This article appeared in the Volume 3, Issue 2 Fall 2021 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue.
Thanks for joining us again for another report from the Appalachian archival community. This issue includes an article on collections at the University of Tennessee, including updates on their Great Smoky Mountains collections and news about collections from Wilma Dykeman and Marilou Awiakta. Our featured collection this issue is the Appalshop Archive, which describes how Appalshop is collecting and preserving materials related to the various documentaries, community projects, audio recordings, and other projects that we know from Appalshop.
This issue includes an article on the career and legacy of Fred Hay, who retired in April after 28 years as Librarian of the W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection at Appalachian State University. We conclude the issue with a report from the Special Collections Committee meeting and presentations at this year’s ASA Conference, as well as a list of new acquisitions in Appalachian Special Collections.
Have a story idea for the Appalachian Curator? We’d love to hear from you.
On a final note, two years ago, in March 2020, the pandemic ground much of what we do to a halt. Repositories were closed – UNC Asheville’s for nearly 5 months – and we scrambled to figure out how to respond. Some of us lost friends and family members, some folks retired, others lost jobs due to COVID related layoffs and shutdowns. But as you’ve reported in these pages, many of us triaged, adapted, and figured out ways to fulfill our basic duties as Appalachian archivists. As we enter our third year of the pandemic, here’s hoping you are doing well, staying healthy, and finding ways to continue our collective work of documenting our region. Here’s to better days ahead.
Gene Hyde and Liz Harper, Co-Editors
