Special Collections Blog Archive
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
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A few weeks ago, I started my first large-scale imaging project here at Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center.We recently acquired a large selection of photographs and scrapbooks from the Robb family, which I photographed with our digital camera so that we may upload them to our archival database in the future.
From Fights to Rights Transcription Project: John M. Galt Diary
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The Special Collections Research Center at Swem Library is currently working on a transcription initiative as part of the "From Fights to Rights: The Long Road to a More Perfect Union" project. The transcription work is a massive effort by volunteers to transcribe selected documents such as diaries and letters and make them available online for current and future researchers.
Keep it Class-y!
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Since I began my apprenticeship with Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) in August, I've been consistently impressed with the staff's dedication to actively engaging the student body here on campus. It is clear that undergraduate and non-staff researchers are very welcome here, and the staff members in the SCRC continually do everything in their power to fac
My Experience as an SCRC Graduate Student
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Hi, my name is Rachel Thomas and I began work in the Swem SCRC at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year. I am a Graduate student working towards my MA in Early American and US History. I received my BA from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington in 2011. I came to this archives from a much smaller archives that had no permanent staff in place and no profession
Crafting an Administrative History
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As a student of eighteenth century history, I had rarely been called upon to craft any sort of administrative history before embarking on my project relating to the Ferguson Seminar in Publishing records. It is amazing how much information can be gathered from only one box of information and how administrative history can reveal not only the motivation of its founders, but also the environment in which it existed.
Searching for a Name, Finding a Community
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Identifying authorship of anything is always a long and arduous process, but it is made increasingly difficult when the author is not a famous member of the community. Norfolk, Virginia, was a bustling town at the start of the twentieth century and had an African American population thirsty for rights and acceptance. One such person was the author of the 1902 diary.
Check Please!
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In my current project at the SCRC, I have the good fortune of being able to check transcriptions from our Civil War Transcription Project that have recently been uploaded to our Digital Collections database. I am thrilled to be able to participate in this auspicious undertaking.
Connecting with the past
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When I started my work in the Special Collections Research Center here at Swem Library in August, one of my first projects entailed uploading metadata to our online database for the Nathaniel V. Watkins Family Papers, 1846-1889.
New SCRC Guides
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The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) at Swem Library contains numerous sources on a wide range of topics. For the past few months, I have been creating Guides that organize a number of these sources into specific categories. Essentially, the Guides are supposed to highlight those sources that might be of some relevance to particular topics.
SCRC's Civil War Transcription Project: The Tucker-Coleman Papers
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The Special Collections Research Center at Swem Library is currently working on a transcription initiative as part of the "From Fights to Rights: The Long Road to a More Perfect Union" project. The transcription work is a massive effort by volunteers to transcribe selected documents such as diaries and letters and make them available online for current and future researchers.
New Material, 2011.001-2011.050
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Well, I have gotten pretty far behind on updating you all on the new and exciting materials that have recently come into the Special Collections Research Center. But no more! In a few quick posts, I shall updated you on all of these wonderful new materials.
The Sixty-Year Diary
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George Fetterman, a western New York farmer, did something remarkable. He wrote a diary entry every day. Every day--for sixty years. 1890-1950, the period Fetterman's diaries cover, saw the rise of corporations and industry, the women's suffrage movement, a Great Depression, and two World Wars. But to read his diary, you would hardly know it.
Dreaming of Returning to France
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Five years ago, I took my first and only trip out of the United States, spending 10 days in France on a trip with my AP French class. Before splitting off into the suburban homes of our host families, we visited Paris and parts of the Loire Valley, where we toured numerous castles, cathedrals, and historic towns. Since then, I have often dreamed of returning to France and seeing other European countries for the first time.
SCRC's Civil War Transcription Project: The Diary of Asa John Wyatt, 1861-1862
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The Special Collections Research Center at Swem Library has begun a transcription initiative as part of the "From Fights to Rights: The Long Road to a More Perfect Union" project. The transcription work is a massive effort by volunteers to transcribe selected documents such as diaries and letters and make them available online.
Sealed in Wax and Wrapped in Vellum
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One of the intriguing features of working at the Special Collections Research Center is the variety of material that I have had the opportunity to work with over the course of my time here.
Applying Organization and Discovering Significance
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Following my work on the Johnson-Nance Papers which I discussed in my last post, I began processing the Georgia Ragsdale Curtis Papers which I worked on during the months of November and December 2010. After this I organized a couple smaller collections before beginning work on the William Welling Papers.
Treasure Hunter and Path Maker
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In the fall of 2009, I began volunteering three to four hours per week in the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) of Earl Gregg Swem Library at William & Mary.
Processing a Collection
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One of the neat things about working at the SCRC is the sheer variety of projects we oversee. Last time, I told you a bit about the rewards and challenges of putting together an exhibit, but, recently, I got to try my hand at another major part of archival work: processing a collection.
"Why can't everything just be online?!?!"
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Why can't everything just be online? At some point most of us have pondered this question.
New Accessions, 12/1/2010-12/30/2010
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Here are the new accessions for 12/1/2010 through 12/30/2010, a little longer than normal due to the holiday rush: