WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 I am co-presenting with Harrison, with special collections, librarian and university archivist at Indiana, University of Pennsylvania. I am Laura Vetar, and I. 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:07.000 And I have served as archivist for aiscal high School in Alexandria, Virginia, since 2,001 piscal high School is also known as Episcopal ehs. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:17.000 Or the high school, prior to joining Episcopal. 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:25.000 I was with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, as well as the text on Museum for me. 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:32.000 One of the joys of working in a school environment is the opportunity to collaborate, to support compelling projects for our students. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:39.000 This work would not be possible without the support of our faculty and the school. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:47.000 For Piscal. The archive serves as the institutional repository for materials related to the history of Ehs. 00:00:47.000 --> 00:01:09.000 As such we collect those materials generated by the activities of school life, as well as accepting donations of materials directly connected to a student or teachers' experience at ehs such as correspondence between a student and his family or scrapbooks and gaging with our students, not only supports. 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:17.000 their learning, but also informs my collecting decisions by helping me understand the rhythms of life at the school. 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:28.000 And its changes over time, since most folks, even some affiliated with Episcopal High School, are surprised to learn that we have an archivist on staff. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:32.000 I decided to start with some background about the history of our school. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:36.000 Our collection. Obviously documents, the history of our institution. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:57.000 But in doing so also serves as a resource on early education in America we were founded in 1839 and we're under the governance of the Virginia Theological Seminary until 1923, which means some of our early institutional records such as border trustee minutes are held by this 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:11.000 neighboring repository. At the time. Educational opportunities and the Commonwealth of Virginia were limited, and the leaders of Ets were concerned that students were not sufficiently prepared to pursue seminary education. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:21.000 So there was some self-interest, and the decision to establish A and the early years was not uncommon for students to matriculate to the seminary straight from Ehs. 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:30.000 But over time, the focus of each individual diverge to the point that a force made independent of the seminary in 1923 a Pisc. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:39.000 Will serve the planter class, and in its early days was very much a Southern school with most of the student body hailing from Virginia and North Carolina. 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:45.000 Although some students came from as far away as Louisiana. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:51.000 A piscal high school, played a formative role in the early development of American education. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:03:13.000 For example, lance a school school from 1870 to 1913, Lanceop Blackford made trips to England during the summers to learn from the practices of British boarding schools, such as Eaton and apply them to episcopal one example being athletics, while hardware imagine today prior to the civil war athletics were seen by 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:18.000 educators as an indulgence to be discussouraged, if not our right prohibited. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:22.000 But Lancelot Blackford was an early advocate of sports. 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:30.000 Recognizing their value and burning off youthful energy, and more importantly import it, imparting values of hard work and teamwork. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:40.000 During the early school years. During the early years of Vhs athletics, the only under Scotic teams for football, baseball and track and field. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:45.000 And this football team photo. You may notice how young the boys look, and that's been at the time. 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:49.000 Episcopal did not follow a traditional 4 year. 00:03:49.000 --> 00:04:06.000 Course, a study that we associate with high school, because educational opportunities were so limited at the time we would have boys enrolling as young as the age of 10, with exceptions being made to enroll younger if you had an older siblings school and the baseball team photo it's one 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:20.000 of our earliest photos in our collection photography equipment at the time was so expensive that Federal like this were actually taken in photography, studios, a piscal is early. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:26.000 History actually precedes the establishment of the school as the oldest campus building built by Eliza Park. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:33.000 Custis, law, granddaughter of Martha Washington, and step granddaughter of George Washington. 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:51.000 I found different ways to build interest in our cloud in addition to leveraging our alumni magazine a low-cost way to connect with our alumni and current families, I have developed a series of exhibits to share the history of our school and build interest in our collection my 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:59.000 first exhibit is this, 24 panel, exhibit with a couple of free standing vitrines and Bryan library. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:04.000 The school's original Library and current home to the school's archives. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:22.000 The 6 exhibit is laid out thematically with the thinking that, unlike a traditional museum exhibition, folks are not necessarily in the space to take to take in the entire exhibit, but by taking a thematic approach in Episcopal I mean an individual can read a panel or 2 and get 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:34.000 something out of the experience, and hopefully come back from more. There's always satisfying to hear from our young alumni reflecting on their favorite panelists that they would read while studying in Brian Library. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:51.000 We also have an exhibit in our athletic center, dedicated to the history of sports at Episcopal with 15 cases each dedicated to a sport as well as a touch screen database of our varsity athletic teams and a video my most recent exhibit 00:05:51.000 --> 00:06:03.000 is dedicated to each of the Hs. Heads school from over the years we held a collection of portraits of each of our school heads, but did not have the space to meaningfully display them. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:06.000 With the remodel of an academic building. Several years ago. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:24.000 I recognized the opportunity to hang all the portraits in a single quarter, and as a bonus we have the space to include an interpretive panel for each portrait sharing background, and each individual's tenure and my favorite element a campus view from the relevant time 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:29.000 period, although exhibit projects can be expensive, and a significant time commitment. 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:35.000 I consider these exhibits to be worth it, particularly in light of the outreach they accomplish. 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:43.000 Considering the time and expense of producing exhibits, my strategy is to develop permanent exhibits that can be updated. 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:54.000 For example, with the retirement of a head of school, and using my pieces for the magazine to cover more topical events, such as pandemics and healthcare. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:55.000 As I explained previously in its early years, Episcopal serve the planner class. 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.000 But given our history of enslavement, our repository supports research. 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:19.000 Into the history of enslavement within our institution, and more broadly, we have a historian on staff, who, in addition to teaching, is researching our school's history and enslavement, and our repository is essential to his work. 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:20.000 It is the right thing to do, and there is keen interest in the subject with Nr. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:29.000 Ity, and more broadly, Oscar Payne was an enslaved man, who was hired out to Episcopal by his enslaver. 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:38.000 A local woman named Mary. Date. On the right you can see a page from an Hs. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:42.000 Ledger about documenting the payments made by aiscopals out of school. 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:57.000 On the left you can see the runaway slave ad for Rasca Oscar Paine, that was placed in the Baltimore sun, and 1855 the archives have supported other diversity, equity and inclusion programming including Episcopal's fiftieth 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:02.000 anniversary of integration, which included symposia, and because Mlk. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:14.000 Day is not a school holiday. That day is devoted to Dei programming, which includes workshops for students using our archival holdings of relevance to diverseity. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:21.000 So why support student research? The most obvious reason, of course, is research scales. 