Contact: Maridith Geuder
A new service from the Mississippi State University Libraries is allowing online searches of collections from two former U.S. congressmen, with others soon to be added.
The papers of former U.S. Senator John C. Stennis and former U.S. Rep. David R. Bowen may be searched by name and topic at the Web site of the library's Congressional and Political Research Center, http://library.msstate.edu/congressional/collections.asp.
"Providing electronic search capabilities is a way to significantly expand the usefulness of the collections to scholars and students," noted Michael B. Ballard, center coordinator.
"This is an ongoing project that in the future will incorporate data from additional collections," Ballard said, adding that printed guides to the collections also are available.
In addition to those of Stennis and Bowen, the Congressional and Political Research Center includes papers of Reps. G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery, Charles Griffin, Chip Pickering, and Mike Espy. Papers and memorabilia from Wiley Carter, former aid to Sen. Thad Cochran, and Wayne Weidie, chief of staff to Rep. Gene Taylor, also are represented.
More than 1 million documents will be accessible for searching at the completion of the process, Ballard said. "The Stennis collection alone comprises 1,800 boxes of documents," he added.
Currently, searches of the Stennis and Bowen collections may be made individually or in both collections simultaneously. Data entry for the collections is continuing, with the search site updated frequently.
For more information, telephone the library's Congressional and Political Research Center at 662-325-7680.