Category Archives: Audio

Hidden Gem: Storytelling from Bill Martin Jr.

If you don’t know the name Bill Martin Jr., you probably know the name of his most famous book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, illustrated by Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar.) Just two years after that book was … Continue reading

The World of Camp Aliceville

Like hundreds of other communities in the U.S. during WWII, Aliceville, Alabama, was home to a prisoner of war camp. Between June 1943 and September 1945, Camp Aliceville saw hundreds of thousands of German soldiers come and go, a time which left an … Continue reading

Holiday Cheer

Every year since 1969, the Department of Music at UA has presented a Christmas program called Hilaritas. It includes a variety of holiday-themed music, mixing traditional carols and standards with modern pop songs and new arrangements. Earlier this year, we digitized the audio from … Continue reading

Fleeting Sounds

Usually when we think of ephemera — items that were originally meant to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles [source] — we think of documents. Paper is the medium of choice for these transitory items, from ticket … Continue reading

Life in the mines: Desegregated labor unions

Normally, we do a post on labor unions for labor day, but it seemed appropriate to bring up the subject for Black History Month, too. African Americans in Birmingham-area mines and industrial plants were often important leaders in efforts to … Continue reading

Hidden Gem: Peter Jennings at Emphasis ’69 (audio)

“It is nice to be invited back to Alabama, instead of sent here.” –Peter Jennings, referring to his previous trips to the South during the civil rights movement In April of 1969, the Emphasis program at UA, a yearly symposium dedicated … Continue reading

Hidden Gem: 1892 Baptist hymnal

I recently stumbled upon an interesting item in the Manly Family papers manuscript collection: a hymn book from 120 years ago, with selections chosen by Basil Manly, Jr., a Baptist minister and educator. The book was published in the year … Continue reading

Audio Digitization: a look at the Rohlig process

Audio Digitization is a completely different type of mole hill than Image Digitization. There are different concerns, such as playback speeds, distortion, clipping, etc. There are also different types of technical metadata needed, such as track begin and end times. … Continue reading

Flashback to Emphasis ’68: Strom Thurmond

Continuing this week’s look back at Emphasis ’68, we deal with an archival reality — sometimes, things don’t survive long enough to be archived, but they often leave interesting traces behind. (Image from the 1969 Corolla yearbook) Senator Strom Thurmond … Continue reading

Flashback to Emphasis ’68: John Kenneth Galbraith

We continue our look at Emphasis ’68 with a speech from John Kenneth Galbraith, who is introduced as an “antenna and synthesizer” of economics and social theory. Galbraith was a prominent economist and author, and he served in important posts … Continue reading