Kit's Updates
May 15, 2019
We are excited to share that Kit has just received an e-mail from Leo Pangelinan, Executive Director, Northern Marianas Humanities Council saying: I am pleased to inform you that the Northern Marianas Humanities Council approved your funding request for the project, "Sharing KPV Collection with Northern Mariana Islands"
A picture of the Grant Proposal's front cover is pictured left (click to enlarge it). A summary of the grant can be seen here: One Page Grant Summary
A picture of the Grant Proposal's front cover is pictured left (click to enlarge it). A summary of the grant can be seen here: One Page Grant Summary
April 27, 2019
|
Over the next few years, as we collect and share our experiences in the NMI, we will be communicating to find a permanent home for our digital site. On April 23, 2019 Kit and Judith Madden-Sturges, Board Member for the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience, met at her home in Massachusetts. Michael joined via team-viewer and explained the NMI PC Memories site. Both sites are in process and being developed. You can view the meeting notes here.
|
Kit, Michael (the laptop), and Judith
|
February 25, 2019
Following is communication from Samuel Judson Crawford, M.M., M.L.I.S., Academic Librarian / Interim Director of Library Programs and Services, Northern Marianas College about the status of the NM Archives after Typhoon Yutu. Shared with permission:
[since staff leaving…] I have been "running the ship" more or less solo (i.e., the entire Department of Library Programs and Services, which includes the Borja Memorial Library, the CNMI Archives, the Pacific Collection, and the Curriculum Resource Center), and this has admittedly been a challenge in and of itself.
However, in the wake of Super Typhoon Yutu (October 24-25, 2018), NMC has faced much bigger and more immediate challenges, not the least of which is space. NMC suffered extensive damage, campus-wide; the tin roofs on most of the buildings were ripped into pieces, if not ripped off completely, and many offices and classrooms were flooded and/or damaged beyond description. Out of 27 buildings, 24 were damaged severely -- many beyond mere "repair." We lost hundreds of computers, the entire space and inventory of our Bookstore, numerous vehicles, valuable lab equipment, classroom furniture, and other equipment / property. The total cost resulting from the extent of this damage / loss is now estimated to be above $15 million. I've attached several photos, here, to provide you and your colleagues with a clearer picture of what we've been facing...We are rebuilding the best we can, but the road to full recovery will be long and exceedingly costly.
Thankfully, the Library and the CNMI Archives remained remarkably in tact. The collections were spared completely, and the building is currently in better shape than most others on campus, but this means that -- for the time being -- numerous faculty / staff are utilizing these spaces within our building as their temporary office areas, and many of their files, as well as other NMC property / equipment, are being housed here.
We are certainly still interested in the "kpvcollection," but I'm going to need some significant time to discuss (with our Interim President, Frankie, and with Leo Pangelinan, who is now Director of the Northern Marianas Humanities Council) the possibilities for strategically strengthening and better supporting and sustaining the CNMI Archives, first; your inquiry / interest and continued correspondence with us could be an effective catalyst for change, in this regard. My hesitance to say, "YES!" comes only from a place of care, in recognition of the value of what you're offering us: before the CNMI Archives can reasonably and responsibly accept a gifted collection as significant as yours, we need to seriously explore options for growth, reinforcement, and sustainability, on our end. And, more immediately, we'll need some time to get our space(s) more "back to normal," and align certain other priorities, in the wake of Super Typhoon Yutu…
[since staff leaving…] I have been "running the ship" more or less solo (i.e., the entire Department of Library Programs and Services, which includes the Borja Memorial Library, the CNMI Archives, the Pacific Collection, and the Curriculum Resource Center), and this has admittedly been a challenge in and of itself.
However, in the wake of Super Typhoon Yutu (October 24-25, 2018), NMC has faced much bigger and more immediate challenges, not the least of which is space. NMC suffered extensive damage, campus-wide; the tin roofs on most of the buildings were ripped into pieces, if not ripped off completely, and many offices and classrooms were flooded and/or damaged beyond description. Out of 27 buildings, 24 were damaged severely -- many beyond mere "repair." We lost hundreds of computers, the entire space and inventory of our Bookstore, numerous vehicles, valuable lab equipment, classroom furniture, and other equipment / property. The total cost resulting from the extent of this damage / loss is now estimated to be above $15 million. I've attached several photos, here, to provide you and your colleagues with a clearer picture of what we've been facing...We are rebuilding the best we can, but the road to full recovery will be long and exceedingly costly.
Thankfully, the Library and the CNMI Archives remained remarkably in tact. The collections were spared completely, and the building is currently in better shape than most others on campus, but this means that -- for the time being -- numerous faculty / staff are utilizing these spaces within our building as their temporary office areas, and many of their files, as well as other NMC property / equipment, are being housed here.
We are certainly still interested in the "kpvcollection," but I'm going to need some significant time to discuss (with our Interim President, Frankie, and with Leo Pangelinan, who is now Director of the Northern Marianas Humanities Council) the possibilities for strategically strengthening and better supporting and sustaining the CNMI Archives, first; your inquiry / interest and continued correspondence with us could be an effective catalyst for change, in this regard. My hesitance to say, "YES!" comes only from a place of care, in recognition of the value of what you're offering us: before the CNMI Archives can reasonably and responsibly accept a gifted collection as significant as yours, we need to seriously explore options for growth, reinforcement, and sustainability, on our end. And, more immediately, we'll need some time to get our space(s) more "back to normal," and align certain other priorities, in the wake of Super Typhoon Yutu…
