Genealogy Updates: New book tells the history of the Liverpool Irish: Click image to find out more A new book, In Hardship and Hope: A History of the Liverpool Irish, was launched this week at the University of Liverpool's Institute of Irish Studies during the Liverpool Irish Festival. Written by social historian and guide Greg Quiery, it presents a narrative history of the Irish community in the city, describing its struggle for social and political acceptance

#Smithsonian: See Here: 10/27/2017: Blog Tags: See HereNational Museum of Natural HistoryScienceBlog Categories: Collections in FocusHeader_image: EDAN Item: Kurt Fredriksson

#Smithsonian: Link Love: 10/27/2017: Link Love: a weekly blog feature with links to interesting videos and stories regarding archival issues, the Smithsonian, and Washington D.C & American history. * When museum visitors match the artwork. [via artFido] * The Smithsonian's Secretary, David Skorton, is convening thought-leaders to discuss critical issues Americans are facing, starting with immigration. * The International Federation of Television Archives' Innovation award went to Radio.Garden, a website that allows you to browse radio stream geographically. [via Sound and Vision R&D] * Celebrate Open Access Week with Stephen Hawking's newly open doctoral thesis, and do your part by adding open sources to Wikipedia. [via Guardian] * The best museum "behind-the-scenes" web series. [via Hyperallergic] * There's a growing trend of museums adding "free little libraries" in front of their buildings! [via Museum Notes] * Our National Air and Space Museum gives us a preview of their exciting renovation! [via DCist] Blog Categories: What Gets SavedBlog Tags: Link LoveArtArchivesOpen AccessNational Air and Space MuseumLibraries

#Smithsonian: The Future Is Here: The Smithsonian Institution Archives launches a website refresh. Welcome to the newly refreshed Smithsonian Institution Archives website! As our regular visitors may have noticed, we launched a new theme for our site on September 27, 2017. Our previous Drupal theme was first launched in 2011 when we moved our site over to Drupal. Since that time, we have upgraded the backend, made improvements to our searching, and increased the availability of field books, but the look and feel of the site remained generally the same. Six years later, it was starting to look dated. A site that hasn’t changed in that amount of time is kinda like wearing the same cloths from the 90s, and no one wants to do that. So we embarked on a project to improve the site that that took six months and involved reviewing around 300 user surveys (yes, we do read those), data from over 1.1 million visits, and 173,621 lines of code. What we were left with is a site that is more user-friendly, mobile optimized, and WCAG 2.0 accessible. The new theme is more than a fresh coat of paint. On the backend, it incorporates Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets (better known as SASS). SASS allows us to use variables in our CSS, which means each color, font style, etc only needs to be defined once. This greatly cuts down the time it takes to write and maintain our styles. We are also making use of CSS3 and image sprites to cut back on the amount of items the site needs to load for the theme. For example, all of the social media icons at the bottom of the site are really just one image loaded once, but used multiple times. On the frontend you will notice we have a new collections page, which offers new ways to jump into our content: Collections Groups (curated groupings of our collections around a central theme), Recently Digitized Material, Most Popular Collections and Finding Aids with Digitized Content. Our collection items are now sporting a new design, as are our finding aids. By using Disqus, it's now easier than ever to comment on our blog. Also, our Smithsonian History Featured Topics are now in an easier to read, more magazine like format. We hope everyone enjoys the new look as much as we enjoyed implementing it! Related Resources * "Where is the World is That Field Book?," The Bigger Picture Blog * "Torch PDFs Now Available in Search," The Bigger Picture Blog * "You Asked, We Listened: Introducing the Archives New Site Search," The Bigger Picture Blog * "Smithsonian Institution Archives Moves to Drupal 7," The Bigger Picture Blog Blog Categories: Behind the ScenesBlog Tags: Web/TechHeader_image: EDAN Item: Tom (Mac) McIntyre Catalogs Squirrel Specimens

#PhotoRestoration Restorapic Photo Restoration

Genealogy Updates: Major new online resource to be released by UCC as part of 2018's National Famine Commemoration: Next year's National Famine Commemoration will take place on Saturday 12 May in University College Cork (UCC), and will be hosted jointly by UCC and Cork City Council. University College Cork The focal point of the 2018 commemoration will be the launch of The Great Irish Famine Online. Speaking at the official announcement, UCC President Professor Patrick O’Shea said: "The University has

#Smithsonian: Wonderful Women Wednesday: Dr. Massumeh Farhad: Dr. Massumeh Farhad, Chief Curator and Curator of Islamic Art, Freer and Sackler Galleries, has created numerous exhibitions on the arts of the Islamic world, and twice received the Smithsonian Secretary's prestigious research prize. #Groundbreaker Blog Categories: Smithsonian HistoryBlog Tags: Freer Sackler GalleriesWonderful Women Wednesday

