A sample of Wisconsin Idea resources and publications

Compiled by Kerri Canepa

A search of UW–Madison Web sites and library catalogs will reveal dozens of sources where one can discover more about the Wisconsin Idea.

Wisconsin Week asked project assistant Kerri Canepa, a graduate student in library and information services, to seek out a few of the more unusual or interesting possibilities for those who wish to go beyond the articles in this issue. Here is what she discovered:

• “On Wisconsin: UW–Madison Pictorial”

  This videotape is available at College Library (call number LD6131 O5 1988). Hosted by Patty Loew, it provides a pictorial look at the Madison campus past and present. As stated in the summary: “Describes the Wisconsin Idea and the university’s tradition of excellence, and tells of the philosophy, knowledge and influence of the institution.”

• Wisconsin Electronic Reader: http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/WIReader/

  As stated on the Web site: “Stories, essays, letters, poems, biographies, journals and tidbits from Wisconsin history. Many first- hand accounts — profusely illustrated.” An attractive and easy-to-use site, which includes the digital text version of Charles McCarthy’s “The Wisconsin Idea,” published in 1912. The rest of the site is well worth visiting for more information about the history of UW–Madison and the city of Madison.

• Oral History Project Interviews: Vernon Rosco Carstensen (call # 230)
  Merle Eugene Curti (call # 333)

  These tape cassettes are held in the University Archives. Contact the Wisconsin Historical Society Library to access them. Carstensen and Curti were history professors at UW–Madison from the 1940s into the 1960s. They were also the authors of “The University of Wisconsin: A History 1848-1925.” The interviews were conducted with Carstensen in 1982 and Curti in 1986. Among other topics, they talked about the Wisconsin Idea, its origins and ambiguities.

• “The Wisconsin Idea: The University’s Service to the State” by Jack Stark and “The Wisconsin Idea for the 21st Century” by Alan B. Knox and Joe Corry

  Reprinted from the 1995-96 Wisconsin Blue Book, they are available from the Wisconsin Historical Society Library (call # A.1A:1996).