E-Newsletter

Preserving the Source
An e-newsletter from the Water Resources Archive
at Colorado State University

June 2008
Issue XII

Albertson Adds to Archive

Few people have an active career for sixty years. And even fewer save significant amounts of their files over all that time. Maury Albertson--as he did throughout his lengthy career--has proven again that he is an exceptional person.

Albertson joined the Department of Civil Engineering at Colorado State University (then, Colorado A&M) in 1947. While continuing that connection, Dr. Albertson also worked with the CSU Research Foundation and the Office of International Programs, among other things. He is best known as being a co-founder of the Peace Corps.

Albertson has been donating the documentation of his activities to the CSU archives for decades. His first big donation to the Water Resources Archive happened in 2004 and totaled nearly 150 boxes. Just as recent work to organize those materials was concluding this spring, Dr. Albertson called the Archive wanting to donate more. How much more has yet to be determined!

Albertson has not one, but two full storage rooms at the Engineering Research Center on CSU's foothills campus. The archivist and her assistants have already brought over 100 boxes back to the Archive, and the first room is not yet emptied! Work to bring the boxes in will continue throughout the summer.

The materials document Albertson's civil engineering courses, grants and consulting projects, international development work, and much more. Along with correspondence, lecture notes, reports, and publications, there are also photographs, maps, and videotapes. It is certainly a treasure trove proving how one exceptional man can change the world.

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Archive Update: New Finding Aids

Two new finding aids were posted online recently. The one for the Records of the Poudre River Trust describes a collection that documents issues along the Poudre River corridor. The other, for the Colorado Water Congress Collection, lists the existing newsletters in the collection along with conference materials and videotapes. Keep an eye on this finding aid, as links to fifty years of digitized newsletters will be added as the files are put online.

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Looking Forward: Online Materials On Their Way

The Archive has been spending the $20,000 it received from the Colorado Water Conservation Board to scan archival materials. Over 8,000 pages are being digitized from holdings such as the Groundwater Data Collection, the Ival V. Goslin Water Resources Collection, the Colorado Water Congress Collection, and the Larimer County District Court Map Collection. The first batch of materials completed, more than 300 maps, should be going online by late July, with more to follow into the fall.

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Support the Archive: Water Tables 2009 Being Planned

Mark your calendars: the next Water Tables will be held February 21, 2009!

Water Tables, the annual benefit hosted by the Colorado State University Libraries, will take place that Saturday evening on the main campus in Fort Collins. The planning committee is working hard to identify and invite informative, engaging table hosts. Please contact us with any great ideas you may have.

Water Tables is an elegant evening centered on learning about and supporting the history of Colorado's water resources. During the reception in Morgan Library, guests are able to tour the Water Archive and see historic materials up close. Following the reception, everyone moves over to the Lory Student Center ballroom for a sit-down dinner. The table hosts begin the discussion of their pre-selected water-related topic.

As the fourth annual Water Resources Archive benfit, Water Tables 2009 is in the works to be better than ever!

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Virtual Visit: History of Denver's Water

At the time of his death, Charles Fisk had just completed a book entitled The Metro Denver Water Story: A Memoir. Published by his family after his death, the book was given to the Water Resources Archive in both paper and electronic form and is now online. At over 500 pages, it is a detailed look at Denver's water. It is not something you can find at your local library or bookstore, but it is now freely available thanks to the family's donation.

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This quarterly electronic newsletter is designed to keep you informed on the developments with the Water Resources Archive. If you would prefer not to receive further updates, or if you know someone else who would like to receive this, just drop a line to us at development@library.colostate.edu.

This e-newsletter is created by Patty Rettig.