Digital Commonwealth News & Announcements «

News & Announcements

Dr. Matteo Caradonna administers polio vaccine

In the last blog post, we mentioned that with more people being vaccinated, crowds would once again be gathering. Not so fast, said COVID.

As we enter our third pandemic year now with the fierce Omicron variant infecting even fully vaxxed individuals, we need to re-adjust our activities once again. Additional booster shots will probably become the norm in the months and years to come. More vaccine drives and clinics will be held. Our featured image at left shows an Everett Public School student begin vaccinated against polio in 1954.

In 2021, changes at Digital Commonwealth have also been in the works. New collections have been on pause while conversion to an enhanced storage platform is in process. As Digital Commonwealth nears the 1 million item mark, this upgrade is essential.

Our longtime Membership & Conference Manager Glynda Benham has retired and new Operations Manager Anne Callahan has joined Digital Commonwealth. Thanks, Glynda for your expertise and fantastic management of both in-person and virtual annual conferences. Enjoy your well deserved retirement! Welcome, Anne!

This blog welcomes a new contributor, Barbara Schneider of the Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries. Barbara retired from full-time work but continues at the Law Libraries on a per diem basis. Barbara currently serves on the Outreach and Education Committee. She’s got some intriguing posts planned in the next several weeks. Welcome, Barbara! Have fun exploring Digital Commonwealth.

As for me, I’m stepping away from the blog but will remain on the Outreach and Education Committee, chaired by colleagues Andrew Begley and Matt Amory. I’ll continue to post on social media, finding and sharing hidden gems within the treasure chest that is Digital Commonwealth.

Anne Berard, Member Outreach & Education Committee

Reference & Outreach Librarian, Milford Town Library

*Mayor Kevin White is mobbed by Golden Agers at the annual club picnic on Castle Island, South Boston*

*Bird’s eye view of crowds in Post Office Square*

Massachusetts’ high COVID vaccination rate means that gatherings and crowds will once again be a common occurrence. For the best in vintage crowd photography, be it parades, demonstrations, protests and rallies, The Brearley Collection is the place to browse.

Recently, some additional images were added to the already voluminous collection of photographs and negatives from Boston press photographers from the 1920s to the 1970s. The collection’s namesake, Dennis Brearley worked among the photojournalists and he amassed a huge amount of material. He and his wife ran a gallery at Faneuil Hall from 1978 to 2012, selling prints of Boston’s History.

Boston Public Library

Press Photography from the Brearley Collection (83 items)*

by Anne Berard, Reference & Outreach Librarian, Milford Town Library, member Digital Commonwealth Education & Outreach Committee

When I first saw the name of the recently added collection, Knapp Family Financial Records from the Jamaica Plain Historical Society, I must admit I was expecting something else altogether. I thought I might find wills, codicils, estate documents, tax filings and the like. Imagine my surprise and delight to find instead an intimate and workaday glimpse into the life of a middle class family from JP during the first half of the 20th century.

While I’ve never met the Knapps of 15 Holbrook St., by perusing their receipts for life insurance premiums, their notices from the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston, billing statements from the Centre Street Public Market, and their deposit books from the Eliot Savings Bank of Roxbury, I somehow slid into their lives. George, Emma, Robert, Daisy are there in the details. Robert’s Navy Plaid Suit, cleaned at Lewandos, with starched vest. A Degree of Pocahontas Resolutions of Respect from the Baboosic Council # 7 of Roxbury issued in Daisy’s memory.

Aside from the sartorial and emotional elements in these records, there is much economic detail here proving that the inflation rate has always a part of consumers’ lives. For example, in 1910 for the grand sum of $116.05, you could buy two tables, five chairs, a bureau, a bed, and a rocker from Jordan Marsh Company. Today, those same items would cost thousands of dollars.

I encourage other history geeks like me to spend some time with the Knapps, looking through these records, living vicariously on Holbrook St. for a little while. So much is different in 2021 from 1921. Still, the necessities: food, shelter, clothing, utilities and plaid suits remain the same.