Wondering What to Do With Liberian Treasures?
Friends of Liberia is pleased to announce that in the past months it has located resources for FOL members—Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and other members who lived and worked in Liberia—who wish to donate their Liberian artifacts, art and livelihood objects, written materials and other items returning home with them to the US to academic institutions and museums in the U
nited States.
It wasn’t long ago that Friends of Liberia received requests from members who decided they wished to find a safe, secure and permanent repository for treasured Liberian art objects or collections that had found a utilitarian and decorative function in their homes. They also hoped these institutions might preserve and display their items and provide anthropologists, ethnologists, historians and other scholars, teachers and students with opportunities for research. With the assistance of Verlon Stone, Coordinator and Indiana University Liberian Collections and Research Associate, FOL located three institutions that have agreed to accommodate Friends of Liberia members’ requests. After working with these institutions to obtain information for prospective FOL donors, the university academic departments and museums listed below have asked prospective donors to read the information and details listed here thoroughly. Each university and/or museum has listed and/or described exactly what materials it will accept from donors. All questions should be directed to the universities and/or museums when contact with them is made.
INVITATIONS TO FRIENDS OF LIBERIA RETURNED PEACE CORP VOLUNTEERS AND OTHER FOL MEMBERS TO DONATE THEIR LIBERIAN COLLECTIONS
Indiana University Liberian Collections (IULC)
The Indiana University Collections (IULC) is the world’s largest public repository of Liberian documents and related materials, currently holding about 50 collections of Liberian materials consisting of 14,000 items stored in over 1,000 containers. An initiative of Indiana University’s renowned Archives of Traditional Music (ATM), the IULC includes historical and ethnographic documents, field and research notes, newspapers, government publications, books, journals, dissertations, diaries, maps, slides, negatives, photographs, microfilms, motion picture films, audio and video tapes and memorabilia. Extensive collections of Liberian masks, sculptures and ethnographic artifacts are held in the Mathers Museum of World Cultures and the IU Art Museum; the Archives of Traditional Music holds the Liberian motion picture films, audio and video recordings, some dating back to the 1930s.
As additional collections are indexed and processed, they are made available for researchers to use IULC and IU Libraries’ Reading Rooms. A growing number of digitized Liberian papers and photographs are becoming available at the IU Archives Online, including 40,000 pages of President V. S. Tubman papers, and 5,600 scanned photographs from the Tubman era with searchable metadata at Image Collections Online.
Since 2005 the IU Liberian Collections has partnered with the Liberian Center for National Documents and Records Agency (CNDRA) on projects that strengthen both archives. In September 2012 an International memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the IULC, the IU Libraries and the IULC to share digitized collections of Liberian materials with each other. This exchange will help CNDRA restore copies of some of its original materials lost in the civil strife of past years.
MISSION STATEMENT: The Indiana University Liberian Collections will collect, preserve and make available a comprehensive range of materials and information about Liberia for researchers, students, and teachers, with special emphasis on reaching Liberians in Liberia and the Diaspora.
Dr. Amos Sawyer, past Interim President of Liberia, current Director of the Liberian
Governance Commission and member of the IULC Advisory Board, sees a major
function of the Liberian Collections as helping to “reassemble the intellectual heritage
of Liberia in its eventual reconstruction effort” by preserving and restoring these
records to the country.
The Indiana University Liberian Collections (ILUC) would like to build a comprehensive record of the Peace Corps experience in Liberia from the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers’ point-of-view.
Documents and personal papers
The IULC invites Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and other expatriates who spent several years living
in Liberia to donate their Liberian documents and personal papers, especially letters, journals, diaries,
lesson plan books, training and curriculum materials, or any publications or documents that contribute
to understanding the texture of the RPCV’s life and work in Liberia. See.http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/search/?repository=lcp
Slides and photographs of the RPCV life and work in Liberia are also highly valued.
- The IULC is happy to consult concerning the best way to describe and submit your photography collections.
The IULC encourages that each photographic item be identified by:
Unique ID number (any system acceptable)
Date (year is adequate)
Location (county, town)
Brief caption/event description
Listing in an Excel spreadsheet or Word table is preferred.
- The IULC prefers to scan the donor’s slides and photographs to guarantee preservation quality digital files. The donor will receive DVD with copies of digital files.
- Check out three different kinds of IULC online photography collections:
Frederick McEvoy, 1960s fieldwork in Grand Gedeh and Maryland Counties
http://webspp1dlib.indiana.edu/images/splash.htm?scope=lcp.mcevoy
W.A. Whitten, USAID officer in Lofa and Bong Counties
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/images/splash.htm?scope=lcp/tubman
William V.S. Tubman, President 1944-1971, official photographs
http://wwwebapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/images/splash.htm?scope=lcp/tubman
Artifacts and Memorabilia
The IULC is unable to accept any additional Liberian art or artifacts for its collection. Our partners at Indiana University, the Mathers Museum of World Cultures and the IU Fine Arts Museum, have extensive collections of Liberian art and artifacts and are unable to provide the additional storage space required. Both museums may consider some collections of Liberian artifacts on a case-by-case basis, especially those consisting of textiles and quilts.
