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Tiah Edmunson -Morton, Reference & Instruction Archivist February 27, 2008

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Tiah Edmunson -Morton, Reference & Instruction Archivist February 27, 2008

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  1. How to Create Assignments with Primary Sources: Setting Students Up for SuccessThe historian's passion for manuscripts and sources is not the desire to confirm facts and dates...but the desire to bring himself into a genuine relationship with the actual...the last word of a historian is not some fine firm general statement; it is a piece of detailed research. Herbert Butterfield (1901-1979) TiahEdmunson-Morton, Reference & Instruction ArchivistFebruary 27, 2008

  2. Introductions • Who are we? • What are our experiences with primary sources? • What are our preconceptions about working with primary sources? • What are our students’ preconceptions about working with primary sources? • How have we used primary sources in our assignments?

  3. What is a primary source? An original source, such as a diary or journal, a survey or interview, letters, autobiographies, and observations.

  4. Primary Sources: They are everywhere! • NPR Yellow Fever Story • StoryCorp • Collector of menus • Memories of MLK, Jr. • MLK's final speech • Adventures in the Archives: Hunting for History

  5. What are archival materials? Archival material by definition is unique, original and one-of-a-kind material worthy of long-term preservation. By collecting the paper trail, archives keep the record.

  6. Activity I: Working with the old stuff • Items from the collection: nagging safety precautions. • Use one of the worksheets I’ve given you to describe your item. • No need to stick to the worksheet if you’d like to brainstorm on your own. • Think about form, content, context, details, inclusions, exclusions, use, etc.

  7. Organization? • How are they organized? • What are the main archival guiding principles? • Provenance: archivists maintain the integrity of the paper trail • Original order: archivists preserve the original order and filing system. • The finding aid: a collection guide with an index.

  8. OSU Archives The primary mission of the University Archives is to collect, maintain, preserve, and make the historical records of Oregon State University available to researchers. Our collections include materials of enduring value generated by faculty, academic departments, administrative offices, students, and campus organizations. • Diaries and Journals • Letters/Correspondence • Institutional and Business Records • Photographs and other Visual Images • Maps, Blueprints, and Plans • Transcripts and Recordings of Oral History Interviews or Oral Traditions • Sound and Video Recordings • Physical Artifacts

  9. Primary Sources @ OSU: online & in-person • How do I locate primary sources at OSU? • Physical collections • Digital collections • Oregon Multicultural Archives • ScholarsArchive • Northwest Digital Archives

  10. Activity II: Organizing the chaos • For this short exercise, I’d like you to identify some of the elements go into a finding aid: • http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/archives/archive/ • http://nwda.wsulibs.wsu.edu/index.shtml • What would you look for? • What would you want to know? • Examples: • Blackwell, Eva, and Frater, William A., Collection, ca. 1874-1955 • College of Home Economics and Education Records (RG 141) • Faculty and Staff Photographic Collection (P 46) • NWDA: Guide to the Adelphian Literary Society Records

  11. Primary Sources Beyond OSU? • Consult major collections of primary sources (e.g. NWDA, OAC, NUCMUC, ArchivesGrid) • Browse a history subject directory to find a broad variety of sources (e.g. Librarians Index to the Internet, History Matters) • Use a search engine (e.g. Google, Yahoo) • Get recommendations from an archivist • Check published guides • Finding photographs and other non-text sources (e.g. Library of Congress American Memory, NY Public Library Digital Collections)— • List on our web site

  12. Activity III: A real search • For this activity, I’d like you to put it all together and create a plan of attack… • Search for primary sources on any historical topic that is interesting to your group. • Pretend like this is a real search. Use all the tools in your primary source locator toolbox. • Sources can be in any format, in any location, on any web site. • OSU Archives, Google, NWDA, library catalog, WorldCat, NUCMUC, Flickr, etc.

  13. Evaluation? • Reference & User Services Association History Section site: “Using Primary Sources on the Web”

  14. Students & Primary Sources? • Why would I want to have my students use primary sources? • Value of using historical materials… • cultural assumptions and ambiguities • political, economic, cultural, or ethical context • encourages critical thinking skills • empathy for the human condition • see different points of view in analysis • continuum of history

  15. Assignments? How can I effectively design assignments to include primary sources? • Use the tools you have: 1, 2 • Think creatively • Make them meaningful • Make them interesting • Allow for exploration, analysis, growth

  16. Activity IV: Putting it together • Design an assignment using your item. • How might the physical object be used? • What things could a student learn about society/culture/history from the physical item? • How can online resources be used? • What else could they learn by doing online research? • How can you flush out the context, the story of the event?

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