Special Collections Research Articles

The Spring 1993 issue, Volume 51, Number 1, launched a new column titled “Lagniappe*/North Caroliniana,” compiled by Plummer Alston Jones, Jr. (Al later served as editor of North Carolina Libraries, from 2001 to 2005.) The editor’s note introducing the column stated that it was to complement North Carolina Books and that it would include reviews of “various non-book formats.” This first column provided a review of PERSI, an index for genealogy and local history published by the Allen County Public Library Foundation, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. PERSI is still online, searchable by name, place, or article keyword: https://www.genealogycenter.info/persi/. Other early articles from the column introduced the State Library’s Internet Information Project, described four favorite NC travel and general interest magazines, and reviewed a handful of recordings from the NC Folklife Institute on instructional media for public school lessons on African American and Native American Cultures in North Carolina. Other the years, Lagniappe has broadened its focus to include online resources, special collections from across the state, and other “extra or unexpected gifts or benefits.” We continue Lagniappe with that same aim to uncover new and interesting discoveries for readers of North Carolina Libraries.

Special collections held in a number of university libraries and archives, especially those from the colonial period in Nigeria (1861–1960), remain restricted to avoid debates that may arise from these sensitive ethno-religious, economic, and political information contents. This article explores the use of visualizations to promote the collection of Sudan United Mission to its potential users. Significant datasets from this collection’s box list were identified, gathered, cleaned, and analyzed. Five visualizations created from these datasets were used to describe this special collection beyond its box list. This article concludes that potential users could gain insight into this collection and be able to raise scholarly questions through these visualizations. It suggests that professionals handling special collections should learn decoloniality methods and be more creative when presenting potentially sensitive political and ethno-religious issues.

In recent years, digital outreach efforts, including social media campaigns, have been explored by archival institutions in an effort to engage with online audiences. It is, however, difficult to know what makes effective social media outreach. This article considers literature from the field on the topic of digital archival outreach and archival outreach in general, and measures user engagement through ‘likes,’ ‘saves,’ follows, and comments, to explore the possibilities of social media promotion for archival institutions by analyzing the Tiktok activity of the Special Collections and Archives department at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU SCA). Although extensive research would need to be done in order to determine the concrete, real-life impact of these efforts, it is clear that through their regular, varied posts, and efforts to appeal to existing fan groups online, LJMU SCA’s social media campaign is successful in connecting directly with a large number of people, and drawing attention to their activities and collections, as well as archival work in general.

As an experienced original serials cataloger with the Cooperative Serials Program of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (CONSER), one who works extensively with special collections materials, I have often been asked to catalog materials replete with content many would deem offensive. These materials include magazines featuring sexually explicit text and images, as well as propaganda published by hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and other American Nazi organizations. I have had to establish practices for handling these materials that minimize my colleagues’ exposure to them and protect my own emotional health.

BackgroundThe early 20th century saw pioneering work by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, regarded as the founders of surgical ergonomics, which brought scientific management in surgery and operating rooms. Through time and motion studies, their research helped improve the operative workflow and surgical efficiency.MethodsTo document the historical work of Gilbreths in surgical ergonomics, we conducted primary archival research at the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections (West Lafayette, IN), and integrated a collection of secondary sources across various formats and modalities.Results and ConclusionWe describes the early works of Gilbreths in surgical ergonomics and highlight how their motion research in the operating room evolved to incorporate ergonomics and decrease operative fatigue. The Gilbreths were proponents of promoting the adoption of management practices for operating rooms and standardization in hospital design, equipment, and patient records to improve efficiency in health care delivery. Through analysis of their published and unpublished work, we describe how their ideas are still in widespread use today to eliminate unnecessary motions and foster ergonomics in the operating room and in the field of surgery in general.

The catalog and catalogers’ work are at the foundation of the public services of libraries and special collections, allowing librarians and library staff to do their work and their communities to discover their resources. Yet the skills and training required for cataloging rare and unusual materials can be difficult to acquire formally. At the 2024 Rare Book and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) Conference, the authors facilitated a discussion session on how to teach rare materials cataloging on the job. Takeaways included the value of linguistic expertise, building discrete projects with clear parameters, robust documentation and workflows, clear expectations, regular check-ins, and feedback.

The Whyte & Mackay collection was accessioned in 2016 and is held as part of the University of Glasgow’s Archives and Special Collections’ Scottish Business Archive, which already managed a smaller number of Whyte & Mackay records deposited in the 1990s and has an ongoing agreement with Whyte & Mackay for the management of its corporate archive. The collection captures almost 200 years of distilling history in Scotland, and at the time of deposit ran to over 60 linear metres of material with records covering corporate governance; finance; sales; correspondence; staff; production; plant and property; promotion and public relations. This article will outline the ways in which we utilised the functionality of our collection management system, EMu, to catalogue an extensive set of business records, covering multiple companies with complex interlinked relationships.

