Latest Post
Reading Tea Leaves at Special Collections
Posted June 26, 2024
Written by Dan Du, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina - Charlotte (Special Collections Research Center travel grant recipient, 2023-2024)
Special Collections
We Want Your Electronic Records and Digital Material!
Posted
More than ever, we are creating electronic traces of our lives and electronic records in our work. Whether you transfer your department's records to University Archives or you are donating personal papers to the Special Collections, we want your digital material!
From One Box to Another
Posted
Making sure our collections are properly described, housed, and discoverable is an ongoing task in Special Collections. As time goes on, the boxes, folders, and other packing materials we use to store collections wear out or become acidic, and collections require new storage options for their continued preservation.
"We Find It Very Thrilling to Be Here at Such an Exciting Period"
Posted
After a full academic year working at the Special Collections Research Center, I came to reflect on why my experience as an Archives and Manuscript Collections apprentice has meant so much to me. It may sound trite but this assistantship has not only stimulated my professional interest in archives management, it also gave me the opportunity to learn so much about a variety of peoples and topics through the collections I processed.
"Quite an Experience": The Papers of WWII Nurse Mary Frances Switzer
Posted
Like few other historical events, the Second World War exerts a deep fascination in our collective memory, as shown by the extent to which WW II stories abound in popular culture. Now fully processed, the papers of war nurse Mary Frances Switzer at the Special Collections Research Center offer an absorbing – though less commonly heard – point of view of war experiences on the ground.
Processing the Christopher Bram Papers
Posted
I recently processed the papers of Christopher Bram, a 1974 graduate of William & Mary and novelist. His papers are regularly used in library instruction sessions for creative writing students, and having a more complete description will provide faster and easier access for both our researchers and staff.
VARC's Golden Anniversary
Posted
In the 1960s, America's attention to space exploration began to thrive, and as a response, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) wanted to establish a research laboratory on the Virginia Peninsula. In 1962, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and William & Mary to form VARC, which would operate a NASA-built SREL, develop research projects, and establish resident graduate programs.
Special Collections and the Lemon Project Welcome Descendants of Solomon Northup
Posted
In the summer of 2014, several descendants of Solomon Northup, whose story in slavery was depicted in the recent Oscar-winning movie, 12 Years A Slave, visited Swem Library to see the diary kept by Florence A. Barber, the daughter of Philip and Margaret Anne Stanton and granddaughter of Solomon Northup.
"Ever of thee, I'm fondly dreaming"
Posted
Scherenschnitte, meaning "scissor cuts" in German, is the art of paper cutting. The designs are frequently symmetrical, and are often used to create silhouettes and valentines. This European tradition was developed in sixteenth century Switzerland and Germany, and immigrants brought the designs to Colonial America in the eighteenth century.
Phi Beta Kappa
Posted
The first Phi Beta Kappa Hall was erected in 1926 to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Phi Beta Kappa Fraternity, the first Greek letter fraternity, and to honor the 50 founders. All but one were Virginians and with one exception were students the College. Elisha Parmele of Connecticut was conducting a school in Virginia after his graduation from Harvard in 1778.
From Collection to Exhibit
Posted
For the past few months, we have been working to translate the W&M Hip Hop Collection into an exhibit titled Re-Mixing the Old Dominion: 35 Years of Virginia Hip Hop History and Culture. In addition to selecting the "stuff" to showcase the collection and the history of Virginia hip-hop, a completely different set of skills are also needed to create a successful exhibit.
Surprises on Every Page
Posted
The Lane Carlson Papers came to Swem Special Collections in 2012 in several large boxes, filled with what at first glance appeared to be just stacks and stacks of mundane letters from a small-town girl to her parents. This could not be further from the truth.
From Slavery to Freedom via Entrepreneurship
Posted
On October 19, 2014 at Dinwiddie Court House, a Virginia historical marker was dedicated to Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (also spelled Keckly). Elizabeth, or 'Lizzy' Keckley was born near Petersburg and was a slave on the Burwell Plantation.
A World Both Foreign and Familiar
Posted
"Like Dorry, I have decided to keep a journal. It seems to me a very pleasant thing to write down the occurrences of one's life so that one can read them later." So writes twenty-year-old Rosanna May Munger in 1886 (January 1 1886, Diary #1). Rose, as she preferred to be called, would go on recording the rhythms of her daily routine until 1945, providing the modern reader with a unique window into the religious, social, and cultural life of an unmarried woman over several decades.
Powell Family Papers - Hepburn Addition Available Online
Posted
Through the work of our student assistants, volunteers, and staff, Special Collections has recently reprocessed, digitized, and made the Powell Family Papers, Hepburn Addition available online.
Collection Grants at Work: Prof. Xin Wu's Chinese Painting Students Engage with Facsimile Art Objects
Posted
Each week during the semester, Special Collections hosts multiple class sessions to allow students hands-on access to primary source materials relevant to their course's subject matter. This week, Professor Xin Wu brought her ARTH 397 students into Special Collections to view facsimile artwork as part of her Chinese Painting class, which is being offered for the first time this fall.
Breaking in the Archives
Posted
Devoted to the history of Virginia's hip-hop culture, the William & Mary Hip-Hop Collection has documented shared cultural origins with the Bronx and greater New York City. As early as 1979, many of Virginia's hip-hop pioneers were listening to the earliest commercial rap releases from New York City on Virginia radio stations, most prominently WRAP-AM broadcasting from Norfolk.
College Farm
Posted
The College Farm of William & Mary was active in the 1920s-1940s. According to a 1935 Alumni Gazette article the farm was first organized in 1923 by President J.A.C. Chandler. The 65 acre farm supplied vegetables and fruit for the college dining hall.
The "Controversy" of Being Different: LGBT Student Groups at William & Mary
Posted
One of the best sources for tracking LGBT presence at William & Mary is the archives' collection of the student yearbook, Colonial Echo, which is available online. Insider tip: the digitized versions are searchable by keyword! This is how I started my research filling in the gaps of what we know about LGBT groups at the College.
Fostering Hope and Community in an Internment Camp
Posted
On Friday, the 25th of September, 1942, Hilda Haworth, her husband Walter, and many others left the English Channel island Guernsey for Germany. The diary details life in the camp for a little over a year, and was immensely fascinating to read through.
A Treasure Trove of the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early National Periods
Posted
Currently, the Tucker-Coleman Papers are undergoing a serious overhaul. Groups of boxes are being subdivided into intuitive series within the collection, and the finding aids for each are going digital, making the Tucker Coleman Papers more accessible to researchers than ever.