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American Archives Month events set for Oct. 12-13

RELEASED: Oct. 4, 2011

EAU CLAIRE — McIntyre Library at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will host events celebrating American Archives Month Oct. 12-13.

The American record has enduring value and provides us with our collective American memory, said Greg Kocken, McIntyre Library's special collections librarian. It is archives that preserve and provide access to the American record and help maintain that memory, he said. American Archives Month provides an opportunity to focus on the importance of these records and enhance understanding of the people and places that maintain these records, he said.

The special collections & archives department at McIntyre Library preserves and provides access to historical collections and public records from the Wisconsin counties of Eau Claire, Chippewa, Clark, Taylor, Rusk and Buffalo. The department also serves as the university archives and plays a vital role in maintaining the history of UW-Eau Claire, Kocken said.

To celebrate American Archives Month, the special collections & archives department at McIntyre Library will host the following two events:

• "Reading, Writing and Reception: An American Archives Month Event" will run from 6-7 p.m. Oct. 12 on the fifth floor of McIntyre Library. B.J. Hollars, assistant professor of English, will discuss his new book, "Thirteen Loops: Race, Violence, and the Last Lynching in America." The book, a work of literary journalism, weaves together the story of Michael Donald's lynching in 1981 alongside the murder of policeman Gene Ballard. Hollars drew extensively from archival collections documenting the lynching and surrounding events. The Oct. 12 event will include a reading by Hollars, a book discussion, and a reception to meet the author. The book will be available for sale during the event and in the University Bookstore.

• The special collections & archives department will host its second Archives Month event at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library in downtown Eau Claire. The event, "Family Photos 101: An American Archives Month Workshop," is scheduled for 1-3 p.m. Oct. 13 in the Eau Claire Room of the public library. David Benjamin and Sally Jacobs, archivists from the Wisconsin Historical Society, will provide practical how-to tips focusing on the care and long-term preservation of family photographs. The workshop will focus on print and digital photographs.

Both events are free and open to the public.

For more information about the events or to schedule an interview with Greg Kocken, McIntyre Library's special collections librarian, call 715-836-3873 or email KOCKENG@uwec.edu.

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MC/JB/DW

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