The collection -- presented using Mediasite, Sonic Foundry's webcasting platform -- contains video of Martin Luther King Jr. speeches, including one in Bessemer, Ala., during the Poor People's Campaign in March 1968, just a few weeks before he was assassinated, an excerpt of which will be shown during today's webcast.
"We have a number of strong civil rights collections that we routinely exhibit on Martin Luther King Jr. Day," said Barry Kernfeld, Penn State University library archivist. "With this collection being completed, it was a no-brainer to use it as a centerpiece this year." Kernfeld, who has been working with the collection for nearly three years, will give the presentation today.
The late Jack Rabin assembled the collection during the 1970s when he was teaching in Montgomery, Ala. According to Kernfeld, many staff members from the Penn State Harrisburg campus, where Rabin later taught, accessed the webcast today. "They would like to participate in the public unveiling of the collection," he said. "Because Penn State has more than 20 campuses, webcasting the presentation is a great opportunity."
Shirley Davis, assistant to the Dean for External Relations at Penn State, noted that archiving the event on the school Web site for on-demand access ensures as many people as possible will have a chance to view it. Davis expects a large, mixed audience for the webcast, including general public, high school students and the university community. "It's going to be an excellent presentation. The collection is really moving, and we're excited," she said.
For more information about the collection, click here.
