Born
in East Salem, Pennsylvania in 1862,
Horace Kephart went on to become a
leading literary figure in early 20th
century North Carolina. Prior to moving
to western North Carolina and becoming
a full time writer, Kephart established
a career as a librarian. His cataloging
experience gave him a unique attention
to detail that he incorporated into
his later writings and research. While
still a librarian, Kephart began writing
articles on outdoor life among his
professional publications. This interest
culminated in his first book, Camping
and Woodcraft, originally published
in 1906. A related book, Camp Cookery,
was published in 1910 and later incorporated
into a revised edition of the earlier
book. He was already at work compiling
photographs and observations for his
next book, Our Southern Highlanders,
published in 1913. Later, Kephart
turned his writing skills towards
the successful promotion of the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park. Shortly
before his death in 1931, Kephart
served as president of the North Carolina
Literary and Historical Association
from 1929 to 1930.
Throughout 2004, Hunter Library celebrated
the 100 year anniversary of Horace
Kephart's arrival in western North
Carolina. As an extension of these
events, Special Collections and the
Mountain Heritage Center joined together
in creating an online exhibit of Kephart's
life and works. Funding for this project
came through a Library Services and
Technology Act (LSTA) grant managed
by North Carolina Exploring Cultural
Heritage Online (NC ECHO.)
As the project developed, it became
clear that Horace Kephart's personal
album would become a feature of the
online exhibit. The majority of the
photographs were removed from the
album during processing to prevent
further damage from the acid content
of the pages. This makes viewing the
physical album difficult. The online
exhibit provided a unique opportunity
to reconstruct the album virtually,
allowing viewers to see the photographs
within the context of the album. The
final virtual album includes all 80
pages of the physical album.
Alongside the album, another feature of
the project provides a series of exhibit
pages. Much like a museum gallery,
these provide a logical path through
related items to create a learning
experience. Here visitors can learn
about Kephart, his writings, and the
people and places of early 20th century
western North Carolina.
Researchers will find the searchable
database helpful for locating specific
documents and artifacts related to
a given topic. With each image is
a set of Dublin Core metadata describing
the item and its place in the collection.
This database also contains accession
information for researchers who plan
to use the physical collections.
In addition to these three primary components
of the exhibit, background material
and additional resources about Kephart
are provided. These will help users
understand the context of the materials
in the exhibit and guide researchers
beyond the present exhibit.
Special Collections at Hunter Library
and The Mountain Heritage Center invite
you to enjoy this exhibit.
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