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WIU Libraries to Present Talks on World War II Materials

March 18, 2019

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MACOMB, IL -- To commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Western Illinois University Libraries will highlight materials that provide information and insight into World War II with two talks during the month of April.

Linda Zellmer, Government Information and Data Services librarian, will give a World War II Map Tour, highlighting World War II maps available in the WIU Libraries Map Collection. Bill Cook, senior library specialist in the WIU Archives, will discuss materials related to World War II available in the University Archives, Special Collections and Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD).

The World War II Map Tour will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 16 in the Malpass Library Garden Lounge. The talk on materials in the University Archives and Special Collections will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, April 22, in the Malpass Library Garden Lounge. Both talks are open free to the public.

"The Libraries have a wide variety of materials related to World War II, including maps produced by the U.S. Army and our Allies," said Zellmer. "We also have maps produced by the German Army, some of which are somewhat unusual. Among the more unusual items are a map of Central America and the Caribbean produced by the German army based on a map produced by the National Geographic Society and a map of Hamburg printed on a captured German map."

The Libraries also have maps showing the areas where the Allies landed on D-Day and maps showing various areas of the Pacific.

"The University Archives and Special Collections have materials from the World War II era in the University Archives, Special Collections and IRAD" said Cook. "The University Archives has original documents from Western State Teacher's College (now WIU) related to World War II, including papers from the offices of president and the provost, theses written by our graduate students, the Sequel (yearbook), and the Western Courier. In addition, we have photographs, books, and other memoirs written by alumni."

Special Collections has photographs from around the region, vertical file items, articles from local historical societies, area newspapers, and the Camp Ellis Collection. Camp Ellis was an Army training camp and POW camp (German) in nearby Fulton County. They also have books written by local residents who served in all branches of the military.

WIU also has a local branch of the Illinois State Archives, which maintains collections for county, city, and township records in the region. They also have county board minutes and city council minutes—especially for Fulton County and the Quad Cities area. The Quad Cities is still home to the Rock Island Arsenal.

For more information about WIU Libraries, visit wiu.edu/libraries.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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