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 been withdrawing books following the principles of our collection policy. Being a specialized library, the library collection must conform to content that truly reflects our goals. Therefore, after an assessment of the merits, we selected those materials which we believe better belong in another type of non-university library. Most of these books are part of the children and young adult genre and are in excellent condition. The total number of such titles is estimated to be 1100 books, which were packed in 75 boxes. Nearly 30 boxes were donated to Euskal Etxeak and other members of North American Basque Organizations (NABO), while others were sent to Basque entities in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Germany and Spain.

These donations were made possible by the participation of the Center for Basque Studies who paid for all shipping costs, and the collaboration of EuskalKultura.com, who advertised the books' availability. Due to the success of this endeavor, we hope to develop and strengthen this relationship in the future.
 

Etchart Family Album

The Basque Library has been honored to receive 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 an entry by Monique Laxalt, who in 1980 wrote a story about John and Catherine for the Montana Historical Society, entitled "A Montana Love Story."
 

Basque Database

Our goal is to provide a multilingual bibliographic tool available to anyone interested in accessing documentation about the Basque diaspora and general information about Basque worldwide. To accomplish this, we have reinitiated a project that ran from 2003 until 2005 to create a web-accessible database for research on Basque language, culture and history. This specialized database will contain the collection of the Basque Library. Documentation will be in all formats and provide users with complete text of materials for which we have copyright permission.

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

Read the entire article.
 

The Sheepherder's Ball: Hidden Basque Kitchens

Due to the annual Bakersfield Basque Cultural Festival, a program on National Public Radio, "The Kitchen Sisters" aired on May 29th on the subject of Basque kitchens and Basque culinary traditions. It was a special edition of the program, was broadcast from the location on the festival.

The Basque Library collaborated with this program, providing documentation and photographs related to the Basque American cuisine.

The Basque Library thanks NPR and especially "Kitchen Sisters" staff for dedicating their program to make Basque traditions. more information about the program...
 

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

After three months' work, the Basque Library has finally finished cataloging its slide collection. This collection, which begins in 1967 to conclude in 2000, includes slides provided by different photographers, Richard Lane and Stephen Kelley among them, who used to collaborate with the Center for Basque Studies. The slides show images taken both in 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...