Thanks to a series of documentary segments captured by a three-person C-SPAN crew in April, an international television audience will have the opportunity this weekend to learn about Eugene’s history, get to know some of the personalities that have shaped it, and explore the community’s literary scene.

A number of the C-SPAN Cities Tour segments will highlight materials from the UO Libraries Special Collections and University Archives. Manuscript Librarian Linda Long and Solari University Historian and Archivist Jennifer O’Neal  are featured on screen. Also featured are Horn Chair in English and American Literature Mark Whalan, author of “The Great War and the Culture of the New Negro”; history professor James Mohr, author of “Licensed to Practice: The Supreme Court Defines the American Medical Profession”; English professor Gordon Sayre, a member of the Oregon Rare Books Initiative; and Dennis Jenkins, a research associate with the Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

“We like to spread the word about the collections to the widest audience possible so people know they can come here to use these materials,” Long said.

“We are extremely pleased for this opportunity to showcase our incredibly strong holdings on Oregon’s history and its people,” noted David de Lorenzo, the Giustina Director of Special Collections and University Archives. “We were also thrilled to have our curators speak about this rich history and the place of the UO archives in the making of this historical narrative.”

Other CSPAN Cities Tour in Eugene segments include features on Bill Bowerman, legendary UO alumnus Ken Kesey, prolific trail guide writer William Sullivan and author Danuta Pfeiffer’s “Chiseled: A Memoir of Identity, Duplicity, and Divine Wine.”

“Maybe it’s something in the water, but the Eugene-Springfield area is full of gifted writers,” said Andrew Bonamici, the library’s associate dean of strategic initiatives and program development. “The UO Libraries plays a vital role in supporting writers and researchers in their work, and preserving and providing access to literary manuscript collections. It’s a perfect circle.”

The individual segments on Eugene will run throughout the weekend of June 3-4. All of the respective programs will be shown together during the regular Book TV feature on C-SPAN2, airing on Comcast Channel 25, and on American History TV, a block of programming that airs on C-SPAN3, Comcast Channel 106. After they air, the segements also will be made available to view at the C-SPAN Cities Tour homepage.