 great thanks Alex for setting that up and thanks everybody for being here today for this workshop on archival research. So as Alex mentioned after the presentation we will have time for Q&A but as I'm going through this please feel free to also put questions into the chat and I'll do my best to answer as I'm going but then also at the end I'll go through and we can talk through them then too. So again hi everyone I'm Laura Romans and I'm the Manuscripts Archivist in the Betsy B Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives here at the UT Libraries and I'm so happy you're joining us today. And in today's workshop archival research with special collections I'm just going to be doing a brief introduction to what that looks like. So as we go through today's presentation I'm going to be answering a few common questions that come up when we talk about special collections, archives, and archival research. First what even is special collections? Secondly is anything we have available digitally or online? And lastly how can you use archives and special collections material for your research? So what is special collections? At UT it's the place that collects, preserve, and provides access to rare and distinctive historical material. Our special collections department here at UT is its own department but we are a part of the library. Our full name for formalities is the Betsy B Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives but that's quite a mouthful so most of the time we just shorten it and call ourselves special collections. We are located on the first floor of Hodges Library on the Knoxville campus and our team of librarians and archivists are regularly working to care for and provide access to primary source material that documents the history of our university and the history, the people, and the culture of our region. So within special collections we have four main units and personally I think going over each of those units will help give you a better understanding of the types of material that we preserve in special collections. Also the link to our website is here in the presentation and I'll be including these at the end in the chat as well for people to peruse our website. Like I said we have four units of material within special collections. The first is our rare books collection. In rare books we have almost 70,000 titles. Some of those are extremely old with some even going back to the 15th century. Other materials in our rare books collection are extremely rare and unique. Others document our local area and culture. So our rare books collection includes all kinds of published material so that of course includes books but it also means we have historical pamphlets, newspapers, hymnals, magazines, and much more in rare books. Our next unit is the university archives. So these are materials that are from or about the University of Tennessee 25 years ago. These might be papers from academic departments, administration, the athletic programs, and it's certainly all of the university publications so things like the volunteer yearbook and the Daily Beacon newspaper. And these are items that are documenting the history, the traditions, and the legacy of our university. Next we have the modern political archives. So this is a collection of material that is actually housed in the Howard Baker Center on campus and it contains the papers of important Tennessee politicians from the modern era so from the 20th century forward. And it includes people like Estes Kefauver who was a senator and vice presidential candidate from Tennessee and also Howard Baker who you see here in this image who was a long time senator and even the chief of staff for President Ronald Reagan in the 80s. And lastly, the fourth unit is our manuscripts collections. So an easy way to describe our manuscripts collections is that these are archival materials that really don't fit in to the other three collections. But for the most part our manuscripts collections are made up of records and papers and items that document individuals, families, and organizations from our area. And by our area that means Knoxville, that means East Tennessee, that means Southern Appalachia, and even the greater Southeast part of the United States. And this also covers some major historical events that date back to even the 18th century. So this means things like the American Civil War, the Reconstruction Era, the World Wars, and the Civil Rights Movement up to today. And the papers and manuscripts also include things that document famous artists, performers, musicians, and writers from our area. We also have significant collections that document the history of the Great Smoky Mountains. So now that I've talked about our four main units of material in special collections, I'll talk a little bit more specifically about archival and manuscript collections and how they differ from collections that you're probably more familiar with in the library. So archives and special collections are made up of records. And a record can be any piece of information recorded on any type of format. And these items tell us about an event or a time period because they were created during that time. So these records are often the first hand accounts of history. Some of the records that make up archival collections are things you might immediately think of when you think of archives and special collections. So things like old letters, diaries, photographs, scrapbooks, even organizational records like meeting minutes. But as I mentioned, historical records that we preserve can really be in any format. So that also means things like artwork and posters, maps, and even audio visual items like cassette tapes and reel-to-reel videos. There can also be less formal sorts of records that make up collections or are parts of collections. And these can be things like advertisements, ticket stubs, pamphlets, receipts, and postcards. And of course, there's also electronic records or what we call born digital records. So these are things like digital videos, emails, websites, even social media posts. So these things may seem very current and not like something that you would expect in an archives or special collections. But it's important to remember that the work we're doing is not only to preserve the history from centuries, decades ago, but to also preserve contemporary material that's documenting the history around us now. So when we talk