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A Conversation with Alan Dean Foster (Podcast)

October 2, 2012 · All locations, podcasts · Comments Off

A Conversation with Author Alan Dean Foster

To celebrate the opening of the new Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University and the ASU Libraries’ exhibit End of the Golden Age: Science Fiction Before and After the Atomic Bomb , Fred McIlvain and Assistant Professor Ed Finn, director of the Center, interview author Alan Dean Foster about his career in Science Fiction, film novelizations, and his world travels.

 
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Episode Transcript (rtf)

Alan and Ed talk about meeting John W. Campbell, how science fiction authors actually predicted the coming of the atomic bomb, and sci-fi as social commentary. Alan then opens up about his experiences working in Hollywood, meeting famous directors and turning movie scripts such Star Wars, Alien, Star Trek, and Transformers into novels. Did you know Alan talked about Warner Brothers Cartoons with singer Alice Cooper while waiting to see Star Wars…before anyone else had seen it.

Other topics include Alan’s current projects, the Alan Dean Foster Papers at the ASU Libraries, Alan’s scrapbooks, radio scripts, and the preservation of media.

Recorded September 12, 2012

Host: Fred McIlvain
Guests: Edward Finn, Alan Dean Foster

End of the Golden Age: Science Fiction Before and After the Atomic Bomb (Podcast)

September 7, 2012 · All locations, podcasts · Comments Off

The new Center for Science and the Imagination is launching its exhibit , End of the Golden Age: Science Fiction Before and After the Atomic Bomb, with a grand opening on September 12th at 1 PM at the Noble Science and Engineering Library.  This event will feature an introduction by Author Alan Dean Foster. The exhibit presents stories published during and after World War II, and examines the growing recognition within the optimistic ranks of Golden Age writers that some of our greatest scientific mysteries were not technological but cultural.

Center director ASU Assistant Professor Edward Finn and Research and Operations Coordinator Joey Eschrich join ASU Libraries’ Fred McIlvain and explore the concepts the Golden Age of Science Fiction and the fascinating exhibit. They also talk about how the Center for Science and the Imagination brings writers, artists and other creative thinkers into collaboration with scientists, engineers and technologists and serves as an exciting place to reignite humanity’s grand ambitions for innovation and discovery.

 
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About the Golden Age of Science Fiction

During the late 1930s and early 1940s, the genre we now recognize as science fiction was born in the pages of a handful of pulp magazines. One magazine in particular, Astounding Science Fiction, and its iconoclastic editor, John W. Campbell, pushed science fiction beyond its reliance on the familiar tropes of romance and adventure pulps to define a distinctive new kind of narrative.

The crucible of World War II drove the intellectual architecture of new labs at MIT, Stanford and other institutions. The breathtaking pace of discovery led to the invention or refinement of a host of new technologies from radar to the atomic bomb. In short, it was an era when the human imagination was stretched in both terrifying and wonderful ways. This was the era of Science Fiction’s Golden Age, spanning the decade of modern humanity’s transition from technological innocence to experience.

The Golden Age of Science Fiction
Noble Science and Engineering library at ASU Tempe Campus
September 12, through October 2012

Episode 119
Running Time: 19:32

Guests:
Ed Finn is the director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University, as well as an assistant professor with a joint appointment between the School of Arts, Media + Engineering and the Department of English.

Joey Eschrich is Coordinator Senior, Research and Operations for the Center for Science and the Imagination.

(Episode Transcript)

ASU Libraries Hidden Treasures: The Irene Corey Collection

July 10, 2012 · All locations, Hidden Treasures · Comments Off

In this episode Daphne Gill (Noble Science and Engineering Library Manager) meets with Child Drama Collection Curator Katherine Krzys and takes a peek into the collection of stage costumes from designer Irene Corey.


Irene literally changed the face of costume and makeup design. For over 50 years she designed costumes, sets and makeup for shows as varied as theatre classics to theme park characters. We would not have seen Lion King or Cats on Broadway without her initial animal makeup and costume work. Irene first became nationally known for the “Book of Job” in the 50′s. She also designed the costumes for the television show Barney and Friends and came up with his trademark purple color.

Join us and see the costumes and design materials representing from Irene’s entire theatrical career Kathy collected.

The Irene Corey Collection is part of the Child Drama Collection, the largest repository in the world documenting the international history of children’s theatre back to the sixteenth century.

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Get guided help with our library guide or schedule an appointment with Kathy.

Discover what you’ve been missing with ASU Libraries Hidden Treasures!

Each episode of Hidden Treasures explores the artifacts, images, collections and unique gems of the ASU Libraries you didn’t even realize were available.

