story updated: 11:37 a.m.
It was weird writing this news in third person since I was directly involved, so I’ll announce it in a more regular folk kind of way.
While I worked at LEO Weekly, one of the projects I wanted to complete was getting the University of Louisville Archives and Special Collections together with the Yarmuths to preserve the bound volumes of LEOs they had been producing since the beginning of the paper.
I didn’t get to complete it while I was an active member of the LEO staff, but shortly after my departure, I met with Heather Fox and Aaron Yarmuth to discuss the gift to the University.
Fox, who serves as Oral History Center/Manuscripts archivist and director, and associate professor, had asked me about a donation of LEO to the archive a few years back, but time and a sale of the paper got in the way.
Now, we can announce that the LEO Weekly volumes from 1990 – 2015 (58 bound volumes) are safely in the possession of the archive at UofL, donated by Aaron Yarmuth. The volumes have been catalogued and can be accessed by researchers by making an appointment and visiting the archive in the lower level of the Ekstrom Library. The donation did not involve the current ownership of LEO Weekly or any of the remaining staff. It is a gift directly from the Yarmuths to the university.
Learn more about the collection here: https://archivescatalog.library.louisville.edu/resources/leo-newspapers.
The university announced the acquisition last week in its internal newsletter.
In addition to the physical archive, I have been working with UofL ASC to seek funding for an oral history project related to the history of LEO Weekly in Louisville. Hopefully, more to come about that soon.
“The University of Louisville Archives and Special Collections (ASC) is delighted to preserve the LEO Weekly in perpetuity,” Fox said via email. “The LEO Weekly collection provides a window into an important part of Louisville’s cultural heritage and also documents local journalism, some of which was created before the Internet became part of our daily lives. This collection also complements the LEO Weekly music collection that was donated to us in 2014 with the founding of the Louisville Underground Music Archive. Thanks to Erica and Aaron for saving these volumes and donating them.”
