Collections

This collection of interviews focuses on the political career of John E. Hurt. The bulk of the collection consists of Mr. Hurt's interviews where he speaks about his role as a leading Democratic fundraiser and political advisor to several gubernatorial candidates and governors in Indiana from the late nineteen forties through the early nineteen sixties. The other interviews offer background and specifics about Hurt's political career and actions.

"Bloomington Cares" Oral History Project was a class project used to study voluntary organizations that focus on historical and cultural activities in the Bloomington community.

The Career in Librarianship project includes interviews with ten people employed in libraries or library education. Three of the interviewees were Deans of Indiana University's School of Library and Information Science, or SLIS. Others include a SLIS lecturer, a high school librarian, a college archivist, 2 public library directors, and a public library branch head. All of the interviewees worked in Indiana (except for one of the public library directors, who worked in Michigan). Collectively, the interviews consider the training that librarians receive, librarianship as a career, as well as changes in, and the future of, the profession. The interviews were conducted by students of the Indiana University School of Library and Information Science as a project for a class on the history of American libraries.

The Dorson mss., 1925-1981, consists of the papers of folklorist Richard Mercer Dorson, 1916-1981.

This project contains information about local, state, national, and international economic enterprises, focusing mainly on businesses and industries located in and/or originating in the state of Indiana. Some of the industries discussed are the Indiana limestone industry, the local oil industry, coal mining, agriculture, railroads, the automobile industry, banking, insurance, steel production, and supermarkets. The local economic impact of industry and business on a community, unionization, and the workforces of each industry are also discussed.

The Haurowitz mss., 1920-1985, consists of the papers of chemist Felix Haurowitz, 1896-1987.

This project is a compilation of interviews of subjects with strong ties to and memories of Indiana University, primarily at the Bloomington campus. The interviewees include former students, faculty, and staff, among others. The information contained in the interviews generally spans a little more than the first half of the twentieth century and often deals with the administrations under presidents William Lowe Bryan and Herman B Wells. The project is a survey of Indiana University's history as a whole including information about various academic departments, athletics, student organizations, campus growth, university development, living conditions, segregation and the treatment of African-Americans, the administration, and the importance of jazz at Indiana University. In addition, the impact of specific events, such as the Great Depression, World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and water shortages, is detailed in many of the interviews in this project.

The collection of interviews in this project reflects James Jones' study of the Kinsey Institute's evolution and reception at Indiana University. He interviews a variety of individuals associated with the Institute by having worked there or having been a member of a foundation that funded Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey's efforts. The interviewees discuss Dr. Kinsey's dedication to his work, his move from studying gall wasps to human sexual behavior, his effectiveness as an interviewer and lecturer, and his personal commitment to the Institute. There is also mention of Dr. Kinsey's influence on science and the Institute's problems with funding. James Jones eventually published a biography of Dr. Kinsey in 1997. It is entitled Alfred C. Kinsey: A Public/Private Life and it is published by W.W. Norton and Company.

The project deals with the beginning, the building, and the growth of the Indiana University (IU) Folklore Institute into an internationally recognized program. The interviewees are mostly students and/or faculty of the folklore program from the 1940s to the 1980s. They discuss those who most influenced and impacted the institute, namely Stith Thompson and Richard M. Dorson. They share their memories and experiences of the time they spent, or continue to spend, in the IU Folklore Institute.

This project is a compilation of interviews of subjects with strong ties to and memories of Indiana University, primarily at the Bloomington campus, including former students, faculty, and staff, among others. The information spans most of the twentieth century and deals with the administrations under presidents Herman B Wells, John Ryan, Thomas Ehrlich, and Myles Brand. The project occurred in two parts. The first round of interviews was with administrators, trustees, and other high-ranking members of the university hierarchy. The second round of interviews was with senior faculty from a number of departments in the College of Arts and Sciences. The project is a survey of Indiana University's history as a whole including information about various academic departments, athletics, student organizations, campus growth, and the university's growth in the twentieth century. This project was funded by President Emeritus John Ryan.