2016 Conference
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11213/8546
Presentations and materials from “Opening Doors to Collaboration, Outreach and Diversity,” the 57th Annual RBMS Conference, Coral Gables, FL, June 21-24, 2016.
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Open Access Wish You Were Here! Encouraging Self-Directed Undergraduate Use of Special Collections(2016-06) Hardman, Emilie; Miller, Kelly E.; Goffin, Jordan; Cole, Heather“Wish you were here!” extends postcard sentiment into action, exploring ways in which special collections can create invitational programs and policies directed at undergraduates. Using examples from three academic and public libraries, the challenges and rewards of cultivating a culture of welcoming undergraduates beyond the classroom will be considered. The panel will detail practical steps in program and policy creation, explore some philosophical underpinnings, and articulate the value-added opportunities embedded in support of undergraduate engagement.Item Open Access Whose History Is It Anyway? Diversity and Outreach by Miami-Area Collections(2016-06) Small, Curtis; Norlin, Elaina; Silvera, Althea; Skokan, Béatrice Colastin; Méndez, MeiyoletSpeakers will share reflections and advice on developing community-oriented partnerships. A librarian from the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University will discuss a project that enlisted community participation to digitize large amounts of genealogical information and create virtual family trees. The director of the African American Research Library and Cultural Center will talk about working with local residents to create an exhibition celebrating African Americans in 1940s Fort Lauderdale. A librarian from University of Miami Special Collections will discuss collaborating with the University’s Office of Community and Civic Engagement to document Miami’s affordable housing history. An archivist will explain issues involved with two oral history projects facilitated by the Cuban Heritage Collection at University of Miami, one documenting activities of a Cuban dissident group.Item Open Access The View from the Director’s Desk: Managing Soft Skills in Special Collections(2016-06) Dean, Jason; Irwin, Rebekah; Keith, Brian; Whiteman, DeborahBeyond professional knowledge and training (or “hard skills”), hiring managers look for “soft skills” in their employees – the “emotional intelligence quotient” factors such as communication skills, self-management skills, and interpersonal skills which contribute to a professional’s success but aren’t necessarily taught in graduate school. This seminar will bring together 4 seasoned professionals for a discussion about soft skills that librarians, curators, and archivists need to be successful throughout their careers, and the supervisor’s role in promoting and developing soft skills amongst staff. Participants will learn to better identify soft skills which they can develop throughout their careers, gain valuable insights into the art of managing special collections professionals, and receive direction on how to pursue further education and training in emotional intelligence and/or management.Item Open Access Succession Planning for Rare Materials Cataloging(2016-06) Isaac, Linda; Barrett, Colleen; Dekydtspotter, Lori L.; Leslie, Deborah J.As the “baby boomer” generation of catalogers begins to retire, a wealth of deep knowledge and experience in rare materials cataloging is at risk of being lost. What are institutions doing now to make sure the needed expertise is being passed on to the next generations? What metrics are needed to make the case to administrators to fill vacated positions? How will smaller institutions that may not even have a full-time rare materials cataloger cope? What skill set is needed for a 21st century cataloger? The session will feature three speakers, offering a variety of perspectives: an instructor of rare materials cataloging, an administrator in a special collections cataloging department, and a working rare materials cataloger.Item Open Access Special Collections Security for the 21st Century: Trends, Tools, and Techniques(2016-06) Inman, Michael; Lowe, Jennifer J.; Fitzgerald, Moira; Cordes, Ellen R.This seminar will educate attendees about recent updates to the RBMS Security Guidelines. Topics to be covered will include security measures at small institutions, security practices in classroom settings, and the use of security audit tools. Panelists will focus their presentations through the lens of the updated Guidelines, with the aim of imparting knowledge, best practices, and skills that can be implemented in a range of diverse special collections settings.Item Open Access Linked Data Consumption for the Rare Materials Librarian: An Introduction and How-To(2016-06) Tims, Amy; Geiger, Brian K.; Billey, Amber; O'Dell, Allison JaiThe English Short Title Catalog (ESTC) and the RBMS Controlled Vocabularies for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloging (RBMS-CV) are now published as Linked Data. What does this mean? And how can Linked Data formats empower the RBMS community to improve