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:28.000 But I've found other reasons to support our students in the research. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:49.000 In particular, the enthusiasm that our students bring to to the act of conducting original research, and not only on the enthusiasm about their own projects, but I find that they envyastically support each other's research, for example, last semester a student who is the current 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:52.000 editor-in-chief of the Schoozer Book. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:09:02.000 The whispers, and was researching the history of the student publication would point out relevant photos to a classmate who was researching racial integration. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:18.000 This group of students from last year's digital history class, in which each student divides the semester to taking a deep dive into a topic of interest, shares what they learn with presentations, and the creations of websites toing their research. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:35.000 Hence the name digital history last Falls group was so so supportive in such a tight-knit group, that they even nicknamed themselves The Die High Subgroup, and created an entry for themselves, and this year's edition of the yearbook this work also allows us to share 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:48.000 the history of our school with our students, and as an archivist I am particularly committed to taking advantage of this opportunity to impart proper artifact handling and care with our students. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:57.000 Obviously, we instruct our students in best practices of artifact handling, such as only using pencils and making sure bound volumes are support. 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:03.000 But it is still possible to be surprised, despite our students, best intentions. 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:08.000 One day one of our students came into the research room. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:09.000 I kid, she not carrying a chocolate ice cream? 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:15.000 Cone, and you know, our kids do get very excited for soft. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:20.000 Serve ice cream. And so when he came walking in, I just looked yeah. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:25.000 I looked at him, pointed at the ice cream cone, and said, he'd have to take that outside. 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:37.000 No Mars, now fast, see, you know took the ice cream cone outside, throw it away, and an outside trash can, which I appreciate it, and came right back to start us. Research. 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:54.000 So. My hope is that by the time my colleagues at the university level and counter our students proper artifact handling will be second nature, and, as you can see here, we have our students lead their drinks in a hallway outside the research room. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:59.000 Typically, the first couple sessions students have to be reminded. 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:04.000 But I'd say by the third session, it's normally second nature. 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:12.000 We also see these projects. It's an opportunity for our students to practice and develop their presentation skills. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:30.000 Our faculty. Often have our students present on the findings of their research, and, as a matter of fact, following this session, I will be attending the presentations by students from a history class, who each devoted the semester to to researching a topic, using our archive a holdings 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:35.000 I also do this, so I can introduce students to our profession. 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:40.000 I love being an archivist, and it is an honor to share our profession with our students. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:52.000 The nature of borning school life presents a challenge in terms of hosting interns, is our daily schedule, leaves our students with precious free time. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:59.000 But I have had success in hosting student interns in the summer specifically to help with oral history, cataloging. 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:09.000 I found success, and getting our students up to speak quickly, because they already know our school so well, and they finally interviews to be fascinating. 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:14.000 I also see value in this work in nudging our students beyond their comfort zones. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:21.000 I don't know if any of you have high school students in your lives, either professionally or is your own children. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:26.000 But I have noticed high school students seem to feel a real reluctance to call someone. 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:43.000 They do not know. On the phone. So when relevant to students project, I try to connect the student with an alumnus or former teacher who shares that interest the students in retro projects with oral history interviews that contribute to the historical record while doing something we likely take for granted 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:53.000 initiating a phone call and our alumni and former faculty love, hearing from our current students student research also benefits our institution. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:57.000 For example, last semester. One of our students was researching. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:13.000 Letty paid Evans, a significant benefactor, who is also of interest from a women's history point of view, the students research one form an interpretive garden that the school will be constructing in her honor. 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:14.000 Here are Mike Reynolds, an exceptionally popular Us. 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:27.000 History teacher at a Episcopal, and our school historian introduces his students to the school archives and its resources with an antibiotic. 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:31.000 The vast majority of our Us. History classes engage with our school archives. 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:37.000 Whether it is survey course attending a presentation in our school's history and holdings. 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:44.000 2 research, intensive classes, such as Mics. Class history of Place, ehs for Virginia and DC. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:53.000 And which a student devotes an entire semester to pursuing an area of research, using our materials. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:57.000 The archives, we're not just here for the history department. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:08.000 Not surprisingly, our history department is the heavy issues of our repository, but other departments also use our archival resources in their curriculum. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:25.000 For example, when teaching Jd. Salagers the caption, the Rye, to place context around smoking lounge referenced in the book, one of our English teachers explains that Episcopal also had a smoking launch at the time that went by the name Egypt Egypt 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:31.000 smoking group, Episcopal Smoking group. Egypt was so well established, established. 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:33.000 They even got a page in the yearbook that you can see. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:50.000 I've even collaborated with our Fine Arts department, with our photography teacher and operating old and recent photographs into a series of works commissioned by the school, and we are in the process of developing a lesson about the history of photography which will incorporate everything from 00:14:50.000 --> 00:15:01.000 our earliest daguerreotypes, glass point, negative and panorama panorama images to current digital photography, and the spirit of reaching out to unexpected audiences. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:08.000 I cannot overstate how much fun I had over the years presenting to the third grade class of my children's elementary school. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:13.000 So throw the net wide when it comes to sharing and collaborating. 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:19.000 How does episcopal support student projects? 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:23.000 First and foremost faculty enthusiasm, and buy-in. 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:26.000 The importance of faculty buy, and cannot be overstated. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:39.000 Our students dedicate, valuable class time. Our teachers dedicate viable class time for students to conduct research, and our answers talk of our holdings with zeal. 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:56.000 Block scheduling when most of us were in high school, our classes met 5 times per week for maybe 40 or 50 min each, with the change to blocks sketching it, a basketball, 2 class sessions run for an hour and 15 min per week, in addition to a shorter 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:15.000 session, these longer sessions allow for meaningful blocks of time for conducting research, as we all know, polling returning materials to archival storage takes time, as does getting started for the research researcher, also having a proper research room prior to the archives. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:23.000 Move in 2,010 accommodating student researchers are really any researchers, was challenging with the move to Brian Library. 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:32.000 I now have the space to accommodate an entire classroom students in a centrally located the building. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:33.000 So what topics are our students researching really from the list? 