Inter-Archives Loans and the ARC Network
Did you know you can request archival materials from other University of Wisconsin schools and the Wisconsin Historical Society to be sent to our reading room here at the UWM Archives? Area Research Center (ARC) Transfers allow researchers to access a wide assortment of materials at their nearest member institution. Unfortunately, due to the physical condition and financial value, not all materials are available for transfer, including all AV materials except microfilm. However, this increased access opens up opportunities for researchers to view records that might otherwise be difficult to work with due to distance.
The above cartoons and flyers come from a collection housed at UW-Stevens Point: the League Against Nuclear Dangers (LAND) records, 1973-1994 (Stevens Point Mss BK, Box 3). The cartoons can mostly be found in issues of the organization’s newsletter where they shared the dangers of nuclear power to subscribers. I personally found these cartoons hilarious and unsettling due to their content and delivery. They demonstrate the issues LAND found particularly important, specifically nuclear waste disposal and their opinions of those in the Atomic Energy Commission claiming all was safe for those living around nuclear plants. All joking aside, however, LAND was an impressive and impactful grassroots organization that stopped nuclear power plants from opening in Wisconsin during its existence.
The organization was founded in 1973 by Gertrude Dixon to oppose the construction of a proposed nuclear power plant in Rudolf, WI. Their membership primarily consisted of female homemakers who were concerned with the health and safety risks posed to their families and communities by these power plants. Their aim was to learn all they could about nuclear power and its dangers and then make that information accessible and understandable to the average person. Some members, including Gertrude Dixon and her husband, even published books and other documents on the dangers surrounding nuclear power. After the Wisconsin Public Service Commission canceled their plans for nuclear power plants in the state, LAND shifted its focus to other nuclear issues including radiation exposure in northern Wisconsin and nuclear waste sites proposed in the state.
Included in the collection are newsletters, reference materials, the findings of different studies conducted by and for the group, correspondence, press releases, newspaper clippings regarding both the group and larger nuclear power issues in Wisconsin, as well as flyers and speeches. More specifics regarding the collection’s holdings can be found in its finding aid.
To find materials at other institutions in the ARC Network, visit their individual catalogs or search for finding aids through the Archival Resources of Wisconsin and narrowing your search to a single institution.
Drop us a line at [email protected] or fill out the form on our Inter-Archives Loans page with your desired ARC Network materials and we’ll get the process started.
-Samantha Dickson, Archives Graduate Intern
