J. D. Boyd Library Archives Week to feature Oral History Project

This month, several Alcorn State University alumni will share their undergraduate experiences during the 1960s as part of Archive Week at the J. D. Boyd Library on the Lorman campus.

The panel discussion will take place Wednesday, Oct. 14 from 10:30 a.m. until noon in the library’s Medgar Evers Auditorium. It is the first in a series of lectures to be sponsored by the library.

Recordings of the alumni were made earlier this year as part of an oral history project conducted by Kathleen Keys, Dr. Peter R. Malik, and Dr. Anne-Marie Obilade, members of the university’s faculty in the Department of English and Foreign Languages.

Recently, a copy of the tapes made during the project was placed in Alcorn’s Department of Archives/Special Collections at the J. D. Boyd Library. All members of the Alcorn community now have access to the recordings.

Dr. Blanche Sanders, dean of university libraries, said that library staff is happy to present the recordings to the Alcorn community.

“The library is very pleased to be able to make the recordings available for use by students, faculty, staff members, alumni and members of the general public. The panel discussion is designed to give everyone an opportunity to hear from several of the participants and meet them personally.”

The Department of Archives and Special Collections serves as the institutional memory of the University. It plays an integral role in the management of the information resources in different media and formats. To fulfill the responsibilities of that role, the Archivist identifies, acquires, and maintains records of enduring value that chronicle the development of the institution and ensures its continued existence.

The oral history project was made possible by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council, through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the Mississippi Humanities Council.

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