For the seventh consecutive year, Manuscripts and Archives honored undergraduate achievement by awarding two prizes to graduating seniors at commencement ceremonies.

One award recognized an outstanding essay on Yale. This prize went to History of Science, History of Medicine major Jennifer K. Lin of Silliman College for her essay, "From Chemical Terror to Clinical Trial: The Development of Chemotherapy at Yale in World War II."

The second award honored an outstanding essay based on research done in Manuscripts and Archives. This prize went to History major Kevin Michel of Trumbull College for his essay, "A Struggle Between Brothers: A Reexamination of the Idea of a Cohesive Conservative Movement Through the Intellectual Life and Personal Conflict Surrounding L. Brent Bozell."

Each student received a $500 cash award. This year's prizes were again underwritten by a generous gift from Attorney Donald F. Melhorn, Jr. of Toledo, OH, a Yale alumnus (BA) of the class of 1957.

The Islamic Fundamentalist Audiocassette Collection was donated to Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, in 2005 and received in 2006 from Professor David Edwards, head of the Williams College Afghan Media Resource Center. The tapes were found in Kandahar, Afghanistan. They were acquired by CNN and eventually sold to Edwards.

Most of the 1500 tapes are in Arabic and are from the late twentieth century. They largely consist of commercially produced releases; home-made copies of commercially produced releases; and various amateur recordings, including sermons, conversations, and other live events that are unique. The collection includes speeches by clerics (Saudi and Yemeni), including Osama Bin Laden (eighteen tapes) and Abdulla Azam, bin Laden's predecessor as head of the Arab volunteers in Afghanistan, and various other influential persons.

In late 2007, a project to clean, rehouse, and digitize the originals commenced. This project will take several years to complete.

At present, students are listening to the digitized tapes and creating brief descriptions of their contents. This information will be made available through an online inventory for the collection. There are no plans to provide English language transcripts. The collection is closed until processed.

For more information about access, please contact william.massa@yale.edu.

During the spring term, Manuscripts and Archives will remain open for research until 6:45 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. The hours of operation are also extended to Sunday afternoons from 1:30 until 4:30 PM. Patrons may use previously paged collection material, but there is no additional reference or paging service available during these times.

An exhibit honoring the 250th birthday of lexicographer Noah Webster has opened in the Memorabilia Room, Sterling Memorial Library. The exhibit, entitled "Noah Webster: American Patriot and Yale Loyalist," shows that Webster, Yale Class of 1778, M.A. 1781, and Honorary Doctor of Laws 1823, was far more than just a brilliant maker of dictionaries. His astoundingly various contributions to his country and his proud identity as a Yale man are vividly displayed in this collection of manuscripts, books, and artifacts, reflecting a lifetime of accomplishment, innovation and unflagging patriotism.

Webster played a major role in the drafting of the Constitution and in the thirteen colonies' subsequent ratification of it. He had a crucial impact on the development of the American educational system, and he was the father of copyright legislation in the United States. Webster served in elective offices both in Connecticut and Massachusetts and was a leading figure in the founding of Amherst College.

These and many other achievements are represented in the sections of this display, such as Webster the Yale Man, Webster the Patriot, and Webster the Historian. But even the wide array of achievements reflected is not fully representative of his lifetime attainments. Noah Webster was also a lawyer, a teacher, an ecologist, a geographer, a moralist, and above all a founding uncle, if not a founding father, of his country. His triumphant achievement as a landmark lexicographer of the English language has hitherto overshadowed his many and important accomplishments in other areas of patriotic endeavor.

The exhibit will be on display through the end of November.

For the sixth year, Manuscripts and Archives honored undergraduate achievement by awarding two prizes to graduating seniors.

At commencement, Scott Chaloff of Morse College received the prize for his outstanding essay on Yale, "Dynamite Tonight: Vietnam On and Off-Stage at the Yale School of Drama, 1966-1969."

The second award honors an outstanding essay based on research done in Manuscripts and Archives. Aaron Wiener of Berkeley College received this prize for "Hiram Bingham's Expedition and the Peruvian Response: A Connecticut Yanqui in the Land of the Incas."

Each student received a $500 cash award, underwritten this year by a generous gift from Attorney Donald F. Melhorn, Jr. of Toledo, OH, a Yale alumnus (BA) of the class of 1957.

Christine Weideman has been appointed Carrie S. Beinecke Director of Manuscripts and Archives in the University Library.

Weideman has been Interim Director of the department for the past sixteen months. She came to Yale in 1993 as Assistant Head of Manuscripts and Archives and was promoted to Deputy Director in 2005. Prior to joining the University Library, Weideman worked at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan where she trained as an archivist following doctoral-level graduate studies in history.

Weideman has chaired the Manuscripts Repository Section of the Society of American Archivists (SAA), authored a highly disseminated brochure on deeds of gifts, co-developed a series of basic information technology courses for practicing archivists, and published and presented numerous articles and papers. Most recently, she was named a Distinguished Fellow of the SAA, the highest professional honor for an archivist. Weideman has also been an active member of the Yale community, providing leadership on numerous committees while mentoring staff.

The Manuscripts and Archives department is pleased to announce that Interim Director Christine Weideman was recently elected a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists (SAA). Founded in 1936, the SAA is North America's oldest and largest national archival professional association and election as a fellow is the organization's highest honor.

Those nominated as fellows must demonstrate appropriate academic education, and professional and technical training in any fields of SAA's interest; professional experience in any of the fields of SAA's objectives for a minimum of seven years, which include evidence of professional responsibility; contributions to the profession demonstrating initiative, resourcefulness, and commitment; writings of superior quality and usefulness; contributions to the archival profession through active participation in SAA and innovative or outstanding work on behalf of SAA. In making this award, the society noted that, as her nomination letter and supporting letters richly testify, Chris exemplifies the highest contributions to the profession, to SAA, and to her colleagues.

In her two decades as a professional archivist, Chris Weideman has written seminal articles and presented innovative and pragmatic papers that have contributed heavily to archival discourse; she has led several successful SAA committees and sections; and she has served as a superlative mentor to multiple early-career archivists who have gone on to make their own mark on the field. Her deepest influence can be seen in the areas of appraisal and collection development.