innovations in attracting students to archives and special collections: the lawrenceville school...
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Innovations in Attracting Students to Archives and Special Collections:
The Lawrenceville School Heely Scholars Program
Jacqueline Haun
Archives Librarian
The Lawrenceville School
April 21, 2015
NJLA, Long Branch, NJ
Curricular beginningsNew position, new teacher, new
programGoals of program
◦Introduce students to the disciplinary methods historians use to discover historical information
◦Give them experience with working with primary resources
◦Patience and curiosity◦Encourage them to share their research
results with school community
Typical curricular process“Looking for nuggets” model for
early sessionsSmall group work to focus in depth
on a topicRepeat visits Sample topics: Women at
Lawrenceville, Lawrenceville in the Air (WWII), Early travel writing (Richard Halliburton), Cold War at Lawrenceville (bomb shelters)
Gradual addition of assignments based on our collection strengths
The Gilded AgeWWI and WWII (Norris and Heely
letters)1960s, VietnamNewest assignment: “What would
de Tocqueville have reported about Lawrenceville?”
Expanding use of collections
NewspapersTrustees’ minutesHeadmasters’ papersWWI and WWII correspondenceOpen student records from
1890s-1930sNew collections (Hamill Papers)New this year will be oral
histories collected concerning 1960s
Resulting productsDocumentary filmsPrezis (brief flirtation)DBQs (document based queries)PowerPoint presentationsExhibitsNot only information from our own
archives, but research that brings back information from other archives about school history and joins our collections
Other curricular usesHistory: Women and Gender; History
of Japan (student records); other teachers following Smit model
English: Mark Twain (scrapbooks); Creative Non-Fiction; Truth about Trenton
Art: Design class (revealing “hidden history” using design elements)
Hutchins Scholars: environmental history on campus
Visibility factorMore faculty aware of archivesMore students aware: increased
use for independent research and newspaper
Alumni visibility through alumni magazine and school news website
Archives blog: stephanarchives.org
Other social media
The Stephan Gift (2009)Pre-gift, all programming done as
part of classroom settingStudent luncheon with our big donor
($20,000) on Alumni Weekend 2009Donor becomes an even bigger
donor ($2M $7M)Mandate from administration to set
aside $10,000 annually from gift for “student and faculty research”
Hutchins Scholars model
Heely ScholarsFirst year, selected by teacher;
now nominated by history teachers and approved by program director
Two-week summer commitmentRequired to complete research
projects◦Document Based Queries (DBQs)◦Exhibit or documentary
Heely Scholars – 1st YearPilot programJune 10 – 21, 2013 Topic:
Lawrenceville and World War I4 day studentsTotal cost $5,000
◦ Stipend $3,900 (Director)
◦ Student food (lunches)
◦ Field trip expenses
Pilot year resultsStudent exhibit on
World War IStudent assistance
with data input in Archives department
New prestige program for students
Problems getting students to follow through on finishing exhibit work after summer
Heely Scholars, 2nd YearJune 8-15, 2014Topic: “de Tocqueville at Lawrenceville”8 students, expansion to boarding (1 early
departure)New requirement to take fall advanced
research seminar class as follow throughTotal cost: $7,940
◦Stipends $5,040 (Director + summer boarding supervision)
◦Student meals $1,900 ($2,300 allotted, lunch and dinner)
◦Off-site expenses
2nd Year results
Continued work in classroomDBQs for use by other history teachersDocumentary film (still a WIP)Student participation in school meeting and
presentations as ambassadors for programIncreased awareness of program on campus
Round 3!Student selection currently in processJune 14 – 26, 2015Topic: Pivotal year of 196810 students, boardingRequirement to take research class in
fallTotal cost: $9,500
◦Stipends $5,900 (Director + residential coverage)
◦Student meals $2,880 ◦Off-site expenses – more off-site visits
Future of HeelyNew project archivist with
background in public history to assist with program
Possibility of independent funding for established history program
Moving beyond history in summer program?◦English curriculum projects◦Environmental research on
campus
Take awaysBegin with
collection strengths
Build relationships with educators
Increase visibility in multiple ways
Students are intrigued once they begin to discover things in the archives
