local history including city directories, atlases and plat maps, community photo collections, oral histories, yearbooks, newsletters and other archival materials. To date, over 30 projects have been completed, digitizing thousands of images and book pages. These collections are freely accessible via the State of Wisconsin Collection at http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.

For more information about the LSTA program, visit http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/lsta.html.

Way back in 2006, the UW Digital Collections added 60 Books, 60 Libraries to our online exhibits. This collection was a collaborative book arts, writing and journaling project for the people of south central Wisconsin. The books were originally hosted by the South Central Library System (SCLS), and produced by the Bone Folders’ Guild (BFG), a book arts group based in Madison. The BFG book artists created sixty handmade blank books. Each book was catalogued into each of the sixty libraries in the South Central Library System. Unlike other library books, patrons were invited to write, draw, paint or collage in the books, producing community-wide collaborative works of art.

Browse through artwork from Baraboo, read the poems of Lodi and enjoy the drawings of kids from throughout the library system. The creativity of community is on display in this beautiful collection of books.

Happy New Year! As promised here are our top three collections of this year...

Ainu Komonjo -- Ohnuki Collection

This collection of books represents the earliest depictions of the Ainu by the Japanese. They are primarily about the Sakhalin Ainu, since the books were acquired by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney at the time she was studying them. The Ainu, who lived on Sakhalin, Hokkaido and the Kuriles are earliest known occupants of these islands. The collection of books, all on rice paper, are either hand-written, with illustrations hand-drawn, or are wood block prints. Many of these early documents were authored by explorers and scholars at the order of the Bakufu or the Matsumae clan. Since these authors were sent by the Japanese government which for the first time began to be concerned with territorial expansions and boundaries, these documents often include a number of detailed maps, including the topography and Ainu place names.

Of all the books in the collection, Ezo-shi by Arai Hakuseki must be singled out for its importance. Although he wrote this book on the basis of massive documents collected by others who traveled to the Ainu lands, it is considered to be the first and the most reliable description of the Hokkaido, Sakahlin, and the Kurile Ainu and their lands. This particular edition is accompanied by illustrations, drawn by an anonymous artist, who produced them b

ased on the actual observation of the Ainu and their way of life. Given the details and vivid colors, which were extremely well-preserved, this copy of Ezo-shi may be the best available today.

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World War II Veterans of Mt. Horeb

The digital collection, World War II Veterans of Mount Horeb, is an effort to honor the sacrifices and achievements of Mount Horeb veterans and to ensure their place in local history. The collection brings together several types of materials: books, photographs, audio interviews, slides, and personal scrapbooks and memorabilia. The Mount Horeb Public Library began this project by personally interviewing willing WWII veterans. Each of these men and one woman has compelling stories to tell about serving their country during WWII. Many had the opportunity to take pictures of a 1940s war-ravaged Europe, which are also included in the collection.

World War II Veterans of Mount Horeb is a collaborative project completed by the UWDCC and the Mount Horeb Public Library. World War II Veterans of Mount Horeb was funded, in part, through a grant from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in 2009.

The Aldo Leopold Archives

Aldo Leopold is considered by many to have been the most influential conservation thinker of the 20th Century. Leopold's legacy spans the disciplines of forestry, wildlife management, conservation biology, sustainable agriculture, restoration ecology, private land management, environmental history, literature, education, esthetics, and ethics. He is most widely known as the author of A Sand County Almanac, one of the most beloved and respected books about the environment ever published. The Leopold Collection houses the raw materials that document not only Leopold's rise to prominence but the history of conservation and the emergence of the field of ecology from the early 1900s until his death in 1948.

This project and grant was finished this year. It is a great collection with and we hope that you will take the time to enjoy it.