by Laurie Austin, Reference Archivist Boston treasures its history as a seaport. Its deep water port was a primary source of its wealth from before the country’s founding through the years of the early Republic. It continues to be an active port today. From our vantage point at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library,…
Author: kadlerabramson
Collection Opening: Michael S. Reynolds Personal Papers
by Kelly Francis, Processing Archivist We are pleased to announce the opening of the Michael S. Reynolds Personal Papers. Reynolds was an author and a leading scholar on Ernest Hemingway as well as a professor of English at North Carolina State University. This collection consists primarily of research materials and notes related…
Authority Catalogers-in-Training at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
by Nicola Mantzaris, White House Photographs Metadata Cataloger In May of this year, several colleagues began specialized training in name authority cataloging under the tutelage of Jerry Simmons from the National Archives and Records Administration’s Office of Innovation. Early instruction covered the basics of personal name cataloging in NARA’s Description and Authority Service (DAS),…
Bunkyo Gakuin University Students Research the Ernest Hemingway Collection
by Stephen Plotkin, Textual Collections Archivist One of the best things about working in research is having somebody whom you first knew as a hard-working student come back as a full-fledged professional scholar. Professor Kaori Sugimoto Fairbanks first came to visit the Ernest Hemingway Collection at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in 2000.…
Collection Opening: Clarence J. Martin Personal Papers
by Kelly Francis, Processing Archivist We are pleased to announce that the Clarence J. Martin Personal Papers collection is now available for research. Clarence J. Martin (1930-2014) practiced law in Louisiana and served as a member of the House of Delegates of the Louisiana Bar Association. During the 1960 presidential campaign, he served as…
Collection Opening: Edmund A. Gullion Personal Papers
by Christina Fitzpatrick, Processing Archivist We are pleased to announce the opening of the Edmund A. Gullion Personal Papers. Gullion had a lengthy and distinguished career in the Foreign Service and was U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) from 1961 to 1964. Edmund Asbury Gullion (1913-1998) joined the State…
Collection Opening: Robert A. Wallace Personal Papers
by Christina Lehman Fitzpatrick, Processing Archivist We are pleased to announce the opening of the Robert A. Wallace Personal Papers. Wallace was an economic consultant to Senator John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign, and subsequently served in the Treasury Department from 1961 to 1969. Robert Ash “Bob” Wallace, Jr. was born on May…
Collection Opening: Lincoln Gordon Personal Papers
by Jennifer Marciello and Christina Fitzpatrick, Processing Archivists We are pleased to announce the opening of the Lincoln Gordon Personal Papers. Gordon served as U.S. Ambassador to Brazil (September 1961 – March 1966) in both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He was known as an expert on Latin American culture, economy, and politics. …
Newly Opened Collection: Paul Rand Dixon Personal Papers
by Christina Lehman Fitzpatrick, Processing Archivist We are pleased to announce that the Paul Rand Dixon Personal Papers are open and available for research. Dixon was appointed chairman of the Federal Trade Commission by President Kennedy and served on the regulatory agency for twenty years. Paul Rand Dixon was born on September 29, 1913…
Exploring the White House Central Name File
by Corbin Apkin, former Graduate Student Intern and recent Graduate of Simmons College GSLIS For the past year, I have had the opportunity to work as an intern in the Research Room at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Throughout my time doing reference work, I have seen a lot of interesting documents, and…
Newly Opened Collection on Early Peace Corps Training Camps in Puerto Rico
by Corbin Apkin, Graduate Student Intern (Simmons College GSLIS) We are pleased to announce that the William Henry Byrd Personal Papers collection is now available for research. The collection consists of materials created during Byrd’s time as Director of the Peace Corps training camps in Puerto Rico, a position he held from 1961-1963, and…
Newly Opened Collection: David S. Black Personal Papers
by Abigail Malangone, Processing & Reference Archivist We are pleased to announce the opening of the David S. Black Personal Papers. The material in this collection relates to Black’s work as General Counsel for the Bureau of Public Roads; Commissioner, Vice Chairman, and Acting Chairman of the Federal Power Commission; Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration; and Undersecretary of…
Collection Opening: William J. Hartigan Personal Papers
by Jennifer Marciello, Processing Archivist We are pleased to announce the opening of the William J. Hartigan Personal Papers. William J. Hartigan was born in 1923 in Revere, Massachusetts. He was a graduate of the Beacon Institute of Podiatry, pursued pre-legal studies at Suffolk University, and took university extension courses at Harvard University and…
Introducing the Updated Finding Aid (Guide) to the Ernest Hemingway Papers
by Stacey Chandler, Reference Archivist, and Christina Lehman Fitzpatrick, Processing Archivist The Kennedy Library recently released an updated finding aid (guide) to the Ernest Hemingway Personal Papers to improve organization and to enable better access to the collection. We are excited to share the results of this work: nine separate series (that function like…
Remembering Fr. Theodore M. “Ted” Hesburgh and the 1961 Notre Dame Laetare Medal