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:48.000 You can see it runs the gamut of particular interest these days is the experience of Asian students at Episcopal. Shortly. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:54.000 We'll see one of my favorite images, which is a circa 19. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:59.000 Struck 1895. Image of students on Dorm, which includes one of our first Chinese students. 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:02.000 So, but our students also have found compelling the buildings. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:27.000 Oh, here we go! Great, thank you. This photo is always fascinated me, because at this time photography was still really expensive, and so the School limited its photography to sports teams and photos of you know, student groups like our student leaders the monitors. 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:56.000 So this photo is really excitedional because its group of students on dorm in their pajamas and front and center is, you'll see, one of our first Chinese students which is compelling to both our Chinese students and their families racial integration has has really become a topic of 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:00.000 strong interest, as well as co-education of student. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.000 Right now, who's researching the dress code? Also the sport of football? 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:09.000 One of our oldest sports offered here. 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:16.000 So this is a circa, 1,900 football helmet worn by an Ehs student. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:29.000 And this object has become incredibly compelling with a growing interest in protecting students from head entries you know, sport of lacrosse enslavement. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:35.000 The rat system, which was actually a formalized system of hazing, which is no longer practice. 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.000 Thank goodness, this is a subject where our students, conducting oral history interviews. 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:49.000 It's been really helpful for rounding out the historic record, because there isn't a lot in the official referendum about the rat system. 00:18:49.000 --> 00:19:10.000 And of course both world wars and the Civil War. Our literary societies, which competed in areas such as debate, public speaking, and also served as libraries for the students in the early years of school, then also the honor Code Piscal is very proud of its honor code. 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.000 and and so our students get very excited to see this. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:28.000 1815, 1857, math. Exam. Which contains our earliest honor, code, reference, and finally, a lot of students come in to conduct research into family history. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:35.000 It's not uncommon for an Episcopal student to be one, and a long line of family members to attend, and our students are often eager to learn about their parents and grandparents. 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:42.000 Experience at School. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:20:03.000 So in addition to traditional research papers, some students publish their projects to the web, using Omega, a web publishing platform for the display of archival materials, the flexibility of this tool enables our students to post a wide variety of materials including audio and video feel free to check out some 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:07.000 of our students's projects with this link. 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:13.000 So at a school like ours. It's easy to assume that the way we do things now is how we always have. 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:20.000 But the archives shows our community. This is not necessarily this. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.000 The case with the bond I mean the bonfires. 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:31.000 Perfect example these days the bonfire is a tightly controlled event. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:36.000 Students, no longer build or light the bonfire, presumably for liability reasons. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:41.000 And there's now a heavy fire department presence. But back in the day actually can see. 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:46.000 From this photo the students took the lead and did so. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:53.000 Thanksgiving, thanks, goodness is a week long holiday for a community, but until well into the 1960 S. 00:20:53.000 --> 00:21:01.000 Thanksgiving was not a day, but rather was observed for the half day of classes, followed by Thanksgiving dinner. 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:08.000 The teachers known as masters at time were responsible for carving a turkey for their students. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:18.000 Some teachers approach this with red well, others relish the opportunity to show off their carving skills, even bringing their own carving sets to the dining hall. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:23.000 School dances, while most students today are not familiar with dance cards, they were very much part of school dances in the past. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:30.000 Our final stance, known as Prom elsewhere, was last weekend priority, co-education. 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:36.000 And 1991, the students would usually attend with a date who attended school elsewhere. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:41.000 Today, while some students might attend as a couple with a fellow classmate. 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:46.000 Most students attend is groups of friends, and lastly, the monitors. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:54.000 The monitors are our student leader group. They might be thought of as sequential, like student council at at another school. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:22:07.000 So this is an example of the archives collaborating with our school leadership, including our head of school, by providing background to inform present day decisions. 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:09.000 A few years ago the school was exploring. 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:22.000 I'm changing the structure and number of monitors, and I was able to provide a detailed history of how this group had evolved since the 18 hundreds. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:31.000 So before we wrap up, I'd like to share a recent acquisition that I'm really excited about a circa 1,900 Chinese silver show model. 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:38.000 This object was given to Lanceau Blackford by one of his Chinese students in the from the 18 nineties. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:40.000 Upon that students return to the school as an alumnus to visit Mr. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:57.000 Blackford. This artifact is compelling to me, because it is evidence of the lifelong connections are head of school, formed with the students, and I am excited to see how our students interact with it before handing the presentation off to Harrison. 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:14.000 I should mention that as a great great grandson of Lancelot Blackford, he was instrumental in making this happen, so thank you all for attending our presentation, and and I'd like to share some of the thank you notes. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:29.000 Our students have written, expressing their gratitude for conducting research in the archives, and of course, thank you to Eric, which makes it possible for Lone Rangers like myself to collaborate and exchange ideas for other archivists. 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:44.000 Thank you, especially to my co-presenter, Harrison Wick, for not only serving as the inspiration, but this presentation, but also being a colleague who expands my vision of what the archives can achieve. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:56.000 Thank you, Laura, and good morning, everyone Harrison Wick, and since 2,007 I have been the special collections, librarian and university archivist at Iup. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:02.000 Oh! Which is in Indiana. Padsylvania, the home town of Jimmy Stewart. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:13.000 I wanted to sign more of her, and at a high school for the opportunity to co-present and talk about collaboration and student engagement. 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:31.000 One of the reasons I became an archivist was my family's background in education, and after earning my mls, I if it's funny to think of because I when I think about it, I've always been an archivist, my great Aunt Sally 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:37.000 Bruce, Blackford, Mcclatchy, painstakingly transcribed the journals of her grandfather, Dr. 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:39.000 Lancelot Mineer Blackford, for what he was principal at the Episcopal High School. 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:46.000 So I've I've always known about ehs and and Cyberus went on to earn her Mls. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:54.000 And she was the reason I became an archivist. And this is really been a real. 00:24:54.000 --> 00:25:07.000 It's she is the reason I I have really become very proactive about creating opportunities to collaborate and engage with our students to give you a little bit of background. 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:08.000 The Iup, special collections and university archives encompasses 4 types of collections. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:21.000 We have record groups which are the institutional history of Vup manuscript groups which reflect the primary source. 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:30.000 Documents donated by individuals and groups of businesses, including unions, and often associated with Iup history and regional history. 