The AAEC Editorial Cartoon DigitalCollection at McCain Library and Archives

Vic Runtz’s spontaneous and charming feline character symbolizes the unique role of the editorial cartoonists who are the eagle-eyed observers, documenters, and reporters of current events. This unique perspective is one feature in particular that is so special about the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) Editorial Cartoon Collection housed in the McCain Library and Archives at the University of Southern Mississippi. The collection, part of the University Library’s special collections, consists of the original artwork of approximately 6,500 editorial cartoons from over 200 cartoonists who have been or still are members of the AAEC

Renovating and Expanding Special Collections Facilities at Towson University

In order to provide the university archives at Towson University with more space, the Library undertook a renovation of the archives. This article provides a brief history and overview of the Library and archives and details the renovation project which included some eco-friendly changes

What does an archivist do?

By definition, an archivist is an individual responsible for appraising, acquiring, arranging, describing, preserving, and providing access to records of enduring value1. A record is a written or printed work of a legal or official nature that may be used as evidence or proof. It is data or information that has been fixed on some medium; that has content, context, and structure; and that is used as an extension of human memory or to demonstrate accountability. Records are often created or received in the course of individual or institutional activity and set aside (preserved) as evidence of that activity for future reference2

Ultra-Broadband Coherence-Domain Imaging Using Parametric Downconversion and Superconducting Single-Photon Detectors at 1064 nm

Coherence-domain imaging systems can be operated in a single-photon counting mode, offering low detector noise; this in turn leads to increased sensitivity for weak light sources and weakly reflecting samples. We have demonstrated that excellent axial resolution can be obtained in a photon-counting coherence domain imaging (CDI) system that uses light generated via spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in a chirped periodically poled stoichiometric lithium tantalate (chirped-PPSLT) structure, in conjunction with a niobium nitride superconducting single-photon detector (SSPD). The bandwidth of the light generated via SPDC, as well as the bandwidth over which the SSPD is sensitive, can extend over a wavelength region that stretches from 700 to 1500 nm. This ultra-broad wavelength band offers a near-ideal combination of deep penetration and ultra-high axial resolution for the imaging of biological tissue. The generation of SPDC light of adjustable bandwidth in the vicinity of 1064 nm, via the use of chirped-PPSLT structures, had not been previously achieved. To demonstrate the usefulness of this technique, we have constructed images for a hierarchy of samples of increasing complexity: a mirror, a nitrocellulose membrane, and a biological sample comprising onion-skin cells