workflows, bolster discovery, and enhance research? This educational seminar will provide an overview of each publication and the benefits of its new data format, followed by practical (and accessible!) instruction for working with these publications as Linked Data. Examples will include cataloger tasks (e.g., linking to an external authority resource, ingesting contextual information), curatorial tasks (e.g., uncovering related material and collections, building connections and stories via raw data), and user tasks (e.g., discovering special collections material in search engines).Item Open Access Experiences with Diversity Initiatives: IMLS-RBS Fellows Speak(2016-06) Grob, Julie; Gabriel, Jamillah R.; Benda, Yuh-Fen; Allison, Sarah M.For decades, Rare Book School (RBS) and RBMS have fostered the professional growth and career development of special collections professionals. In an effort to support diversity within special collections, the IMLS-RBS Fellowship for Early-Career Librarians was developed, with the first cohort awarded in 2015. While the program was open to applicants from any racial and ethnic background, special emphasis was placed on the recruitment of those who belong to underrepresented communities in the field of rare books and special collections, or who served underrepresented populations. This session features IMLS-RBS fellows who will detail their experiences while in the program. It will also explore the necessity of diversity initiatives within librarianship, how these initiatives are discovered, and considerations for organizations who are considering implementing similar programs.Item Open Access Common Sense, Charm, and a Glass of Wine: Successfully Navigating Donor Relations in Special Collections(2016-06) Hawley, E. Haven; Micham, Laura; Whittaker, BethLibrarians working with special collections often find themselves thrust into working with donors, with little to no experience or preparation. This seminar will feature insights, strategies, real world examples, and food for thought from two special collections professionals with significant responsibilities for donor relations.Item Open Access Book Collecting Contests as Outreach: Cultivating the Next Generation of Collectors and Donors(2016-06) Thomson, John; Holzenberg, Eric; Schreyer, Alice; Green, DarylThis seminar will focus on the ways in which book collecting contests serve as outreach tools, educational opportunities, donor relations events, and a means to cultivate the next generation of collectors. Learn about college and university book collecting contests and the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest (NCBCC) and how to start or improve a contest at your own institution. The presenters will represent a range of perspectives on college and university contests and on the NCBCC and will describe their promotion and administration.Item Open Access Balancing the Sacred(2016-06) Richardson, Leah; Vargas-Betancourt, Margarita; Reboussin, Daniel A.; Santamaría-Wheeler, LourdesSpecial Collections librarians and archivists make concerted efforts to make our spaces welcoming and remove perceived barriers to use. The day-to-day research that takes place in our reading rooms is highly personal and can be in fact sacred to many users. At the same time the idea of sacred carries with it ideas about restrictions and limitations that run counter to our professional commitments. This panel will discuss how we as a profession can make space that honors the human record and the sacred while simultaneously creating openness in the reading room. This lively discussion will help those who currently work with sacred materials and those who are interested in this topic explore the implications these materials have on broader issues of access and use.Item Open Access Plenary 1: Open the Door to a More Diverse and Collaborative Future(2016-06) Jackson, Athena; Puente, Mark; Ortiz, Paul; Caswell, MichelleThe boundaries of special collections and archives are fluid; they not only document our shared cultural heritage, they are integrally shaped by the cultural circumstances in which they exist. We must open our doors and our minds to find ways to continually engage in productive conversations. Speakers will share with us the importance of being culturally literate to allow dynamic collaborative partnerships and outreach endeavors, as well as help us imagine new possibilities for increasing continued diversity within our profession.Item Open Access Plenary 3: Collaborating with Diverse Communities(2016-06) Reyes-Escudero, Verónica; Dooling, Maria R. Estorino; Williford, ChristaOnce communities know about you through outreach efforts, collaborations and partnerships can be created. This plenary session is intended to serve as a venue in which the special collections community can have productive conversations about its potential engagement with a broader range of cultural materials than it might traditionally.Item Open Access Plenary 2: A Broad and Deep Look at Outreach(2016-06) Dowell, Erika; Werner, Sarah; Irmscher, Christoph; McDaniels, Pellom, IIIThis session seeks to demonstrate the myriad ways special