@pacscl.org
The Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries, Inc. has 38 member institutions who collaborate to make collections broadly available, support joint projects, promote professional standards, & who foster the special collections community
The application deadline draws near for the 2026 Noel Prize for open access projects!
For more information and to apply: pacscl.org/what-we-do/f... Apps due 3/15/2026.
Oh my, Happy Belated New Year and Happy Proper Snow Storm!
PACSCL announces the opening of the 2026 Noel Prize for open access projects.
For more information and to apply: pacscl.org/what-we-do/f... Apps due 3/15/2026.
[A far too serious picture of Will.] #noelprize
Patrick Shank/CHRC, Judge Edna Cruz/Nook Bakery & Coffee Bar, Melissa VandeBurgt/Temple SCRC, Bettina Hess/German Society of Pennsylvania.
Thanks to all our bakers! From left to right: Melissa VandeBurgt/Temple SCRC, Bettina Hess/German Society of PA, Lorena Boylan/German Society of PA, Heather Willever-Farr/Drexel University, Kayla Van Osten/Widener University, Holly Mengel/University of Pennsylvania, Chrissie Perella Clement/Drexel University, Lynn Dorwaldt/Wagner Free Institute of Science, Patrick Shank/CHRC, Rae Blanchard/German Society of PA & Drexel University
Who won the coveted #PACSCL Biennial Cookie Bake-Off at the German Society of PA last Friday?
Patrick Shank/Catholic Historical Research Center with his great-grandmother's (exquisite) whiskey/anise/lemon-infused pizzelle recipe!
With thanks to Edna Cruz/Nook Bakery & Coffee Bar for judging!
Some great books and articles on archives and libraries that came out in 2025.
In no specific order.
🧵
Here's a lovely portrait of #StephenGirard and his bank, from the Independence Seaport Museum collection.
#PortraitofaCitizen #museums #libraries #specialcollections
“Please sit down before you read the next sentence. The BBC Written Archives Centre has no catalogue of its holdings available to the public…Earlier this year, the BBC suddenly announced that it was altering its archival access policy. Enquiries from the general public are now ignored.”
🗃️
Additional public shaming today yielded five additional attendees!!
Remind me NOT to tell you what I did when my child had their one and only temper tantrum in a grocery store!
PACSCL's Fall Social and Biennial Cookie Bake Off is set for 12/4.
The last Cookie Bake Off was in 2023 - look at the entries!
And how many bakers have registered as of today? Three. Two more folks have promised.
The theme is Cookies Around the World.
Will public shaming work?
I am thinking of legally changing my name to Ann Landers. It would just make life easier.
I VOTED. HAVE YOU?????
Seriously, I've lived on the same street for almost 30 years. I've voted at the same voting location since 1998. The same person has been the election judge for that same period of time.
And every year, I spell out my last name, all 6 letters, only to have a poll worker add a 7th letter - s.
Job: Digital Humanities Librarian
employment.ku.edu/jobs/faculty...
I was terrified when I read this this morning.
And as a bonus, here’s an in-depth guide to the depicted knitting pattern 🙂 digitalpreservation-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/knitting-thr...
The #NoelPrize committee recognized the dedicated work of other applicants, including the Penn Museum Archives Digitization: Systematic Scanning Phase One of The Penn Museum, an example of which can be found at findingaids.library.upenn.edu/records/UPEN...
While not the winners of the Popcorn Bucket of Awesomeness, the #NoelPrize committee recognized the dedicated work of other applicants, including the Drexel University/Atwater Kent Collection Online: philadelphiahistory.org/collections/
While not the winners of the Popcorn Bucket of Awesomeness, the #NoelPrize committee recognized the dedicated work of other applicants, including the Centre County Library & Historical Museum's Letters and Notes of Colonel Samuel Miles: digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islando...
While not the winners of the Popcorn Bucket of Awesomeness, the #NoelPrize committee recognized the dedicated work of other applicants, including the Philadelphia Congregations Early Records project of Christ Church, Philadelphia: philadelphiacongregations.org/records/
While not the winners of the Popcorn Bucket of Awesomeness, the #NoelPrize committee recognized the dedicated work of other applicants, including the Reading Area Community College's Wes Fisher Piano Sheet Music Collection: digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islando...
While not the winners of the Popcorn Bucket of Awesomeness, the #NoelPrize committee recognized the dedicated work of other applicants, including the Rockefeller Archives Center's Comprehensive Restrictions Review, shown in this #findingaid as an example: dimes.rockarch.org/collections/...?
Thanks to Barbara Zaborowski & the staff at the Pennsylvania Highlands Community College.
Congratulations to the runner-up for the Noel Prize! The Cambria Memory Project fulfills the ideals of the prize: an open access project, of high value to its audiences and stakeholder communities, & that is significant relative to the size of the institution that undertook it.
cambriamemory.org
We’ve grouped our primary source collections under key historical themes! “Medicine” contains three fascinating collections, totalling over 230,000 document images!
You can explore the collections in the theme of “Medicine” here: buff.ly/gXoy5qD
"This is an important part of the truth-telling process and a means towards restored Indigenous cultural sovereignty. It is also a source for education about this shameful episode in United States history.”
Congratulations to Fallon Carey, Tsinni Russell, & River Freemont for their stellar work!
The winner of the 1st Noel Prize is The National Indian Boarding School Digital Archive: nibsda.elevator.umn.edu which "brings together materials from federal, religious, and educational archives in one digital location to provide access to boarding school records for survivors and descendants."
PACSCL announces the winner of the inaugural Noel Prize:
pacscl.org/pacscl-award...
The winner will receive a giant tin of popcorn with a custom award label, socks that say AWESOME (Will's favorite word) and a cash award of $250.
Those who die with the biggest stash win.
Bill Roberts won. He was a heck of a lawyer, a heck of a musician, and a heck of a reader.
#PACSCL created the #NoelPrize to honor the legacy - & the sense of humor - of William G. Noel, prior PACSCL Chair & champion of open access.
12 applicants submitted brilliant projects for consideration! Who will take home the giant Popcorn Bucket of Awesomeness? Find out on 10/1.
Princeton U. libraries hosted an undergrad intern on behalf of #PACSCL who LOVED her experience. She completed an impressive # of projects, including writing blogs and participating in an interview with PUL's Communications Office. A sample: universityarchives.princeton.edu/2025/08/1827...
I dunno, you think the PACSCL Board might be displeased at me for sharing their #sillyfaces from yesterday's retreat?