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:39.000 We also have the Pennsylvania collection in the rare book collection, which features many rare examples of fine printing, including the complete works of Charles Darwin. 00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:49.000 Personally I can't think of a better way to to lead into a proactive discussion than talking with a group of archivists about student engagement and archives. 00:25:49.000 --> 00:26:07.000 But that's just me this year the Iap special collections and university archives has answered more than 1,200 research requests from students, employees, community members at visiting scholars, bibliographic instruction is often the starting point for conversations. With students. 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:16.000 And faculty about larger collaborative projects that have led to significant student engagement. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:22.000 We provide a lot of different activities to our students and the public. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:31.000 This often includes research with primary sources, talking about opportunities that you know, we provide to the public. 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:52.000 Talking about outreach and call, including instruction and exhibits, and I often collaborate with our students and faculty and terms of presentations bibliographic instruction is a starting point, but this often leads to in-depth research and we'll talk more about a different activities 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:58.000 including into the archives, which has been a lot of fun of a new outreach series. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:04.000 We also provide digitization services and preservation advice. 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:09.000 The we have many students who work for us, including interns. 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:11.000 And they have. They come from all walks of life. 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:17.000 It's something that really does keep me young. It really does. 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:26.000 I really appreciate the opportunity to work with our students. We've also in is, in addition to digitization. 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:36.000 We also provide digital access to IP publications and provide records management policies for the university and work with donors as well. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:41.000 This is a photograph of a doctor. Charles Cash, all retired. 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:48.000 Professor Meredith from the History Department, who recently wrote a new history by paying. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:52.000 I want to discuss also the benefits and challenges that I've encountered. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:28:08.000 What completed collaboration for many of us the hardest part has been finding funding for large-scale projects and and at the same time also provide branding and marketing for recognition of the special collections and university archives. 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:18.000 However, I really enjoy working with our students and faculty to bring programming and special collections to the forefront of outreach activities through successful programming and university recognition. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:28.000 The archives has developed further opportunities for collaboration with students, university employees, and the community. 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:33.000 This is like a new initiatives, including the Social justice project that I'll talk about in more detail. 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:44.000 These ideas of open new opportunities for funding, as well, including institutional, state, and Federal grants, to support diversity, equity, and inclusion. 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:51.000 My advice is, do not be disheartened about looking for funding to support your outreach activities. 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:56.000 You just need to plan ahead for the for the expected and the unexpected. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:29:07.000 I wanted to talk to you a little bit about sorry. Wanted to talk to you a little bit about our virtual presentations, and how this has been something that before the pandemic. 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:11.000 I would have thought was very exciting and different. Today, I think we feel a little different. 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:20.000 Of course I have to admit I prefer meeting in person. 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:27.000 But to think about how technology has changed and how we teach, and then can provide information to our students. 00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:34.000 It's remarkable these are just a few of the billboard graphic instruction sessions that I've presented recently. 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:47.000 These have included time, capsules, and we actually came across a time capsule in one of our buildings that was being raised, and these were some of the documents that were found in that time. 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:58.000 Capsule from the 19 seventies. Our students just love this opportunity to learn from students, from our past. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:06.000 Zoom has definitely changed our classroom, especially when it comes to bibliographic instruction over the last 3 years. 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:23.000 But at the same time we're finding students want to meet more in-person since the pandemic recently, I presented to a graduate class in anthropology about voyages of discovery, and this provided a new opportunity to share primary sources that we have in the pennsylvania 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:38.000 collection and our rare book collection, including this 1844 map of the Bay of Tokyo. So our students are always looking for new opportunities to collaborate in person. 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:39.000 I wanted to talk to you a little bit about the into the archives. 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:44.000 This is a special outreach series that we've conducted over the last 4 years. 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:53.000 Now we just had. We're getting ready. We're preparing for our tenth into the archives. 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:58.000 Shakespeare unbound, and this has been a lot of fun. 00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:07.000 These presentations have been on and off campus, including new operations for outreach to our students. 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:14.000 Many of these ideas have been brought to me by, they are developed from our archive. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:22.000 Okay. Collections and are rare book collections, and many of them also are inspired by student ideas and themes. 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:26.000 And it's been a lot of fun to our work with our students on different opportunities. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:34.000 This is a picture from our one of our first into the archives called the Medievalists, and this was this feature. 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:39.000 Original works, as well as facsimiles. 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:58.000 I've also been trying to connect our students with our rare book collections, and I'm really proactive about sharing our resources with our students and faculty in collaboration with the departments of history and English anthropology and sociology I have incorporated instructional bibliographic 00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:10.000 instruction about rare books into courses. It's been a lot of fun, this this project, in particular, focused on Speculative Science Fiction, and we talked about the works of Jules Verne and Hg. Wells. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:24.000 My personal favorites, the Time Machine, and I've I found that our students really want to learn more about the different additions of the same works. 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:36.000 This is brought in new ideas about what we can purchase with a small and down with that was created by one of our one of my predecessors. 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:44.000 One of our most recent new movie that's coming out about the Frank Herbert's dune encourage me to talk about Speculative Science Fiction and how we can. 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:54.000 That can be interpreted on the big screen. And oh, this movies! 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:55.000 I'm sorry this book has been on film at least twice. 00:32:55.000 --> 00:33:07.000 Now, although only one of them was, can be compared in any with any relevance to the book. 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:19.000 It's important to share these examples with our students and talk about the different additions of especially how they evolve from the first edition. 00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:20.000 I wanted to make a special case for the isn't it? 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:25.000 Wellilkinson Green Dining Room, which are the University Archives. 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:30.000 Was asked to. 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:35.000 To provide the a lot of memorabilia to decorate. 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:52.000 Oh, Isabelle Wilson Green was one of our first students to receive an undergraduate degree from the class of 1927, 95 years ago 96 years ago now, and this is been a real neat opportunity for us to also really get out of the 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:57.000 archives, and be able to do presentations in the Usability. 