“Presidential Debate Subject Guide”
Political Papers Archivist Leigh McWhite and Web Services Librarian Debra Riley-Huff created a Presidential Debate Subject Guide for the library’s website. This guide assists researchers to locate information on presidential debates and elections by suggesting publications, databases, websites, and archival resources. Blues Archivist Greg Johnson also contributed a bibliographic list of audio recordings in the Blues Archive which reference presidents. The website features contact information for McWhite, information on the library’s debate-related activities like exhibits and Brown Bag programs, and an RSS feed to university debate news.
The Presidential Debate Subject Guide went live on the library’s website in July 2008. Soon after, the university added the guide as a resource link to its official debate website.
The library publicized the subject guide in several ways:
on a flyer of the library’s debate-related activities posted across campus and the community announcements on the library’s home page and on library kiosks described in an archives letter sent to all faculty teaching debate-related courses.
Between July 25th and September 26th, the Presidential Debate Subject Guide has received over 5,000 online visitors.