Humans of New York Brandon Stanton to Keynote RootsTech 2018: I received the following press release from FamilySearch: SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (25 October 2017), RootsTech is delighted to announce that Brandon Stanton, creator of Humans of New York, will be the keynote speaker at RootsTech 2018, on Thursday, March 1, 2018. Stanton is a world renowned photographer and storyteller. He is recognized for his incredible talent of telling the story of everyday people he photographs, helping them feel important. At RootsTech 2018, Stanton will share his story, motivations, and some of the messages that his camera has captured in his quest to find the stories that drive the lives of the people of our world. Easily find and share this announcement online in the FamilySearch Newsroom. In 2010, Stanton was laid off as a bond trader in Chicago. Undaunted, he bought a camera and set out to create a photographic census of 10,000 everyday people on the streets of New York. He published his initial work on his website, Humans of New York, and then added quotes of his subjects to create short, heartfelt, personal glimpses from their lives. His efforts were noticed—gaining over 20 million fans across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Stanton’s work beautifully illustrates that every life has a story—an important story. He masters the art of visually telling each person’s story, which he now conveys in his popular new weekly Facebook series for a TV show called Humans of New York: The Series. Some messages are sweet, some surprising, some sad, and many contain homespun nuggets of insights that people have found in the chronicles of their lives. Since his journey began in 2010, Stanton and his camera have roamed the streets of New York and through more than 20 different countries, including the streets of some of the world’s most remote and troubled regions. The storytelling power of his social media sites have provided a platform to raise money to help change the situations of thousands of people in difficult circumstances. Stanton is also the author of two books that catapulted to number one on the New York Times Bestsellers list: Humans of New York (2013), and Humans of New York: Stories (2015). His Children’s book, Little Humans (2014), a 40-page photographic picture book, was featured on the New York Times Children’s book bestseller list. Learn more about Brian Stanton’s RootsTech 2018 appearance or his Humans of New York website, Facebook, and Instagram pages. ###About RootsTech RootsTech, hosted by FamilySearch, is a global conference celebrating families across generations, where people of all ages are inspired to discover and share their memories and connections. This annual event has become the largest of its kind in the world, attracting tens of thousands of participants worldwide.

#Smithsonian: A Look into NCFA Exhibition Posters: As the Smithsonian Institution Archives works to create a new, comprehensive finding aid for Record Unit 452, take a look at some of the posters from this collection and learn about the history of the National Collection of Fine Arts (NCFA), now the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) has undergone many name changes over the years. One of these – the National Collection of Fine Arts (NCFA) – was in use from 1937 to 1980. During this time, the NCFA underwent several exciting changes. After years of being housed in multiple locations and several failed attempts to build a permanent building, the collection moved to its current home, the Old Patent Office Building, in 1968. While sharing the building with the National Portrait Gallery, the NCFA finally had a space to call its own! Then, in 1972, the NCFA gained additional gallery space with the acquisition of the Renwick Gallery, located in the old Corcoran Gallery of Art Building. You can read a full history of SAAM here. Record Unit 452, National Museum of American Art (U.S.) Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981 contains approximately 300 exhibition posters from 1968 to 1983 that document the gallery happenings after the move into the Old Patent Office Building, now known as the Fine Arts and Portrait Galleries. While many of these posters are for exhibitions, there are several advertisements for children’s programs (and even a staff holiday party!) included in the contents. Often times, several copies of a poster exist. Some copies are mounted on board, and some are varying sizes and even different color schemes. The Preservation and Archives and Information Management teams, with the help of our summer intern, have been working to gather important item-level metadata for this collection in order to compile a comprehensive, useable finding aid. Until then, please enjoy a few selected images of these beautiful posters! Previous Pause Next 1 of 15 The Goldsmith, 1974. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Sculpture: American Directions 1945-1975, 1975. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. The Object As Poet, 1976. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Stitch Pictures by Ethel Mohamed, 1976. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Daniel Chester French: An American Sculptor, 1977. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Roots and Visions: Contemporary Hispanic Art in America, 1977. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Painted, Printed, and Dyed: The New Fabric Surface, 1978. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. New Stained Glass, 1978. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Perceptions and Evocations: The Art of Elihu Vedder, 1978. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. . The Grand Beehive Exhibition, 1981. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Good As Gold: Alternative Materials in American Jewelry, 1981. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. William H. Johnson: The Scandinavian Years, 1982. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Joseph Cornell: An Exploration of Sources, 1982. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Elizabeth Nourse, 1859-1938: A Salon Career, 1983. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Speaking a New Classicism: American Archicture Now, 1983. Courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber. Record Unit 452: National Museum of American Art, Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Related Collections * National Museum of American Art (U.S.) Office of Exhibition and Design, Exhibition Records, 1975-1981,Record Unit 452 Blog Categories: Smithsonian History

Making Dinner a Delight: 12 Ways to Make Mealtime More Meaningful: What’s for dinner tonight? Whatever you’re making—curry and rice, meat and three veg, spaghetti and marinara, or a simple can of soup—you’re also making history. The family dinner is a powerful thing. Our childhood meal experiences follow us the rest of our lives, and it’s not just about the food. Studies show that the frequency […]

Genealogy Updates: Irish genealogy & heritage events, 23 Oct to 5 Nov: Monday 23 October: NLI Reading Room and Manuscript Room closed. Venue: National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. On-going Monday closures are to facilitate extensive redevelopment of the premises. All other services/exhibitons/cafe, including Genealogy Advisory Service operating as normal. Details. Monday 23 October: Protest and resistance during the Great Famine, with Dr. John

Hungry During RootsTech 2018? They've Got You Covered!: I'm excited to attend RootsTech 2018! I missed last year, but did attend as an Ambassador in 2016. While I was there, I spent most of my time in the Media Hub, which is in the Expo Hall. Also located in the Expo Hall were several food vendors in a food court area. These photos are from when I attended in 2016, but I asked and was told there should be vendors here again in 2018. As you can see, there were several yummy options to choose from. And there should be just as many delicious options in 2018. One of my lunches during from the food vendors at RootsTech. 😊 In addition to these yummy food options, there are several restaurants around the Salt Palace Convention Center. City Creek Mall is across the street and it has lots of restaurant choices, including Kneaders Bakery, Blue Lemon, Cheesecake Factory, and Chick-fil-A, just to name a few. So...there's no need to go hungry while you're attending RootsTech. Mmmm...so many fun and delicious options to choose from. See you there! Thanks for stopping by! Jana © 2017 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved