UVM Libraries Maple Elizabeth Berman Tape: Air:

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1 1 UVM Libraries Maple Elizabeth Berman Tape: Air: [OPEN: [Judy] [guest] program open] ((**VO**)) Today on Across the Fence, everyone loves pure maple and Vermont is the maple capital of the country. Our tiny state accounts for about 35-percent of the nation s maple production and distribution. Maple research at the University of Vermont began in the 1890 s and continues its strong tradition today. UVM scientists have been influential in researching key topics such as sap and syrup production, as well as forest ecology and maple genetics. And now the University Libraries are sharing UVM s wealth of maple knowledge. Librarians have developed a unique UVM Maple web site, which covers all things maple from recipes and research to pests and production. ((**on-camera**)) Good afternoon and thanks for joining us I'm Judy Simpson. Joining me this afternoon is Elizabeth Berman. Elizabeth is UVM s Science & Engineering Librarian and she is the project manager for the development of the University s new maple syrup website. Welcome! So how did the University of Vermont get involved in creating a maple syrup web site? In April 2007, the University of Vermont Libraries became a partner in the Agricultural Network Information Center AgNIC an 1

2 alliance of land-grant universities sponsored by the USDA. The purpose of AgNIC is to preserve and disseminate agricultural information at a national and international level through partnerships with the National Agricultural Library and the National Digital Library for Agriculture. As a partner institute, we were responsible for creating and maintaining a website portal in an area of institutional or local agricultural expertise. Examples: University of Illinois - corn; Texas A&M equine sciences; Penn State home gardening; University of Minnesota forestry. Maple syrup was an obvious choice for Vermont. 2 [still 01] What is the purpose of the web site? The website is intended to be a comprehensive subject guide in the field of maple syrup, touching on all aspects of maple syrup and sugar maples: maple syrup history, production and collection, marketing, nutrition and recipes, and sugar maple cultivation, environmental issues, and pests and diseases. Who is the site intended for? The website meets the needs of a broad audience: researchers and scholars, producers, students, and the general public. So where does all the information come from? The Proctor Maple Research Center has been an important ally in the creation of this website, in particular Timothy Perkins, director of PMRC. From the early stages of the project, he opened the doors to the PMRC and its archive of photographs, reports, field and research notes, and maple research paraphernalia. Additionally, the UVM Department of Special Collections have a treasure of maple collections, including all the maple agricultural extension bulletins. While the majority of the information provided on the website comes directly from Vermont, there are other institutions doing maple research, and their work is included Cornell University, Ohio State University, Michigan State University, and the University of Maine. What are some of the highlights of the web site? One piece of the website that makes it unique are some of the historical collections that we were able to digitize in partnership with the Center for Digital Initiatives. 2

3 3 [still 02] [still 03] [still 04, 05, 06] We were able to digitize the maple related agricultural extension bulletins 60 some in all that date from Many of these bulletins represent seminal research in the field of maple, including: * Mariafranca Morselli: better understanding of the role of microorganisms in determining syrup grade. * Frederick Laing: use of plastic tubing and vacuum pumps to collect sap And others such as CH Jones: biology of maple trees to better under sap flow and James Marvin and Fred Taylor: economics of syrup production. [still 07 10] [still 11-16] Those UVM researchers you just mentioned were instrumental in the Proctor Maple Research Center. Elizabeth comments leading to additional photographs: we digitized a collection of photographs that document the construction of the Proctor Maple Research Center s first sugarhouse in 1948, as well as the PMRC sugar bush and early maple experiments ( ). Marvin and Fred Taylor founded the PMRC with a donation by Governor Mortimer Proctor of the Harvey Farm in Underhill Center, Vermont, to UVM. For the first year of operation, research was conducted in an 8 x12 shed. In 1948 the first sugarhouse was constructed to allow research on syrup production techniques. These are pictures of sugaring operations in In the first images, you see the collection buckets attached to taps in the maple trees. You see an employee of the PMRC emptying frozen maple sap into a larger collection bucket, which then got hauled from the sugarbush to the sugarhouse by horses. In the final pictures, you see an image of the evaporator and workers using the finishing pan, which is used to boiled down maple sap into maple syrup. [Eng=Proctor VO Nat-SOT :20] And of course today, PMRC is. (further comments) We ve talked mostly about research but there s also a fun side to the new maple web site. We are in the process of digitizing a collection of historical maple recipes, which help capture the foodways of maple in Vermont since the early 1900s. 3

4 4 [still? ] [CG] We ve also created a Maple Community Cookbook a virtual collection of maple recipes from the sweet to the savory that have by submitted by chefs, restaurants and community members. It s a great way to get the community involved and interested in this website Now, as part of the web site kick-off, you re holding a Maple Cook-off. Yes! The UVM Libraries is holding a Maple Week March 28 through April 3 to promote this new resource, and the Maple Cook-Off is one of the activities. The Maple Cook-Off is happening on Sunday, March 28 from 4-6pm in the Davis Center, and will be a showcase of the amazing versatility of maple in cooking. Community members and organizations are encouraged to participate by creating a sweet or savory dish to enter in the competition. Registration if free and open to the public at: Registration will be open until Friday, March 26 at 5pm. Confirmed judges include Suzanne Podhaizer, food editor for Seven Days, and we have great prizes that include XXXX. In addition to the competition, The Growlers, a local acoustic trio that plays upbeat rock, blues and country music, will be providing entertainment from 4-5pm, during the judging. We will also have a maple tasting station set up, and activities for children. In addition to the cook-off, what other events are a part of the Maple Week? From now until June, we have a maple Special Collections exhibit in the library. The exhibit was made possible by a number of dedicated collectors and donors, including the Proctor Maple Research Center and members of Vermont Maple Industry Council's Maple History Committee. [stills?] [stills] Sweet and Savory: Cooking with Maple documents maple cookbooks and recipes it s intriguing to see how Vermonters have cooked with local sugar over a 100-year period, as it s documented in cookbooks. It s Always Maple Time in Vermont shows how the history of technology and production of maple syrup in Vermont, through photos, artifacts, and advertisements. This advertisement for Mapleflo a gathering system of tubing for the sugarbush from 1961 is just one example of the kind of advertising Vermont manufacturers of maple equipment. The exhibit also includes images of sugaring-off parties. Dean Hill Sugar Party xxx. (Further comments here). 4

5 [Eng=party VO Nat-SOT :20] In recent years, the front of the Bailey-Howe Library has served as the home of the UVM Sugar-on-Snow Party further comments. Lastly, I want to mention that on Wednesday, March 31, we will host a reception in the libraries to celebrate the launch of the website and the special collections exhibit. The reception will be highlighted with a talk, co-sponsored by Special Collections, by John Elder, Professor of English and Environmental Studies at Middlebury, on A Party in the Woods: Sugaring, Community, and Celebration Under a Changing Sky, a talk on the impact of climate change on maple sugaring. 5 [fullscreen CG] [Judy] [CLOSE: Elizabeth, thanks for sharing this new web site with us, and for sharing the great information about Maple Week at UVM Libraries. For more information about the new maple syrup website, you can visit it at A reminder that Maple Week will run from March 28 th to April 3 rd. Registration and additional event can be found on the web site. And that s our program for today. Thanks for joining us I m Judy Simpson I ll see you again next time on Across the Fence. program close] 5