Happy National Library Week! April 7-13, 2019

Hello Friends! It's National Library Week! This year the American Library Association has chosen a theme of Libraries = Stronger Communities.  As ALA says, "Libraries are at the heart of our cities, towns, schools and campuses, providing critical resources, programs and expertise. They also provide a public space where all community members, regardless of age, culture or income level, can come together to connect and learn." Here at Delaware State University the William C. Jason Library is both the physical and intellectual intersection of campus. We are a link between science and art, social and academic, faculty and student, campus and community. We strive to serve all and we are proud to be your librarians.

In honor of Library week I thought we would take look at the history of the library and it's namesake:

The William C. Jason Library is named in honor of Delaware State University's longest serving president. President Jason's tenure, from 1895 to 1923, was punctuated by expansive growth of both the student body and campus infrastructure.  His achievement is fully appreciated with the recognition that, despite being a public school, financial support from Delaware State was initially insufficient.

In 1902 the Board of trustees approved President Jason's request to public ally raise $1,000 for campus improvements.  The president's fundraising efforts took the form of a speaking tour that resulted in 700 pledges largely received from the African American community.  While the pledges totaled $1,112, regrettably, only $533 was received.

The money was frugally applied to the construction of a chapel (left).  In lieu of hiring laborers, the professors of the industrial arts program developed courses around the chapel's construction. Additionally, bricks from the slave quarters of the Loockerman plantation were recycled to lessen the cost of materials.

By the 1920's the perpetual pattern of college-wide growth required the chapel to be converted into a library.  Further growth resulted in the construction of the current library in 1975 with an addition in 1991 (below). The early chapel structure, now known as the Thomasson Building, remains today and can be found at the end of the campus mall.

The expansion of the current William C. Jason Library in 1991. 

MLK Day and Musings of Samuel L. Conwell on January 15, 1898

Today, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we reflect on the history of race in the United States, the struggle for equality, and the lives of Dr. King and others who paid too high a price.  I hope that you will join me in contemplating the current racial tensions in this country and praying that we, as individuals and as a nation, may find a way toward unity.

Last week I stumbled upon some very apropos musings written by Samuel L. Conwell on this exact day, 120 years ago.  As an instructor, and as the secretary to President William C. Jason, Mr. Conwell was central to the early development and survival of this university.  In the passage from January 15, 1898, transcribed below, Mr. Conwell describes his viewpoints about the economic disparities between races which he believed were compounded by educational disparity.

“January 15, 1898, Business side of life needs to be cultivated more and more among our people. If we would but improve in finance, as we ought. It is marvelous how we loose because we are in want of such training, and it is wonderful the progress other races are making because of their knowledge of business. And indeed by degrees we are gaining daily in the new vocation of our existence.  We need to save money thus to be able to act when opportunity presents itself. Many of us would be in business had we the capital and many more of us would have capital if we had been taught and practiced economy. To know how and when to spend a dollar is one of the secrets of success. It takes years for a people to learn all these things and apply them as we should. Careful management of what we have and an industrious habits  - which enable us to get more will eventually bring us to the place we may live in what is called 'easy circumstances'.  So may we be prompted by the proper and honest motives to improve our opportunities in this important task. Yours truly, S. L. Conwell"

I wish that I could go back in time to be a fly on the wall in the lives of people like Mr. Conwell and President Jason.  What must they have experienced as highly intelligent men living in the time between the civil war and the civil rights movement?  Did they feel blessed as compared to their black peers, or did they feel trapped by the conventions of society? Both? How much more might they have accomplished if they lived in a fairer world? I also wish that I could know what Mr. Conwell meant by "easy circumstances." To what does he refer? A life of leisure? Material possessions? Fair treatment by white society?

Whatever the case, I am sure that Mr. Conwell would be proud of what this institution has become and the standing it has attained as a business entity.  I believe he would take pleasure in knowing that its students are multinational and competitive in their chosen fields. He would also appreciate the diversity of subjects and vocations taught here, not the least of which being business and economics.