00:33:57.000 --> 00:34:06.000 And it's been a lot of fun too. I wanna point out that the dining room is actually a classroom for a students in hospitality management. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:16.000 And this has been a lot of fun to be able to share with our students Memorabilia, from almost 100 years ago. 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:20.000 This is several events that we've had in the Allen Wood. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:34.000 We had a Victorian lunch there, and that was a lot of fun to plan the menu and have our students present on Victorian literature, and use, especially the works of Charles Dickens. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:41.000 These are my students. Sorry, Megan Cronin and Jordan, Hanson, who helped us. 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:58.000 Work they're working on. They they are working on a collection for the historic costume collection, which is a really neat collaboration with the Department of Fashion Design, and they that includes a wardrobe from the 18 s. 00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:02.000 Back to the 1870 s and we've had several different events there. 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:10.000 The holidays in the tropics was a lot of fun that talked about several different activities that we've done. 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:27.000 But I wanted to mention, this is the works of Charles Darwin that we talked about in the holidays, in the tropics we have Iup has a copy of the Origin of Species, which there were only 1,250 copies printed in the first edition, and 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:29.000 this is the voyage of the Rms. Beagle, Hms. 00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:34.000 Beagle that Darwin was a part of. 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:37.000 This? 00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:38.000 The holidays and the tropics was a real special presentation. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:51.000 It was a whole, a Hawaiian themed lunch with the displays from the historic costume collection, and which is part of fashion, design. 00:35:51.000 --> 00:35:57.000 And we also brought out the first editions of Charles Darwin, and we talked about. 00:35:57.000 --> 00:36:09.000 Oh, my students talked about several other travel narratives as well, and the different examples from the collection. 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:17.000 Into the archives unbound. This is, these are have been activities that have been outside of special collections. 00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:34.000 And it's grown in popularity. It's been a lot of fun to talk about different activities of the one on the left is monsters and mischief, which we had on Halloween a couple of years ago, and we were actually able to purchase because of this 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:50.000 presentation we were able to, with a small endowment we were able to purchase a a book called The Essays on Witchcraft, which was printed in 1720, that is one of the first published accounts of the sale which trials of 16 00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:57.000 92. On the right is the ninth into the archives, which was defined that Define. 00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:16.000 That was this spring, and I was able to bring together faculty and students who talked about world religions, including and rare books, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam Buddhism, Hinduism, and Peganism. 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:25.000 And this special event was a part of the 60'clock series which was brought to has brought a much larger and diverse audience of students and faculty. 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:36.000 This presentation included students collaborating from the departments of English history, biology, computer science, and business. 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:40.000 This fall on coordinating, and into the archives called Shakespeare. 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:48.000 On bound, and that will include students and faculty from the English department who'll discuss their research about William Shakespeare. 00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:51.000 This? 00:37:51.000 --> 00:38:09.000 The Shakespeare unbound presentation has encouraged me to work with our students and faculty to determine which publications we could purchased from our endowment, that with all would really benefit Shakespeare onbound so we were able to purchase the first 00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:16.000 and fourth folios, facsimiles are the first and first sorry first and fourth folios. 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:33.000 That feature. The comedies, histories, and dramas written by William Shakespeare, and I want to point out that so a big part of Outreach has been working with our donors to try to build the William La Francie Endowment that has led to the 00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:39.000 purchase of many rare books that we've used in these presentations. 00:38:39.000 --> 00:38:45.000 I focused on a lot of different student centered projects over the last 15 years. 00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:56.000 But this year I've I've working on 3 different grants at the same time, and I have to tell you 3 is a lot to do in one year. 00:38:56.000 --> 00:39:00.000 The one of the most significant grants I've been working on is the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission. 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:09.000 Hark, grant! Which has been paid for the digitization and transcription of a legacy. 00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:17.000 Oral history, interviews, documenting African American women who worked in the glass industry in Genette, Pennsylvania. 00:39:17.000 --> 00:39:32.000 This grants was very well received by our administration, and they gave us additional funding to digitize and transcribe twice as many interviews as the grant originally paid for. 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:39.000 So this is really provided new opportunities for our students. But I'm very excited about presenting. 00:39:39.000 --> 00:40:01.000 The we received a university grant to inventory this our costume collection, and this is in collaboration with the Fashion design department, and that led to A, our new grant to be able to document the Iup at 1 50 document celebrating our 00:40:01.000 --> 00:40:09.000 sesquicentennial and iup, and that'll include a special display from the historic costume collection. 00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:18.000 I've also worked on very important project to document the Covid experience on campus and in the community. 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:28.000 And this has been an entirely student centered project where students are recording and documenting and transcribing interviews. 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:30.000 And this has also been a lot of fun to work with. 00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:46.000 Our students from very different disciplines talk about possibilities for including research opportunities about the about Covid. 00:40:46.000 --> 00:41:03.000 So, I've worked on a lot of different outreach activities and including marketing and of also worked with art design to come up with ways to incorporate historic photographs like this image on the left that incorporates the Greek steps and 00:41:03.000 --> 00:41:24.000 you'll see the old image and the new image. And I thought this was a really neat way to be able to combine new and old, and in a way help our students connect to students who are here over a hundred years ago, and it's been also very important to explore and find 00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:31.000 and encourage new student projects that are focused on imagery, especially diversity, equity, inclusion. 00:41:31.000 --> 00:41:40.000 And this is focused on legacy collections that were presently my students are actually working on digitizing our our photograph collection, which is quite extensive. 00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:57.000 Over a hundred 50 images, and this has led to new opportunities, to collaborate with our students and faculty, and to talk about how we can incorporate these primary sources into their courses and research interests. 00:41:57.000 --> 00:42:09.000 We have a lot of new collaborations going on, and one of them is talking about a new experiential learning center that'll be a setatellite for special collections in an academic building. 00:42:09.000 --> 00:42:21.000 So we're hopeful. That will take place soon. There's many opportunities for students to create internships, that we have in special collections this has been a lot of fun. 00:42:21.000 --> 00:42:25.000 I've been able to work with our current intern. 00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:44.000 Mckenna Birkin, who is interested in becoming a mortician, and so she's had the opportunity to work on a new archival collection called the Oakland Cemetery Association Papers, and this project is as included creating biographies of Individuals, and Families, of 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:52.000 regional interests who are interred at Oakland Cemetery, and this includes many of the founders of Iup. 00:42:52.000 --> 00:43:08.000 This project was a unique, a collaboration between anthropology and history, and has really been a new opportunity for Mckana to be able to work with primary sources it's been a lot of fun for. 00:43:08.000 --> 00:43:09.000 And our students are working in many different grant projects. 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:19.000 And we're getting hands on experience. 1 one of our students is really working with on the Social justice project. 00:43:19.000 --> 00:43:24.000 I'll talk about that in a second. 00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:34.000 The the Iep Social Justice Project. This was started by Amber Lawrence, and she wanted to work for me and and trying to document our first students, and I thought this was really important. 