Building Collaborative Relationships Through an ACS Grant-funded Project
Submission Type
20-minute Presentation
Abstract
“Pathway to Diversity: Uncovering Our Collections” is a collaborative project between Centre College, Furman University, Rollins College, and Washington and Lee University, funded by the Associated Colleges of the South. The project seeks to build a shared online digital archive relating to the history of desegregation at these colleges. Centre College librarians Carrie Frey and Beth Morgan will discuss the strengths and challenges of this type of collaborative work, as well as the specifics of our collaborative process which has included collaborating not only within our individual institutions to incorporate classroom instruction and student research, but also collaboration across campuses.
Start Date
5-22-2019 3:00 PM
End Date
5-22-2019 4:15 PM
Description
“Pathway to Diversity: Uncovering Our Collections” is a collaborative project between Centre College, Furman University, Rollins College, and Washington and Lee University, funded by the Associated Colleges of the South. The project seeks to build a shared online digital archive relating to the history of desegregation at these colleges. Our goal is to uncover and illuminate these historical narratives in order not only to improve institutional understanding of diversity on campus, but also to help our current students confront and comprehend issues of diversity and inclusion in the context of society, their campus, and their classroom. As a first step, an archival collection of primary source materials has been researched and built up collaboratively by faculty, students, archival professionals, and staff at all four participating institutions. Campus offices involved in this effort included: Diversity and Inclusion, Library and Archives, Center for Teaching and Learning, Information Technology Services, and Communications. The long-term goal of the project is a comprehensive ACS digital archive that speaks to the broader experience of desegregation on small college campuses across the South. We are now in our second year of work, which will include the composition of a descriptive and supporting narrative for the collection to highlight the importance of the selected materials as part of the unique history of each campus, explain how the materials connect the common history of the four collaborating southern institutions and contextualize them within the overarching history of our nation. This second phase will also allow us to digitize a modest number of items and plan for the development of the digital repository and website that will display materials in a cohesive, attractive, and usable collection. Ultimately, we intend to pursue a third grant to create the website which will include examples from faculty on how the materials can be incorporated into classes, with specific examples of assignments and teaching methods. We have identified various challenges, along with several strengths, associated with this style of collaborative work and how it plays out on a practical level. Centre College librarians Carrie Frey and Beth Morgan propose to discuss the collaborative processes for the project, which have included collaborating not only within our individual institutions to incorporate classroom instruction and student research, but also collaboration between the various institutions.
Building Collaborative Relationships Through an ACS Grant-funded Project
“Pathway to Diversity: Uncovering Our Collections” is a collaborative project between Centre College, Furman University, Rollins College, and Washington and Lee University, funded by the Associated Colleges of the South. The project seeks to build a shared online digital archive relating to the history of desegregation at these colleges. Centre College librarians Carrie Frey and Beth Morgan will discuss the strengths and challenges of this type of collaborative work, as well as the specifics of our collaborative process which has included collaborating not only within our individual institutions to incorporate classroom instruction and student research, but also collaboration across campuses.