I hope that in the progress of time, Delaware State University, and our nation in general, will continue to strive for equality, success, and greater opportunity for all its people. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Book of handwritten college notes and musings by Samuel L. Conwell recorded between 1896 and 1900

Dr. Reba Hollingsworth

Delaware State University recently honored Dr. Reba Ellen Ross Hollingsworth, an alumna of both the laboratory high school and the State College for Colored Students. Dr. Reba is one of the most amazing women I know! I appreciate her most for the indelible wisdom that has informed both my personal and professional life.   During my first-ever meeting with her I immediately had the odd sensation that she was someone I did not want to disappoint.  I knew that she would expect me to use my God-given talents to the fullest and brook no excuses if I did not.

Dr. Reba is a friend to the archives and believes in the importance of understanding the history that shapes the university today and appreciating the hard work of those who came before us. Take a look at the video above and see for yourself.

Samuel L. Conwell

Written by Dan DelViscio

When an archivist comes to a new archive there’s always growing pains getting familiar with the contents of the archive. Being able to answer questions about the archive, knowing the prominent people, knowing the organizations, and knowing how and why the archive came to be. But the one thing that’s always fun about working in a new archive is finding cool things like this. 

This is an excerpt from a day book of the early Delaware State University. One name that comes up in the book is Samuel L. Conwell. Conwell was the assistant to the first president of DSU, President Wesley. P Webb. He was also a faculty member from 1891-1914. The book details Sunday church services at DSU, which at the time was the State College for Colored Students. Now this may seem mundane but to an archivist like me getting a little window into what peoples’ lives were like back in history is pretty great. The book details Sunday services including the hymns they sung in church, the attendance, sermons notes, even the total offering collected. These little details tell us what life at the college was like at its early beginnings. I can also attest that trying to decipher hand writing from the early 1900s is both a frustrating and rewarding feat.   

Collection Highlight: Junior College and Normal School Photographs

        The archives recently received an exciting donation of photographs dated circa 1925-1930! The era of the State College for Colored Students from 1891 until 1947 is by far the most underrepresented period of time within the DSU archives collections. As such, these photographs are a rare treasure!  They offer viewers the ability to see the faces of students who were previously represented only by names in a long list of DSU alumni.  Now, however, we have the extraordinary opportunity to see with clarity the automobiles, clothing, early campus buildings, and faces of students that comprised the State College for Colored Students. 

Prior to this donation, graduates of the Junior College
and Normal School were represented only by class list records
which named alumni by graduation date. 

       At the time that these photographs were taken, the SCCS was under the administration of President Richard S. Grossley who governed the college from 1923 until 1942.  The Grossley surname appears on approximately half of the photographs included within the donation.  Although the exact creator of these photographs is unknown, it is theorized that President Grossley, his wife, or someone close to them was the photographer.

        President Grossley’s administration is known for the inclusion of new programs at the State College for Colored Students.  In 1923 a two-year junior college division was founded in order to create a bridge between high school and college for young adults.  Shortly thereafter, in 1925 a two-year normal course was founded.  A Normal School was a program offered to high school graduates in order to instruct them in accepted teaching standards or “norms.” At the State College for Colored Students a lab classroom was established where the Normal School undergraduates could gain teaching experience.  The lab classroom was additionally beneficial to local African American children who would otherwise have been forced to attend a segregated school in Wilmington.

SCCS student, Mary Simms, stands on the campus.
In the background the combined library and chapel
building may be seen. 

Pictured here are Junior College students Herman
Bantom, Charles Whaley, Isaac Caulk, and
William Laws.

These students are believed to be students of the Junior College and Normal School at the State College for Colored Students circa 1930. 

Caption on the back: "First Row… 1. Mary Simms, 2. H. Jefferson, 3. L. Mitchell, 4.  M. Florence, 5. M. Sample. Second Row 1. Helen N. J., 2. Mabel Moody 3. Henry, 5. Dorothy Y. Allen" 

        It is believed that the individuals seen within these photographs are students of the Junior College and Normal School.  Fortunately many of the photographs include handwritten captions on the photograph backs that identify who some of the individuals are.  While the archive is fortunate to be able to name the photograph’s subjects, the lives of each student remain a mystery.  What did they study?  Where were they from?  Did the students attain the careers they hoped for? How did World War II affect them? Despite the many unanswered questions, these photographs allow us some clues as to what life was like in the early days of Delaware State University.

Do you want to see more images? You are cordially invited to visit the archives to view the full collection of SCCS photographs.