Uses of the Collections at UNC Greensboro Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project

Abstract

The Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project (WVHP) was established in 1988 as both a research collection and a project that honors the contributions women have made to U.S. military service. Housed at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG), the overall collection grows each year with new oral histories, and the addition of letters and scrapbooks, recruiting posters and brochures, uniforms and artifacts. We locate women veterans to interview from news stories, veterans and their families who stumble upon our website on the internet, and by word of mouth. The Project acquires materials as gifts from veterans or their survivors and by purchases of collections from vendors found on eBay. A major focus of the Project is to maintain a strong Web presence to promote and provide access to the collections. On our Web site (http://library.uncg.edu/dp/wv/) there are over two hundred and fifty oral history transcripts, over one thousand photographs, and over two thousand pages of scanned letters, recruiting brochures, and military documents posted. Additionally, we promote the project through undergraduate class presentations, an annual luncheon, and public exhibits. The goal is to preserve this aspect of history and make it available for all types of research.