Bob Bersson Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
James Madison University
Second Floor Room 203, MSC 1704
Carrier Library
James Madison University
880 Madison Drive
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Tiffany Cole
Phone: (540) 568-3444
Phone: (540) 568-3612
Fax: (540) 568-3405
Restrictions:

Collection open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box#, folder #], Bob Bersson Papers, 1981-2017, SC 0272, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Summary

Extent:
1.22 cubic feet 4 boxes, 3 VHS, 31 audiocassettes, 2 3.5" floppy disks
Creator:
Bersson, Robert and Bersson, Robert
Abstract:
The Bob Bersson Papers, 1981-2017, are comprised of documents and media related to Bersson's work as a community activist in Harrisonburg, and professor of art at James Madison University. It contains Bersson's professional papers, material related to the Citizens for Downtown organization, Taxpayers against Golf Spending (TAGS), WMRA's "Our Little Radio Show," and images of downtown Harrisonburg and JMU Campus.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box#, folder #], Bob Bersson Papers, 1981-2017, SC 0272, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection is comprised of documents and media related to Robert Bersson's work as an art professor at JMU and community organizer in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It is arranged into four series: Citizens for Downtown (CFD) in Harrisonburg, Taxpayers against Golf Spending (TAGS), WMRA "Our Little Radio Show," and Professional Papers.

The Citizens for Downtown files contain meeting minutes, correspondence, financial reports, newspaper clippings, speeches, membership information, advertisements, and slides related to the historic preservation and revitalization of downtown Harrisonburg. A summary of the history of CFD and the Blacks Run clean-up and restoration project, written by Bob Bersson, can be found in Box 1:8.

The series contains 771 slides with images of Harrisonburg, James Madison University, Rockingham County, and other locales in Virginia and the Northeast. Specific locations include images of downtown Harrisonburg, Hillandale Park, Black's Run, Purcell Park, and JMU buildings and campus. One slide container was labelled, "Good Models for Downtown Development," and contained images of Charlottesville, Roanoke, Richmond, Alexandria, among other locales. Another slide case was labelled, JMU Architecture, 1909-2003.

The series also contains three VHS tapes with interviews of Bersson related to Harrisonburg downtown revitalization, as well as two 3.5 inch floppy discs labelled, "Citizens for Downtown."

The box contains 781 slides with images taken by and compiled by Bob Bersson. The slides depict buildings in downtown Harrisonburg; the Blacks Run River area; Hillendale Park, Harrisonburg; JMU campus and buildings; Bridgewater, Dayton, Citizens for Downtown activities; and various historic districts in northern Virginia, Charlottesville, Boston, Maryland, and other locales. A complete inventory of the slides is available upon request.

TAGS is comprised reports, memos, maps, studies, advertisements, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and audio recordings related to a campaign against the Harrisonburg City Council's plans to build a municipal golf course in the Hillandale Park in Harrisonburg. The organization eventually formed the Citizens of Harrisonburg Advocating New Government for the Electorate (CHANGE) in 2000, who endorsed three candidates for city council -- Dorn Peterson, Carolyn Frank, and Joe Fitzgerald – all of whom were elected in May 2000. Three audiocassettes contain interviews with individuals in 2002 regarding their involvement with TAGS.

The series, "Our Little Radio Show," contains documents and audio recordings related to a variety show co-founded by Bersson in 1987, and hosted at JMU. Audio cassettes with episodes of the show have been digitized and returned to Bersson.

Comprised of photographs of a document with a list of Our Little Radio Show programs and dates, and an image of the article, "Show Prepares for Airwaves: 'Our Little Radio Show' Runs Through its Paces," Daily News Record, March 3, 1987.

Professional Papers contain the papers and media created by Bersson during his tenure as a professor of Art at James Madison University. There are two folders contain documents related to significant and controversial restructuring under the Carrier Administration in 1993. Files include comments made by President Carrier during a JMU Faculty Senate Meeting in October 14, 1993, as well as other articles and reports related to faculty governance and structure.

Biographical / historical:

Bob Bersson was a professor of Art at James Madison University from 1983 until his retirement in 2003. He taught modern and contemporary art history, art criticism, aesthetics, and art appreciation. He wrote two art history/art appreciation text books: "Worlds of Art," published by Mayfield in 1991, and "Responding to Art," published by McGraw-Hill in 2004. Bersson founded the Interfaith Initiative for Peace and Justice in Harrisonburg, and remains active in local interfaith activities. In 2016, Bersson served as visiting Jewish Scholar for the Center for Interfaith Engagement at Eastern Mennonite University.

Acquisition information:
Items were donated by Bob Bersson in five separate accessions between 2014 and 2018.
Processing information:

Duplicate copies of materials were discarded. Newspaper clippings related to the JMU Faculty and restructuring were returned to donor. A large number of 3.5 inch floppy discs and zip discs which contain drafts of Bersson's two books, "Worlds of Art," published by Mayfield Publishing Company in 1991, and "Responding to Art: Form, Content and Context," published by McGraw Hill in 2003, as well as other academic work, were returned to the donor.

Cassette tapes containing WMRA recordings of "Our Little Radio Show" were digitized and returned to the donor. In January 2019, 770+ slides from Series 1: Citizens for Downtown (CFD), 1989-2017 were inventoried, photographed, and rehoused. The original slide cases, slide boxes, and slide carousels were photographed and discarded.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into four series. Series 1 is arranged further into subseries.

  1. Citizens for Downtown (CFD), 1989-2017
  2. Taxpayers against Golf Spending (TAGS), 1992-2002
  3. WMRA "Our Little Radio Show," 1987-1988
  4. Professional Papers, 1991-2004

Arranged into two subseries: Administrative Files, 1989-2017, arranged chronologically, and Subject Files, 1989-2017, arranged alphabetically.

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard