Learn about the 19th Amendment and the right to vote for women:
https://museum.archives.gov/rightfully-hers
 Rightfully Hers poster 1 |
 Rightfully Hers poster 2 |
 Rightfully Hers poster 3 |
 Rightfully Hers poster 4 |
For additional thoughts on democracy and voting, check out these related posts:
https://blogs.pugetsound.edu/collinsunbound/category/spotlight-on-the-constitution-voting-rights-and-elections/
Ballot BOX by Bonnie Thompson Norman
Bonnie Thompson Norman is a Seattle artist who is passionate about voting and civil rights. She has been a printer and book artist for over forty years, and is proprietor of The Windowpane Press. She learned printing at The Woman’s Building in Los Angeles, eventually becoming their Studio Director. In Seattle, Bonnie works as a hand book binder and letterpress printer and teaches classes in printing and book making. She produces works that offer challenging questions, provocative puns and inspiration about timeless and/or contemporary issues in the form of broadsides and artist’s books.
Ballot BOX, part of the Collins Memorial Library Special Collections is a book intended to educate and inspire viewers to recognize the power and right to vote.
In Bonnie’s own words:
It may come as a surprise to learn the right to vote is not explicitly stated nor provided for in the United States Constitution. Rather, this right has been shaped by Amendments, Congressional legislation, judicial review, and requirements and restrictions enacted by the States.
For me, voting is a fundamental and cherished expression of patriotism and democracy. By casting my vote, I am connected to the principals of Government of the People, by the People and for the People.
http://abecedariangallery.com/store/product/bonnie-thompson-norman-ballot-box/
Collins Librarian Jane Carlin recently had a chance to check in with Bonnie and asked her a few questions about her views:
It has been six years since you published Ballot BOX. What is the significance of this book six years after publication?
For me, this is not a new issue. I have always been moved by the act of voting. When I lived in Los Angeles and my children were much younger, I made sure that I would take them with me each and every time I went to a polling place. I was often a bit emotional about the process of telling and showing my children how democracy works…talking about how we checked in and our signatures were verified, how we went into our very own private voting booth, how we placed the ballot in the box…and finally, how we got a sticker that said, “I voted!”
Initially when absentee ballots (later called mail-in ballots) were made available, I was a bit sad about missing the act of going to the polling place with my neighbors. However, I came to appreciate the convenience of being able to vote on my own time and with less worry of having to rush to the polls before they closed. With the limitations which have been imposed by individual states and jurisdictions on access to voting, cleansing of voting rolls, disenfranchisement of people who have fully served time for offenses, shortened hours, fewer polling sites…and now, the threats against the United States Post Office, the right to vote is further and seriously undermined.
What message do you want viewers to take away after seeing Ballot BOX?
I would like people to understand that the right to vote in our country, though not written into the Constitution, is a foundation of our democracy. It is important to understand our rights and why it is important that these rights be extended to each and every citizen in an equal and unrestricted manner.
There are many challenges facing voters today. What’s your take?
I hear from people with whom I have tried in the past to encourage to register to vote that they don’t know enough about either the candidate running or the issue presented, or both. Or, they don’t think their vote will make any difference in the outcome. My response first is, again, not voting is still a vote. Secondly, their paychecks already reflect how issues in the past have been determined in the way deductions are allocated and spent. So, each time they get paid, their paycheck is a reflection of past legislation like the establishment of Social Security, or Unemployment Insurance, etc. Third, and this is the biggest stretch for people, is that they could spend a few moments looking at the Voter Information Pamphlet or consulting several different sources to see what they have to say on particular issues and candidates. I emphasize several disparate sources.
Additional Resources for Students on Voting: (Compiled by Collins librarian Andrea Klyn)
For additional thoughts on democracy and voting, check out these related posts:
https://blogs.pugetsound.edu/collinsunbound/category/spotlight-on-the-constitution-voting-rights-and-elections/
Fran Leskovar gives Setauket Gang presentation Sept. 2019
With our Presidential Election in November, Constitution Day in September, and the Anniversary of the 19th Amendment, Collins Library is pleased to host a series of blog posts by Fran Leskovar.
Very often Americans do not realize the greatness of our Constitution and often take it for granted. But our Constitution is more than just a document outlining the system and the limits of our government based on theories of John Locke, Montesquieu, or ancient Roman and Greek systems of the polity. It is a symbol of our national unity and American identity characterized by the dedication to liberty, rule of law, resilience, and belief that, in America, nothing is beyond our reach. But most importantly, it is a document that entrusts us, “the People,” with a responsibility to protect it, defend it, and continue developing a “more perfect Union” based on our four freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. As the guardian angel of this “land of the free and home of the brave,” President Abraham Lincoln, told us in his famous Gettysburg Address, “it is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on…that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” In that spirit, let us remember on this Constitution and Citizenship Day all of our heroes– known and unknown– native sons and daughters, first-generation citizens, and newly arrived members of our family who dedicated their lives to our country, our values, and our Constitution. Let us also remember the words of late President John F. Kennedy to not ask ourselves what our country can do for us but rather what we can do for our country. And, finally, let us continue to believe in this nation, our Founding ideas, and American dream. We live in republic, to paraphrase Senator John McCain, “where we are more alike than different” and share the common heritage and responsibility given to us by our Founding Fathers with the three simple words in our Constitution, “We the People.”
