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US Agrarian Literature to be Preserved with $850,000 NEH Grant
Nine US land grant university libraries, including the University of Connecticut Libraries, have joined with the US Agricultural Information Network (USAIN) to identify and preserve historical literature about agricultural development and rural life from 1820-1945. Because the nation was largely rural until after WWII, these publications contain information about a significant period in US history. This cooperative effort will identify and preserve important agrarian literature for future generations of scholars.
An $850,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities will fund the initial work, which is part of the National Preservation Program for Agricultural Literature commissioned by USAIN and published in 1993. Historical literature for each of the nine states will be identified and evaluated by a panel of scholars in that state. Four land-grant libraries--Auburn University, Cornell University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Wisconsin (Madison)--will have funds to preserve the most valuable titles from their states on microfilm. The other five, including the universities of California (Berkeley), Connecticut, Florida, Nebraska, and Texas A&M, will identify and rank the titles but will not preserve volumes until additional money is available.
Serving on the scholarly review panel for the University of Connecticut are: professor Emilio Pagoulatos, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics; Rudy J. Favretti, professor emeritus of landscape architecture; A. William Hoglund, professor of history; and Irving F. Fellows, professor emeritus of agricultural economics.
The rich literature to be identified and preserved in this project traces agriculture as it evolved from a home and family way of life to the business enterprises which we know today. Rural life will be the focus as represented in many types of publications, including agricultural and farm journals, histories, agricultural society documents, natural histories, and records of rural growth and community development. The Mann agricultural library at Cornell University will coordinate and manage the project.
Information: Richard Fyffe
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