The 2022-2023 annual report from Augustana College\u27s Special Collections

Special Collections, Thomas Tredway Library, Augustana College

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Augustana College, Illinois: Augustana Digital Commons

Augustana College Augustana Digital Commons Annual Reports Tredway Library 2023 Special Collections 2022-2023 Annual Report Special Collections, Thomas Tredway Library, Augustana College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/annualreports Recommended Citation Special Collections, Thomas Tredway Library, Augustana College. "Special Collections 2022-2023 Annual Report" (2023). Annual Reports. https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/annualreports/3 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Tredway Library at Augustana Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Annual Reports by an authorized administrator of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@augustana.edu. Special Collections2022-2023 Annual ReportPrepared by Micaela Terronez, Special Collections LibrarianJune 2023Purpose of Special CollectionsSpecial Collections consists of Augustana's collections of rare books and manuscripts, as well asthe college archives. The primary mission of Special Collections is to collect, preserve, and makeavailable materials which serve the teaching and research needs of Augustana College and thelocal community. Materials in Special Collections support the Augustana College curriculum andassist in faculty teaching and student learning. Materials also further the research of Augustanastudents, faculty, and staff, independent researchers, and the general public. Special Collectionsattempts to support and foster intellectual curiosity and provides an opportunity for users todevelop rhetorical and critical thinking skills, cultural stewardship, empathy and engagementwith materials, and acceptance of ambiguity through interactions with primary materials.In addition to its functions as a teaching and research facility, Special Collections hostsexhibitions on a rotating basis. These exhibitions are prepared by library staff and feature avariety of materials from the collections; visitors are welcome to view the exhibitions duringopen hours.FROM THE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARIANSpecial Collections is a place like no other on campus. Where else can you find a medievalmanuscript, a clay tablet from 2000 BCE, or some of the earliest photographs of the Augustanacampus? Despite the unquestionable variety of materials available, it is the connections andencounters with students, faculty, staff, and community members that make Special Collectionsa space for exploration and research. From social media posts to a three-week course in archivalresearch, I saw the greater impact of patrons learning about how to locate, access, andimplement primary sources within their own endeavors.As we end the 2022-2023 academic year, I am especially grateful to the Special Collections staffand library workers that provide much of the behind-the-scenes work for the department. Our2022-2023 Annual Report highlights our major projects within engagement and developmentfrom the past year.1STAFF AND VOLUNTEERSMicaela Terronez, Special Collections LibrarianHarrison Phillis, Special Collections AssistantStudent workers: Cait Duffy ‘23, Stephanie Carreno ‘23, Madeline Kusar ‘24, and Allie Rial ‘26Support staff: Taylor Waugh (Technical Services)Volunteer: Carla TracyINSTRUCTIONSpecial Collections hosted 18 classes this year from a variety of subjects, primarily includingHistory, Art History, English, and First Year Inquiry (FYI). Most classes incorporated the followingobjectives:● Introduction to the space, policies, andcore collections● Familiarity with reading,understanding, and articulatingprimary sources● Awareness of archival silences (orgaps) in historical records andnarrativesStudents in HIST 267 reviewing materials aboutthe Black Power Symposium.HIST 267 Archival ResearchSpecial Collections also welcomed 19 students for a three-week course on archival research andimplementation. The course served as an introduction to the archival resources located withinAugustana College’s Special Collections and other institutions and communities. Studentslearned how to ethically locate, assess, and implement primary sources in their research andcreative projects through readings, hands-on activities, and discussions. Further, studentsdeveloped a critical understanding of the silences and power structures present in culturalheritage institutions.2COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT - BOOKSSpecial Collections focused acquisition efforts on purchasing more items from small presses, aswell as self-published or created materials. The department acquired over 30 new items withthe assistance of the Ernest and Mary Belle Espelie funds. To support outreach and instructionfor this year, most of the items included Black, independent publications, or artists’ books.Highlights● Several publications from Third World Press and Broadside Press, two independent andBlack-owned publishers. Example authors include Dudley Randall, Fred Hord, and AngelaJackson.● A new pop-up book describing ukiyo-e artworks, Hokusai Pop-ups.● Children’s books that primarily highlight Black women authors. Authors include VirginiaHamilton, Eloise Greenfield, and Pearl Bailey.● Fifty Years in Slavery by Harry Smith (1891), a narrative about enslaved life in Kentucky.● Artists’ books by Illinois artists, Ann Tyler and Hannah Batsel.Students from ENGL 275: Introduction to African American Literature examined these selectionsfrom Broadside Press and Third World Press during their visit to Special Collections.3COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT - MANUSCRIPTSSpecial Collections also acquired nearly 20 new items or collections from Augustana affiliatesand community members. These donations to Special Collections serve as resources forunderstanding the history and culture of Augustana and the local community.Highlights● 2022.018 Howard Druckmiller World War II papers: The collection includes minutes andcorrespondence of the Quad City Area War Manpower Committee, as well as a boundvolume of newsletters from the War Price and Rationing Board.● 2022.027 Office of Residential Life records (2022 accession): Includes one COVID-19 carepackage (Fall 2020), 9 scrapbooks from various years (1987-2001), and 1 folder withAugustana Culture House and Eco House ephemera.