Latest Post
Behind the Research: Undergraduate Research Award Winners
Posted May 28, 2025
Each year we ask the four winners about their research and how the tools and resources at W&M Libraries supported their projects. Here is what they shared.
W&M Libraries Blog
Dreaming of Returning to France
Posted
Five years ago, I took my first and only trip out of the United States, spending 10 days in France on a trip with my AP French class. Before splitting off into the suburban homes of our host families, we visited Paris and parts of the Loire Valley, where we toured numerous castles, cathedrals, and historic towns. Since then, I have often dreamed of returning to France and seeing other European countries for the first time.
The Sixty-Year Diary
Posted
George Fetterman, a western New York farmer, did something remarkable. He wrote a diary entry every day. Every day--for sixty years. 1890-1950, the period Fetterman's diaries cover, saw the rise of corporations and industry, the women's suffrage movement, a Great Depression, and two World Wars. But to read his diary, you would hardly know it.
SCRC's Civil War Transcription Project: The Diary of Asa John Wyatt, 1861-1862
Posted
The Special Collections Research Center at Swem Library has begun a transcription initiative as part of the "From Fights to Rights: The Long Road to a More Perfect Union" project. The transcription work is a massive effort by volunteers to transcribe selected documents such as diaries and letters and make them available online.
Sealed in Wax and Wrapped in Vellum
Posted
One of the intriguing features of working at the Special Collections Research Center is the variety of material that I have had the opportunity to work with over the course of my time here.
Applying Organization and Discovering Significance
Posted
Following my work on the Johnson-Nance Papers which I discussed in my last post, I began processing the Georgia Ragsdale Curtis Papers which I worked on during the months of November and December 2010. After this I organized a couple smaller collections before beginning work on the William Welling Papers.
Treasure Hunter and Path Maker
Posted
In the fall of 2009, I began volunteering three to four hours per week in the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) of Earl Gregg Swem Library at William & Mary.
Processing a Collection
Posted
One of the neat things about working at the SCRC is the sheer variety of projects we oversee. Last time, I told you a bit about the rewards and challenges of putting together an exhibit, but, recently, I got to try my hand at another major part of archival work: processing a collection.
"Why can't everything just be online?!?!"
Posted
Why can't everything just be online? At some point most of us have pondered this question.
New Accessions, 12/1/2010-12/30/2010
Posted
Here are the new accessions for 12/1/2010 through 12/30/2010, a little longer than normal due to the holiday rush:
New Accessions, 11/15/2010-11/30/2010
Posted
Well, I have gotten pretty far behind on updating you all on the new and exciting materials that have recently come into the Special Collections Research Center. But no more! In a few quick posts, I shall updated you on all of these wonderful new materials.
The Challenge of Designing Exhibits
Posted
Do you ever stop to ogle the contents of the numerous display cases spread throughout Swem Library? Me neither. Or, at least, I didn't. Now, every so often when I'm hunting for a book on the third floor, I venture over to the small flat case outside the Brown Board Room, just to check that everything is how I left it.
New Accessions, 11/8/2010-11/12/2010
Posted
Here are the new collections accessioned by the Special Collections Research Center from 11/8/2010 to 11/12/2010:
I am a self-proclaimed craft nerd
Posted
I freely admit: I am a self-proclaimed craft nerd. In kindergarten, I was the kid who truly enjoyed gluing sticks into haphazardly-formed structures and insisted that every painting my little fingers lovingly created be prominently displayed on the family refrigerator. This creative passion has continued into adulthood as I thoughtfully knit gifts for friends and family and scrapbook every vacation taken.
My time in Special Collections
Posted
Throughout the past month, as a part of my graduate apprenticeship I have been working with the Johnson-Nance Family Papers, a manuscript collection from the early twentieth century at Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, at William & Mary.
From Copy Machines to Tobacco Farmers
Posted
How often have you stopped to think about the wonder that is the copy machine? If you were like me, not often at all—as students, interns, and young professionals most of us probably spent more time being warmed by the light of the copy machine than we would like to think about.
New Accessions, 11/1/2010-11/5/2010
Posted
Here are the new collections accessioned by the Special Collections Research Center from 11/1/2010/11/5/2010:
Colonial Echo Digital Archive Bookmark
Posted
You are sure to have heard us mention a time or two just recently that William & Mary yearbook, the Colonial Echo, for the years 1899-1995 was recently digitized. A bookmark was created for the official launch of the Colonial Echo Digital Archive during Homecoming 2010.
Newly Digital, 10/25/2010-10/29/2010
Posted
This post contains links to content that has been newly digitized and is now available to view online.
New Accessions, 10/25/2010-10/29/2010
Posted
These new materials were accessioned during the week of 10/25/2010 through 10/29/2010 and are now available to the public.
Scrapbook project
Posted
Often when I tell people that I'm working on making a database of all the scrapbooks in the Special Collections Research Center, I get a reaction something like, "Oh, that's nice," a reaction with subtext that seems to say "oh-that's-nice-but-not-something-actually-significant-like-Thomas-Jefferson's-letters." And while the correspondence of our illustrious college alumnus certainly holds the utmost import