Cool@Hoole thought it’d be fun to feature our staff’s favorites from among our collections. After all, closed stacks collections mean that users rely on us to know our materials in and out so that we can share the best resources for their classes or research. Along the way, we’ve not only become experts on our holdings, but also found items that we are particularly drawn to ourselves.

So, just as bookstores have “staff favorites” or “staff recommendation” shelves, we’ll have occasional blog posts showing our best picks from Hoole. Read about April Burnett,  Ashley Bond, and Allyson Holliday‘s favorites in previous posts. 

Institutional Records Analyst Kevin Ray’s favorite item is the Ellsworth Hults diary (MSS 3735). Hults was on a Union warship at the Battle of Mobile Bay.  His diary provides his firsthand account of the battle and it includes hand drawn maps of the bay entrance showing points of importance to the battle.  He also has a drawing of the battle line of Union ships.

Ellsworth Hults diary, cover

Ellsworth Hults diary, one side of the map double page spread

Map of the Battle of Mobile Bay