The Watkinson Library is pleased to announce an agreement with Cinestudio to take possession of, maintain, and provide scholarly access to the records of its organization. Cinestudio is a nationally recognized (and regionally famous) independent cinema located on the Trinity campus, which has enjoyed a devoted following for over forty years. Its archive is currently housed in a substandard storage area (the attic of Clement Hall), and is at risk from both bad weather and vermin. These records, tracing the development and operation of such a unique organization devoted to the exhibition of a diverse range of films, will be an invaluable scholarly resource. They also constitute a vital facet of Trinity’s cultural landscape from 1970 to the present day, and into the future (the Watkinson will continue to collect Cinestudio’s records going forward). We are especially hopeful that the nascent film studies program at Trinity will make use of this collection, and that, as we serve as the depository for Cinestudio’s past, present, and future records, we will find innovative ways to collaborate in our respective public programming.
Current state of the Cinestudio archives, in the attic of Clement Hall.
The materials include approximately 75 linear feet (in over 50 boxes, tubs, and file drawers) of business records and over 5,000 movie posters amassed by this important cultural organization, which has operated at Trinity College for over 40 years. The Watkinson will oversee the processing of these materials—which include bills and invoices, flyers, programs, catalogs, press kits, accounting records, internal memos, correspondence, etc.—according to national standards, and promote the use of the collection to students, researchers, and the general public.
What the archives will look like when they have been processed!
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One of the more important aspects of overseeing a facility the size and value of the Watkinson is to control the environment. Leaky pipes, faulty HVAC systems, cracks in the foundation, and vermin (mice, bugs, naughty readers) are all potential threats to the collection, and must be kept at bay through CONSTANT VIGILANCE. Fortunately, Associate Curator Sally Dickinson is on the case, as she reports on a recent activity:
“This September I attended a 2-day workshop on “Sustainable Preservation Practices for Managing Storage Environments.” R.I.T.’s Image Permanence Institute presented the workshop at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC (funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.) Curators, librarians, and facilities professionals attended, including staff from the Smithsonian Institute and other cultural organizations in the Northeast. We had a crash course in how artifacts age, what makes an optimal preservation climate to prolong the life of materials, and how to achieve these conditions through sustainable use of climate control systems. The Image Permanence Institute is a leader in the research of how materials age and climate management strategies for cultural institutions.”
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Thanks mostly to the enthusiastic comments made by President Jones during Commencement weekend, we had over 100 visitors to the Watkinson on Saturday to see the recently acquired “Second Folio” of Shakespeare. We don’t often see people literally lining up to see our books, but it is entirely gratifying.
Folks also were impressed by our marvelous copy of John James Audubon’s Birds of America, which is on permanent display (we turn the page to show a new bird every week).
Other items which I brought out for the day included two engravings on copper sheets which were used to illustrate Prideaux John Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology (published 1834-39), which were placed alongside the book itself. Selby was a contemporary of Audubon, and the two ornithologists compared notes and shared insights when the latter was at work in England.
Parents and students appreciated the current exhibition, Drawing Birds, which features sketches done by students last semester for Devin Dougherty’s Studio Arts class (Drawing I), especially as they noticed the work of friends and classmates.
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The Watkinson is proud to announce its admission to the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium (NERFC), which now boasts eighteen members from Connecticut to Maine. Scholars locally, nationally, and abroad can now apply for a fellowship to visit the Watkinson (and others, like our Hartford sister CHS) during the next funding cycle, which will be the 2013-14 academic year. In the meantime, we are full voting members, and will be taking the opportunity to discuss our collections with the membership and learn about theirs in turn.
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One of the more important aspects of overseeing a facility the size and value of the Watkinson is to control the environment. Leaky pipes, faulty HVAC systems, cracks in the foundation, and vermin (mice, bugs, naughty readers) are all potential threats to the collection, and must be kept at bay through CONSTANT VIGILANCE. Fortunately, Associate Curator Sally Dickinson is on the case, as she reports on a recent activity:
