Winthrop Archives Given Grant to Organize Shankman Papers

May 2, 2008

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections, housed at Winthrop University’s Dacus Library, recently received a $6,200 grant from the South Carolina State Historical Records Advisory Board to organize and provide access to the papers of Arnold M. Shankman.

Shankman was a Winthrop history professor from 1975 to 1983. In addition to the grant, Winthrop has pledged $6,474 to support this project.

Library officials said due to the sheer size of the Shankman collection, access has been limited. The goal of this project will be to re-house the materials in archival folders and boxes, organize the records, and upload a finding aid to the library catalog so researchers can gain access to the wealth of materials in the collection.

Grant funds will be used to organize, preserve and create a finding aid to the Shankman collection, which numbers more than 50,000 items. The collection includes Shankman’s correspondence, articles and papers relating to Winthrop College (now University), photographs, lecture notes, and speeches. More importantly, the collection also contains Shankman’s research materials of 19th and 20th century Southern history.

“Dr. Shankman’s notes cover groundbreaking topics,” said Gina Price White, head of Archives and Special Collections. “Dr. Shankman researched immigrants in South Carolina, South Carolina women, civil rights, and Southern Jewish history.”

This project is one of 17 funded by the advisory board for 2008. In addition to grant funding for historical records projects, the advisory board, whose members are appointed by the Governor, serves as the central advisory board for historical records planning in the state. The board also encourages the state’s local governments and non-government repositories in their efforts to identify, preserve and provide access to South Carolina’s historical records. Staff support is provided to the board by the S.C. Department of Archives and History.

For more information on the Winthrop project, please contact Gina Price White, archives director at 803/323-2334 or at whitegp@winthrop.edu.