The Library’s Annual Book Sale on October 6 was a great event this year! Big thanks to everyone who came out to browse books, make buttons, and enjoy the beautiful weather. Check out some pics from the event!
Browsing the selection
Fiction for sale on a sunny day
Students making buttons!
Please welcome our Visiting Teaching and Learning Librarians Traci Haynie and Emily Warren!
About Karin “Traci” Haynie, DNP, MSLS, MS
I am a Visiting Teaching & Learning Librarian with a focus on teaching information literacy instruction for the CORE Seminars. I am also the liaison librarian for the STEM disciplines. My primary focus is to assist students in accessing library resources and conduct research for their courses.
Before SMCM, I volunteered in my local public library; worked as a registered nurse; and am a retired Army Reserve soldier. As a former nurse educator, I discovered the joy of teaching and working with students in the classroom, simulation labs, and in the hospital during clinical rotations. As a retired Army Reserve soldier, I worked primarily in logistical management of supplies, equipment, and coordinated training. My hobbies include knitting & crochet, exercise, reading, strolling through antique stores, and working in my yard.
About Emily Warren, MLIS
Emily holds a Master of Library and Information Science from Kent State University in her hometown of Kent, Ohio. Prior to completing her degree, Emily worked as a circulation assistant at her local public library. As a Visiting Teaching & Learning Librarian at SMCM, Emily is looking forward to conducting information literacy instruction for the Core classes, serving as the liaison for the social science departments, and getting to know all of the faculty, staff, and students!
IT’S BACK!
The Annual Library Book Sale will be held ONE DAY ONLY Thursday, October 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On the path outside the Hilda C. Landers Library
Used books on a wide variety of topics
$1 for hardbacks, 50 cents for paperbacks
Cash only
Media Literacy, Civic Engagement and Democracy Project
MLCED is a multiyear project to inform and engage the southern Maryland community on the important relationship between the media and American democracy.
September 27, 2022
The Devil is in the Details:
When Conspiracies are Good,
Bad and Ugly
Presented by Brandi Collins-Dexter
Associate Director of Research,
Technology and Social Change
Project Shorenstein Center on Media,
Politics and Public Policy (Harvard University)
Glendening Annex at 5 p.m.
October 24, 2022
MEMES Workshop
Presented by SMCM Faculty
Glendening Annex at 11:30 a.m.
November 10, 2022
Anti-immigrant Misinformation
Campaigns
Presented by Shauna Siggelkow
Director of Digital Storytelling
for Define America
Cole Cinema at 5 p.m.
Please contact democracy@smcm.edu for more information.
Hilda C. Landers Library
Center for the Study of Democracy
St. Mary’s College of Maryland,
the National Public Honors College
The Library will be open 10am-5pm for the Labor Day holiday, Monday Sept 5th.
The Hilda C. Landers Library building is open 7 days a week during the Fall and Spring semesters.
The Library will be closed this Monday, July 4th, to celebrate Independence Day.
Happy Fourth of July!
The Library will be operating under the following hours over Summer Break
Have a great summer!
Hello readers! My name is Zoey, and I am an intern at the St. Mary’s College of Maryland archives this spring. I am currently in a graduate program for archives at the University of Maryland, and I graduate in May 2022! The school requires each student to complete an internship before they graduate.
During my time here, I was assigned to read and describe the Lura Frances Johnson Letters (MSS 097) [link to: https://smcm.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/153 ]. I created the scope and contents notes within the finding aid for the archive’s website. Before I go into detail about what the process was like, I would like to give some background information on Lura. Miss Johnson was originally from West Point, Georgia and taught math at St. Mary’s Female Seminary, the predecessor institution of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, from about 1928-1943. The majority of the letters were written to her mother. The letters in this collection describe the daily events happening to her at the time. This collection is a significant example of a teacher’s perspective on routine life at the school.
Lura Frances Johnson (left) and Helen Leighley (right), a fellow St. Mary’s Female Seminary teacher, in Cleveland (MSS 097 Box 1 Folder 12)
Initially, I found the letters difficult to interpret. Lura wrote most of her letters in cursive. Since Miss Johnson was a teacher, I expected her to have neat cursive letters, but I was incorrect. After reading through a couple of her letters, I began picking up on her handwriting, and it was much easier reading through them. This assignment was the perfect task for me to dip my feet into the archival world. It was challenging yet, rewarding when I finally deciphered Lura’s writing.
The key debate in archival work is whether we should process our collections with a minimalist or a maximalist perspective. My mentor and I decided it would be best to take a maximalist approach when processing these letters. Because these letters provide a unique perspective on the school’s history, we believed it would be best to summarize all the letters written by Miss Johnson. By adopting the maximalist approach to these letters, we will be able to support our students in the future. This is because we have a precise understanding of the information contained in these letters. Robert S. Cox states in his article Maximal Processing, or, Archivist on a Pale Horse, “If a collection is less well described, less well organized, and less well understood, logic dictates that, all things being equal, it must take longer for archivists to navigate the collection when conducting reference work or when performing any of the other tasks that make use of the actual materials” (Cox, 2010). By taking the time to read through and summarize these letters, we will be able to better help our students look for materials to support their research. While the maximalist approach worked for this finding aid, we cannot use this approach to process all of the materials in an archive because it would take too much time to process.
Lura filled her letters with the daily activities of her life. During part of her time at the college, Miss Johnson was completing her master’s degree. She wrote her mother consistently about how her thesis was coming along. Within these letters, you can practically feel the stress, joy, and relief when she finally finished her thesis.
Overall, I have learned a lot from my time interning at the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Archive. I am so appreciative of this opportunity to learn the daily operations of a university archive. The task I had of creating a scope and contents for these letters was a great first task in my archival career. I cannot wait to see what is in store for my future and will be forever thankful for this opportunity!
Zoey Downs
Archives Intern
References
Robert S. Cox (2010) Maximal Processing, or, Archivist on a Pale Horse, Journal of Archival Organization, 8:2, 134-148, DOI: 10.1080/15332748.2010.526086
