Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Kelly E. Bennett: Apostle of the Smokies

Dr. Kelly E. Bennett (1890-1974) was a pharmacist, prominent civic leader, and political representative for Swain County, North Carolina in the mid-20th century. This exhibit explores Kelly E. Bennett Papers, housed in Appalachian State University's Special Collections Research Center, and Bennett’s role in shaping tourism in Western North Carolina.

Matanya Ophee Collection

Guitarist, publisher, and pilot Matanya Ophee (1932-2017) amassed one of the largest collections of 19th-century guitar music in the world. In May of 2021, Appalachian State University acquired the Ophee Collection through J & J Lubrano Music Antiquarians. Highlights include over five hundred first and early editions of major guitar composers including Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani, Matteo Carcassi, Ferdinando Carulli, and many others, as well as the only complete manuscript of the Dix Etudes by Giulio Regondi, discovered by Ophee in 1987. The collection also includes the personal scores and papers of Argentinian guitarist Doming Prat (1886–1944), as well as a large amount of rare music for the Russian 7-string guitar from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Digital Humanities Lab

The Digital Humanities Lab at Appalachian State University is the home for all digital humanities projects that combine expertise in the humanities disciplines with technological skills and it provides is a visual platform to communicate the innovation in research and scholarship thriving on App State's campus.