Host: Daphne Gill
Guest: Katherine Krzys
Produced and Directed by Matthew Harp and Jennifer Duvernay

Recent Special Collections Acquisitions

December 6, 2010 · Hayden Library · Comments Off

Five extraordinary titles were recently acquired for our Special Collections. Cataloging for the materials is in progress, and they will be available for inspection at the Luhrs Reading Room shortly:

  • LaQuintinie, Jean de. The Compleat Gard’ner: or, Directions for Cultivating and Right Ordering of Fruit Gardens and of Kitchen Gardens; with Divers Reflections on Several Parts of Husbandry. In Six Books… London: Printed for Matthew Gillyflower… and James Partridge…, 1693.
  • Johnson, Carolyn.  A Leaf From “The First of May,” a Fairy Masque. With an essay on Walter Crane by Carolyn Johnson. Fullerton, California: Stone & Lorson, 1988.
  • Allix, Susan, compiler. Nonsense & Nonsense: A Collection of verses and extracts… with logical or nonsensical Typographic arrangements and visual promptings. [London: Susan Allix, 2008].
  • Edwards, Jonathan. Spider Letter. [Bremen, Maine and New York]: Red Angel Press, 2009.
  • Buchanon, Hugh and Peter Davidson. Winter Light. [Bath]:  The Old School Press with Francis Kyle Gallery, 2010.

Special Collections has been looking for an opportunity to enhance our fabulous Doris and Marc Patten Collection of “herbals”, rare books documenting the history of gardening and medicinal or culinary uses of plants. This late seventeenth century first edition of The Compleat Gard’ner is a remarkable find given its rarity and its excellent condition in original boards. The volume includes wonderful prints describing grafting techniques and important added texts not found in the fourth edition, which is available in the Patten collection.

Carolyn Johnson’s Leaf represents a creative folio display of a single leaf from British artist Walter Crane’s illustrated edition of The First of May: A Fairy Masque. The leaf is accompanied by Johnson’s essay about Crane’s late nineteenth and early twentieth century work in illustration and design for children’s books, presented in seven additional folio leaves. One of only fifty copies produced, Leaf will attract the attention of those studying the British Arts and Crafts movement. Special Collections also holds one of two hundred signed India proofs of the 1881 edition of The First of May, along with seventy other works by or about Walter Crane.

Susan Allix’ whimsical Nonsense & Nonsense is a wonderful example of creative layout and book design that delivers uncommon artistry and humor. Edwards’ Spider Letter completes our existing collection of creative presentations from the Red Angel Press, while Buchanan and Davidson’s Winter Light offers beautiful prints of watercolors depicting still life interiors from home that feature rich colors and the soft light of winter.

Please contact the Luhrs Reading Room at archives@asu.edu or 480.965.4932 for more information.

- Rob Spindler, Archives and Special Collections

The Mighty Marching Sun Devils (Podcast)

November 9, 2009 · All locations, Architecture Library, Downtown Phoenix campus, Hayden Library, Noble Library, podcasts, Polytechnic campus, West campus · 2 comments
Curator Karrie Porter Brace and student Zac Humphrey, an active member of the ASU Sun Devil Marching Band, join us for an entertaining exploration of the marching band as we highlight the re-opening of the Mighty Marching Sun Devil exhibit at Hayden Library.  The discussion traces the history of the marching band, including great band directors of the past and includes an interesting look at the evolution of the band uniform.

Download Enhanced Podcast (iPod ready, Chapter Enhanced AAC, playable in iTunes or QuickTime)

Get the standard MP3 version here

Explore the exhibit featuring photographs and other band related artifacts from the University Archives, in the Luhrs Gallery and Reading Room, Hayden Library, 4th Floor, Tempe campus through the Fall 2009 Semester, during Luhrs Reading Room hours
For More Information:

Exhibit Information

ASU Generations (ASU History)

Official Sun Devil Marching Band page (School of Music)

Hosted by: Fred McIlvain

Guests:
Karrie Porter Brace
Zac Humphrey
Episode 101 Running Time: 23:02

The Personal and Political Papers of Senator Barry M Goldwater (Podcast)

August 12, 2009 · All locations, Architecture Library, Downtown Phoenix campus, Music Library, Noble Library, podcasts, Polytechnic campus, Tempe campus, West campus · Comments Off

Goldwater PapersPhotographer, amateur radio operator, politician, adventurer, outdoorsman, humanitarian, presidential candidate, and father are just a few things to describe the life and career of Senator Barry M. Goldwater.

In this episode Fred McIlvain talks with Arizona Historical Foundation archivists Linda Whitaker, Susan Irvin and Rebekah Tabah on the debut of the Personal and Political Papers of Senator Barry M. Goldwater after 5 years of heavy lifting (literally and figuratively) processing the collection.