by Maryrose Grossman, Audiovisual Reference Archivist Aside from being born four days apart (in May 1917), President John F. Kennedy and Fr. Theodore M. “Ted” Hesburgh had other things in common. Both were steeped in Catholic tradition as well as committed to public service. They were also charismatic leaders who exhorted generations to combat…
Newly Processed Materials: Nancy Tuckerman Files of the Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Personal Papers
by Jennifer Marciello, Processing Archivist We are pleased to announce that the Nancy Tuckerman Series of the Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Personal Papers is open and available for research. The papers contain personal and professional materials relating to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s public and private life and her role as First Lady of the United…
Newly Opened Collection: Ace of Clubs Records
by Lauren Wallace, Graduate Student Intern (Simmons College GSLIS) We are pleased to announce that the Ace of Clubs Records is now open and available for research. This collection features the administrative, social, and photographic records of the Ace of Clubs Charitable Organization. From charity events to by-law revisions, President’s books to Secretary journals, the…
Newly Processed Collection: James Saxon Personal Papers
by Christina Lehman Fitzpatrick, Processing Archivist We are pleased to announce that the James Saxon Personal Papers are open and available for research. Saxon served as Comptroller of the Currency during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations (1961-1966). As an independent bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department, the Office of the Comptroller is charged with…
Newly Opened Collection: John H. Sharon Personal Papers
by Abigail Malangone, Processing & Reference Archivist We are pleased to announce the opening of the John H. Sharon Personal Papers collection. John H. Sharon was a Washington, D.C.-based attorney whose personal papers document his interest and involvement in the Democratic Party in the 1950s and 1960s. The materials in this collection focus primarily…
Newly Processed Collection: Myer Feldman Personal Papers
by Christina Lehman Fitzpatrick, Processing Archivist You were far more indispensable than the public knows to John Kennedy’s success as a Senator, candidate and President. He knew it, however; and I know he would want me to express his deep gratitude. – Theodore Sorensen to Myer Feldman upon learning that Feldman was leaving the…
USIA Director Edward R. Murrow Audio Recordings Digitized and Available Online
by Bill Bjelf, Assistant Digital Archivist for Audiovisual Collections (Ver traducción española aquí.) A series of materials from the Kennedy Library’s United States Information Agency Audio Recordings Collection has been digitized and made available in the Library’s digital archives. The Director Edward R. Murrow Recordings, 1961-1965, contains audio recordings of speeches and other public…
Newly Digitized: Civil Rights Materials from the Burke Marshall Personal Papers
by Elyse Edwards, Graduate Student Intern (Simmons College GSLIS) ‘In times of great struggle and conflict in the South,’ Congressman [John] Lewis said, ‘during the freedom rides of 1961, when young people were being beaten by angry mobs in Montgomery and when fire hoses and dogs were being turned on people in Birmingham, people…
Newly Processed Collection: Lawrence F. O’Brien Personal Papers
by Abigail Malangone, Processing & Reference Archivist We are pleased to announce that the Lawrence F. O’Brien Personal Papers are open and available for research. Lawrence “Larry” O’Brien, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was a member of the inner circle of Kennedy aides that came to be known as the “Irish Mafia.” O’Brien began his association…
Meghan Testerman, Volunteer Extraordinaire
by Laurie Austin, Audiovisual Reference Archivist In conjunction with Public Service Recognition Week, the Archivist of the United States (or “AOTUS,” as he’s known throughout the National Archives) presented awards to employees and volunteers across the National Archives for exceptional work they achieved over the past year. [Check out the AOTUS’s blog here.] We…
Now Fully Digitized: The White House Staff Files of Lee C. White
by Tricia Patterson, Graduate Student Intern (Simmons College GSLIS) We are happy to report that the White House Staff Files of Lee C. White is now fully digitized and available on our website. Lee Calvin White was born in Omaha, Nebraska on September 1, 1923. He remained in Nebraska to earn both his bachelor’s…
New Digital Collection: White House Staff Files of Sanford L. Fox
by Kelly Francis, Assistant Digital Archivist for Textual Collections The White House Staff Files of Sanford L. Fox is one of the more interesting collections at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, and it’s also the most recent addition to our digital collections. Sanford Fox came to work in the White House in 1952,…
An Experiment in Processing and Digitizing at the Same Time: The Personal Papers of Margaret Ronayne Hahn
by Stephanie Mokszychi, Graduate Student Intern (Simmons College GSLIS) At the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, collections are frequently processed years before digital images and related metadata are available online. Typically, multiple archivists handle materials as they move through the processing, cataloging, and digitization steps. In a trial experiment, I was responsible for all…
Personal Recollections of Corinne “Lindy” Boggs
by Sarah Jennette, Graduate Student Intern (Simmons College GSLIS) The Oral History Collection at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library includes an interview with Corinne “Lindy” Boggs, a notable member of the House of Representatives from Louisiana and a longtime friend of the Kennedy family. Sadly, Boggs passed away at her home in Maryland…
