Abstract
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many cultural institutions that house archives and special collections closed their doors or otherwise limited in-person access. For disciplines that utilize special collections for research, such as history, students faced challenges as they worked to conduct original primary source research for projects, theses, and dissertations. At Murray State University, I provided library instruction that focused on accessing digital archives and collections. Concepts such as “digital archival literacy” are not only important to discuss now, but have implications beyond the pandemic as research is increasingly performed in a digital environment.
Highlights
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many cultural institutions that house archives and special collections closed their doors or otherwise limited in-person access
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many businesses and organizations to close to the public, including historical and cultural institutions that maintain archives and special collections
At Murray State University, for example, second-year graduate students in the history program are required to write a research article based on original primary source material as part of their graduation requirements
Summary
After I gave the instruction session, I reflected on how to better prepare students for using digital archives and repositories. Jensen (2020) explores the idea of “digital archival literacy,” which provides a framework for the everyday use of digital archives and factors that shape online content and its availability (p. 251). Four components of digital archival literacy can be extracted from Jensen: availability of sources, bias in representation, aspects of the search system, and responsible usership. Having such a framework is crucial as the use of digital archives surges due to a large shift to online instruction and limited access to physical archives. These components allow librarians and instructors to focus on core aspects of the online research experience pertaining to archives. Students will be able to think critically about the nature of digital archives and its research environment
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