● 2022.032 Fal E. Wood scrapbook: World War II scrapbook created by Fal E. Wood, aformer Augustana student (1938-1940, 1946). Includes photographs, news clippings,greeting cards, and recommendation letters from Augustana affiliates.Beyond processing new materials into the collections, the department provided further accessto two of the presidential collections: MSS 5 Conrad Bergendoff papers and MSS 6 ClarenceWoodrow Sorensen papers. Both collections included legacy inventories that are unsearchablevia our current collection management system. To provide further access to these materials,Taylor Waugh (Technical Services) reviewed over 200 boxes of archival materials forre-description and provided data entry for each box. The completed inventories are available atthe following links:● MSS 5 Conrad Bergendoff papers (160 boxes)● MSS 6 Clarence Woodrow Sorensen papers (140 boxes)REFERENCE AND VISITORSWe assisted with 190 reference questions over email, by phone, and in person. Students andcommunity members inquired the most about our collections and services. Overall, nearly 470patrons from Augustana and the broader community visited the Reading Room for instruction,research, and engagement. These statistics derive from our patron database and mostlyencompass student visitors. Though most of our non-Augustana affiliate visitors derive fromIowa and Illinois, we also welcomed out-of-state patrons from Texas, Colorado, Maine,Wisconsin, Idaho, Ohio, California, and Kansas.4OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENTFor our off-campus outreach, Special Collections joined the Quad Cities Archives Fair tohighlight our collections and resources. In addition, Micaela Terronez also provided apresentation on Special Collections at the Rock Island Public Library in December 2022.With on-campus engagement, we hosted two events that introduced students and theAugustana community to independently-created publications. In October, Rich Dana, an artistand curator from Iowa City, Iowa, provided a short talk and workshop on DIY, low-cost printingmethods for students in the library. Via the Lang Fellowship matching grant from the Rare BookSchool, students had the opportunity to create their own published materials via mimeographs,hectographs, and spirit duplicators. Several publications from the event are now available viathe Zine Collection and Special Collections. We also acquired a copy of Rich Dana’s popularguide for creating similar works titled, Cheap Copes! (Obsolete Press, Coralville, Iowa).Students created their own publications via two drop-in workshops.5In May, we also hosted an open house that introduced visitors to over 40 new artists’ books inthe collections. Artist books are book-like objects created for artistic expression. Many of thebook acquisitions include topics regarding gender and sexuality, BIPOC experiences, socialactivism, politics, migration, and more.Special Collections welcomed 20 guests to the Artists’ Books Open House.ExhibitionsStudent workers and staff assisted withcurating several exhibitions this year including:● Old Books, Same Problems (ReadingRoom)● Native American Histories (ReadingRoom)● Poetry Book Selections (Reading Room)● Student organization displays (Librarysecond floor)Created by Cait Duffy ‘23, the exhibit “OldBooks, Same Problems” highlighted bannedbooks from the collections.6Social MediaThis year we continued our efforts to become more active on social media. Thanks mostly to thecreativity and writing of student workers, we uploaded several posts describing SpecialCollections resources and collections for the broader public. We also experimented withInstagram stories and videos for sharing some of the most hidden collections in the stacks.Created by Stephanie Carreno ‘23, one of the library’s most-liked Instagram posts described the history ofCasa Latina and Latinx Unidos.STAFF AND VOLUNTEER PROJECTSHere is a glimpse at some of the work that occurs behind the scenes in Special Collections.Harrison Phillis (Special Collections Assistant): Harrison conducted an inventory of theMississippi Valley and Rare Book collections and will complete the inventory for the remainingthree book collections over the summer, along with an inventory of the manuscript collections.He also conducted large digitization projects including a college catalog for a researcher, as wellas the first 7 issues of the Journal of Geoscience Education for the National Association ofGeology Teachers to be used in an online database of the journal that they are assembling.Harrison processed a few collections such as the African Students Association records anddescribed the Augustana College Audiovisual Collection. Continuing projects include7maintaining the vertical files, creating proper enclosures for fragile items, and responding to amyriad of reference and research questions over the phone, by email, and in person.Stephanie Carreno (Student worker): Stephanie served as the primary writer and creator of oursocial media content this year. She also assisted with the final processing of the Latinx Unidosrecords and the data entry of patron records.Cait Duffy (Student worker): Cait helped to build inventories for two collections this year: theCarl Tolpo papers and the Mattie McClane (Kristine Kaiser) papers. She also curated an exhibithighlighting historical copies of banned books.Allie Rial (Student worker): Allie completed an oral history transcription of LizandraGomez-Ramirez discussing her experience with organizing the Our Lady of Guadalupe Tribute.She also helped prepare outreach materials for the Artists’ Books Open House.Madeline Kusar (Student worker): Madeline reviewed and completed an inventory for duplicatematerials in our stacks. In an effort to minimize duplicate copies, she checked on the conditionand number of cataloged materials.Taylor Waugh (Technical Services): In addition to providing better inventories for the Bergendoffand Sorensen papers, Taylor assisted with the re-housing of materials held in these collectionsto new, archival-quality boxes and folders.Carla Tracy (Volunteer): Carla reviewed and inventoried two collections: the Mark Schwiebertpapers and the American Association of University Women records.8

Special Collections 2022-2023 Annual Report

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Special Collections 2022-2023 Annual Report

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