NCompass Live - May 18, 2016. http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ncompasslive/ Mary Sauers and Allison Badger, from the Nebraska Library Commission, will be talking about the history of the University of Nebraska Press, a history of Nebraska Press books at the Nebraska Library Commission, and many examples of the wide variety of titles in our collection. They will also talk about the monthly blog posts showcasing individual state documents and new NE Press books. Presenters: Mary Sauers, Government Information Services Librarian, and Allison Badger, Cataloging Librarian, Nebraska Library Commission.

1. UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS
COLLECTION AT THE NEBRASKA LIBRARY
COMMISSION

2. What We’ll Cover Today
• A brief history of the Nebraska State Documents Clearinghouse
• A history of the University of Nebraska Press
• Examples of University of Nebraska Press books in the NLC collection
• How to find University of Nebraska Press books in the NLC collection
• University of Nebraska Press and the Nebraska 150 Celebration Book List

3. The Nebraska State Documents Clearinghouse
• Prior to 1972 there was no comprehensive program in the state for
collecting and preserving Nebraska government publications.
• In January 1972 LB 1284 was introduced in the Nebraska Legislature,
passed and signed by the Governor in March establishing the
Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse.
• The Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse program was launched in
July of 1972.

4. • The Nebraska State Documents Clearinghouse houses all public documents
from Nebraska state agencies, including documents from the University of
Nebraska and selected titles from the University of Nebraska Press.
• The Nebraska Library Commission has been adding Nebraska Press books
to its’ collection since the inception of the Nebraska State Documents
Clearinghouse in 1972.
• Of the 170 new Press books released every year, the Clearinghouse collects
between 60 and 70 titles of those titles.
• As a result, the University of Nebraska Press Collection is one of the largest
parts of the Clearinghouse documents collection at the Nebraska Library
Commission.

5. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS
• The University of Nebraska Press, founded in 1941, is a nonprofit academic publisher of
scholarly and general-interest books. The Press is under the auspices of the University of
Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the University of Nebraska system.
• The Press publishes approximately 170 new and reprint titles annually, and has more
than 3,000 titles in print. It publishes primarily non-fiction books and scholarly journals,
in both print and electronic editions, and is considered on of the most prestigious
academic presses in the country.
• The press has very strong publishing programs in Native American studies and Western
American history. Since 2010, two of the press' books have received the Bancroft Prize.
The press also has a highly regarded publishing program in sports.

6. • The Press publishes under the Nebraska Press, Bison Books, and Potomac Books
imprints. In 2011, the press entered into a collaborative publishing arrangement
with the Jewish Publication Society, one of the oldest scholarly Jewish publishers
in the United States.
• Potomac Books, which the Press acquired in 2013, specializes in military and
diplomatic topics.
• The Press is best known for its works in Native Studies, Western History, Sports,
Anthropology, Geography, American History and Studies, American Cultural
Studies, and Creative Works.

7. • Topics that the Clearinghouse collects include American Studies,
Natural History in Nebraska, Nebraska Authors, Western History, and
Native American Studies.
• Scholarly journals that come to the Clearinghouse include Prairie
Schooner, Great Plains Quarterly, Great Plains Research, and Middle
West Review.
• Following are some examples of the wide range of titles that the Press
publishes, and the Clearinghouse collects…

8. Examples of Nebraska Press Books in the NLC Collection
• The Biology of Ground-Dwelling Squirrels: Annual Cycles, Behavioral
Ecology, and Sociality ; Edited by Jan O. Murie and Gail R. Michener,
University of Nebraska Press, 1984.

9. • Black Elk Speaks : Being The Life Story Of A Holy
Man Of The Oglala Sioux ; by John G. Neihardt (Flaming
Rainbow), University of Nebraska Press, 1989.
The most famous Native American book ever written,
Black Elk Speaks is the acclaimed story of Lakota visionary
and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) and his people
during the momentous, twilight years of the nineteenth
century.

10. Black Elk Lives: Conversations with the Black Elk Family ; by
Esther Black Elk DeSersa, et al., University of Nebraska
Press, 2003.
We learn how the descendants of Black Elk live, how
their famous ancestor shaped their worldviews, reminding
us that their famous forebear still lives, in the legacy of his
book and through his descendants.

