Voting America: United States Politics, 1840-2008

The Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond has developed a series of "cinematic maps" that visualize "American voting patterns as they moved across the landscape of the United States": Voting America. The maps combine political data with GIS cartography in order to create animated maps of "how Americans voted in presidential elections at the county level for the past 164 years." As you study the current presidential election with your students, these interactive maps visualize voting patterns in relation to voter turnout, population, popular votes versus electoral votes, party strength, etc.

The site also includes several video expert analysis and commentary on the maps, including Dr. Jennifer Erkulwater's "Shifting Party Coalitions and Social Welfare Policy, 1932-2008."

Treasures from the American Film Archives

The National Film Preservation Foundation has produced several DVD collections of early American film, all three of which the Armacost Library owns. Consider using these historical visual collections in U.S. history courses, as well as race & ethnic studies, women's studies, and business history courses. Included in the three collections are early political ads, product advertising, news reels, avant garde films, training films, social issue films, and much more. You might want to view footage from Zora Neale Hurston's fieldwork in a literature course, watch the "racial tolerance epic" Redskin (1929) in a U.S. history course, or view Lois Weber's anti-abortion, pro-birth control classic, Where Are My Children? (1916), in a women's history course. Take a look at these treasures!

Treasures from American Film Archives: 50 Preserved Films
PN1993.5.U6 T74 2005
More Treasures from American Film Archives, 1894-1931: 50 Films
PN1993.5.U6 M67 2004
Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934
PN1995.9.S62 T73 2007

Farewell, Verletta!

Please join the faculty and staff of Armacost Library in wishing a fond farewell to Electronic Services Librarian, Verletta Kern. In her five years at the University of Redlands, Verletta has not only made access to the library more seamless (maintaining access to the online catalog, getting the proxy server in place for off-campus access to databases, updating library webpages, implementing Web 2.0 services, etc.) but also has built a music collection worthy of our undergraduate and graduate programs in the School of Music. Verletta's research has included citation analysis of music student theses and she has also presented on her work with the Barney Childs Collection. She is very involved with the Music Library Association and has served the University on various committees. We will miss her.

Verletta leaves us to take a position at the Music Library at University of Washington Libraries in Seattle. Our best wishes travel with her.