To offer or to inquire for further details, please contact:
Verlon Stone, Coordinator,
Indiana University Liberian Collections
Cell: +812-325-7487
E-mail: stonevl@indiana.edu
Web: http://OnLiberia.org
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/search?repository=lcp
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/images/splash.htm?scope=lcp
North Carolina Central University Museum of Art
The North Carolina Central University Art Museum is a free standing building dedicated in 1977. With approximately 2,200 square feet the Museum must accommodate permanent and temporary exhibitions. There is a small storage space that is filled to capacity and prevents the acceptance of any potential gifts.
The Museum is dedicated to the collection, exhibition and conservation of art by or about African Americans. Its permanent collection consists of more than
150 paintings, sculpture, prints and drawings reflecting the African American experience and considerable examples of traditional African art. The nucleus of the Museum is its permanent collection which is the foundation for exhibitions, programs, research and publications. It ranges from early 19th century artists Robert S. Duncanson, Edward M. Bannister and Henry O. Tanner to Harlem Renaissance artists Aaron Douglas, William H. Johnson, Hale Woodruff and Norman Lewis to WPA artists Romare Bearden, Robert Blackburn, Jacob Lawrence and Charles White among others. Richmond Barthe, Selma Burke and Richard Hunt highlight the museum’s sculpture collection. Outsider artists Minnie Evans and Clementine Hunter are also represented as are contemporary artists Sam Gilliam, Barkley Hendricks and Kerry James Marshall.
Contact:
Dr. Kenneth Rodgers, Director
Art Museum
North Carolina Central University
P.O. Box 19555
Durham, NC 27707
Tel. 919-530-6211
Fax 919-530-5649
E-mail: krodgers@nccu.edu
North Carolina Central University Archives, Records and History
The James E. Shepard Memorial Library University Archives and Records is an important resource for collecting, preserving, interpreting and explaining the history of North Carolina Central University and explaining Twentieth Century African American history through material culture, the built environment, living memories and archival records. The archival area is the repository for documentary, photographic and other materials of historic value to the University.
The mission of the University Archives and Records is to emerge as a major repository that acquires, preserves, and make accessible these University records that have permanent historical value. These include the records of major administrative affairs’offices.
The strength and focus of our collections are in the areas that reflect and support the teaching and research needs of the students, faculty, and researchers on the North Carolina Central University campus. These resources are housed in one of the four collecting units: Manuscripts, Photographs, Rare Books, and the University Archives.
Collecting Areas
African American Life and Culture
Hayti Community: Business, Social, Cultural and Intellectual
Business and Labor
Journalists and Journalism
Politics and Government
Religion
Social, Political, and Economic Activism
North Carolina Central University: Intellectual and Cultural Life
Writers
Collecting Methods
Ultimate responsibility for collecting materials for the Archives rests with Coordinator of University Archives in consultation with the Director of the James E. Shepard Memorial Library and other staff members, including those in public and technical services.
Donation is the preferred method of acquisition, and staff solicits gifts of material from individuals and organizations.
The University Archives and Records is located on the first floor (Rooms 118-120) of the historic James E. Shepard Memorial Library. Built in 1950, the three story building with an annex in named for the founder and first president of the university.
Contact:
Andre Vann, Coordinator
North Carolina Central University
James E. Shepard Memorial Library
Rm. 120, University Archives and Records
Durham, NC 27707
Tel: 919-530-6254
Fax: 919-530-7612
E-mail: avann@nccu.edu
NCCU is primarily interested in Liberian papers, letters, diaries, memoirs, textiles, photographs and other printed materials. These materials will complement our current collections and provide resources for the Liberian Studies Journal that is housed on Campus. Due to space limitations we cannot accommodate large collections of paintings or sculptures.
Contact:
Dr. Carlton Wilson
Tel: 919-530-6794
E-mail: cwilson@nccu.edu
Western Kentucky University and the Kentucky Museum
The Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at Western Kentucky University has a collection of approximately 200 Liberian artifacts donated by Coppelia Hays from the collection of her father, Daniel Hays, who worked for the State Department in Liberia in the 1950s. The collection which is fully cataloged, contains household objects, musical instruments, statues and masks, games, sacred objects, and stools and chairs. The collection is housed in the Anthropology Lab with the archaeological and ethnological collections. A substantial portion of the Hays Collection is currently displayed in the Kentucky Museum on campus in the exhibit, “Daniel Hays: An American Educator in Liberia.” Dr. JAK Njoku is currently researching the slave trade in West Africa and an exhibit featuring his research is currently being moved to accompany the Liberian exhibit. The Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology is interested in acquiring Liberia (or other West African) artifacts, particularly household objects or objects of every day life, as well as examples of Liberian art.
Individuals who have questions about donating objects to WKU may contact:
Dr. Michael Ann Williams, Head,
Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd. #61029
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1029
Tel: 270-745-5898.
E-Mail: michael.williams@wku.edu.
For information on the Hays collection, see: http://www.wku.edu/folkstudies/hays_liberian_donation.php.