Reviewing the Start of the Academic Year Through "The Review"
By David Cardillo, Digital Collections and Preservation
A new academic year is upon us. As students return to campus—or, in the case of freshmen, begin their college journey—it’s always interesting to reflect on how the start of the semester has, and hasn’t, changed over time.
We are a quarter of the way through the 21st Century. Looking back 25 years, the first edition of The Review for the 2000-2001 school year highlights several campus milestones. On the front page, readers learned of Dean of Students Timothy Brooks’ retirement and Delaware Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey’s departure for Notre Dame.
The Review, September 1, 2000, Page A1
At the time, the Perkins parking lot was being transformed into the Perkins Parking Garage—the second garage on campus following the Trabant structure, completed in 1995.
The Review, September 1, 2000, Page A6.
Interestingly, there was an advertisement for digital textbooks. While digital course materials never fully became mainstream, the Library, Museums and Press continues to expand access to Open Educational Resources for today’s students.
The Review, September 1, 2000, Page B6.
In what probably should have been in the first issue of The Review for the semester, but made it into the 4th issue (September 12, 2000), was a Special Pull-Out Section called, “Welcome to the Library.”
A (much) earlier version of the library homepage with a (much) earlier version of what was then called “Netscape Navigator.”
A (much) earlier version of the library homepage with a (much) earlier version of what was then called “Netscape Navigator.”
The Information Room looked quite different 25 years ago, as did the technology used in that area. Journals online with downloadable, printable PDFs of the print text was a new and novel thing. Online databases were becoming more common, a shift from when subscribed databases involved the publisher sending a CD-ROM to the library.
Special Collections were not yet listed in the online card catalog, DelCAT, and users relied (and still rely) on staff-curated finding aids to search those collections. And thanks to Digital Collections, some Special Collections are available via UDSpace and Digital Collections on the Quartex platform.
Looking back even further, we have the October 1, 1925 edition of The Review to kick off the 1925-1926 school year one century ago.
In 1925, the University of Delaware was, essentially, “Men’s College,” as the merger with Women’s College did not happen until after World War II. Nevertheless, The Review reported on events for both Men’s College and Women’s College. And as a much smaller university, The Review was only 4 pages with very few pictures or graphics.
In contrast with the departure of Basketball Coach Brey, 1925 introduced two coaches for both football and basketball.
Equally fascinating is an advertisement from the 1925 issue offering rental cars with the slogan “Drive it yourself.” Considering that automobiles were still relatively new—and culturally significant, as seen in The Great Gatsby—the ad speaks to the rapid assimilation of cars into student life, perhaps targeting those traveling home for the weekend.
The Review, October 1, 1925, Page 4
Across the decades, the beginning of the academic year has consistently brought announcements of campus changes, updates on summer developments, details on where to buy books and supplies, and an array of welcome-back activities. The Review provides this information, and past editions give a decent history of the University of Delaware and its student body, which can all be found on our institutional repository UDSpace.