about material and archives and special collections, and as I've already done throughout this presentation, we often use the word collection. So what exactly does collection even mean? For our purposes, a collection is simply a group of records or items that come from a single source or creator. Now a collection can be as small as a single item, or it can be as large as several hundred boxes and anything in between. It's a broad spectrum. So for example, a single photo, a single photo album or a single diary could be its own collection. But on the other hand, as you'll see in the bottom photo here on this slide, many boxes can make up a single collection. So this is a picture of our modern political archives and its archivist, Chris Bronson, and all of the boxes you see on both of those shelves on the left and the right make up one single collection. And inside each of those boxes are filled with several folders full of documents or other items. And a lot of times with larger collections, the material is then in all kinds of formats, like I mentioned earlier. So for example, a collection of a local author might be eight boxes of material, and that material might include letters and drafts of their books. But it could also include photographs and promotional material like posters and event flyers. So altogether in special collections, our archival collections make up almost three miles of material if you were to set all the boxes back to back. That's a lot of stuff. And part of the work that we do, those of us who work in special collections, is to organize and prepare that material so that people can use it for their research or for whatever they're working on. And when we do that, we create finding aids for collections. And finding aids are a lot like an inventory. Finding aids help researchers and people know more information about a collection. And so a finding aid can include information like who created the collection, how big is the collection, and it also includes a box list or a folder list of what you might find inside the collection. So hopefully at this point, you can see by now that there are quite a few differences between the material and what we do in special collections, as opposed to the material that you might find in the rest of the library. And because our material is historical, rare, and often one of a kind, the way you access and use it is also a little different than the rest of the library. So for example, our archival collections and our rare books do not circulate, which means that you can't check them out and take them home with you, just like you would a traditional library book. So if you'd like to see material in our collections, you'd have to come to the library to our reading room to look at the material. And there are a few things to keep in mind if you're interested in doing research with us. And I think it's also important to point out that a lot of these things apply not only to us, but to other archives, special collections, historical societies, etc. around the country and around the world. So the first thing to keep in mind if you're interested in doing archival research in person is to check the hours. So as many of you know, Hodges Library is open most of the time, but in special collections, we are we have limited hours. So for example, we're only open Monday through Friday nine to five. And the modern political archives material, which lives at the Baker Center, is only open by appointment. And since we have so much material, it doesn't live in the building in Hodges Library. A lot of it lives offsite. So for that reason, researchers have to request their material that they'd like to look at ahead of time so that we can have it available for you when you come to visit. And when you do come in to visit, we have a few policies in place so that you can help us preserve us preserve that material and care for it when you're looking at it so that it lasts for researchers and generations after you. And the best thing to do if you're interested in researching with us or another similar institution is just to visit the website to learn more about us and about our hours and how to come and visit us. And also just get in contact with us so that we can help you. So because we know that there are some access barriers to coming in in person to see our material and our limited hours, we are also regularly working to scan items from our collections and make them available online. So this brings us to our digital collections. You can go straight to the site listed here, which I'll also include in the chat later, or you can navigate to this page from the library's homepage. Here at our digital collections, you'll be able to access some of our archival collections from the comfort of your pajamas on your couch. Now there is often a myth about special collections and archives that we have everything digitized and this just isn't the case, unfortunately. We only have a small fraction available online because it takes a lot of time and money and resources to make these rare items available digitally. But even so, we do have quite a bit of material available online and that number is always growing. Currently we have about 100 distinct digital collections and it represents over 400,000 items. And these items, as you'll see when you visit the digital collections website, are both browsable and searchable. So you can scroll through images of hundreds of postcards, like the ones you see here. And you can also take a look at individual items or books. Like here on this slide, you can see a UT yearbook from 1937. And you can even flip through the pages similar to how you would look at it in person. Aside from being cozy on your couch as you scroll through these items, another benefit of using digital collections from an academic institution like UT libraries or another library, museum or historical society, or even a primary source database through the library is that you can be sure that the information that comes with these digital images is credible, which is always important when you're doing your research. So sometimes when you do a Google image search or if you see images on a blog or in a social media post, you can't necessarily guarantee that the information, the caption that comes with that image, if there even is any information at all, that it's credible or that it's accurate. So using something like the digital collections is a great way to not