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Calisphere and the Online Archive of California (OAC) are gateways to unique collections held by libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions throughout California.
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Over 100 years of county agricultural practices:
UC Cooperative Extension Archive continues to grow
The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) dates back to 1914, when farm advisors began to work with local farmers in every county of the state to help shape agricultural practices. For over a hundred years, county offices throughout California have documented activities including agricultural trials, animal husbandry, water management, fire management, the development of integrated pest management, rural food and nutrition programs, and youth development programs, among others.
In the fall of 2016, the UC Merced Library, under a memorandum of understanding with the University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, began archiving and providing digital access to historical materials held in county Cooperative Extension offices. A Major Initiatives grant from the National Historical Publications & Records Commission has supported the expansion of this work.
These documents provide a fascinating glimpse into efforts to cut high agricultural expenses, such as providing horses with essential nutrients at a lower cost. While alfalfa may be the type of hay preferred by horses, an item found in the Humboldt County UCCE Records collection notes the high cost of hay and suggests alternative sources of food and supplements that might still provide the energy, protein, minerals, vitamins, and fiber that a horse requires. A publication from the 1970s lists pellet foods, corn cobs, citrus pulp, almond husks as viable options... but also includes an item that we’re convinced is neither palatable nor tasty: cardboard.
What essential nutrients could a sturdy, corrugated, brown paper box possibly provide? Find out more in this document called “What can we feed horses?” (Note that diet and nutrition is an ever evolving science, and the recommendations in this document from 1979 may not align with contemporary horse care and ethical practices.)
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"What can we feed horses?" 1979, October.
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Curious to learn more about historical agricultural practices in California? The following collections are now available on Calisphere, with more coming our way.
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Tips and Reminders!
Updating your institution contact information
Do you need to update your institution name or contact information on OAC or Calisphere? It’s easy to do, but also easy to forget how to do it. Here’s a quick cheat sheet:
OAC:
To update your contact information, log into your OAC Dashboard. Select “edit institution contact information” to bring up a form to enter updated information. Click “save” to finish, and your changes will be active by the next day.
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Follow the same steps to update your institution name. This type of change is processed over the weekend, so you can expect it to be active by the following Monday.
See our step-by-step instructions, complete with screenshots. If something doesn’t seem right, please feel free to contact us.
Calisphere:
To make updates on your institution or collection landing pages, please contact us with the information you’d like to change. Here are some examples and details on the type of descriptions and information you can add to your landing pages.
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Office Hours (and connecting to the OAC server to submit EAD finding aids)
Wednesday, February 19 at 1:00 PM
Please see meeting details to register. |
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Drop-in Orientation: Overview of Calisphere and OAC
Wednesday, March 4 at 1:00 PM
Please see meeting details to register. |
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Office Hours (and getting your usage stats through Google Analytics)
Wednesday, March 18 at 1:00 PM
Please see meeting details to register. |
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