STRiVE Leadership Retreat is a UMBC funded program where UMBC students have the opportunity to participate in an off-campus leadership retreat to help them develop leadership skills and abilities. Student Life and the Student Government Association first began STRiVE in 2009 and continue to develop and plan the retreat to this day. While at the retreat students work in teams, develop social change projects, and build community and campus interconnections. 

Learn More: 

-History of UMBC Research Guide 

-University Archives Webpage 

-UMBC Breaking Ground on STRiVE 

-STRiVE Information 

View All: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/library/posts?tag=archives-gold

In early 2005, the Student Organization Space, located on the second floor of the Commons, was renovated. The space had previously consisted of bulky tables, chairs, and small, separated desks which prevented easily communication. After complaints from students about the unproductive and uninviting environment, the SGA made plans to sponsor and organize new renovations of the space including new long meeting tables, comfy movable chairs, and an overall more open and inviting environment for students to study, meet, and eat. In September of 2005, the Visual Arts Council of Majors added a mural to the space which depicts the various UMBC student organizations in cartoon form. 

Learn More: 

-History of UMBC Research Guide 

-University Archives Webpage 

-Article in The Retriever (Volume 39, Issue 16) entitled "Student Organization Space Gets Facelift from SGA"

-UMBC Co-Create Blog "Creating UMBC's Student Organization Space" 

-UMBC Co-Create Blog "The Story Behind the Student Orgs Space Mural" 

View All: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/library/posts?tag=archives-gold

The UMBC men's basketball team won its first ever season crown in 2008. The team won in overtime against New Hampshire, earning them the American East Conference regular season title and qualifying them for a Division 1 postseason appearance in the NIT (National Invitation Tournament).  

Learn More: 

-History of UMBC Research Guide 

-University Archives Webpage 

-Article in The Retriever Weekly (Volume 42, Issue 19) "Men's Basketball Clinches First-Ever Regular Season Crown" 

-UMBC Retrievers Homepage 

View All: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/library/posts?tag=archives-gold

On April 26, 2005, UMBC students attempted a Guinness World Record- world's largest water gun fight- in an attempt to make the UMBC campus more welcoming and well known. Though UMBC did not achieve Guinness World Record status, the UMBC community did come together on New Student Day to take part in an eventful day of water fighting. The event even made local TV news later that night. 

Learn More: 

-History of UMBC Research Guide 

-University Archives Webpage 

-Article in The Retriever Weekly (Volume 39, Issue 25) on the Water Gun Fight 

-UMBC Co-Create Blog Post "UMBC's 'World Record' Water Gun Fight" 

-Baltimore Sun Article on Water Gun Fight 

View All: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/library/posts?tag=archives-gold

Prove It! (originally named Improve It!) was a campaign that was launched by the SGA in November of 2007 to give students the opportunity to submit proposals of a campus improvement plan and win $50,000 to put towards implementing their proposed plans. The very first Prove It! winner's proposal was the construction of a green space on campus near the Gallery Entrance of the Fine Arts building. Recent project winners and finalists include a community garden across from the Performing Arts and Humanities Building (2014), an extension of Pura Vida's hours (2012), and a mural in the Biological Sciences building (2012). 

Learn More: 

-History of UMBC Research Guide 

-University Archives Webpage 

-UMBC Co-Create Post "What is Prove It?" 

-Prove It! Homepage 

View All: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/library/posts?tag=archives-gold

UMBC administrators first began planning for the construction of the Performing Arts and Humanities building in 2004 with physical construction finally beginning in 2010. The new building is currently the largest on the UMBC campus and as President Hrabowski said after its construction, it is meant to "speak to the central role that the arts and humanities play in shaping our students as thinkers and as citizens." Above is a packet of dirt that was given at the ceremonial groundbreaking for the building on September 17, 2010. 

Learn More: 

-History of UMBC Research Guide 

-University Archives Webpage 

-Article in The Retriever Weekly (Volume 45, Issue 1) "New Performing Arts and Humanities Facility Breaks Ground; Phase I Begins" 

-Performing Arts and Humanities Building Homepage 

View All: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/library/posts?tag=archives-gold

The first fraternity recognized on the UMBC campus was Tau Upsilon in 1969. Tau Upsilon was a chapter of the national drama honors fraternity, Alpha Psi Omega. Members of this first fraternity included both males and females who were working in areas of drama on campus. To become members of the fraternity students were required to have performed both a major and minor role in a theater production as well as worked as a member of the stage crew for at least one production. 

Learn More: 

-History of UMBC Research Guide 

-University Archives Webpage 

-Article in The Retriever (Volume 3, Number 21) About UMBC's First Fraternity 

-UMBC Fraternities and Sororities 

View All: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/library/posts?tag=archives-gold

 

 

Discovering that an album is of a not-so-famous person can be deflating, after all who does not want a picture of a famous person? Imagine you are cataloging a vast array of photos. Looking at album after album, looking at photo after photo of persons whose identities have been lost to time, then, what is this? A familiar face! What luck! How did a collection of John Wilkes Booth’s head-shots get into our collection?! It is very easy for our excitement to carry away our imaginations—even we librarians are prone to it. 

However, just because an image appears to be of a person, does not mean that it is of that person. In cases like this provenance proves to be a very important tool. Think of provenance as the biography of an item, the story of where it was created, all the adventures it had, and places it traveled before it finished its journey in your possession. For librarians and archivists, provenance can help confirm who is in a photo. Trying to discover what a photo is of is much like putting it on trial. Images are assumed to be mundane until they are proven to be exceptional. In the case of this actor’s album, there is not enough evidence in the provenance to prove that these 40 photos are of John Wilkes Booth.  Now the question is, who is this actor?

In addition to provenance and comparing the image similar images, there are other ways to investigate and analyze the subject of a photo.  Become an image detective: use your visual literacy skills! Are there any captions, notes, or other metadata accompanying the image?  Can you verify them?  See Standard 3 of the ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for more clues.  

      

Have you ever seen a doppelgänger; and how do you know the doppel you’ve seen is not, in fact, the original? 

Special Collections is open to anyone with a photo ID, in the summer by appointment Monday - Friday from 9:00am - 4:30pm. Contact: 410.455.2353 | speccoll@umbc.edu. Fall and spring semesters open M-W 1-4, Th 1-8, F 1-4, and other times by appointment.

Sources:

Gardner, A., photographer. (1865) [John Wilkes Booth / Alex. Gardner, photographer to the Army of the Potomac]. [Washington, D.C.: Philp & Solomons; ca] [Image] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2008680389. 

John Wilkes Booth. (1925) [Image] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/npc2008007647. 

Actor's Portfolio-Cartes de Visite, The Photography Collections, Collection 237, Special Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD).

Thanks, Austin!