Library develops Brown v. Board of Education digital archive

ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan University Library has developed a Brown v. Board of Education digital archive in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision.

The archive supports the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts’ winter 2004 theme semester "Fulfilling the Promise of Brown, " as well as the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Reads community initiative.

Designed by Charles Ransom, multicultural studies librarian at U-M’s Hatcher Graduate Library, and Renoir Gaither, public services librarian at U-M’s Shapiro Undergraduate Library, the digital archive focuses primarily on three areas: Supreme Court cases; public school integration efforts in Ann Arbor and Michigan; and recent re-segregation trends in American schools.

The digital archive acts both as a repository of and as a gateway to current and historical materials of interest to students, teachers, and researchers. It includes digitized primary and secondary source documents and photographs from a variety of sources including the Library of Congress, research organizations, and the Ann Arbor Public School District. The University Library will host several displays this semester in recognition of the Brown legacy.

For more information, visit http://www.lib.umich.edu/exhibits/brownarchive/