Comic Books, Special Collections, and the Academic Library, edited by Brian Flota and Kate Morris

A considerable number of publications have been dedicated to the heroism of children and adolescents during the Great Patriotic War. However, Soviet historiography offered a simplified interpretation of the young heroes’ motivations, reducing them to patriotism. Contemporary researchers sometimes run to other extremes: some feats are entirely denied due to the lack of reliable sources or are explained by mental and social anomalies. The purpose of the article is to provide a clear understanding of the motivations behind the exploits of young heroes in the South of the RSFSR, as well as the nuances of their representation in narratives and memorial practices. This issue has not yet been taken into consideration within the specified geographical framework. The study is primarily based on the recollections of participants and eyewitnesses of the events. These recollections include those recorded directly by the author of the article, as well as those published in special collections, archival documents, periodicals, and works of art. In addition to conventional source study, comparative historical, and problem-chronological methods, case study is employed. This approach makes it possible to analyse the most prevalent narratives and, consequently, identify the primary motivations behind the actions of underage war participants. The author suggests expanding the framework of the concept of an exploit in relation to children and adolescents: the participation of minors in the Great Patriotic War as such, even if they were not awarded, is considered a feat. In the narratives recorded during Soviet times, patriotic motives dominated. The same situation characterised Soviet fiction. Recent decades have seen a greater variety of motives for the exploits of young heroes in the South of the RSFSR, as reflected in the narratives. Along with patriotism and hatred of enemies, there is sympathy for the wounded and captured Red Army soldiers, civilians who perished during the occupation, interest in adventures, weapons and military affairs, and other psychological and social factors associated with age characteristics of minors and the development of wartime events. Memorial practices perpetuate exploits as actions committed because of patriotic motives.

This article discusses the works and continued relevance of Luther (1881–1951) and Jessie Bernard (1903–1996). The two sociologists devoted themselves to providing a unique and comprehensive history of positivist developments in American sociology. Although the Bernards’ historical research has been almost entirely forgotten, their work shed light on important intellectual conflicts, the effects of which can be felt in sociological discourse today. This article emphasizes the importance of historical self-reflexivity by way of consideration of two important works put forth by the Bernards: Origins of American Sociology (OAS), and an unpublished project which became known as Luther’s “Onion Skins.” Throughout the article, I rely on both published works as well as archive material from the Special Collections Library at Pennsylvania State University.

The article analyzes the functional and semantic features of the existence of the component-somonym "baş" (head) in the phraseology and proverbs of the Dobrudzha Tatars and the Volga Tatars in a comparative aspect. Illustrative material for comparison with the Tatar literary language was selected from special and explanatory dictionaries and collections of folklore. The work uses the method of functional-semantic analysis, as well as the analysis of phraseological units of the compared languages for the similarity of the plan of internal semantic content and the plan of lexical expression. The well-known thesis on the conservatism and stability of vocabulary denoting parts of the body is confirmed by this material. The results of the analysis of the dictionary of Nadrat Mahmut and Anvar Mahmut "Atalar sözi", as well as factual material from other sources, indicate that the phraseological units of the Romanian Tatars with the somonym "baş" have both full and partial parallels in the Tatar literary language. In this article, the authors try to demonstrate the similarity of lexical-semantic processes and the linguacultural similarity of the compared idioms using specific examples. It can be seen in the compared phraseological units both in terms of expression and in terms of content, which allows us to judge their common roots. The observed differences are primarily due to the fact that the formation of the linguaculture of idioms took place separately for a long time, surrounded by different cultures.

Getting Inked? A Survey of Current Institutional Marking Practices in Rare Books and Special Collections

“But Do They Really Want Me?”: Reflecting on the Language of DEIA Adopted in Entry-Level Job Postings for Special Collections Librarians in 2023

“Some Days, My Work Is Unbearable”: The Impact of Chronic Illness and Disability on Recruitment and Retention for Workers in American Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries

Stewarding qualitative Indigenous research data in libraries and repositories requires a nuanced, culturally responsive approach that respects Indigenous values and emphasizes relational accountability. This paper, using a case study approach, explores the decisions scholars of Indigenous language and culture face when depositing research data into a university-based special collections. The findings underscore issues of institutional trust and also indicate that providing access to their qualitative research data for future generations and community building is paramount. It also emphasizes the value of collaborative curation involving scholars, Indigenous communities, and the need for coordination between special collections and research data services within libraries. The aim of this research is to support libraries and repositories as they work to implement the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data for qualitative research data in alignment with Indigenous research methods and Indigenous knowledge systems.

