Ohrstrom Blog

From the Archives: SPS Under Construction

Lisa Laughy — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:16:17 +0000

As construction continues on Dunbarton Road and the new Lindsay Center for Mathematics and Science, it brings to mind other major construction projects from the history of St. Paul’s School. Although difficult to tell from inside or outside of the New Chapel, an entire section was added to the nave forty-two years after original construction began. The images below depict the expansion at its most dramatic point:

In 1928 the New Chapel was expanded to accommodate the increasing number of students at St. Paul’s School. The Sesquicentennial Exhibit offers this description of the photos:

In 1928 the Chapel was deconsecrated and workmen began to slice through the brick walls. The School held its collective breath as the eastern end of the vast structure, seemingly too narrow to hold itself erect, was slid upon tracks to its new location. The task of reconstruction then went forward as the void between the two parts of the old building was filled with Gothic tracery.

See if you can spot this particularly brave fellow in the picture above!

New Archives Online Exhibit: Places of Invention

Lisa Laughy — Mon, 31 May 2010 15:35:30 +0000

A new online exhibit, called Places of Invention: Science and Mathematics at St. Paul’s School, is now part of the Ohrstrom Library website. This online exhibit is based on a more in-depth Archives photograph exhibit now on display in the upper level of Ohrstrom Library. Here is an excerpt from the introduction to the online exhibit:

With construction of the Lindsay Center for Mathematics and Science now well underway, it is fitting that the St. Paul’s School community reflects back upon the places that have served the study of science and mathematics so well throughout the School’s history.

Photos from the Archives were scanned specifically for the online exhibit including this image of a Biology classroom in the Westinghouse Lab:

The online exhibit features images ranging from the first science lab built on the St. Paul’s School grounds in 1889 to the architectural renderings of the Lindsay Center for Mathematics and Science, now under construction. The main gallery of thumbnail images includes links to individual pages that feature larger images and brief descriptions. There is also a slideshow of the images that can be initiated from any of the pages in the exhibit.

Take a few moments to browse through the gallery of images and follow the development of the places that have helped to facilitate the high standard of education in mathematics and science that has been a part of the St. Paul’s School vision from its very beginning.

Visit the online exhibit by clicking HERE.

Visit the full Archives exhibit in the upper level lobby of Ohrstrom Library.

So Cited: Parentheticals

Lura Sanborn — Thu, 27 May 2010 12:00:02 +0000

As the Humanities V research paper draws to a close, proofreading is in the air.

Consider using Noodlebib as a helpful guide when double-checking those parenthetical citations.

How?: When logged in to your Noodlebib account, click on your Humanities V list (what we would refer to as the paper’s bibliography) and find the citation being parenthetically cited. Follow that citation all the way over to the right-hand side, and click parenthetical reference to reveal Noodlebib’s suggestion.

What?: Parenthetically cite when you quote, paraphrase or refer to another person’s idea(s).

New Reference Book: The Eloquent Shakespeare

Lura Sanborn — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:00:42 +0000

The Eloquent Shakespeare by Gary Logan, University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 822.3 zL82E

A pronouncing dictionary to Shakespeare’s complete dramatic works, with notes. Written by the director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting this unique reference book seeks to standardize pronunciation for the stage.

Learn to pronounce:
•    Alphonso
•    cap-a-pe
•    eyas-musket
•    Oxfordshire
•    wolt

Helpful for: Humanities III, Humanities V, Shakespeare, Theater, Fiske Cup

The Primary Source Hunt: OAIster

Lura Sanborn — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Are you too looking for primary sources? Most Humanities V teachers are requiring at least two for completion of a successful research paper. If you’ve looked in all the usual places (such as those listed here in our primary source round-up), yet still aren’t finding quite what you want, consider OAIster.

What is it? OAIster is an online catalog of digitized sources. It is made available by OCLC, a company that provides many library-related services.

It might help to compare this to Ohrstrom Library’s catalog. The Ohrstrom Library catalog searches through the records of our 70,000 print titles. OAIster searches through the records of 23 Million digitized sources from over 1,000 contributors.

What might you find?

A copy of Redon’s journal, contributed by the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.
Correspondence from Sigmund Freud to Albert Einstein regarding war contributed by I-Revues.
Sanitary Statistics of Native Colonial Schools and Hospitals by Florence Nightingale contributed by University of California Libraries.
An image of an Alice in Wonderland Float, from Mardi Gra 1938 contributed by the Indiana University Digital Library Program (see image above).
An abstract of a report from the National Program for Inspection of Non-Federal Dams regarding the St. Pauls School Dam contributed by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) Repository.