When Barry Goldwater founded the Arizona Historical Foundation nearly 50 years ago, the last thing he would have expected is to find his papers in disarray. It is the ultimate irony, that a man who saved everything for posterity, would leave a collection requiring tough interventions so that it could be fully processed and cataloged. For all practical purposes this collection had remained largely unprocessed and hidden confounding researchers worldwide.

 
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Collection Vital Statistics:
• 1180 linear feet (970 boxes)
• 8,000 un-mounted photographs, 1,500 negatives, 5,000 slides, 110 photo albums
• 107 news clipping scrapbooks (many digitized to searchable CDs)
• 480 reels of microfilm (all digitized to searchable CDs)
• 1,028 film reels, cassettes, and tapes
• 896 pages (finding aid)
• 1.14 million documents
• 125+ years (1880s-2008) of Arizona and U.S. History

Host:
Fred McIlvain

Guests:
Linda Whitaker
Susan Irvin
Rebekah Tabah

Episode 99
Running Time: 25:48

Native Mexican Manuscripts a Summer Exhibition (Podcast)

June 26, 2009 · Hayden Library, podcasts · 1 comment

Episode 98Fred McIlvain, Mimmo Bonnani, Curator Karrie Porter Brace and Professor Emily Umberger of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts discuss the summer exhibit of Mexican Codex Manuscripts on display at the Hayden Library’s Luhrs Gallery.

This engaging conversation tackles the background of the collections, and how the codices depict life of historic and Pre-Hispanic Mesoamericans. Karrie and Emily describe what these codices look like and how they were used by priests for consultation on state events, family decisions, and war.  We’ll learn about a an interesting Mexico City map produced in the 1550′s for Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor of Spain), Montezuma, and the beliefs and practices represented in the manuscripts.  Well also learn about the calendar stone, Mesoamerican hieroglyphs, Diego de Landa’s alphabet, the destruction of manuscripts, and the status of the actual texts today.

The exhibit is on display in the Hayden Library’s Luhrs Gallery through Summer 2009.

 

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Additional exhibit information

The Dresden codex

Search for Mesoamerican codices (ASU Library Catalog) (Open Worldcat) (Google Scholar – Requires Authentication)

Hosts:
Fred McIlvain
Mimmo Bonanni

Guests:
Karrie Porter Brace
Emily Umberger

Episode 98
Running Time: 35:50

Marilyn Wurzburger: 48 Years of Service (podcast)

January 30, 2009 · podcasts · Comments Off

Episode 89: Marilyn Wurzburger

The Library Channel bids a fond farewell to Marilyn Wurzburger, who retired from ASU Libraries on January 23rd, 2009 after 48 years of service.

Host Fred McIlvain, who’s career spans nearly 30 years himself, reflects with Marilyn on her years with ASU Libraries discussing the move from the cramped Matthews Library to spacious Hayden Library and the unique collections she helped build. She talks about her tutelage under Assistant Librarian Jay Dobkin and her career growth from cataloger to Head of Special Collections.

She also talks about the building and acquiring of many collections including the Peter Lawford papers, the Doris and Marc Patten Collection of Herbals and Early Gardening Books, the William S. Burroughs collection, the Alan Dean Foster papers and much more.

Please read the ASU news article about Marilyn’s career and visit ASU Libraries Special Collections to learn about Marilyn and the specialized collections held at ASU.

 

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HOST:
Fred McIlvain

Guest:
Marilyn Wurzburger

Episode 89
Running Time: 58:20

A Discussion with William Sage, Donor of the Sage Collection on Laos

May 22, 2007 · podcasts, Tempe campus · Comments Off

Episode 46 Sage Discussion

The Library Channel is proud to welcome William Sage to the studio for a discussion about the The William W. Sage Collection, a valuable resource that Bill made possible here at Arizona State University. The discussion takes us from the hot and humid turmoil of Laos in the late 60’s to the present.

The William W. Sage Collection contains a wealth of information resources from and about Laos, including: an exhaustive survey of literature; periodicals; unpublished papers and government documents; oral histories; ethnographic photographs; maps; music cassette tapes; and ethnobiological specimens. Donated to ASU Libraries in 1993, the Sage Collection is a singular resource for Lao Studies.

Adjunct Professor of Anthropology Jacqueline Butler-Diaz, Special Collections Librarian Marilyn Wurzburger, and Southeast Asian Studies Librarian Christopher Miller join the discussion to talk about the breadth of the collection and how it came about.
 

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For more information please visit:

William Sage Author Search in our catalog
William Sage Collection on Laos
Southeast Asia Collection
Center for Asian Research

Guests:

– SE Asia
Christopher Miller, SE Asia Studies Bibliographer

Episode 46