Libraries to Offer Archival Workshops for Graduate Students Tuesday

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The University Libraries Special Collections Division will host two archival workshops for graduate students Tuesday, Aug. 30, in Mullins Library room 463. These sessions are offered at no cost to attendees, and lunch will be provided during each session. Registration is required for each session. 

The first session, Intro to Research in Archives, will be held from noon to 1 p.m. It will provide an overview of tools and strategies used in archival research, including discussions of how best to plan visits to archives. This session will focus on graduate-level archival research, but upper-level undergraduate students interested in archival research are welcome to register, as well. 

The second session, Finding Primary Sources Online for Research and Teaching, will be held from 1:30-2:30 p.m. Attendees will learn how to use a variety of online tools and databases to find primary sources pertinent to their research. This session will cover how to search for primary sources online, as well as how to think critically about the differences between digitized items and original primary sources.  Attendees will be given an overview of resources from the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Digital Public Library of America, World Digital Library, HathiTrust and ArchiveGrid. As with the first session, upper-level undergraduate students interested in archival research are welcome to register, as well. 

"Archives are an important component of preserving the historical and cultural record of the past," said Kara Flynn, education and engagement archivist. "They tell stories of individuals, families and communities, and they help us not only understand the past, but help us to create meaning in the present. Understanding how to do research in archives and read archival records is especially helpful for students in a broad range of disciplines, from politics, to architecture, to history. Incorporating these primary sources (i.e. first-hand accounts) into teaching helps bring the past to life for students and builds critical thinking skills in the classroom."