Event Title

In Their Own Words: Teaching Women’s History through Digital Primary Sources in the Lycoming County Women’s History Collection

Speaker Bio

Janet M. Hurlbert is the Project Director. She has been the Director of Library Services at Lycoming College since 2001. During that time period, in addition to her main library responsibilities, she has overseen the development of the college archives and the digitization of core college source materials including college newspapers, yearbooks, course catalogs, alumni publications, and photographs, including streaming audio and video. Lycoming College's history as a co-educational institution means that these materials are especially valuable for research in women's history. Under her direction, the Snowden Library has been awarded numerous grants, including cooperative grants from the NEH for preservation and cultural programming. Janet received a B.A. in history and her M.L.S. from the University of Denver.

Mary Sieminski is a retired librarian with a long and varied career in library services in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania libraries. She is a native of Lycoming County with a strong interest in local and women's history. She has managed this project since its inception in 2006. Mary graduated from Bucknell University, earned a masters degree in American Literature from Boston University and her M.L.S from Simmons College.

Dr. Amy Rogers has been teaching at Lycoming College since 2007. She earned her B.A. at Lycoming College, received her M.A. from Bloomsburg University, and earned her doctorate at Pennsylvania State University. Amy's work studied the effects of local history in relation to a student's level of civic mindedness and civic engagement. Her research areas include teacher leadership, pre-service teacher education, civic education, civic engagement, and local history. Responsible for the Secondary Teacher Education Program and Teacher Certification Program, Amy teaches courses and is an advisor to education students seeking middle and/or secondary certification.

Abstract

This panel will discuss the creation and educational uses of the Lycoming County Women's History Collection (www.lycoming.edu/library/lcwhc), a digital archive of source material relating to the history of women in Lycoming County (PA). A curriculum guide has been developed to accompany the collection. The project is a cooperative effort of the Lycoming College Snowden Library, the James V. Brown Library, and the Lycoming County Historical Society. The digitized documents highlight the history of local women in volunteer and reform organizations, education, the arts, the workplace, and in their private lives. The majority of the materials are from the time period 1875-1925. The project has been funded by LSTA grants from Commonwealth Libraries (PA) and private grants from individuals and organizations. The collection uses the CONTENTdm platform and is part of the Pennsylvania Digital Repository.

In Janet's portion of the presentation, she will discuss the impetus for the creation of the collection and the formation of a working cooperative. She will outline the process for acquiring grant funding. Janet will also address the issues involved with creating community connections and support for the project. Janet will outline the impact that the project has had on the community -- in making primary source material available to the students and scholars, raising awareness of the role of women in the community, and in communicating the importance of the preservation of archival material.

In Mary's portion of the panel discussion she will discuss the content of collection, which includes photographs, correspondence, minute books, diaries, scrapbooks, recipe books, newspaper stories, and more. The collection also includes some rare secondary sources and short essays on women and women's organizations highlighted in the collection. She will detail the process of selecting the collection theme and content with the assistance of historical and technical advisors and community users. Mary will address the choice of a platform for the collection and the challenges and rewards of working with vendors for digitization. She will also address the creation of the project webpage and maintenance issues.

In Amy's portion of the panel discussion she will discuss the multitude of pedagogical opportunities the collection provides for undergraduate courses in women's history, sociology, local history, and research methods classes. She will introduce the Lycoming County Women's History Curriculum Guide, which she created for use with the collection. The guide is intended for use with middle and secondary school students; however, it can be easily adapted for primary use and undergraduate use. The guide, linked to the collection website and available in the ERIC database, includes samples of teaching strategies, questions, and activities. Dr. Rogers will discuss a research project that she completed using the guide with middle school students from a local school.

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Mar 23rd, 3:50 PM Mar 23rd, 5:05 PM

In Their Own Words: Teaching Women’s History through Digital Primary Sources in the Lycoming County Women’s History Collection

This panel will discuss the creation and educational uses of the Lycoming County Women's History Collection (www.lycoming.edu/library/lcwhc), a digital archive of source material relating to the history of women in Lycoming County (PA). A curriculum guide has been developed to accompany the collection. The project is a cooperative effort of the Lycoming College Snowden Library, the James V. Brown Library, and the Lycoming County Historical Society. The digitized documents highlight the history of local women in volunteer and reform organizations, education, the arts, the workplace, and in their private lives. The majority of the materials are from the time period 1875-1925. The project has been funded by LSTA grants from Commonwealth Libraries (PA) and private grants from individuals and organizations. The collection uses the CONTENTdm platform and is part of the Pennsylvania Digital Repository.

In Janet's portion of the presentation, she will discuss the impetus for the creation of the collection and the formation of a working cooperative. She will outline the process for acquiring grant funding. Janet will also address the issues involved with creating community connections and support for the project. Janet will outline the impact that the project has had on the community -- in making primary source material available to the students and scholars, raising awareness of the role of women in the community, and in communicating the importance of the preservation of archival material.

In Mary's portion of the panel discussion she will discuss the content of collection, which includes photographs, correspondence, minute books, diaries, scrapbooks, recipe books, newspaper stories, and more. The collection also includes some rare secondary sources and short essays on women and women's organizations highlighted in the collection. She will detail the process of selecting the collection theme and content with the assistance of historical and technical advisors and community users. Mary will address the choice of a platform for the collection and the challenges and rewards of working with vendors for digitization. She will also address the creation of the project webpage and maintenance issues.

In Amy's portion of the panel discussion she will discuss the multitude of pedagogical opportunities the collection provides for undergraduate courses in women's history, sociology, local history, and research methods classes. She will introduce the Lycoming County Women's History Curriculum Guide, which she created for use with the collection. The guide is intended for use with middle and secondary school students; however, it can be easily adapted for primary use and undergraduate use. The guide, linked to the collection website and available in the ERIC database, includes samples of teaching strategies, questions, and activities. Dr. Rogers will discuss a research project that she completed using the guide with middle school students from a local school.