00:43:34.000 --> 00:43:48.000 This was a great opportunity for us to be able to share with our faculty and students about our first students and it's been a lot of fun. 00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:54.000 I mean. So on the left we have Bianca Parker. 00:43:54.000 --> 00:44:00.000 Attend Indiana State Normal School, which was our school when it started. 00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:16.000 Normal schools were beginning of teacher education, and Helen Dixon graduated the class in 1926, and we have many different photographs and a lot of these projects have really stemmed from looking at our record groups and manuscript groups. 00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:23.000 But also looking at Iup publications, and Lawrence, I'm sorry. 00:44:23.000 --> 00:44:45.000 Amber Lawrence's project has identified over 4,000 examples of diversity, equity, and inclusion in a very short time, so this is a very important project that is also leading to the new digitization of student organizations as well and I want to point out that the social justice project 00:44:45.000 --> 00:45:08.000 is encouraged me to to talk about this in professional development activities, and I recently presented at the National Council for History Education Conference in Salt Lake City, and it was a lot of fun to be able to talk about diversity account Inclusion and finding Primary Sources to support students at faculty. 00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:15.000 It's been a lot of fun to work with our students on a variety of projects, but the the star costume collection. 00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:22.000 It's been a real opportunity to work with the art and design and Fashion design Department. 00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:30.000 And this is encouraged students from different areas to collaborate together and help us organize this collection. 00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.000 And it's also led to multiple grants and exhibits. 00:45:34.000 --> 00:45:40.000 And it'll eventually lead to the IP at 1 50, which will be next. 00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:45.000 But it's been a lot of fun to work with the head of the fashion design program. 00:45:45.000 --> 00:46:05.000 That's Dr. Janet Blood and our students, including a divinity, grace Schultz and Megan Cronin, who have really helped us organize this collection, and the most recent grant has also purchased photo booths to allow us to really photograph and document the 00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:11.000 closeothing and accessories that are part of this important collection. 00:46:11.000 --> 00:46:19.000 I think it's important to talk to you about the how we can engage our students in historic research. 00:46:19.000 --> 00:46:26.000 So the Covid has changed everything, and we went remote for 3 months in 2,020. 00:46:26.000 --> 00:46:34.000 And I. I was asked by faculty to provide examples from how we can do historic research and comparative research to previous pandemics. 00:46:34.000 --> 00:46:45.000 And this include we on campus. We had the the 1918 flu pandemic. 00:46:45.000 --> 00:47:02.000 And this closed our school for 2 months I had the opportunity to work with faculty in history and student affairs and anthropology to incorporate different primary sources into our into their coursework. 00:47:02.000 --> 00:47:05.000 That was remote. For a time. This, isn't it? 00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:17.000 On the right isn't an image of a norm. Our mascot norm is Crimson Hawk, and he's not named Norm because we were originally Indiana Normal School. 00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:25.000 On the left is a that is, a nurses record from that belong to birth to Gary. 00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:34.000 It was a student here in 1918, and she contracted the flu, and this was posted on her dorm room. 00:47:34.000 --> 00:47:47.000 Documenting, COVID-19 has been a very important project since the beginning, so as of now, I've collected over 90 over 91 GB of documentation, including 32 oral history interviews this has been a really interesting project. 00:47:47.000 --> 00:48:09.000 So the we received a. I grant, an an Iup Mini grant to collect oral history interviews with students, faculty and community members alumni, recent alumni. 00:48:09.000 --> 00:48:23.000 And this has been completely student, run project. They interview people, they could transcribe the interviews, and they set up the interviews, and I wanna point out that. 00:48:23.000 --> 00:48:26.000 And my colleague, Laura Venter, mentioned. 00:48:26.000 --> 00:48:37.000 How our students may initially find it challenging to coordinate interviews by calling someone that they have never met or spoken to. 00:48:37.000 --> 00:48:55.000 But our students have really warmed up to the idea, and it's giving them a new calling for being a part of our presentations and collaborating with with our students and be able to talk to Feulty about how we can include this material and courses and assignments 00:48:55.000 --> 00:49:05.000 it's still. It's been very interesting, too. Record the interviews, and have them as part of our archival collections, as well. 00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:11.000 So I continue to learn from our students and about their covid experiences. 00:49:11.000 --> 00:49:12.000 And it's it's really helped. 00:49:12.000 --> 00:49:26.000 Our students to be become better scholars. For example, the idea of like I was mentioning about students contacting people that they had never met by, and to be to interview them. 00:49:26.000 --> 00:49:31.000 Well, that takes a real special extrovert when it comes down to it. 00:49:31.000 --> 00:49:36.000 We have 3 students involved in the Grant project and it's been a lot of fun to see them grow and talk. 00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:44.000 Talk to in contact perfect strangers, people that they had never met. 00:49:44.000 --> 00:49:52.000 Interviews have included the university president, and that, and interviewing the university president that might be considered daunting to some. 00:49:52.000 --> 00:49:59.000 But our students agree that this project has been a rewarding experience that has helped them communicate better. 00:49:59.000 --> 00:50:03.000 And it's something they can put on their resume as well. 00:50:03.000 --> 00:50:15.000 This is also our project to document COVID-19, as also help students identify other students and people to interview about their experiences. 00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:20.000 So the project continues. 00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:28.000 During COVID-19. We've been asked to talk about different projects that are really old ideas for new student projects. 00:50:28.000 --> 00:50:39.000 And I'm reminded of the the diaries of Blueua Johns, who was a an army nurse in 3 Wars. 00:50:39.000 --> 00:50:44.000 She served in World War 2 Korea and Vietnam, and it's been very interesting. 00:50:44.000 --> 00:50:45.000 This project started out as a transcription project. Innovation. 00:50:45.000 --> 00:51:09.000 We digitized all of the interviews to be able to help students work with handwriting and transcription during covid, but also now to be able to communicate the primary resource, and students have actually gotten into projects where they've created their own journals and journaling projects and this is 00:51:09.000 --> 00:51:18.000 something I personally identify with, because I've kept a journal since I was about 10 years old. 00:51:18.000 --> 00:51:21.000 Scrapbooking is also something that's been a lot of fun for our students to work with. 00:51:21.000 --> 00:51:22.000 Especially learning from students, from more than a hundred years ago. 00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:32.000 We have over a hundred scrapbooks, and we've digitized many of them. 00:51:32.000 --> 00:51:43.000 But we've also worked with our students to be able to talk to them about different opportunities, about how they can create scrapbooks about their time here or let's say about Covid. 00:51:43.000 --> 00:51:50.000 And this is also it was very interesting. Students wanted to create video projects. 00:51:50.000 --> 00:52:02.000 And I've collected those as part of the archives as well, and it's included a lot of digitization of primary sources, and it'll be able to compare resources to that. 00:52:02.000 --> 00:52:06.000 They've used in courses. It's been a lot of fun. 00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:13.000 And several of these video projects you can view on Youtube. 00:52:13.000 --> 00:52:23.000 I've had a lot of opportunity to curate in person and virtual exhibits, and with the University Museum and be a part of different activities. 00:52:23.000 --> 00:52:34.000 It's been a lot of fun. I've this has been a real opportunity for our students to participate with the archives and other departments on campus as well. 00:52:34.000 --> 00:52:43.000 The this is an image we use for the Iup history exhibit in 2,012. 00:52:43.000 --> 00:52:49.000 And I wanna point out that the oak grove is a central. 00:52:49.000 --> 00:52:54.000 I called the the exhibit through the oak grove is a central part of campus. 00:52:54.000 --> 00:53:01.000 That's a green space that's existed since the beginning of the 1870. 00:53:01.000 --> 00:53:07.000 S. And it's been a lot of fun to work with our students on projects like this. 00:53:07.000 --> 00:53:08.000 And that leads me to talk about print matters as the selected works of Ed. 00:53:08.000 --> 00:53:20.000 Coker, Ed Coker is a remarkable individual. It's 96 years young he's a world war. 00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:26.000 2. Combat that who was stationed in Italy in 1945. 00:53:26.000 --> 00:53:50.000 He is a retired provost of the Sunni system, and he and his wife, if you Lane Galen, have continued to print limited edition folios at their at the Hay Barn press and their unique combination of poetry and imagery brings together themes international themes of peace 00:53:50.000 --> 00:54:06.000 or for equality and injustice and violence. I use the title, print matters as a play on words, talking about the importance of the printed word, especially when this became a remote exhibit, and working with Ed Coker. 00:54:06.000 --> 00:54:11.000 It's been a real opportunity. I have to tell you. 00:54:11.000 --> 00:54:16.000 This is just one of the examples of poetry and art combined. 