The Marquette Regional History Center presented its Peter White Award to the Central U.P. and Northern Michigan University Archives at the center's annual meeting on Feb. 22. The Peter White Award is for an organization or group with research or a project based on enhancing and conserving local history.
The Central U.P. and NMU Archives identifies, collects, preserves and documents the history of the region and university. Marcus Robyns, NMU professor and university archivist said the collections are primary sources for historical research on everything from local government and prominent companies to individuals and families.
“They're the letters, memos, diaries, financial records, photographs film and various materials or formats that come together,” he said “They're the nuts and bolts that historians and other scholars use to solve or answer historical problems in their research. Our job is to identify these collections that are out there in the world and created by these groups, individuals and families. Then we work to prepare them for researchers to come into the reading room or online by creating digital records.
“I'm extremely honored to receive this award on behalf of the entire Central U.P. and NMU Archives program and our staff. I'm grateful for the recognition, and I think that it's indicative of our efforts to collaborate and work together with everybody in the U.P. to document history.”
An example of that collaboration is the Upper Peninsula Digital Network (UPLINK), a grant-supported program designed to digitize and provide internet access to U.P. historical records. So far, UPLINK has digitized 65,000 items. The Marquette Regional History Center is a member of the service and will be working on digitizing all of its Sanborn insurance maps.
“I work closely with Beth Gruber, the librarian and archivist at the MRHC, who was involved in the planning committee for UPLINK. She and I are very much aware of each other's collections and help each other out as far as acquisitions go. If somebody came in with a collection that I think would be a better fit there, I would refer them to the MRHC. They try to do the same thing.”
The Marquette Regional History Center said the awards are a reminder that anyone can be a positive influence on their community.
“Preservation of local history really reminds people where they're from and what's important going forward,” said Betsy Rutz, Marquette Regional History Center museum educator. “When we stop and recognize those that are doing that in our community, it just brings it to light and reminds other people that you can make a small difference in your community that goes a long way.”
The NMU Archives plans to digitize the papers of John Voelker, author of Anatomy of a Murder. They also host an event each semester called “An Evening at the Archives,” where a researcher using the collections for a project gives a related presentation for the public.