Rollins College Archives & Special Collections at Olin Library hold a unique Collection of 34 Examples of Textile Arts and Handicrafts, which was presented by Dr. Lawrence Simonson in 1952. The Portfolios of historic and modern textile arts, mounted on 18" X 14" boards, include unique items such as woven palm fiber from Congo, Tapa tree bark cloth from Samoa, batik from Japan, tie-dyed materials, embroidered and printed silk, cotton, linen, wool weaves, etc. Those special collection materials have been frequently used by students in Arts and Art History courses such as Introduction to Global Arts, Fashion in Africa, Global Trade in African Textiles, African Arts & Colonialism, and African Arts & City.

Submitted by: Wenxian Zhang, Rollins College

Digital Collections Crowdsources Unique Local History Highlighting Community Pride

Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library’s Digital Collections collaborated with East Tampa’s Historic Belmont Heights Neighborhood Association to record the essence of this historic African American neighborhood known for its community spirit and history of athletic achievement. 

The 2nd Annual Neighborhood Reunion was held this summer at Cyrus Greene Park, the home of the legendary Belmont Heights Little League, where collaborative efforts came together. Video memories of community elders sharing stories as well as crowdsourced photographs of landmarks and residents, past and present, premiered.

The Historic Belmont Heights collection is available through Digital Collection’s Our Lives, Our Legacies: The Hillsborough Black Experience.

Image Caption: Historic Belmont Heights Neighborhood Association’s reunion gathering group photo. Neighborhood associations help crowdsource content to preserve community memories.

Submitted by: Jessica J. Miller, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library

The City of Mount Dora’s W.T. Bland Public Library is home to the Mount Dora Archives, which recently completed a grant through the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources. This community education grant funded the processing and publishing of three new collections that highlight Mount Dora’s rich history from the late 1800s to current day. The Papers of Mabel Norris Reese, Mount Dora’s Chautauqua and Downtown by the Decades were developed to expand the city’s historical resources and highlight the people and places of note throughout Mount Dora. In addition to the three new collections, the nine other collections included in the digital archives were migrated from Bibliboard to a new standardized website, utilizing CONTENTdm. The twelve collections are accessible via www.mountdoraarchives.com.

Donnelly Street downtown looking north from Fourth Avenue, circa 1912. The building second from the right was Town Hall. From 1904 to 1922, the building seated 300 people and was used for more than town meetings. Mount Dora's first library was housed here and movies were shown to the public before the equipment was moved to the Princess Theater.  The building was severely damaged in the fire that occurred on February 2, 1922. The current location of the site portrayed in the picture is 426-430 N. Donnelly Street.

Submitted by: Erin Creel, W.T. Bland Public Library