only see the items, but to also know that the information you're getting with the material is credible, which can help you analyze the item for your research and then just also help you as you're preparing your citations. So hopefully by now you have a little bit better understanding of what special collections is, the types of material that we have, and the ways that you can see it, both in person or online. So now that we've talked a little bit about that, we'll talk more broadly about archival research. So once you've identified material that you'd like to use in a project or a paper that you're working on, whether it be something you're going to come and look at in person, in our reading room, or you're going to look at it online through our digital collections, you may be wondering, how can you even go about using it and incorporating it into your research? Well, when you're working with primary sources, it's always important to spend time really investigating the item or the material. Whether you're a seasoned historian or you're just a first-time researcher, you have to put on your critical thinking hat and start asking some questions. So first, ask questions about the physical item itself. What are you even looking at? What's the format of the item? Is it a book, a letter, a photograph, a receipt? What actually is it? Then you want to explore more about the content of the item. Can you tell who created this item? What about the date? Is there an exact date, or can you at least tell a date range of when the item was created? And even why has this item been kept? Why would someone want to preserve this item? Now along the way, as you're exploring your primary sources and you're asking these questions, you want to be sure that you're taking notes about what you're finding, about the answers that you're getting or the questions you're raising, and even take photos of the things you're looking at. Sometimes you may be left with unanswered questions, and that is totally okay. You have to keep in mind that primary sources weren't often originally intended to be used for research decades or even centuries later, and they often only represent a single perspective or narrative. So you may be left with questions of your own that are unanswered, like who or what isn't represented in this material that I'm looking at. It's always important to remember that primary sources are meant to be used in tandem with other material for your research, either using other primary sources or even secondary sources, and all of these put together can help provide more perspective and more context for your research project. So again, take notes of what you're finding and of the questions that you have. And if you haven't already, I'll put a quick plug in here to strongly encourage you to take part in the other workshops that are part of this series, especially the one on primary sources and the one on secondary sources. Both of these will help you think a little bit further about how best to evaluate sources and how to incorporate them together into your research. So you'll also want to make sure that as you're taking notes, as you're conducting your research and working with these materials, that it's not just about the item and the content, but also where the item came from, what collection it's a part of. This not only helps you keep track of your research as you're doing it, but it will come in handy when it's time for you to cite your sources in your project. And lastly, and perhaps most importantly, you have to be patient with the material. There is nothing quick or easy about conducting any kind of research, and especially not when it comes to using primary sources. While primary sources are crucial to better understanding history, people and culture, they don't come already decoded for us. So it takes time to analyze and interpret what you're looking at so that it can help reveal what part of the story it's telling you about the particular time or event or topic that you're looking at. And for that reason, never be afraid to ask for help. You can always consult with a librarian or an archivist who's there to help you in any way that we can. All right, so this I know has been a lot of information about special collections, our materials, and how to use them and do archival research. And sometimes it can feel very overwhelming to think about all the collections that we have, all the topics that we may cover, and it can be hard to know where to start. So lastly, in my presentation, I want to highlight one tool that we've created that might help you get started with using our collections for your research. And that is our digital teaching collections research guide. Again, there's a link here, but I'll include it in the chat later. In general, research guides are great access tools. They provide you with a starting point, and they help synthesize information on a certain topic or event. And they can also call out some highlighted material or sources related to that topic. Our digital teaching collections research guide provides information and material on several topics that are commonly researched or covered in our collections, and are also used pretty regularly in the classroom as project topics. And some of those topics you can see here on this slide. Things like the American Civil War, or the two world wars, social movements, student life at the University of Tennessee, the history of Knoxville, the history of the Great Smoky Mountains, theater and performance, food history, and even pandemics. When you use our digital teaching, our digital collections teaching guide, you can see a little bit here on this page of what the topic pages look like. On the left is one for the Great Smoky Mountains in Appalachia, and on the right are the world wars. So within each topic, you see that we highlight a few collections or items of interest specific to that topic. And the great thing about these are that all of these items that we've highlighted are available online. All right, so lastly, I just want to close again with some of our resources, which I will put in the chat. I hope this has been helpful. And I'm so happy to answer any questions that you may have about special collections, digital collections, about the types of things that we have, but also about just doing archival research in general and what that looks like. So again, thanks for being here. I'm going to stop sharing my screen.