“Archiving Your Peace Corps History”: A Presentation at the 2013 Peace Corps Connect Conference
by Christina Lehman Fitzpatrick, Processing Archivist I was pleased to participate in the Peace Corps Connect conference held in Boston on June 28-29. This event was the second annual gathering of the National Peace Corps Association. Because President Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, the Kennedy Library has several archival collections pertaining to…
Five Hemingway Scrapbooks Digitized and Available Online for the First Time
by Jessica Green and Tiffany Link, Graduate Student Interns (Simmons College and Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Grace Hall Hemingway created and annotated five scrapbooks to document her son Ernest’s first eighteen years of life, long before he became a Nobel Prize-winning author. These unique scrapbooks include countless photographs of the Hemingway family and…
Newly Digitized Material: Subject Series of the National Security Files
by Kelly Francis, Assistant Digital Archivist for Textual Collections The National Security Files (NSF) is one of the most popular collections requested by researchers at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. A rich collection, the NSF is a sub-file of the Presidential Papers of John F. Kennedy and the working files of McGeorge Bundy,…
New Digital Collection: White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford
by Kelly Francis, Assistant Digital Archivist for Textual Collections One of the more recent collections from the holdings of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library to be fully accessible in the digital archives is the White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford. Mr. Wofford worked as an assistant to Senator John F. Kennedy and…
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
by Kelly Francis, Assistant Digital Archivist for Textual Collections The economy. Unemployment. Religion. Civil rights. Health care. These were the principal issues of the 2012 presidential election. Surprisingly, they were also the major issues of the 1960 election. Senator John F. Kennedy’s 1960 Presidential Campaign Files were cataloged concurrently with the 2012 presidential campaign.…
Creating a Digital Collection: The John L. Saltonstall Papers
by Jane Silva, Graduate Student Intern (UMass Boston) As a graduate student in the History Department’s Archives track at the University of Massachusetts Boston, I was required to complete a 120 hour internship at an archival institution to gain practical experience in the Archives field. At first I thought there was nothing I could…
New Release of the President’s Intelligence Check Lists (aka, PICLs)
by Maura Porter, Declassification Archivist The President’s Daily Brief, or PDB, is a highly classified intelligence briefing produced each morning for the President of the United States. The written briefing informs the President and other senior policymakers about intelligence developments worldwide and provides analysis of those events. Although now produced by the Director of…
The Newly Opened Personal Papers of Warren I. Cikins
by Christina Lehman Fitzpatrick, Processing Archivist Recently the library was pleased to open the newly-processed Personal Papers of Warren I. Cikins, who served in the White House from 1962 to 1966 during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. (For more information on the opening, please see our press release.) This large collection documents the professional…
Digitization at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library: The James W. Wine Personal Papers
by Timothy Bowen, Graduate Student Intern (Simmons College GSLIS) As a soon-to-be graduate of the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science with a focus in Archives, I was recently required to complete a 130-hour internship meant to strengthen the skills I learned throughout the program. When Digital Archivist Erica Boudreau approached…
The Historic Papers of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
by Jennifer Beaton, Processing Archivist We are pleased to announce that portions of the Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Personal Papers were opened on February 13th, 2012 (for more information on the opening, please see our press release). These newly available papers, which focus on Mrs. Kennedy’s years in the White House, cover a broad…
Donald M. Wilson, EXCOMM, and the National Security Council
by Stephen Plotkin, Reference Archivist The death of Donald M. Wilson in November 2011 represents the most recent loss of a notable Kennedy Administration official. In addition to being a high-ranking member of the Kennedy Administration, Wilson was the last living member of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM), the advisory group…
Scholar at Work: Barbara Kent Lawrence
by Stephen Plotkin, Reference Archivist In keeping with our desire to highlight some of the research work that goes on within the Library walls, we asked writer Barbara Kent Lawrence to discuss her latest project, which was sparked by family history. It must be confessed that when Ms. Lawrence first contacted us, we were…
Doggie Détente
From our Audiovisual Reference archivists What follows is the story of a White House pet, and just possibly its historical effect. The Kennedy White House was notable for the number of animals that eventually occupied it. Among these was President Kennedy’s dog Charlie, a Welsh terrier given to the family by the President’s father,…
Demystifying Declassification
by our Declassification Unit colleagues One of the most common questions that we hear from researchers is, “When will this document be declassified?” (sometimes expressed more plaintively as, “Why isn’t this document declassified yet?”). Even for seasoned researchers, security classification can seem mysterious and opaque and hint of governmental cover-up or paranoia. To dispel…