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Learning about Rare and Distinctive Collections

The students were first introduced to historical materials through their classes, which inspired them to pursue fellowships to dive deeper into the collections.

鈥淚 had no idea the library even had a Rare and Distinctive Collections until I was brought there for an English class,鈥� said Vanessa Shell. 鈥淚'm an English major and have always been interested in historical things. I just thought it was so cool that they had all these documents from centuries ago.鈥�

Kathleen Elli came in with the same English class and echoed Shell鈥檚 experience. 鈥淚 ended up being absolutely captivated by a signed edition of Langston Hughes鈥� Not Without Laughter. Holding a piece of literary history, knowing the famous author himself once laid his hands on the copy, made me feel so much more significant. As a creative writing major, it solidified my belief that an author鈥檚 work is never truly done until it speaks to its very last soul.鈥�

After the class visit, Elli and Shell returned many Fridays to RaD Collections鈥� drop-in hours to see what materials were being used in other classes. 鈥淭hat eventually turned into talks of applying for the fellowship,鈥� Elli explained.

Braedan O'neil was introduced to RaD through a Museum Studies course, Gender in Museums of the Americas, taught by Cultural Heritage Librarian Dulce Aldama.

鈥淸Dulce] inspired me to pursue a future in either library science or museum studies,鈥� explained O鈥檔eil. 鈥淭his led me to look for opportunities here on campus that would potentially assist me in the future, and Dulce helped me apply for the undergraduate student fellowship.鈥�

Selecting exhibit topics

The goal of the Libraries鈥� undergraduate student fellowship is to mentor students and introduce them to the wide variety of careers in academic librarianship.

鈥淭hroughout the fellowship, we work one-on-one with the students to develop their interests,鈥� said RaD Collections鈥� Instruction Coordinator Sean Babbs. 鈥淎t the end of each fellowship, the students have a choice of what kind of project they would like to work on involving materials in the collection. This year, they were all interested in developing exhibits.鈥�

鈥淲hen I got to explore the collection, I was really interested in the pieces that were not books,鈥� said O鈥檔eil. 鈥淩aD primarily has a lot of books in its collection, but also houses other tangible cultural artifacts that shines light on a lot of historical contexts that in many ways books cannot do.鈥�

The subject of O鈥檔eil鈥檚 exhibit centers on the board game Gay Monopoly. 鈥淚t is a silly, yet really cool piece of queer history,鈥� explained O鈥檔eil. 鈥淚 thought it would be a fun item to display, highlighting the diversity that the RaD collection has to offer, but also felt that it was important to show with a lot of anti LGBTQ+ legislation getting passed, reminding onlookers that queer people have always existed and will continue to in the future!鈥�

For Elli鈥檚 exhibit, she was drawn to the Bakelite purses in RaD. Bakelite is one of the first plastics and was often used for fashion accessories, art, home appliances and many other practical uses.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been incredibly drawn towards aesthetics and the role fashion has played throughout history,鈥� shared Elli. 鈥淲hether as a status symbol, a form of self-expression, or an artistic representation, fashion transcends culture and time as a depiction of the human spirit and our creativity. The moment I discovered the purses in our collections, I felt as though I was holding a piece of history that told so many stories.鈥�

Shell decided to take a different direction on her exhibit to focus on slavery documents and indentured servitude after Debbie Hollis, head of Instruction & Outreach Section in RaD, showed the students a recently acquired group of documents about Portuguese ships that brought people from China to the Caribbean to work.听

鈥淚 was drawn to these documents because I hadn't known that any of that happened and the history of it just interested me,鈥� said Shell. 鈥淸For my exhibit], I picked a document from 1857 that had a list of enslaved people, an departure manifest from a Portuguese ship in 1867 that was bringing people from China to work as indentured servants on sugar farms in Havana, Cuba, and an indentured servitude contract from 1805 for a minor named Sarah Smith.鈥澨�

Assembling the displays

The next stage after selecting their materials and topics was to work with Conservator Hillary Morgan to assess the condition of the materials to ensure they were fit for display and librarians in RaD to set up the display cases.

鈥淪o much goes into setting up displays, from item assessment, getting approved to use and fill display cases, setting up and positioning those cases within the library, how the item is displayed and what information is given to the viewer,鈥� said O鈥檔eil. 鈥淚 initially thought that the process of setting this up would feel like a boring research project, but it was actually a really refreshing creative project that I enjoyed doing. It helped reinforce my ideas about how spaces like libraries and museums should display their collections to the public in ways that engage their interest while still being educational.鈥澨�

Elli faced a unique challenge with the Bakelite purses.听

"Unfortunately, one of the purses was damaged in storage, so that鈥檚 when I began working with Hillary in preservation who was eager to get involved,鈥� said Elli. 鈥淪he had never worked with Bakelite and the decision of whether to mend or attempt full repair required lots of research on Bakelite and chemicals that would be best suited. After she decided to maintain as much of the original structure as possible, she proposed that creating custom supports for the lids and broken handles would be our best attempt.鈥�

鈥淐onsidering the purses are quite different from paper/published works in our collections, I was sometimes in slightly uncharted territory of how to proceed and who to look to as mentors,鈥� said Elli. 鈥淭his added yet another layer to the display I鈥檝e learned so much from. Despite the challenges, Dulce, Sean, Debbie and Hillary have all been amazing supporters, and I鈥檓 extremely grateful for their willingness to help.鈥�

Taking advantage of opportunities

Before vitisting RaD for class, the three students were not aware of what a unique resource RaD offers and because of the fellowship opportunity, they were able to dive deeply into the collections, exhibit curation, preservation and historical research.

鈥淚've definitely taken away the fact that the library has a lot more to offer students than I think anyone knows,鈥� said Shell.

鈥淥verall, I have learned to take advantage of any opportunity that arises in my CU experience because you truly never know what will come of it,鈥� said Elli. 鈥淚鈥檝e made many incredible connections and had the privilege of learning about many niche areas of librarianship I鈥檝e never considered. The community within the building and the unique learning opportunities have helped me expand my studies and become more involved in other aspects of the Boulder community. I hope that by installing these displays, we can help RaD reach a larger demographic of students and show them all that Norlin and its employees have to offer.鈥�

O鈥檔eil鈥檚 exhibit showcasing Gay Monopoly is on view now on the east side of Norlin Library鈥檚 second floor. Elli and Shell鈥檚 exhibits are still in development and will be on view on the third floor of Norlin in the coming weeks.