Library resources are regularly used by dancers studying topics across a broad range of topics such as dance history, dance medicine, dance and social issues, and others. But what about the actual act of creating dance? Is the library able to be part of this personal process? This article discusses how a graduate dance choreography class interacted with artists’ books in the UCI Libraries Special Collections as part of an assignment to create new two-minute dance pieces. As the students explored these unique resources, they were able to learn more about these new-to-them materials and use both their formats and contents to inspire choreography in ways that they had not previously experienced. Later, they presented their new pieces in their studio after presenting what they’d learned from their chosen book, why they had connected with it, and how it inspired their new work. In addition to describing the project and its outcomes, this article also explores how librarians and library resources can be part of the creative process and how this should be part of information literacy education.

This essay presents a rough outline of the “what, how, and why” of the collaborative work done in English 425: “Literature, Archives, and Original Research,” an intensive research undergraduate course at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Fall 2024 that focused on juvenilia. The team included a class of thirteen undergraduates (all years; all majors), five PhD students from English and Comparative Literature, one professor from the same department, instructional specialists from Ackland Art Museum, and librarians galore from Wilson Library Special Collections and Davis Library, all at UNC Chapel Hill. We met with two or three museum and four or five library colleagues; but many others, behind the scenes, made our course possible.Eight members of this team tell their story from the points of view of four students, three librarians, and the professor. The projects the class undertook show what can happen when participants believe in each other as partners. They also show how young researchers occupy an exceptional position when it comes to considering what young artists and authors care about and why it matters.

Music archives hold unique value in understanding the process of creators and sparking creativity in new researchers through their exploration. The University of Calgary Archives and Special Collections preserves and shares the archives of prominent composers, record labels, musicians, and music historians. In 2024, three colleagues from University of Calgary Libraries and Cultural Resources were awarded funding from the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning to initiate an archives student-in-residence program. Through purposeful connection with archives, students, archivists and librarians, the project’s goal is to investigate the use of the archive as a site for experiential education. This student-in-residence program invites three students over the course of three years to critically explore, analyze, synthesize, interpret, and activate three prominent music archival fonds: Norma Beecroft, Edith Fowke, and Melvin Crump. The principal investigators will work with the student residents through a process of co-inquiry to support them through the archival research process and applying creative approaches to the rich and varied archival materials maintained by Archives and Special Collections. Through multiple iterations of residencies, one every year over the course of three years, team leads will be able to move beyond a single context and look for patterns that emerge from the collected experiences. This article explores and reflects on the first year of the project focused on the Norma Beecroft fonds and explores the goals of the long-term project into the coming years.

Wojciech Głowacki’s paper analyses the life of Józef Chełmoński in Paris (1876–1888), focusing on the places where he lived and worked. Through research conducted in the Special Collections of the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Parisian archives of the Musée d’Orsay and the library of the Institut national d’histoire de l’art, as well as the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, the author reconstructs the geographical and social context of the painter’s work. Methods employed include the analysis of archival sources, Salon catalogues, memoirs and correspondence. Chełmoński moved residences several times. The choice of locations for his homes reflected an initial desire to signal success and later attempts to adapt to changing circumstances. In his early years, he lived and worked at 11 boulevard de Clichy, 54 avenue Bosquet, 1 avenue Duquesne and 17 avenue de la Motte-Picquet. His final Parisian addresses were 110 boulevard Malesherbes and 4 place de Wagram. The artist’s studios were located at 5 rue Bizet, 11 impasse du Maine and 41 rue Verniquet. The author challenges the myth of patriotic motivations behind Chełmoński’s return to Poland, instead pointing to the material and social factors behind this decision. Drawing on a wealth of sources, the paper reconstructs Chełmoński’s relocations in Paris, identifies their causes and highlights the broader context of a Polish artist operating within the art market of the time. This approach offers a deeper understanding of the painter’s choices regarding his work, ambitions and self-promotion within the international artistic environment of late nineteenth-century Paris.

System migrations offer unique challenges for special collections data because these records often contain many local notes and fields. A survey of special collections catalogers was conducted to determine what role special collections catalogers play in the selection, planning, testing, and creation of training and documentation for ILS and LSP migrations. Additional data were collected on how special collections catalogers view current generation ILS and LSP; and time expectations for data clean-up, pre- and post-migration. The results provide valuable insights into the role these catalogers can play in a migration, as well as suggestions for managers and vendors.