Is it hard to use? The search function is very straightforward, offering a basic search or advanced search. As always, if you would like a little help using this resource please be in touch!

New Reference Book: Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography

Lura Sanborn — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:00:08 +0000

Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography edited by Lynne Warren, Routledge, 2006.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 770.9 W25

Photography’s second century is recorded, analyzed and discussed in this new reference set. Photography is placed in a variety of contexts such as: geography, institutions & exhibitions, inventions and people. The set offers a glossary of photographic terms, bibliographies and B&W samples of artists work.

Check out entries on: Lotte Jacobi, Bracketing, Impressionism, Dada, and Works Progress Administration.

Looking for more examples of a particular artist’s work? Try searching the artist’s name in ARTstor.

Helpful for: Humanities V, Humanities V Research Paper, Humanities IV, Humanities IV Research Paper, Photographers, Art

From the Archives: Dunbarton Road Construction

Lisa Laughy — Thu, 13 May 2010 12:00:37 +0000

Dunbarton Road, once called New Dunbarton Road, is undergoing construction as part of the site preparation for the building of the Lindsay Center for Mathematics and Science. Rectory Road, the original Dunbarton Road, was once the main route from Concord to Dunbarton and beyond. It wasn’t always the quiet roadway through the center of the grounds that it is today, and by the early years of the 20th century the increase in automobile traffic had become a menace. The New Dunbarton Road was opened in June of 1920 as a way to re-direct traffic away from the center of the grounds.

The images below were discovered in the Archives as part of a personal photo album given by an unknown donor. The photo album consists of several dozen black and white photographs of construction at SPS during the first few decades of the 20th century.

Clearing the way: A team of work horses is used to remove rocks from the road. The corner of the Red Barn can be seen on the left.

Grading the road: Alumni House is on the left and the Red Barn is on the right. The view is looking toward the entrance to the School.

Heavy metal: A close-up of the steam roller seen the previous image.

Read more about the history of the New Dunbarton Road in this Fall 2008 Alumni Horae article (PDF file) by clicking HERE.

New Reference Book: European Immigration

Lura Sanborn — Tue, 11 May 2010 12:00:06 +0000

European Immigration edited by Anna Triandafyllidou and Ruby Gropas, Ashgate, 2007.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 305.7 T73E

A presentation of immigration patterns as related to the 25 European Union member states. Immigration policy(s), impact, history and related statistical data for each member state is included.

A sampling of included nations: Austria, Denmark, France, Latvia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.

Helpful for: Humanities V, Global Studies, Statistics, European Studies

Research Process – The Fifth Form Paper

Lura Sanborn — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:00:01 +0000

Below are a few tips offered to those of you approaching the Humanities V research paper. Consider consulting the Humanities V Research Guide for a more detailed list of research sources including: reference books, magazines, databases, journal articles, and the free web.

Recommended Research Process

Explore your topic in reference books for a helpful, instant grounding in the topic.
As you locate useful material, cite it. Consider using Noodlebib as your citation management tool.
Take note of special keywords that are specific to your topic. Use these keywords when searching the material described below.
Use keyword and subject searches in Ohrstrom’s online catalog to locate books on your topic.
Use JSTOR and ProQuest to find contemporary periodical articles on your topic.
Use the Times [of London] and the U.S. Historical Newspaper databases to search for primary source newspaper coverage on your topic.
Use American History in Video to search for U.S. newsreels on your topic.
Note: Research rarely goes exactly as planned. You may find you need to veer from, re-sort or revisit the steps listed here.

Most importantly: Please feel free to ask a Librarian for help at any step along the way.

New Reference Book: Consider the Source

Lura Sanborn — Tue, 04 May 2010 12:00:50 +0000

Consider the Source: A Critical Guide to 100 Prominent News and Information Sites on the Web by James F. Broderick & Darren W. Miller, Information Today, 2007.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 070.579 B78C

Using news or newspapers in your research? Not sure of the quality, the bias or the history of the source? Consider consulting this volume.

Focusing on 100 news and newspaper sites this book provides an overview, type of coverage, leaning and the authors’ personal rating of each site discussed.

Examples include: Asia Times Online, BBC, Congressional Quarterly, Times of India, Rotten Tomatoes.

Helpful for: Humanities IV, Humanities V, Media Watchers, Journalism, Those conducting news and newspaper related research