MUNCIE, Ind. – Archivist John Straw and his staff spent weeks reading newspapers, opening envelopes and scanning programs to dig up the history behind past Ball State University presidential inaugurations.

After several hundred hours, the staff in Bracken Library's Archives and Special Collections have assembled exhibits focusing on the inaugurations and the presidents themselves.

The exhibits were prepared in anticipation of the Dec. 1 inauguration ceremony of Ball State President Blaine Brownell.

"People will be surprised by what we were able to find," said Straw, Archives and Special Collections librarian. "We have some very interesting materials from the inaugurations showing what life was like several decades ago."

For more than two decades, the 48-year-old archivist has been uncovering the past at Virginia Tech University, University of Illinois and Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.

"As an archivist, creating these exhibits about Ball State has been a very educational experience," Straw said. "I've learned a great deal by putting together this collection. It should help when I have to answer questions from researchers."

The exhibit, "Inaugural Occasions: The History of Ball State Presidential Inaugurations" is on display outside of room 225 in Bracken Library.

The collection includes materials from festivities honoring the new presidencies of Linnaeus N. Hines (1921-24), Benjamin J. Burris (1924-27), Lemuel A. Pittenger (1927-42), John R. Emens (1945-68), John J Pruis (1968-78), Jerry M. Anderson (1979-81) and John E. Worthen (1984-2000).

The exhibit features a 1921 Ball State yearbook reviewing Hines' inauguration and a special edition of The Easterner, the predecessor of today's campus newspaper, the Daily News, from Pittenger's 1927 festivities.

There are also programs, newspaper articles, invitations and speeches from other inaugural celebrations.

A second exhibit, "Leading the Way: The Presidents of Ball State," is on display Nov. 27 to Jan. 1 in Bracken Library Room 210. An online version of the exhibit is available at www.bsu.edu/library/thelibraries/units/archives/presidents.html.

Straw is fascinated by the presidents' exhibit, which includes materials donated by private individuals over the years. There are letters written by various dignitaries and scrapbooks full of newspaper clippings, game tickets and photos.

"We are very dependent on what people have given us over the years," Straw said. "But, if a president didn't keep many records, letters or his speeches, we probably wouldn't be able to find it today.

"We are very lucky that certain individuals have presented us with their personal memories of Ball State," he said. "While presidential letters and documents give us one story, those personal items tell us the story of what people were thinking and feeling during the Great Depression, the Vietnam War and other historical events."

Yet, he is worried that technology may cost future generations a glimpse at the past.

"We are in the midst of a tremendous technological transformation that worries archivists," he said. "We may no longer see the various drafts of a speech before it is final because everything is edited electronically, killing previous versions. While we may have speeches on compact disks, we may not have access to e-mail that shaped many important decisions."

By Marc Ransford, Communications Manager

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Straw at jstraw@bsu.eduor (765) 285-5078.)