Over the past 12 years\, Special Collectio ns at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) has made it a priority to collect Mississippi community cookbooks. Community cookbooks are create d by church groups\, woman&rsquo\;s clubs\, and other organizations to rai se money for the groups. The cookbooks are a compilation of recipes submit ted by members of the organizations and include the names of the people wh o recommended the recipes. \; Most people use these books to find reci pes for dinner\, but the cookbooks can also be used as local history and g enealogical resources. \; \;
\nThe Mississippi Community Coo kbook Project has grown over the years to become the largest collection of Mississippi cookbooks in the world. The creation of this collection is a collaborative endeavor between curator Jennifer Brannock and history profe ssor Andrew P. Haley. Through their efforts\, cookbooks have taken on a li fe outside the kitchen. They can be used to tell the \;the \;histo ries of forgotten clubs and towns\, while focusing on the lives and work o f the women who created these cookbooks. \;
\nCommunity cookbook s are warmly embraced by local groups and cookbook enthusiasts. To publici ze the use of these cookbooks as local history and genealogical resources\ , Special Collections at USM has hosted annual cookbook events where Dr. H aley gives a talk about one cookbook and attendees prepare items from the cookbook for a potluck dinner. In addition to these events\, more than 150 cookbooks have been digitized and are available online for researchers ar ound the world. \; \;
\nThis presentation highlights the coo kbook collection at USM and how cookbooks can be used for local history an d genealogical research. The talk will also focus on the efforts to use co okbooks to engage with users locally and online. \; \; \;
\ nJennifer Brannock is the Curator of Rare Books and \;Mississippian a \;at the University of Southern Mississippi. \;She has a BA in A rt History and an MSLS from the University of Kentucky. Her research inter ests include special collections outreach\, reference service\, and midcen tury publishing history. Jennifer received two honors given by the Researc h and User Services Association for her research: the 2020 Genealogy/Histo ry Achievement Award and the 2019 Gale Cengage Learning History Research a nd Innovation Award. She is active in the International Federation of Libr ary Associations and Institutions (Information Coordinator for the Local H istory and Genealogy Section) and the Reference and User Services Associat ion&rsquo\;s History Section.
\nhttps://acpl.libnet.info/event/13836139 URL;VALUE=URI:https://acpl.libnet.info/event/13836139 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR