Skip to content
print page header

The University of Iowa Libraries

Guide to the Pearl Knoop papers

Print this Collection Guide | Email this Collection Guide
Collection Overview
Date Span:1933-1998
Creator:Knoop, Pearl (1905-1998)
Extent:3.25 linear feet.
Collection Number:IWA0379
Repository:Iowa Women's Archives
Summary:Librarian and bird watcher from Marble Rock, Iowa.

Pearl Knoop lived most of her life in Marble Rock, Iowa. She attended Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa) in Cedar Falls and taught in Marble Rock, Iowa, and in South Dakota. She also ran the Marble Rock library and was a correspondent for the Charles City newspaper. Her major hobby was bird watching, and she kept detailed journals of her bird watching activities for over sixty years. Pearl Knoop died on November 25, 1998.

The Pearl Knoop papers date from 1933 to 1998 and measure 3.25 linear feet.  The papers are a record of Knoop's bird watching activities during these years; they also contain weather data from newspaper clippings and a card file of her bird sightings.  The daily bird watching diaries provide some insight into Knoop's daily life, noting where she was and what she was doing when she sighted particular birds.  On April 28, 1937, for example, she wrote, "Came back from Floyd again Monday evening as school closed on account of Scarlet Fever.  Went over to Schwartz' this afternoon, saw two Shrikes on way over. . . .  Clair saw a Franklin Gull today."

Records from 1933-1940 and 1996-1998 are less complete than records from other periods.  The 1967 list contains an article written by Knoop on her bird watching activities for the Charles City Press.  In "Iowa Birds: Aunt Pearl's List," Knoop wrote about how she became interested in bird watching.  "We liked our Baltimore Orioles," she writes.  "Now the AOU [American Ornithologist Union] has changed their names to Northern Orioles.  I didn't approve.

Access: The papers are open for research.

Use: Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The papers (donor no. 541) were donated by Pearl Knoop in 1998.

Preferred Citation: Pearl Knoop papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.

Repository:Iowa Women's Archives
Address:100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:319-335-5068
Curator:Kären Mason
Email:lib-women@uiowa.edu
Website:http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa

Browse by Series:
Series 1: GENERAL

  • Series 1: GENERAL
  • Box 1:
  • Bird lists - 1933-1998
  • Bird lists - 1933-1940
  • Bird lists - 1941-1944
  • Bird lists - 1945-1947
  • Bird lists - 1948-1950
  • Bird lists - 1951
  • Bird lists - 1952
  • Box 2:
  • Bird lists - 1953-1955
  • Bird lists - 1956
  • Bird lists - 1957-1958
  • Bird lists - 1959-1962
  • Bird lists - 1963-1966
  • Bird lists - 1967-1969
  • Box 3:
  • Bird lists - 1970-1972
  • Bird lists - 1973-1975
  • Bird lists - 1976-1978
  • Bird lists - 1979-1981
  • Bird lists - 1982-1985
  • Box 4:
  • Bird lists - 1986-1989
  • Bird lists - 1990-1992
  • Bird lists - 1993-1998
  • Bird lists (condensed) - 1956-1976
  • Iowa birds checklists - 1956, 1982
  • Birds, ducks, and flowers list - 1961-1993
  • Calendar with bird notes [shelved in map case: drawer 2] - 1994
  • Autobiographical sketch: "Iowa Birds: Aunt Pearls List" - 1992
  • Articles collected by Knoop about bird watching - 1982, 1988, 1994
  • Life list of birds sighted - 1933-1993
  • Box 5:
  • Card file: Birds by year - 1933-1960
  • Box 6:
  • Card file: Birds, alphabetical with dates sighted

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.


Personal Names:
Knoop, Pearl, 1905-1998

Dates:
20th century

Topics:
Bird watching
Weather
Birding sites
Birds
Women and animals

Occupations:
Librarians
Bird watchers
Teachers

Geographic Names:
Marble Rock (Iowa)
Iowa

Genre/Form of Materials:
Archives
Personal papers
Memoirs

Browse:
Autobiographical Resources: Diaries, Memoirs and Oral Histories