Content provided in partnership with
The joy of finding periodicals "Not in Danky"
Library Trends, Wntr, 2008 by Randall K. Burkett
That project was published under the auspices of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research at Harvard University. It was the first research/reference tool published under the imprimatur of the institute, where I worked as associate director for more than a decade. It was the institute's second research project that allowed Jim and me to form the much closer personal friendship that has lasted to the present day. The idea for the Harvard Guide to African-American History was conceived by the late director of the institute, Nathan I. Huggins. He wanted to show his colleagues at Harvard and around the country that there was much more to the field of African American studies than they imagined. We conceived an unwieldy structure that resulted, eventually, in selection of thirty-one leading scholars throughout the United States who would be responsible for the particular period or specific genre of material for which they were among the foremost authorities.
- Most Popular Articles in Reference
- The importance of understanding organizational culture
- Credit card attitudes and behaviors of college students
- What factors attract foreign direct investment?
- Libraries Need Relationship Marketing - mutual interest marketing concept, ...
- How to set performance goals: employee reviews are more than annual critiques
- More »
By this time, I was aware that Danky had committed himself to directing a massive effort to identify every African American newspaper and periodical for which original copies could be located and examined. With sustained support from the Wisconsin Historical Society and the University of Wisconsin--Madison, and with substantial funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford Foundation, and others, Danky had launched a major project to fill the "sluices and interstices" of one critical aspect of American history: the gap in our knowledge of the rich history of black newspapers and periodicals created within and for African American communities. With the capable assistance of Maureen E. Hady and a small army of assistants, he set out to visit virtually every repository that might hold original issues of African American newspapers and periodicals. It was critical, he knew, that the papers themselves had to be handled, one by one. So-called "complete" runs of newspapers would only be verified as complete if each issue was inspected separately. Title and editor changes could be identified, and confusing numbering and misnumbering accounted for.
Danky was, of course, the obvious choice to prepare the genre essay on newspapers for the Harvard Guide to African-American History. He came to our first planning meeting with no idea that that venture would stretch into a thirteen-year-long project. I shall only say, in reflecting on the pitfalls and peregrinations of that effort, that one should never conceive a plan for a reference work that entails the collaboration of thirty-one of your colleagues, flung across the country, with varying states of bibliographical skill, and with unknown work habits. Successful reference works are major feats of intellectual endeavor, organizational acumen, and sheer perseverance, and need at least one key member who has an authoritarian personality.
My own major "gift" to Jim Danky, I have no doubt, came through my introduction to him, in the course of these meetings, of our dear, now departed, friend and colleague, Richard Newman. Newman was not just a brilliant bibliographer; he was an extraordinary raconteur, a talented mimic with a biting wit, and a man who loved learning, gossip, fine food, good wine, and the preservation and advancement of African American history. His powers of memory were extraordinary, and he was genuinely interested in the scholarship of others and in doing all in his power to assist folk in their scholarly work. He and Jim became fast friends, and on behalf of Danky's bibliographic quest the two of them made many trips to small colleges throughout the United States but especially in the South, turning pages of newspapers by day, cajoling the staff into searching even further into back shelves to locate fugitive titles for the next day, and then retiring to the best dining establishment in the area to fortify themselves. Never has money from the public trust been better invested!
Find Research Guides for:
Find Featured Titles for: Home & Garden
Most Popular Articles in Reference
- The importance of understanding organizational culture
- Credit card attitudes and behaviors of college students
- What factors attract foreign direct investment?
- Libraries Need Relationship Marketing - mutual interest marketing concept, ...
- How to set performance goals: employee reviews are more than annual critiques
- More »