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Libraries reel in film preservation grant for Gilbreth collection

Libraries reel in film preservation grant for Gilbreth collection

November 24th, 2010

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University Libraries will save 13 films in its archives that were produced by early 20th-century motion study pioneers Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, thanks to two grants from the National Film Preservation Foundation.

“These unique Gilbreth materials are only available at Purdue” says Elizabeth M. Wilkinson, processing and public services archivist and acting head for Purdue University Libraries Archives and Special Collections. “Thanks to this grant, they are now accessible to researchers and scholars where they weren’t before due to their deterioration.”

The Gilbreths were renowned as “the Father and Mother of Modern Management,” and their motion study work continues to interest and attract researchers. The Gilbreths’ research introduced using photography and motion pictures to study and improve the efficiency of industrial workers and minimize worker fatigue.

The couple also raised 12 children together, and the story of their family life has been recounted in numerous journal articles, books and films, notably “Cheaper By the Dozen.”

Frank Gilbreth died in 1924, and Lillian Gilbreth continued the work they had started together. She became a professor of management at Purdue in 1935 and later donated many of her husband’s papers and belongings to Purdue Libraries.

Among Purdue’s collection are laboratory records, the couples’ personal library and artifacts used in their time, and motion studies. Additional gifts from the Gilbreth family over the years have included correspondence, certificates, photographs, motion picture films, and memorabilia.

Purdue’s Gilbreth collection contains information on the early principles of scientific management and the psychology of management, which revolutionized the industry of their time, Wilkinson said. A consortium of engineers, academics, and management specialists, The Gilbreth Network hosts a forum relating to the couple’s work. Libraries also receive frequent requests to use papers contained in the Gilbreth Library of Management at Purdue for exhibitions, scholarly texts and other purposes, Wilkinson says.

“As a result of the increased research interest shown in the Gilbreth materials, we are attempting to preserve and digitize as many of the films as possible to make them better accessible to researchers,” Wilkinson says.

The 13 films that the Libraries most recently chose to preserve with the film foundation’s funds were identified as the ones in most need of preservation due to their poor condition and probable research value.

In all, 45 motion picture films created by the Gilbreths were donated to Purdue Libraries with permission from the donors to share the films to onsite researchers and the public.

The National Film Preservation Foundation is the nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to help save America’s film heritage.

Writer: Grant Flora, 765-494-3676, gflora@purdue.edu

Source: Elizabeth M. Wilkinson, Processing & Public Services, 765-494-9040, emwilkin@purdue.edu

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/qt/2010/101124WilkinsonGilbreths.html


1943 Thanksgiving with Amelia Earhart’s mother

November 24th, 2010

What was Amelia Earhart’s mother doing on Thanksgiving of 1943? View her letter to George Palmer Putnam here.


1943 Thanksgiving with Amelia Earhart’s mother

November 24th, 2010

What was Amelia Earhart’s mother doing on Thanksgiving of 1943? View her letter to George Palmer Putnam here.


Thanksgiving 1943 with Amelia Earhart’s mother

November 24th, 2010

What was Amelia Earhart’s mother doing on Thanksgiving of 1943? View her letter to George Palmer Putnam here.


MEL’s Database of the Week for 11/19/10

November 19th, 2010

Welcome to Database of the Week — a feature from the Management & Economics Library (MEL).  These weekly database snapshots will give you basic information about our most relevant and beneficial online resources.

Database name: MarketLine Business Information Center

Link: www.lib.purdue.edu/mel, in the pull down Quick Access to Business Databases alpha list right below the Libraries’ search box.

Description/focus: MarketLine draws on primary and secondary research to provide 50,000 company profiles, industry profiles, and 215 country profiles, delivers live feed of news and comment, and provides tools for the analysis of data.