collections and archives can engage and interact with multiple constituencies. The communities and cultures in which institutions are situated strongly influence what is collected, how resources are described, and how materials are accessed and used. Speakers will share with us new methods by which we communicate and the infrastructures we create to elicit productive conversations about engagement with a broader range of communities and cultural materials than we might traditionally.Item Open Access Transgressing the Norm: Community Archives, Activism and Human Rights(2016-06) Karlan, Jocelyn; Cifor, Marika; Hubbard, Melissa; Ramirez, Mario H."Archives, Action, AIDS: Archival Collaborations with Visual AIDS": This paper examines a series of archival collaborations between activists, artists, and archivists with Visual AIDS, a community-based arts organization committed to raising AIDS awareness by producing and presenting visual art projects, exhibitions, assisting artists living with HIV/AIDS, and preserving artists’ legacies, at their center. I argue that records of AIDS activism from the 1980s and 1990s form an important yet underexplored arena in which study archival collaboration and coalition, as well the use and reuse of records in contemporary activism, exhibitions, and visual art. These collaborations speak significantly to how archives construct, reflect, and contest cultural memory, political goals, lived and felt experiences, and bear witness to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.; "Archives Power to the People: Documenting Police Violence in Cleveland": This presentation will trace the origins of A People’s Archive of Police Violence in Cleveland and situate the archive within the context of contemporary U.S. freedom movements opposing state violence. The creation of this archive serves as a potential path for the continued growth of post-institutional, community-based archives in the United States. The establishment and sustainability of these “people’s archives” are essential not only for the diversity of the historical record but also for promoting accountability in a democratic society through empowerment of marginalized communities. By detailing first-hand experience with the establishment of a people’s archive, this presentation contributes to ongoing dialogue on questions of archival activism, social justice, and human rights.; "Diasporic Interventions: Human Rights, Civil War and the Archives of El Rescate": This paper focuses on the human rights archives of El Rescate, a community based organization in Los Angeles. Founded by refugees from the Salvadoran civil war in 1981, El Rescate and its Human Rights Department were instrumental in compiling the “Index of Accountability,” a source document on human rights violations committed during the conflict that was key to the work of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador. Besides providing background on El Rescate and its efforts to preserve and make available its materials, this paper will also discuss the organization’s role in maintaining the memory of the conflict and the importance of its collection in light of diminished access to parallel resources in El Salvador.Item Open Access Outreach and Instruction(2016-06) Palmer, Philip; Hansen, Kelli; Needham, Jennifer; Haas, Jeanann; Ross, Bill; Youngblood, Joshua"Gathering STEAM through Collaboration: Science Outreach from Special Collections": This presentation is a case study of an ongoing collaboration between Special Collections and the university’s scientific communities. Grounded in the STEAM approach, which integrates the arts and humanities into science education, Special Collections mounts a yearly exhibition aimed at making scientific concepts accessible to a general audience. In conjunction with a campus-wide symposium, we work closely with faculty and staff in the biological and social sciences to determine the exhibition theme, inform our selection of materials, and develop public programming. Collaborating with practicing scientists in this way has become a form of mutual outreach, challenging each group to learn about new topics, interact with new communities, and think about science and history from new perspectives.; "Driving Intellectual Curiosity: Archival Scholars Research Awards at the University of Pittsburgh": This presentation highlights the implementation of the Archival Scholars Research Awards program in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Encouraging students to engage with rare materials, awardees work with faculty to develop independent research projects that draw upon resources in the University of Pittsburgh’s archives and special collections. Students receive archival training from librarians, archivists, and curators, attend workshops, and participate in an end of term presentation. This training is intended to supplement the student’s independent research and provide them with an opportunity to grow as a student while at the same time increasing the discoverability of collections. These awards drive intellectual curiosity and give undergraduate students an outlet for their creativity