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ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Announces Digitization of Historical ‘Pine Branch’ Publication

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University is now home to a fully digitized collection of “The Pine Branch,” a student literary magazine published between September or October of 1917 and May of 1934.

Filled with stories, poetry, editorials, and news written by students of South ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Normal College and ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ State Womans College, each issue of “The Pine Branch” gives readers an intimate glimpse into the racial, ethnic, and gender attitudes of South ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ during the Progressive Era, women’s suffrage, World War I, and Great Depression. The collection provides first-hand accounts of daily life and attitudes typical of a Southern women’s institution of higher education in the early 20^th century and serves as an important research tool for historians and educators.

“We now have online access to the earliest student voices at our school,” shared Deborah Davis, director of ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Archives and Special Collections. “Their creative works and the news reflect their time and are a good primary source for history, literature, and women’s studies students, teachers, and researchers.”      

Digitizing “The Pine Branch” took about a year to complete and began with ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ receiving a $4,920 Competitive Digitization Grant from the Digital Library of ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ, a GALILEO initiative based at the University of ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Libraries that seeks to share ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s history and culture online. 

ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Archives and Special Collections completed the metadata for each of 15 issues of “The Pine Branch.”

The Digital Library of ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ scanned and completed optical character recognition and quality control services for 12 issues. ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Archives and Special Collections scanned three.

Davis said that the project was facilitated by Dallas Suttles, ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Archives and Special Collections computer technician, and Meghan Crews, graduate assistant, with some assistance from ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ students.   

"I can attest that my students who have worked in ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Archives and Special Collections with ‘The Pine Branch’ find the material especially engaging because the articles are products of college students like themselves,” said Melanie Byrd, professor in ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Department of History. “While students may not always identify with history in terms of national trends, big events, and abstract ideologies and worldviews, they do connect with the experiences of other college students. Publications like ‘The Pine Branch’ bring the history of previous eras to life for students in a relatable, humanized manner. Reading the publication also illustrates directly and vividly how attitudes have changed over time."

Visit https://vtext.valdosta.edu/xmlui/handle/10428/720/discover to view the digitized issues of “The Pine Branch.” 

Please contact Deborah Davis at dsdavis@valdosta.edu or (229) 259-7756 to learn more.