00:54:16.000 --> 00:54:22.000 This is from his, their combined and their work with holocaust poet Abraham. 00:54:22.000 --> 00:54:49.000 And beneath the trees, in 2,003. And this is a interesting depiction of how Jewish partisan fighters near the we're forced to break into the ROM press to steal lead plates that were used to print the torah to meltdown to into let bullets so they could be used 00:54:49.000 --> 00:54:53.000 to fight the Nazis and it was a desperate action. 00:54:53.000 --> 00:55:01.000 But this was a very poignant image that I wanted to share with you. 00:55:01.000 --> 00:55:15.000 We have many new opportunities for our students today. And I'm I'm very pleased to say that I work with just the best students, and it just makes me want it. It's this is the reason I became an archivist. 00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:18.000 I have to tell you. They work on so many different projects right now. 00:55:18.000 --> 00:55:21.000 We have a graduate assistantship with our doctoral students in English. 00:55:21.000 --> 00:55:37.000 They provide. They help us with programming for the end of the archives, and this is led to many, many new projects, including the Iep Social justice project. 00:55:37.000 --> 00:55:55.000 And I'm very happy to tell you that this year I've had the work with the most diligent undergraduate graduate students that I have have ever worked with as an archivist, and perhaps it's the result of the pandemic but I 00:55:55.000 --> 00:56:05.000 believe their genuine interest and dedication, and the archival profession is why I work in high education. 00:56:05.000 --> 00:56:10.000 Thank you very much. I appreciate this opportunity, and I wanted to thank. 00:56:10.000 --> 00:56:14.000 For presenting with me. 00:56:14.000 --> 00:56:18.000 Thank you. 00:56:18.000 --> 00:56:29.000 Thank you both so much. We've had a few questions come in already, but if anyone would like to add their questions for Laura or Harrison into the Q. 00:56:29.000 --> 00:56:35.000 And a, we've had a few questions come in already, but if anyone would like to add their questions for Laura or Harrison into the Q. 00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:36.000 Laura did go ahead and answer one of the questions that came in already on the chats. 00:56:36.000 --> 00:56:49.000 I'll just make sure that people see that regarding the collecting of oral histories, so I'll get started with one question, which was for both of you. 00:56:49.000 --> 00:56:53.000 You both talked about oral histories as an important part with your students. 00:56:53.000 --> 00:56:54.000 Are are the students getting training in advance? Are they getting trained in classes? 00:56:54.000 --> 00:57:05.000 What kind of advance training besides them learning to call people on the phones? 00:57:05.000 --> 00:57:10.000 Are they getting? 00:57:10.000 --> 00:57:22.000 I'll start with. It depends on the nature of the interview, like if it's an official oral history interview that's going to be entered into the archives, and we're going to be transcribing it. 00:57:22.000 --> 00:57:25.000 Then then I will sit down with the student and give them training, and some of it is stuff that's like. 00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:55.000 Second, nature for us, but it's really important. And so and when they go to start the interview, I send them with an index card that I print out, and it has 3 instructions turn on the camera state the date and state your name and your interview subjects name and class share you know which 00:57:55.000 --> 00:58:04.000 for us second nature, but I have found that sometimes it doesn't happen, and then I have to go back through the through through. 00:58:04.000 --> 00:58:16.000 Through the paperwork to find out. You know who the interview was with, but if they're just gonna call someone on the phone and it's gonna be kind of a specific call for their project with those you know, we're not necessarily getting them transcribed. 00:58:16.000 --> 00:58:35.000 They're not necessarily being entered into the archives. And so with that, I feel like whatever the student is comfortable with, they've normally exchanged some emails with the person they're calling. 00:58:35.000 --> 00:58:40.000 So. So I tend to stay out of the way for those. 00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:44.000 For me. It's very similar. I've so, for it depends on the project. 00:58:44.000 --> 00:58:53.000 If we are talking about the COVID-19, grant to to collect oral history interviews, we've worked with our oral history faculty member in the history department. 00:58:53.000 --> 00:59:12.000 Dr. Aaron Connell, and she's provided training for our student interviewers, and but we also use training manuals from that. 00:59:12.000 --> 00:59:14.000 She's provided from different oral history interview standards, and that's been very important. 00:59:14.000 --> 00:59:21.000 And I've really enjoyed working with our students. 00:59:21.000 --> 00:59:28.000 So to help them interview people, and also schedule interviews with the We. 00:59:28.000 --> 00:59:35.000 It was very important to try to collect from different, very diverse backgrounds for people. 00:59:35.000 --> 00:59:41.000 We were interviewing. The challenges been that it's also led to more interviews. 00:59:41.000 --> 00:59:45.000 And so it's grown and continues to grow. 00:59:45.000 --> 00:59:56.000 My biggest problem with legacy. Interviews are the media, the technological, obsolete that we've run into with audiocassette tapes, especially. 00:59:56.000 --> 00:59:57.000 That's something that I'm trying to work on. 00:59:57.000 --> 01:00:09.000 The I'm hopeful to digitize and convert all of those to a digital format from the analog. 01:00:09.000 --> 01:00:18.000 Hey! In Laura's presentation it was mentioned that you're educating students on why food and drink are not allowed in the reading room. 01:00:18.000 --> 01:00:19.000 So what other strategies are you both using to reinforce collection, handling? 01:00:19.000 --> 01:00:29.000 Processes and do, are you experiencing any pushback from faculty or students? 01:00:29.000 --> 01:00:37.000 Pushback is really rare, I mean, and in all the years I've been doing this I've only had one student push back. 01:00:37.000 --> 01:00:46.000 And actually, it was this semester. You know, our students are really enthusiastic to work with our holdings. 01:00:46.000 --> 01:00:56.000 And I do you know, in the main library, which is a separate building, students are allowed to bring, you know, drinks in. 01:00:56.000 --> 01:01:15.000 If, it if there's a lid or cap, you know, and I just explained that like, and the Mayor, if you spill your drink, the librarians can order a replacement, they won't be happy about it, but they can do it, whereas you know your you're probably handling. 01:01:15.000 --> 01:01:23.000 the only copy, and you know, and I think so. I think part of it is, you know, our students, in their respect for the work that they're doing, and I also credit our faculty. 01:01:23.000 --> 01:01:31.000 I mean our faculty, they that they put their drinks on the same table as the students do. 01:01:31.000 --> 01:01:36.000 So you know, leading by example. 01:01:36.000 --> 01:01:43.000 That's exactly what we do, too. We have a. 01:01:43.000 --> 01:01:52.000 Shelving, and and we also have a cubby holes for our I'm sorry. 01:01:52.000 --> 01:01:53.000 Yeah, a separate area for drinks and their bags as well. 01:01:53.000 --> 01:02:03.000 Anything that they bring in. They they they can use digital camera. 01:02:03.000 --> 01:02:09.000 Sorry digital camera. That's dating me their phone to take images of the primary sources they're working with. 01:02:09.000 --> 01:02:18.000 I've it's very interesting this semester one of my one of my doctor, who was working with me. 01:02:18.000 --> 01:02:26.000 She. Actually, we had a researcher who came in. And my by ga! 01:02:26.000 --> 01:02:37.000 Came out and said, You can't have that, that that water out, and it was kind of refreshing to not be the one who had to say that to to the student. 01:02:37.000 --> 01:02:46.000 It's very. It's very nice to see our student employees and the people who work here to be able to help help us. 01:02:46.000 --> 01:02:51.000 You know, monitor, that. But but Laura's right. 01:02:51.000 --> 01:02:56.000 A lot of these documents are extremely rare. I mean, they're they can be one of a kind. 01:02:56.000 --> 01:03:03.000 And you still something on that and yeah, it might ruin it. It might destroy it altogether. 01:03:03.000 --> 01:03:13.000 And and it's very different in the main library, which is just outside in stacks. 01:03:13.000 --> 01:03:29.000 So coming out of the pandemic are either of you finding your audience wants more or less digital access to archival exhibits or presentations. 01:03:29.000 --> 01:03:39.000 I mean, I think I think here, you know, and part of this might be the fact that we are all boarding, and you know the relationships are really tight, like. 01:03:39.000 --> 01:04:00.000 Yes, the students have their digital lives, but there is a real enthusiastic for the, you know, say, like Original ledger or you know, photos that I've digitized, and you know, to kind of expedite things for student, you know, I'll just send photos. 01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:04.000 That I've skanned in some cases, but you know, to pull out the original photo. 01:04:04.000 --> 01:04:09.000 There's just such a you know, you would think that I'm pulling out like a you know. 01:04:09.000 --> 01:04:10.000 A piece of like the true cross, or something, you know. 01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:16.000 There is a real enthusiasm for that. 01:04:16.000 --> 01:04:35.000 So, you know, and being all boarding, the students are here on campus. And so and so I feel like there's less less demand for for like a remote or digital experience, even though you know, some of our collections are digitized. 01:04:35.000 --> 01:04:39.000 It's been a very similar experience. So I've it's a bit of a mix for me, I guess I'm finding that our students want digital accesses. 01:04:39.000 --> 01:04:48.000 The faculty and the faculty want. 01:04:48.000 --> 01:04:54.000 Our students to have a more in person experience, and I think our students genuinely want that too. 01:04:54.000 --> 01:04:55.000 But there's a definitely a convenience factor to having a digitized. 01:04:55.000 --> 01:05:04.000 But at the same time I'm hesitant to provide complete digital content. 