Start with this hint: Unlike most databases, MarketLine does not have an advanced search option but it doesn’t really need it.  Enter the product, company, industry or country of interest, and then drill down to more specific information by clicking on a recommended topic. For example, enter cranberries in the search box and select the company report on Ocean Spray, or the industry profiles on juices in the United States or Ireland, or refine your search by selecting Consumer Packaged Goods.  Don’t ignore the field on the left labeled SEARCH WITHIN RESULTS to narrow the list of hits with your own qualifier.

Other common tools available in this database: filters for industry and geography; download PDF reports. For use of these tools in this database, contact Mary Dugan

Why you should know this database: MarketLine includes information about private companies which are sometimes missing from other company databases.  .

How this database can be integrated into the curriculum: The industry reports in MarketLine include a Five Forces Analysis; company reports include a SWOT analysis; country reports include news reports of financial deals.

Cost: Paid by the Libraries.

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Database of the Week comes to you from the Management & Economics Library (MEL). Our intent is to give you a brief introduction to a database that you may not know.  If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact kranlib@purdue.edu.  Database of the Week is archived  at https://blogs.lib.purdue.edu/news/category/MGMT/.  For more Purdue Libraries news, follow us on Twitter (@PurdueLibraries).

If you would like us to promote your favorite database, send an email to mdugan@purdue.edu.


Watch Purdue beat Northwestern in basketball, 1959

November 18th, 2010

View video here


Watch Purdue beat Northwestern in basketball, 1959

November 18th, 2010

View video here


See more photos of the life and legacy of Dr. Cornell Bell

November 12th, 2010

See more photographs of Dr. Cornell Bell in the e-Archives. Dr. Bell was a faculty member in Krannert School of Management for 39 years.


See more photos of the life and legacy of Dr. Cornell Bell

November 12th, 2010

See more photographs of Dr. Cornell Bell in the e-Archives. Dr. Bell was a faculty member in Krannert School of Management for 39 years.


MEL’s Database of the Week for 11/12/10

November 12th, 2010

Welcome to Database of the Week — a feature from the Management & Economics Library (MEL). These database snapshots will give you basic information about our most relevant and beneficial online resources.

This Week’s Featured Database: Associations Unlimited, from Gale Cengage.

Link: www.lib.purdue.edu/mel, in the pull down Quick Access to Business Databases alpha list right below the Libraries’ search box.

Description/focus: Associations Unlimited is a source of information about associations, professional societies, and organizations.

Start with this hint: Associations Unlimited begins at the main menu, where you select a search form based on what you know about the subject.  If you know the name or acronym of an organization, choose that option.  Try NRA, for example, and you’ll find there are 9 organizations with that acronym.  To see a sample of the entries provided by Associations Unlimited, click on the National Restaurant Association.  You’ll find contact information, including email and URL, a description of the organization’s purpose, awards, publications, and meetings, the SIC code of the industry, and promotional material from the association.  Return to the main menu and try the options for Location, Custom, or Subject/Any Word to find organizations committed to almost any subject or issue from economics to politics, charitable organizations to fan clubs. Categories include educational, trade, and social welfare groups, and coverage can be limited to national, international, or regional.

Other common tools available in this database: save selected hits for a mailing list; menu for selecting subject categories. For more on use of these tools in this database, contact Mary Dugan

Why you should know this database: Associations Unlimited is not a mere directory of organization names and addresses.  It  provides details on over 150,000 associations, and includes IRS information on over 300,000 nonprofit organizations.

How this database can be integrated into the curriculum: Students should become familiar with the professional societies that support the interests of their chosen careers.  Many of these societies offer student memberships. In addition, many research projects can benefit from information offered by special interest organizations.

Cost: Paid by the Libraries annually.

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Database of the Week comes to you from the Management & Economics Library (MEL). Our intent is to give you a brief introduction to a database that you may not know.  If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact kranlib@purdue.edu.  Database of the Week is archived  at https://blogs.lib.purdue.edu/news/category/MGMT/.  For more Purdue Libraries news, follow us on Twitter (@PurdueLibraries).

If you would like us to promote your favorite database, send an email to mdugan@purdue.edu.