Hilda C. Landers Library & Archives

  • About
    • Hours
    • Directions and Maps
    • People
    • Policies & Guidelines
    • Student Employment
  • Research Help
    • Get Research Help
    • Research Tools
    • Research Guides
    • Get Endnote
    • Cite your Sources
    • Subject Librarians
  • Services
    • Print, Scan, Copy
    • Computers and Software
    • Study Rooms
    • Accessibility
    • St. Mary’s Project Resources
    • Services for Faculty
    • Borrow, Renew, Request
    • Notary Public Services
  • Archives

Intern Describes a Teacher’s Letter Collection

March 25, 2022 by Amanda VerMeulen

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 and Helen Leighley in Cleveland

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

Filed Under: Archives, Library Collection Tagged With: featured, primary sources, Women's History Month

Women’s History Month: Women in Science

March 12, 2019 by Amanda VerMeulen

March is Women’s History Month, though we can celebrate women in STEM every month!  As part of the library collection, we have a series of digital images, “Beyond Curie,” created by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya.  The images highlight women in the STEM fields and are licensed by Creative Commons, meaning anyone in the SMCM community can use these images for non-commercial purposes as long as they give credit.  Be sure to give credit–it’s important in all fields but especially in STEM! (Looking at you, Watson and Crick!)

Access the entire collection and get more information on using, downloading, and attributing these images, at our guide here.

Check out a few highlights from the collection below to learn more about some of the accomplishments of women in STEM.  The women featured in this post are pioneers who made discoveries both in and outside of Earth’s atmosphere, from the deep sea to outer space.

Mae Jemison (1956 – )

poster of Mae Jemison depicts a woman in an astronaut suit in black and white in front of a pink background

Image by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya CC BY-NC-SA

In 1992, Dr. Jemison became the first African-American woman in space.  While working as a general practitioner in California, Jemison took graduate classes in engineering and was accepted into NASA’s astronaut program.  Let’s pause on that: she was a doctor who just happened to have the hobbies of engineering and being an astronaut (for reference, my hobby is making sticker collages that look like cats).  Jemison was the science mission specialist on the space shuttle Endeavour, conducting experiments in the life and material sciences. After returning to Earth, she founded a private research company to implement technology in the developing world.  She currently leads the 100 Year Starship project and has her own Lego minifigure.

Mary Golda Ross (1908 – 2008)

In the early years of space exploration, Ross was a pioneer in a new field and as a Native American woman in mathematical and scientific pursuits.  After teaching math and science in rural Oklahoma, Ross found work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. She returned to school, earning her Master’s degree in mathematics, and soon after began working with Lockheed to develop fighter planes and missile systems.  As the space race took off, Ross focused on hydrodynamics and the launch of the Agena rocket, a turning point for U.S. space endeavors. After retiring, Ross became an advocate for math and engineering education for Native Americans and women.

Sylvia Earle (1935 – )

poster of Sylvia Earle includes a black and white image of the scientist and picture of the ocean on a salmon pink background with blue blocks of color

Image by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya CC BY-NC-SA

Dr. Earle is an oceanographer and environmentalist who led the first aquanaut team composed of women.  Initially blocked from participation in the diving expedition Tektite I because she was a woman, Earle went on to lead the Tektite II Project:  part ecological study, and part data gathering on the effects of the deep sea environment on its human participants. In 1979, Earle walked untethered on the seafloor at the depth of 1,250 feet, a record that remains unbroken.  Earle has written and published prolifically to share her research and raise awareness of ocean conservation issues, and continues to advocate for the preservation and protection of the marine world.

Sources for more information:

  • “Dr. Mae C. Jemison” profile in National Library of Medicine exhibition Changing the Face of Medicine
  • Power in Numbers: The Rebel Women of Mathematics by Talithia Williams
  • “Sylvia A. Earle” profile in the National Women’s Hall of Fame

Filed Under: Library Collection Tagged With: Women's History Month

Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation

March 2, 2015 by Amanda VerMeulen

Flappers Cover ArtContinuing with our collection features on Women’s History, the library brings you Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation by Judith Mackrell. This collective biography focuses on the lives of the following women in the 1920s:

  • Diana Cooper, socialite extraordinaire
  • Nancy Cunard, writer and political activist
  • Tallulah Bankhead, actress
  • Zelda Fitzgerald, novelist
  • Josephine Baker, famed singer, dancer and actress
  • Tamara de Lempicka, artist

Read Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation by Judith Mackrell for a well-researched, addictive 1920s history fix.

Filed Under: Library Collection Tagged With: books, history, in the collection, Women's History Month

Makers: Women Who Make America

March 2, 2015 by Amanda VerMeulen

1970 Protest March

from the Makers website, a 1970 protest march in downtown St. Louis (Copyright Bettmann/Corbis / AP Images)

Looking for something to watch to kick off Women’s History Month? Try the first season of the excellent PBS documentary series, Makers: Women Who Make America. The focus of this three-episode series is on the birth, struggles, and advances of the modern Women’s Movement, from the 1950s to the present time.

You can learn more about this documentary series by visiting the PBS Makers website, which has more information about the film’s creators, as well as discussion guides for teachers and others.

Watch Makers: Women Who Make America, located in our DVD collection on the first floor of the library, call number HQ 1391.U5 M35 2013.

Filed Under: Library Collection Tagged With: dvds, in the collection, PBS, Women's History Month

Everyday Life & Women in America

March 2, 2015 by Amanda VerMeulen

The Queen of Fashion

The Queen of fashion [serial]., Volume – 22, Issue – 7
© Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University Libraries
Available via Everyday Life and Women in America

Everyday Life and Women in America is a collection of pamphlets, rare books, periodicals, and broadsides from the 19th and very early 20th century in the United States. It’s a fantastic collection of primary source materials and digitized history for anyone interested in the history of American women, domestic life, gender relations, marriage and sexuality. It’s a rare glimpse into the very personal lives of women, men, and children at a time when the world was changing rapidly.

I spent the morning browsing through this collection, which I’ll admit to not having looked at until today, and was blown away by some of the amazing things I found like

  • Etiquette lessons
  • Suggestions for promoting “beautiful feet and hands”
  • Marriage advice
  • Career opportunities for the 19th century woman (including library work!)
  • Fashion plates (and advertisements for “healthful” corsets)

If you have even a passing interest in the lives of your great-great-grandmothers, or what a daily routine might be for a 19th century woman, take a moment to browse this excellent collection.

 

Filed Under: Library Collection Tagged With: 19th century, databases, early 20th century, in the collection, primary sources, Women's History Month

Celebrate Women’s History Month

March 1, 2015 by Amanda VerMeulen

Penn[sylvania] on the picket line-- 1917.

Penn[sylvania] on the picket line– 1917. From the Records of the National Woman’s Party at the Library of Congress

Happy Women’s History Month! This March 2015 marks the 35th anniversary of Women’s History Month, and this year’s theme is Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives, a nod to the power of narrative and storytelling in American history and importance of the stories of individual women.

To celebrate this month, the St. Mary’s Library will be featuring different women’s history resources on the In the Collection portion of the Library’s website. We’ll also have a series of posts about research materials related to women’s history, as well as amazing information you can access online through various archival collections.

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: history, Women's History Month

Recent Posts

  • Summer Hours at the Library May 5, 2025
  • Finals Week Library Hours April 22, 2025
  • Misinformation Escape Room Event April 7, 2025
  • ⚠️ Ask Us Service Interruption – March 17 March 21, 2025
  • We’re Hiring for the 25-26 Academic Year! March 20, 2025

Categories

  • Announcements (26)
  • