Notable Research

Last week, Stacey Stewart, a campaign associate from Arena Stage, visited SC&A to look at materials from the Arena Stage Collection. Stewart examined approximately thirty production notebooks, along with numerous photographs and historical documents. She was particularly interested in the Arena Stage seasons from the mid-1970s. During her visit she systematically compared them to more recent seasons and in the process made over 200 photocopies. Since George Mason University retains Arena Stage's historical materials, many of its employees conduct research in Special Collections & Archives. To learn more about the Arena Stage Collection please visit:

http://www.gmu.edu/library/specialcollections/arena.htm

During the renovations of Wing 2B, access to GMU theses and dissertations in Fenwick Library, has been limited to the unbound, archival copies in Special Collections & Archives. Consequently, SC&A has received numerous research inquires about dissertations and theses. For example, during the month of July, SC&A received 39 inquires about accessing dissertations and theses. GMU Ph.D. dissertations can be accessed online, either on campus or with your GMU identification number off campus, via “Current Research @” found at

http://www.gmu.edu/library/specialcollections/current_research@.html




People

SC&A recently hired Elizabeth Winder to assist Bob Vay with coordinating the university’s dissertation and thesis service. Elizabeth is working towards her Master of Arts Degree in Creative Writing. We are happy to have her on board.


Accomplishments

Sid Frieland completed the Finding Aid/Research Guide for the William L. Mertz Transportation Collection. William Mertz (1920-1993), a former Federal Highway Administration Associate Administrator, played a leading role in planning and developing the Interstate system of highways in the United States. The collection contains transportation related materials collected over a forty-five year period. Types of materials include scholarly journal articles dealing with transportation topics, summaries of congressional acts relating to transportation, official reports and studies of transportation agencies, summaries of speeches given by transportation officials, and personal correspondence among transportation officials. The collection comprises 53 containers, and the total volume of the collection is 30.5 cubic feet or 45.75 linear feet. For more information about the William L. Mertz Collection, please visit:

http://www.gmu.edu/library/specialcollections/mertz.html