A new Correctional Photo Archives web site at EKU provides a unique window to America's past and a valuable learning tool for today's corrections and juvenile justice students.

The on-line collection, believed to be the first such effort in the nation, will include over 300 photographs from EKU's photographic archive of correctional and juvenile justice facilities and practices. The web site, www.cpa.eku.edu, was developed through a partnership involving Special Collections and Archives section of EKU Libraries, EKU Department of Corrections and Juvenile Justice Studies, the Training Resource Center and the College of Justice & Safety. The American Correctional Association and Corrections.com also were instrumental in establishing the archive.

The historical photographs of correctional institutions date from as early as 1900. The collection was donated to the University in 1979 by William Bain, an instructor at the Kentucky Bureau of Training and a corrections history buff. Working with the American Correctional Association (ACA) and others, Bain had amassed a collection of 600 photographs and 330 negatives. The images formed the basis of an ACA publication, The American Prison: A Pictorial History.

After an inventory of the collection was completed by Dr. Rhonda Smith, Special Collections and Archives staff, particularly Library Assistant Jackie Couture, worked closely with faculty in the Department of Corrections and Juvenile Justice Studies to develop and launch the web site.

"I'm extremely pleased because this is the future of academia," said EKU Archivist Charles Hay. "We hope it will stimulate additional donations of photographs and that Eastern will be known as a resource for those researching the history of correctional institutions and practices."

All the photographs are organized by topic - instruments of punishment, convict ships, death houses, dining rooms, dormitories, vocational education, sports, women in prison, etc. - and identified where possible.

"We believe this will add to studies in this discipline," said Dr. Bruce Wolford, director of EKU's Training Resource Center and a professor of Corrections and Juvenile Justice Studies. "If there was ever an area where you ought to study history, it's corrections, and this will help document and preserve an important piece of history. We see it as a supplement to our regular
academic program."

Dr. Kevin Minor, chair of the Department of Corrections and Juvenile Justice Studies, explained: "Prison architecture is the crux of everything else you do in an institution. You need to understand where a field has been to understand where it's at today. This is a great way to teach history."

The web site allows visitors to communicate with Archives staff and includes links to American Correctional Association publications and related corrections and justice organizations.

For more information about the site or EKU's Department of Corrections and Juvenile Justice Studies, call 859-622-1155.

Contact: Charles Hay at 859-622-1792, Dr. Bruce Wolford at 859-622-1498 or Dr. Kevin Minor at 859-622-1155.