News

New Basque Studies Subject Specialist

As most of you know, our former Basque Librarian Marimar Ubeda has returned to the Basque Country. Until we are able to hire another Basque Librarian, the subject specialist for Basque Studies will be Madeline Mundt. Madeline is a reference librarian in the main library in the Knowledge Center. She has been with UNR since August 2008 and works with Sociology, Social Work, and Ethnic Studies as well as Basque Studies. Madeline is studying Spanish at UNR in her spare time, and hopes to pursue a graduate degree in Spanish Language and Literature or Latin American Studies in the future. Her office is in Research Services on the second floor of the Knowledge Center (214B), so feel free to drop by and introduce yourself, or email her to suggest a book for purchase. She'll also be in and out of the Center for Basque Studies.
 

Donation of Books for Children and Youth

Throughout the year, the Basque Library has withdrawn books that are out of the scope of the library's collection policy. Most of these books are Basque translations of children's and young adult books, and are in excellent condition. Around 1,000 of these books were boxed and donated to Euskal Etxeak and other organizational members of the North American Basque Organizations (NABO), while others were sent to Basque groups in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Germany and Spain.

These donations were made possible by the participation of the Center for Basque Studies which paid for all shipping costs, and by the collaboration of EuskalKultura.com, who advertised the books' availability. We hope to further develop and strengthen the new relationships we have made during this endeavor.
 

Etchart Family Album

The Basque Library is honored to have received a donation of the Etchart family album, compiled by Gene Etchart (eldest son of John and Catherine Etchart). The album tells the story of John and Catherine who came to the United States in 1900, from the Basque Country, married, and made Montana their home.

The album includes photographs illustrating the story as well as a story about John and Catherine written by Monique Laxalt in 1980 for the Montana Historical Society, entitled "A Montana Love Story."
 

Basque Database

An important goal of the Basque Library is to provide access to materials about the Basque diaspora and general information about Basques worldwide to anyone who might be interested. To help accomplish this goal, we have revived and redesigned the Basque Database, a multilingual bibliographic tool developed from 2003 to 2005 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This specialized database, which formerly covered the period 1995-2005, now includes records for the entire collection of the Basque Library in all formats, for all years, and provides users with the complete text of books and articles for which we have obtained copyright permissions.

Basque Database: http://basquedb.unr.edu

The Sheepherder's Ball: Hidden Basque Kitchens

A special edition of "The Kitchen Sisters" program on National Public Radio recently focused on Basque kitchens and culinary traditions. The program, which aired on May 29th, was broadcast on location from the annual Bakersfield Basque Festival.

The Basque Library helped with the research for this program, providing documentation and photographs related to the Basque American cuisine for the Kitchen Sisters website. The Basque Library thanks NPR and especially Kitchen Sisters staff for dedicating their program to Basque traditions.

The Basque Library's website launches the description of its slide collection

After three months of work, the Basque Library has finally finished cataloging its slide collection. This collection, ranging from 1967 to 2000, includes slides by several photographers, including Richard Lane and Stephen Kelley, who have collaborated with the Center for Basque Studies.   The images document both the Basque Country and in the American West, providing an interesting view of the Basque culture and its customs. more...
 

Special Collections' Exhibit of the 50th Anniversary of "Sweet Promised Land"

The Special Collections exhibit of the Robert Laxalt Papers traces the writing process of "Sweet Promised Land" from Laxalt's initial concept for the book to the final galley proofs. more...