Archives as Learning Laboratories: Archival Instruction in the Hornbake Library Letterpress Studio

Abstract

In the Literature & Rare Books department at Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) in Hornbake Library under curator Amber Kohl, I had two primary projects: pre-accessioning a forthcoming collection of letterpress ephemera and planning an instructional event in the Letterpress Studio. Ephemera includes any printed paper items created for specific, temporary purposes, such as event tickets, calendars, invitations, posters, flyers, and similar materials. While designed for short-term use, the creation and collection of these materials preserve a historical record of social and cultural environments that might otherwise be absent from archival records. The nature of my work at SCUA allowed me to simultaneously participate in both collection and creation. This poster focuses primarily on the creation of ephemera in the Letterpress Studio as it relates to archival instruction and experiential learning, historicizes the first academic year of the Studio’s operations, and looks ahead to future goals and outreach opportunities as an archival learning laboratory.