African-American music in the Diversity Studies Room

Brought to you by YOURS TRULY!

The Blockson Collection has worked hard with Angela Breeden, the library exhibits coordinator,  to bring the Blockson Collection's music resources to the Penn State community. We used this opportunity to showcase much more than just the books. We scanned and reproduced over 100 items, and most of those are non-book items. The exhibit includes images, information, and context about playbills, record albums, and sheet music in addition to a few books. It covers genres from minstrelsy and folk music to Broadway, operas, and pop music. We have highlighted specific entertainers and songs that were revolutionary in the development of African American music history and culture.

For all of you music buffs - including musicians, singers, writers, and appreciators - we have something for you. Please stop by the Diversity Studies Room in 109 West Pattee. The exhibit starts in the "Stonehenge" area right beside the main lobby and flows into the Diversity Studies Room. It will be up until January 14 through March 13.

Check out the links below for publications.
PSU Live!
http://live.psu.edu/story/50584

The Daily Collegian
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2011/01/14/martin_luther_king_art_exhibit.aspx

Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial week
http://www.mlk.psu.edu/assets/img_11/event_flyer_11.pdf

Ideas for 2010-2011

We've got some ideas on how to make the Blockson Collection more relevant to the campus community. We're all here to learn so check out these ideas and leave a comment or suggestion!

Idea#1: Blockson Book Club
The Blockson Collection has a number of materials that make excellent talking points in a class or just with friends. The Blockson Book Club would give everybody interested in that topic one specific reference point, and a place to share new thoughts and ideas. The goal is to generate informed conversation around a topic, And of course...we look forward to uploading video of members debuting and wrapping up our topics for the month.

Idea#2: Spring 2011 Online Student Exhibit
A favorite among students! An online student exhibit gives students a place to showcase their work and creativity. Using a book or concept that can also be linked to the Blockson Collection, students have a way of preserving and sharing their ideas.You do the work, we'll do the rest.

Idea#3: Contemporary Blockson Discussion
Many of the resources found in the Blockson Collection connect to worldwide issues and current events. Using avenues like Facebook, Twitter and RSS feeds, the Blockson Collection can contribute to ongoing conversations. Wondering when, if ever, Wyclef Jean could be President of Haiti??? Think about the Haitian Revolution and Toussaint L'Ouverture, and argue that Wyclef should have been around 100 years ago.

These are just some ideas that we've had, but we are always open to suggestions so leave a comment!

Welcome to The Blockson Collection blog!

The Charles L. Blockson Collection of African-Americana and the African Diaspora contains materials relating to African American, African, Latin American, and Caribbean history and culture. The Collection focuses not only on African-Americana, but more broadly documents the African Diaspora, the pattern of human migration that reaches back hundreds of years and traces the movement of Blacks from their African homelands to areas around the world. Cataloging of the Blockson Collection, which was acquired by the University Libraries in 2006, began in the fall of 2007 and is ongoing, with nearly 6,000 books cataloged to date.

The Charles L. Blockson Collection Room is located on the 3rd floor of West Pattee Library and is open Mondays and Thursdays from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and by appointment. Inquiries and requests for materials may be directed to the Special Collections Library. For reference and/or instructional support, contact Sylvia Nyana, Social Sciences Librarian, at (814) 865-8864 or san17@psu.edu

For everything else you can just contact Nnenna Amu, graduate assistant. Contact me!

Visit us on the web:
http://libraries.psu.edu/psul/speccolls/rbm/blockson.html