01:05:04.000 --> 01:05:05.000 Because and this is probably a topic for a whole. 01:05:05.000 --> 01:05:12.000 Another presentation. But you know, for example, with a chat Gtp. 01:05:12.000 --> 01:05:28.000 And other AI, you're really your only opportunity for real interaction with any interference from that is is archival material, primary sources. 01:05:28.000 --> 01:05:33.000 And that's because your faculty can incorporate something that's unique. 01:05:33.000 --> 01:05:37.000 And if you digitize that well, that kind of changes, things. 01:05:37.000 --> 01:05:40.000 But it's it's also something you can't very well create. 01:05:40.000 --> 01:05:43.000 Using a using AI, you have to have them in person to talk about. 01:05:43.000 --> 01:05:44.000 Well use something from the archives, and present on that to me. 01:05:44.000 --> 01:05:58.000 And that's very different experience. And then it's been a lot of fun to to work with our students, both in person and remotely. 01:05:58.000 --> 01:06:07.000 But I have to think I I think they really do want it to be in person. 01:06:07.000 --> 01:06:13.000 Hey? Could you both talk about how you plan your projects? Do other departments or teachers approach you with ideas? 01:06:13.000 --> 01:06:17.000 Or do you come up with an idea and approach a potential collaborator? 01:06:17.000 --> 01:06:25.000 Or is it a little bit of? 01:06:25.000 --> 01:06:29.000 I would say here it's you know. Both are all of the above. 01:06:29.000 --> 01:06:42.000 I feel like some of the best ideas of evolve as as a teacher, and I are talking, for for example, the history of photography lesson. 01:06:42.000 --> 01:06:45.000 I mean, you know I can't say that's something. 01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:58.000 I came up with a independently, but in talking with our photography teacher about our holdings, we, kinda you know, you know, came up with this idea together. 01:06:58.000 --> 01:07:12.000 I have to say that the idea of our English faculty incorporating our materials that would have never occurred to me you know, in that in that case this English teacher came to me, and I was like, oh, that is brilliant. 01:07:12.000 --> 01:07:19.000 So yeah, I'd say it's a mixed bag here. 01:07:19.000 --> 01:07:22.000 I agree for me. It's been. 01:07:22.000 --> 01:07:31.000 I'm very proactive. I love getting the word about the archives of special collections out there, but how many times have we experienced? 01:07:31.000 --> 01:07:35.000 Where are you? Where you're told? Oh, I didn't know. 01:07:35.000 --> 01:07:44.000 We had an archives, I mean. I I've been here for 15 years, and we've had, and archivists officially since 1980. 01:07:44.000 --> 01:08:04.000 And yeah, there's no excuse for but the it's definitely, although I'm excited about getting the word out there, and I do send regular communications to the faculty it's really refreshing to be able to get new ideas from 01:08:04.000 --> 01:08:16.000 our faculty, in our students, to promote different aspects of the special collections it's it's been a lot of fun to be able to work with very different departments. 01:08:16.000 --> 01:08:21.000 English and history are, are our backbone, but anthropology and sociology and fashion design. 01:08:21.000 --> 01:08:28.000 That was something that I I didn't know about until our students start to come to me and talk about the Star costume collection. 01:08:28.000 --> 01:08:38.000 And then I realized that was just be an excellent opportunity to work on with grants. 01:08:38.000 --> 01:08:52.000 And it's been really wonderful to collaborate with our students and faculty and students just have new and fresh ideas that have really led to a lot of opportunities for professional development. 01:08:52.000 --> 01:09:01.000 And grant writing too. They really have. 01:09:01.000 --> 01:09:13.000 So there's been a lot of detailing about student projects inspired creating work with the archive for those that are hosted through Aa or Youtube. 01:09:13.000 --> 01:09:15.000 How are those things owned? So are they owned by the students, or are they being posted through an institutional account? 01:09:15.000 --> 01:09:23.000 Where the ownership kind of changes. 01:09:23.000 --> 01:09:24.000 So in our case it's an institutional account. 01:09:24.000 --> 01:09:30.000 But it's not officially the school account, so a separate account. 01:09:30.000 --> 01:09:43.000 What was created for this? The Hs. historyproject.org as opposed to our domain, say, is episcopal high school.org. 01:09:43.000 --> 01:09:56.000 And so, you know, this is this is something that I feel like we're gonna need to, you know, explore in terms of, you know, what does this mean in terms of say, like copyright? 01:09:56.000 --> 01:10:22.000 And that that type of thing. So I mean, I do know that when when this, when the parents sign the contract for the students to for a student to attend Episcopal, say, like the any copyright, is not retained by the student for say like work that they contribute to the student 01:10:22.000 --> 01:10:31.000 newspaper, or the yearbook, and the school covers that by the contract, in terms of these projects, that that's a good question, and I should probably look into that. 01:10:31.000 --> 01:10:41.000 But but it is helpful, you know. Just this is, I appreciate this getting me to think about. 01:10:41.000 --> 01:10:52.000 Think about that angle, and what tools we might want to use to address that piece. 01:10:52.000 --> 01:11:00.000 We've had a different institutional repositories in the past that frankly, could be quite expensive. 01:11:00.000 --> 01:11:11.000 So the Oral History project we were talking about different ways that we could present that, and we decided on Youtube because it was free, easily accessible to the students. 01:11:11.000 --> 01:11:21.000 So the it is a institutional account. It's all the Iep libraries account, and but it's open to the public. 01:11:21.000 --> 01:11:28.000 It can be accessed through Google. It's wonderful. It's something that I've been using for years for oral history interviews and video interviews. 01:11:28.000 --> 01:11:38.000 But it's been a very interesting to try to get around the idea of a paid. 01:11:38.000 --> 01:11:43.000 So I mean, everyone has different perspective on it. 01:11:43.000 --> 01:11:54.000 I tried to have open access, free, open access if we can, and the biggest problem we run into with an institutional repository is the expense. 01:11:54.000 --> 01:11:55.000 But the we also for the oral history interviews we work with. 01:11:55.000 --> 01:12:01.000 I created a release form, and that makes it much easier to. 01:12:01.000 --> 01:12:12.000 They have to sign off on the idea of presenting or being integrated. 01:12:12.000 --> 01:12:22.000 So we have one final question for you. Both. Do students struggle with reading handwritten records the skill of written script is slowly being lost, and I'm curious if this problem is coming up when working with students. 01:12:22.000 --> 01:12:33.000 If so, what can we do to make records more accessible? 01:12:33.000 --> 01:12:40.000 Well, this is such a great question. So so, my children are. 01:12:40.000 --> 01:12:47.000 I have one in high school and one in college, and I do know that both of them were taught cursive. 01:12:47.000 --> 01:12:56.000 So I kind of. I feel like I'm probably seeing the last few years of students who actually were taught cursive growing up. 01:12:56.000 --> 01:13:17.000 And this I definitely anticipate, this being an issue, we are lucky that the the Blackford diary's, who was ahead of school, you know, like step from 1870 to 1913, as Harrison mentioned, the those were transcribed, and we have a copy 01:13:17.000 --> 01:13:18.000 of that transcription, and that's that's huge. 01:13:18.000 --> 01:13:34.000 We also have this letter books, and that those those are even even now it with kids who like grew up learning cursive, especially, you know, even though Kirstie is cursive. 01:13:34.000 --> 01:13:38.000 It's not all the same. 01:13:38.000 --> 01:13:41.000 Or brings up a good point. I, from an archival point of view. 01:13:41.000 --> 01:13:49.000 It's kind of funny. I I remember my grades, Sally Bruce bringing the original diaries home to transcribe as a summer project. 01:13:49.000 --> 01:14:01.000 Can you imagine just lending out the originals to some to a family member, to transcribe? 01:14:01.000 --> 01:14:14.000 And I find it funny because the the transcriptions and I have a copy of those transcribed diaries, the there definitely an improvement over the headwritten once because Dr. Blackford's handwriting was atrocious. 01:14:14.000 --> 01:14:23.000 At best, I mean compared to some. It's quite legible, but it's just one example. 01:14:23.000 --> 01:14:29.000 I mean, we found that with our with our projects, our students are. 01:14:29.000 --> 01:14:34.000 It's a struggle, it is so. There was a point when handwriting was taught. 01:14:34.000 --> 01:14:42.000 I mean cursive was taught in schools, and nowadays it's it's not, it isn't so much, although I think they've reintroduced it. 01:14:42.000 --> 01:14:59.000 And it's kind of funny to think about our I've I've seen it with our own students that they are challenged by the idea of reading cursive handwriting on primary source documents and with the journaling project especially that was a real challenge for them 01:14:59.000 --> 01:15:03.000 because those many of those have not been transcribed like like Dr. 01:15:03.000 --> 01:15:09.000 Blackford's diaries, and it's it's a real blessing to have a transcription of something. 01:15:09.000 --> 01:15:18.000 But at the same time I like the idea of challenging them to be able to read the cursive, because that's a lost art. 01:15:18.000 --> 01:15:26.000 It really is especially decent headwriting, because my own is pretty bad. 01:15:26.000 --> 01:15:27.000 Well, I would like to thank you both so much for this presentation. 01:15:27.000 --> 01:15:34.000 A lot to think about and think about how to bring this back to our own archives. 01:15:34.000 --> 01:15:47.000 So for all of our attendees there is a short break, and then there is one final vendors, session, but otherwise thank you so much for attending the Marax spring, 2023. 01:15:47.000 --> 01:15:51.000 Virtual conference, and we look forward to hearing what you all have to say about the conference, and thank you again to our present. 01:15:51.000 --> 01:15:58.000 Our presenters for a great, for great presentations. 01:15:58.000 --> 01:16:01.000 Thank you. Thank you, Laura. 01:16:01.000 --> 01:16:07.000 Yeah, thank thank you. All this has been great.