The Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center had a wonderful 2024! From our in person events to our virtual offerings, we have encouraged our community and beyond to learn about Davenport, Scott County and Quad Cities history.
Programming
We visited the Palmer Family Residence and the American Doll & Toy Museum with our QC History Hop program! Gates Thomas unraveled the messy history of early Davenport with his program, “Clearing Tangled Underbrush: Righting Davenport’s Twisted History” held in March. We partnered with the Bix Museum to offer “Bix Beiderbecke and Gennett Records: A Conversation with Dr. Charlie B. Dahan and Bob Jacobsen” to learn about this early recording studio and its connection with our local cornetist.
We offered walking tours with Ellen Shapley, Architouring the Quad Cities, and much more. We hope to continue offering programs to help our citizens engage with the past!
2024 Quad Cities Archives Fair
This year’s Quad Cities Archives Fair was held at the Credit Island Lodge, Davenport, Iowa. We had Kevin Braafladt spoke about Credit Island’s role in the War of 1812. We had over 200 people attend this annual event that has been happening since 2018.
Special Collections Displays
Special Collections has collections relating to individuals, groups, societies, business and much more. This year we highlighted businesses that started in Davenport, the history of the library, our resource Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Archive, and the Huebinger maps and atlas printing.
New Children’s Area at The Library | Main
Special Collections is highlighted in the new additions to the Children’s area at the Davenport Public Library | Main.
Outreach
We partnered with the City of Davenport Historic Preservation Commission to attend the City’s Party in the Parks to highlight historic neighborhood.
New Partnerships!
We made some great partnerships like the one with the Quad Cities Business Journal!
Statistics for the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center
Visitors to Special Collections: 2,420
Material Donations: 47
Primary Selections from Special Collections
Views: 37,184
Visitors: 24,819
Special Collection Indexes
Views: 12,523
Visitors: 1,826
Archive and Manuscript Catalog
Pageviews: 49,892
Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Archive
Pageviews: 21,600
Bix Museum
Pageviews: 561
Social Media Followers
Facebook: 719
Instagram: 1,281
Thank you to everyone who has contacted us and visited us in person and online. It was a fantastic 2024! Here’s to a wonderful 2025!
(posted by Kathryn)
