E-Newsletter

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

September 2008
Issue XIII

Research Use of the Archive, From Near and Far

What do a local water lawyer, undergraduate students, a French engineer, and an Israeli professor have in common? They are all patrons of the Water Resources Archive!

The Archive, which is freely open to all researchers, assists quite a variety of patrons, both on site and remotely. Whether local or international--or from California, Nebraska, or New York--the Archive's patrons are diverse in their backgrounds and their information needs.

Some patrons, like the engineer in France, email with a very specific question or with a request to find a particular report. Often, a web search is what leads them to the Archive. When feasible, the Archive will photocopy and mail or fax materials to a remote patron, for a small fee. In cases when the Archive does not have documents that answer a query, it will refer patrons to other potential sources, as it did for the Frenchman.

Other patrons have more in-depth research questions, requiring them to spend hours or even days reviewing materials on site. During a day of research, an Israeli professor, completing a book on nineteenth-century Colorado water law, discovered documents of interest in a little-used collection, the Papers of Rollin Q. Tenney.

While there are students who voluntarily use the Archive for class projects or thesis research, a large majority come for an assigned activity. During the past spring semester, a Colorado State University history class of forty undergraduates used the Archive for a research assignment. When the professor polled the class at the end of the semester, they all said the Archive assignment was one of their favorites.

Along with the typical "serious" research being done in the Water Archive, there are people who come just for fun, like the local water lawyer. He came to look at old local maps showing water features with the aim of having reproductions made to hang in his office. Though he has yet to make any selections, he enjoyed his time looking at the many options available.

These are just a sampling of some recent patrons, but what they have in common is their use of the Water Archive to locate information not available elsewhere. As more materials are donated and made available, more researchers will be able to find answers to their questions.

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Archive Update: New Finding Aids

Finding aids enable efficient research access to the many boxes in the Archive. Three new finding aids have been recently posted online. The one for the Papers of Marvin E. Jensen documents some of Dr. Jensen's work of evaluating water distribution and usage along the lower Colorado River. The other two are for smaller collections. The finding aid for the Papers of Theodore M. Schad describes materials that relate to his service as executive director of the National Water Commission. The Slides of Mildred T. Axtell finding aid lists local and international slides taken by this amateur photographer.

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Looking Forward: Book of Carpenter Family Letters

A new book containing letters exchanged between Delph Carpenter's parents will be coming out in October. Edited and given historical context by Daniel Tyler with assistance from Betty Henshaw, the original 1870s courtship letters between Leroy Carpenter and Martha Bennett are housed in the Papers of Delph E. Carpenter and Family. The second son of Leroy and Martha, Delph Carpenter was the Greeley water lawyer who conceived the idea of interstate river compacts (read more about him in Tyler's biography Silver Fox of the Rockies). To order the new book, Love in an Envelope, call the University of New Mexico Press directly (1-800-249-7737), or visit your favorite Internet bookstore.

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Support the Archive: Donate Online to Support Research Use

Nearly 250 boxes of materials have been donated to the Water Archive over the past six months! While this is great news for researchers, the boxes all have to be organized and re-housed into archival supplies for long-term preservation. This, of course, takes time and money.

One donor recently gave $500 to suport work on collections. Please consider adding to this with a contribution of your own. Donating online is easy and will make a difference to Water Archive patrons!

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Virtual Visit: Catch up on E-News

Remember reading something interesting in a previous e-newsletter and didn't save a copy? Haven't been on the mailing list from the beginning and want to read back issues? Find them all online on the Archive's News page. Other Archive news is listed and linked on the page as well.

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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.