11. • Bright Epoch: Women and Coeducation in the American
West (Women in the West series) ; by Andrea G. Radke-Moss,
University of Nebraska Press, 2008.
Bright Epoch tells the story of female students’ early mixed-
gender encounters at four institutions: Iowa Agricultural
College, the University of Nebraska, Oregon Agricultural
College, and Utah State Agricultural College. Although land-
grant institutions have been most commonly associated with
domestic science courses for women, Bright Epoch illumi-
nates the diversity of other courses of study available to
female students, including the sciences, literature, journalism,
business commerce, and law.

12. Prairie Forge: The Extraordinary Story of the
Nebraska Scrap Metal Drive of World War II ;
by James J. Kimble, University of Nebraska
Press, 2014.
**2015 Nebraska Book Award in Nonfiction: Nebraska
Spirit, from Nebraska Center for the Book
During WWII, the United States needed scrap
metal. Henry Doorly, publisher of the Omaha World-
Herald, had the solution. Prairie Forge tells the story
of the great Nebraska scrap drive of 1942—a
campaign that swept the nation and yielded five
million tons of scrap metal, literally salvaging the war
effort itself.

13. More Press Titles and How to Find Them
in the NLC Collection

14. Winter Wheat
By Mildred Walker with an Introduction by James Welch
originally published in 1944, republished in 1992
“For this Bison Books edition, James Welch, the acclaimed
author of Winter in the Blood (1986) and other novels,
introduces Mildred Walker's vivid heroine, Ellen Webb, who
lives in the dryland wheat country of central Montana
during the early 1940s. He writes, ‘It is a story about
growing up, becoming a woman, mentally, emotionally,
spiritually, within the space of a year and a half. But what a
year and a half it is!’’’ – from the University of Nebraska
Press website.
In 2003, it was selected by Montana Humanities and its
partners as the inaugural One Book Montana.

15. The American West: A Twentieth-Century History
By Michael P. Malone and Richard Etulain
First edition published in 1989
“Malone and Etulain discuss economic, political, social, and
cultural developments in the West from the turn of the century to
the onset of the Great Depression, when the region was still in a
colonial relationship to the urban, industrial Northeast and upper
Midwest; from 1930 to the end of World War II, when the West
was transformed by New Deal programs and by even greater
federal spending in military installations; and from 1945 to the
present, when the West experienced rapid changes in
demographics and a series of trendsetting lifestyles. Unique to
this history are chapters about the rich cultural heritage of the
modern West and about the lives of men, women, and children of
various ethnic groups” – from the University of Nebraska Press
website.

16. The Course of Empire
By Bernard DeVoto
originally published in 1952; first Bison edition published in 1983
Moving from the eastern seaboard to the Great Lakes region and
beyond, The Course of Empire traces the paths of British, Spanish
and French explorers who sought to explore and exploit the North
American continent for their own gain. Often, explorers found their
dreams stymied by Native Americans, as well as environmental
challenges. DeVoto argues that that these experiences helped
define the American nation.
Part of DeVoto’s trilogy of the American West: Across the Wide
Mississippi (1947) and Year of Decision: 1846 (1943)

17. Mandarin Tips and Tricks
Be precise!
Include words from the title – title phrase
No spelling mistakes
Search by:
Author (last name, first name)
Title
Keyword
University of Nebraska Press

18. MARC View

19. Search Tips and Tricks
Title
Author (last name, first
name)
University of Nebraska Press
Be precise!
Take advantage of the
Advanced Search

20. MARC View

21. University of Nebraska Press and the Nebraska 150 Celebration Book List
• As part of the 150th Anniversary of Nebraska Statehood, the Nebraska Sesquicentennial
Commission has chosen 150 notable Nebraska books to highlight for the Nebraska 150
Celebration in March, 2017. These books represent the best literature produced from
Nebraska during the past 150 years. The books highlight the varied cultures, diverse
experiences and the shared history of Nebraskans.
• Many of the books on the Nebraska 150 booklist are from the University of Nebraska
Press, and are also in the Nebraska Clearinghouse collection.
• Approximately 35 titles on the list are also in the Nebraska Library Commission Book Club
Kit collection. To see all of those titles, go to the nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub/ page,
and under Browse Options, click on Browse Nebraska-150 Books.
• Visit nebraska150books.org for an overview, featured books by month, and a full list of
the 150 titles.

22. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY!
HAPPY READING!