while providing a foundation in rare books and manuscripts research.; "Class-sourcing: The Promise and Challenges of Managing Student-generated Digital Content": This case study describes a pilot project that shifted the transcription and annotation of primary sources to students in a history class. The process required selling the idea to a senior faculty member, navigating institutional bureaucracy, and gaining support from other departments in the library. It required crafting the assignment and instructions for students, hiring a graduate assistant to provide support, teaching and coaching students in the class, and managing all aspects of the project. The project achieved the goal of generating online content, while providing guidance for using this kind of assignment in future classes. Student response to the assignment was largely positive, yet work to complete the project was greater than anticipated. The results highlight the need for careful planning and flexibility.; "Treasures in Our Backyard: Bringing Special Collections to K-12 Learning Environments": Special collections libraries have rich and widely diverse resources for K-12 teachers and students interested in moving beyond the constraints of their textbooks, formal curricula, and web browsing. Those resources can be invaluable tools for younger students who want to delve deeper into subject matter while honing advanced research skills. From organizational records and manuscripts, to photographs, fine art, and maps, along with rare or curated secondary material and digital collections, special collections have the potential to open a world of knowledge and information literacy to students. By taking ourselves out of the reading room and closed stacks and sharing skills, special collections professionals can provide essential services beyond preservation and access to our other community “treasures”: students developing their ability to learn.Item Open Access “I Want Your Job”: Collaborative Approaches to Teaching Library School Students(2016-06) Leaman, Kristin Browning; Meyers, Melanie J.; Priddle, Charlotte; Triplett, Kyle R."Evangelizing for Reference: Teaching the Value of Public Services": Education for special collections library students has often focused on bibliography and/or curatorial duties; while MLS students often take a standard reference class as part of their program…; "'But I Want My Job': Library School vs. the 'Real World'": This final paper will focus on the speaker’s experiences as a host and visiting speaker for LIS classes; as a mentor to MLS students, and as a mid-career professional in a field different from that studied at library school…; "Defining Wonder: Teaching Rare Books with Collections and Collaborations": The speaker will focus on the two courses he currently teaches at library schools in New York – ‘Rare Books’ at the Pratt Institute, and ‘Great Collections of New York’ at the Palmer School…Item Open Access Diversity and Cultural Communities(2016-06) Jackson, Athena; D'Agostino, Rachel; Turcotte, Florence M.; Fernández, Natalia; Friedman-Shedlov, Lara"Common Touch: Re-Envisioning the History of the Blind": Common Touch: The Art of the Senses in the History of the Blind is a joint project of the Library Company’s Visual Culture Program and artist Teresa Jaynes…; "When Bad Things Happen to Good Manuscripts: A Case Study of the Zora Neale Hurston Papers at the University of Florida": In 1960, celebrated African American author Zora Neale Hurston died in relative obscurity in a Florida hospital. With no one coming forward to claim them, her belongings were ordered destroyed…; "Latinos en Oregón: A Latino/a community oral history project": While the development and implementation of an oral history project may be well- known to you, specifically working with your local Latino/a communities on such a project may not be…; "Connecting, Contributing, Commemorating, Collaborating: Archival Adventures with the Records of the Chinese YMCA Movement": The work of the North American YMCA in China during the period from the late 1890s to the 1940s is richly documented in the Kautz Family YMCA Archives. Following several decades of isolation…Item Open Access Building Special Collections and Archives(2016-06) Yun, Audra Eagle; Harter, Christopher; Martin, Nicholas; Blake, Janice"What Became of the Archives of Negro History?: Investigating Efforts to Establish a New Orleans Community Archives": In 1968, African American community leaders in New Orleans founded The Archives of Negro History, whose mission was to collect materials relating to Black history…; "Grasshoppers in the Reading Room: Building Special Collections at NYU Abu Dhabi": In the fall of 2014, New York University opened its permanent location in Abu Dhabi, part of its vision of the University as a global entity…; "From Technology to the Literary: Special Collections at the University of Trinidad and Tobago": The University of Trinidad and Tobago (2004) evolved from the Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Technology an institution charged with the responsibility of providing trained personnel for the local energy sector…