MWDL Blog Post:

As many of us return to school over the remainder of August and the beginning of September, we want to share a few summer news items with the MWDL community!

Technology changes

First, we completed a upgrade to our search portal tech stack on August 6. This is mostly transparent to patrons searching MWDL, but stay tuned for further updates – this upgrade lays the groundwork for another, more visible change later this fall.

Member Meeting

We met as a network on Friday, August 7 at the newly-opened Museum of Utah! It was wonderful seeing nearly 30 representatives from most of our members and hearing updates on local work, challenges, and opportunities. We toured the exhibits and got a behind-the-scenes look at the Museum’s digitization and conservation labs.

New Collections & Updates

Utah Valley University submitted six more collections earlier in the summer and we want to introduce them to you! The Utah Valley University Historical Newsletters, History of UVU’s Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration, Academic Affairs Faculty Convocation Schedules, and UVU Provost’s Office COVID-19 Announcements all detail history of Utah Valley University’s communications and events on campus. The COVID-19 Announcements joins other pandemic-related collections from several MWDL members. 

In Retrospect- 25 Years of Practical Nursing at Utah Technical College 1950-1975 is a single volume covering the history of Utah Technical College’s Licensed Practical Nursing program. A program history as well as photographs of graduates in each year’s class is included.

Finally, the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America, UTC Chapter Scrapbooks collection contains three scrapbooks from the Provo chapter of VICA (now SkillsUSA). These contain photographs of members and events, chapter newsletters, and programs from conferences and competitions. 

Also, Utah Department of Cultural & Community Engagement’s Utah-Colorado Railroad Map Collection can now be found under the title, Utah Historical Society Railroad Map Collection.

Fall Outreach

You can catch us in person at University of Utah, Marriott Library’s Fall Fest event next Thursday, September 3. We’ll be sharing a spot with Digital Library Services, talking to students and faculty, and giving away fabulous…. candies! Seriously though, attendees can collect stamps at each table towards a drawing for real prizes. Stop on by!

We’ll also be presenting a poster at the joint Western Museum Association-Utah Museum Association annual meeting here in Salt Lake City on September 24-25. The poster session is Friday, September 25 at 10 AM in the Grand Ballroom. If you’re there, please come say hi and learn more about MWDL at 25!