This article appeared in the Volume 5, Issue 1 Spring/Summer 2024 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue.
By Gene Hyde
Welcome to Volume 5 of the Appalachian Curator! Thanks to all of you who read and contribute to this lil’ newsletter about Appalachian archives and special collections.
This issue features three articles about collections in Eastern Tennessee. Our featured collection article is from Molly Copeland and Carolyn Runyun of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, who discuss their use of High-Impact Practices to work with students and enhance content from the Emma Bell Miles papers at UTC. Moving a bit north in the Tennessee mountains, Megan Adams writes about her work as a curatorial fellow at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg. We also cover the release of Letters from the Smokies, a new book by Michael Aday, Librarian-Archivist at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Collections Preservation Center.
In the Virginia Blue Ridge, Kathleen Ingoldsby discusses how the Old Church Gallery in Floyd used various digital tools to improve online access to their collections. In North Carolina, we have an interview with Angelyn Whitmeyer, who dug deep into a number of collections to find every photo by photographer George Masa, in the process discovering hundreds of photos by the iconic photographer, who is best known for his seminal images of the Smoky Mountains. She’s produced a database documenting the Masa photographs.
We also have our usual feature, “What’s New in Appalachian Special Collections.”
I feel the need to provide some context for the last article, an interview with me by Trevor McKenzie on the occasion of my upcoming retirement from UNC Asheville. My colleague Ashley Whittle suggested this as a retirement “career overview” article but I balked, and she gently persuaded me to do it. She also talked me into a retirement party at UNC Asheville. My plans to slip away quietly have been thoroughly trashed!
There are a few changes to note on the “About” page. First, Liz Harper is stepping down as Co-Editor of the Curator. Liz was instrumental in helping develop the look and feel of our WordPress site and has handled the final production of every issue. I am very grateful for her camaraderie, her unwavering help, her great attitude, and her professionalism. I’m happy that Liz will remain on the editorial board.
And while I’m retiring as an Appalachian archivist, my plans are to remain as editor of the Curator for a while. This brings another change on the “About” page – new contact information for me in my retirement mode.
As always, we welcome and encourage articles relating to Appalachian special collections, projects related to collections, archivist profiles, new acquisitions, and anything else about Appalachian special collections that you’d like to share.
