Library Stuff

“Don R. Swanson believed laboratories weren’t the only source of new scientific discoveries. Swanson, a specialist in the relationship between natural and computer languages, thought electronic databases also held the key to medical knowledge. A trailblazing information scientist, Swanson died Nov. 18 at age 88. Concerned that excessive specialization could inhibit scientific creativity, Swanson pioneered the field of literature-based discovery, which uses existing research to create new knowledge. The three-term dean of the University of Chicago’s Graduate Library School and professor emeritus in the Humanities Division believed that unearthing unseen links between two distinct areas of study could yield new discoveries—what he called “undiscovered public knowledge.”

via The University of Chicago Library News

“The University of Chicago Library and Northwestern University Library are pleased to announce the launch of an innovative collaboration to support research in primary archival sources. Uncovering New Chicago Archives Project (UNCAP), is a freely available web site that delivers hundreds of finding aids representing strengths of the archival collections of the University of Chicago Library and Northwestern University Library. Ida B. Wells-Barnett wearing “Martyred Negro Soldiers” button, ca. 1917-1919. Ida B. Wells Papers, Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago Library. Through the new UNCAP web site, researchers can search across collections and institutions for information on a broad range of topics: African American history and culture, theater, jazz, urban sociology, journalism, Native Americans, modern poetry, anthropology, African studies, literature, criminology and legal studies, art and photography, medical history, and the Manhattan Project.”

via The University of Chicago Library News