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Welcome to The Danish
American Archive and Library web site. Located on
the campus of Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, The
Archive contains the country’s largest and broadest
collection of materials relating to the life experience,
cultural heritage and vital contributions to North
America of the people of Danish extraction.
Our collection, consisting
of approximately 1,000 cubic feet of unpublished written
materials, recordings and photographs plus more than
10,000 books, starts with some of America’s earliest
Danish immigrants and continues through present day
Danish Americans. Through our holdings a picture
emerges of how people of Danish descent came to America
and established themselves and of their enormous
contributions to the fabric of American life. So
come join us, online or in person, and enjoy the Danish
American experience! |
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The
Archive's three sister organizations:
·
Danish American Heritage Society
·
Danish Immigrant Archive at Grand View College
·
The
Danish Immigrant Museum |
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Current
Projects |
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The
Archive’s Music Collection is being organized and housed in a
special room. Since late summer of 2008, Claire Bushong, a
member of the Dana College music faculty, has been sorting and
reorganizing the extensive music holdings of the DAAL. She
started with the collections of hymnals and songbooks, but her
work will eventually extend to all music holdings including
recordings, CDs, tapes, sheet music, secular songs, folk tunes
and scores, as well as clippings of concerts, reviews, programs
and photos. Although the collection focuses on music of Danish
origin or with a
strong Danish connection, it also includes other music owned by
or played and performed by Danish immigrants and their
descendants. All holdings except the hymnals, which are kept
with the book collection, will be placed in a recently furnished
special room located in the lower level of the Dana College
library and which also serves as a repository for audio-visual
materials.
Two large
collections have been moved to a recently refurbished and
furnished room located next to the new music room. The
Walker-Johnson collection contains 165 boxes of written
materials reflecting the everyday lives of the Henry
and Mary Johnson family, their ancestors and descendants
spanning the time from the late 1800’s to as recent as 2006. The
Borge Christensen collection includes 137 boxes of personal and
professional documents, plus an inventory of professional
materials that have been deposited in the Charles Babbage
Institute at the University of Minnesota. The collection also
includes more than 250 books, binders and journals. This new
room not only makes access to these significant collections
easier, but also frees up badly needed space in the main
archive.
For
the second consecutive year, Marianne Paasch, a graduate student
from Aalborg, Denmark, is utilizing the resources of the
DAAL while working toward her master’s degree from Aalborg
University. Her final thesis, which is due in September, will
analyze and document the schism of 1894 in the Danish Lutheran
Church. Marianne also spent six months as an intern at the
Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn, Iowa, in 2008. Upon
completion of her master’s degree, Marianne hopes to work in a
museum or archive either in the United States or Denmark. She
plans to continue her research and writing as well.
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