– By Fran Leskovar
About Fran Leskovar
Fran Leskovar is a two-time recipient of the University Summer Research stipend. His work on the American Revolutionary War espionage has been presented at the AHSS Symposium and Board of Trustees Symposium here, at the University of Puget Sound, and to the national audience at the prestigious Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium at the John Hopkins University and University of Washington Undergraduate Symposium. Fran Leskovar is currently publishing his paper titled “The American Revolutionary Intelligence: The Culper Ring and The Notion of Liminality” in the Macksey Undergraduate Journal. Besides his interest in the American Revolution and early years of American state, Fran Leskovar has a considerable background in the history of Cold War and European history. This summer, he has been working on a paper titled “‘Playing Hapsburg:’ The Hapsburg Monarchy and The post-Yugoslav Croatian Society” in which he explains why such a strong sentiment for the Hapsburg past exists in the post-1990s Croatian society.”
For additional thoughts on democracy and voting, check out these related posts:
https://blogs.pugetsound.edu/collinsunbound/category/spotlight-on-the-constitution-voting-rights-and-elections/
SEPTEMBER
COMING 2021
FEBRUARY
COMING 2022
FEBRUARY
Image from: https://www.tacomahistory.org/
Speaking Out About Dreams That Matter
This two-part presentation highlights some of the people who have fought for civil rights and social justice from throughout Tacoma’s history. The presentation supplements previous research with new interviews with several leaders that we’ve conducted this summer via Zoom.
The presentations aired in August as part of a Tacoma Public Library webinar series and are now freely available on YouTube:
Part One: https://youtu.be/SnIm0VqZAsc
Part Two: https://youtu.be/p31EWlrDfHE
COVID-19 Diary Project
Tacoma Historical Society is collecting diary entries (both text and audio options are available) which will be saved for posterity, to help future residents and historians understand what this 2020 experience has been like for those in the Tacoma area. Anyone is welcome to contribute:
https://www.tacomahistory.org/covid-19-diary-project
Tales of Tacoma Blog
Tacoma Historical Society has launched a new blog, Tales of Tacoma, which is geared towards inviting students and Tacoma residents of all ages to contribute stories about Tacoma history. THS welcomes teachers interested in incorporating an assignment into their class to reach out to discuss more details. To view the blog and find out more about participating, visit: https://tacomatales.org/
Audiobooks
Tacoma Historical Society has made three titles from our ’21 Tales’ series, which are geared towards K-8 students, available as audiobooks, to be more accessible during the pandemic.
Find them on our podcast platform here: https://anchor.fm/tacoma-historical-society
Information about overdue library items and how to return them during the Fall 2020 semester:
Overdue Items:
Returning Items:
University of Puget Sound
Collins Memorial Library
1500 North Warner #1021
Tacoma, WA 98416-1021
Attn: Access Services Department
Learn about How Search Engines Reinforce Racism and Bias. This is important to reflect upon as you Loggers start classes.
Collins Library has “Algorithms of Oppression” by Safiya Noble as an ebook with an unlimited user license. Great time to read it with your friends! You will need to login with your Puget Sound ID. Find it by looking the title up in our catalog or go to https://tinyurl.com/AoOebook
“In Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, Safiya Umoja Noble brings together Black feminist studies, library and information sciences (LIS), and media studies to carve out the field of Black feminist technology studies (BFTS). Begun as a follow-up to Andre Brock’s challenge to see what happens when you type “black girls …” on a Google search in 2011, Noble pursues the study of this most influential search engine. What she finds are tremendous continuities with previous deployments of information and media technologies and a few, mostly dystopian, ruptures that threaten our democracy and our ability to access information.”
-Angharad N. Valdivia, Feminist Formations
Join us!
4 classes, Wednesdays, July 8, July 15, July 22, July 29, 4-4:50 p.m.
Description
Learn how to plan and create a family archives project. Stay-at-home directives have given many of us the opportunity to think about our family history and the need to preserve old photographs, documents, ephemera, and other keepsakes. This four-part series will provide you with practical advice for creating your own family archive, as well as offer suggestions for inspiring projects that utilize these precious artifacts.
Registration link: https://pugetsoundcommunitymusic.asapconnected.com/CourseDetail.aspx?CourseId=223954
Class fee: $70, plus $10 registration
Participants will receive a mini toolkit of archival supplies and samples from top-of-the-line archival suppliers.
Instructor: Adriana Flores
Additional Information
The class will be taught in a virtual online format. Internet access is needed for this workshop. You will be contacted by the instructor before the first class date regarding details.
As many businesses and organizations begin the process of re-opening after shutdown and members of the community begin to increase their interactions with others, it is important to remember that the pandemic is not completely over and that safety needs to be of the utmost concern for all. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend the use of cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Please visit the CDC cloth face coverings page for helpful information on how to best wear a cloth face covering as well as instructions for making cloth masks. The instructions provided include both sew and no-sew face coverings and use materials that can already be found in many households.
There are also many tutorials for several different styles of face covering available on the Joann fabrics and crafts site.
The Makerspace has used the instructions found here to make the pleated masks seen below:
To learn more about how the Makerspace has supported local caregivers click here.
Visit your Digital Commons Dashboard
March 2020 Readership Snapshot
Sound Ideas
Monthly Readership Totals:
Last month, Sound Ideas had 22430 full-text downloads and 6 new submissions were posted, bringing the total works in the repository to 7493. University of Puget Sound scholarship was read by 1638 institutions across 163 countries.
The most popular papers were:
The most popular publications were:
To learn more about usage reports available from Digital Commons, see:
https://www.bepress.com/reference_guide_dc/overview-digital-commons-reports/
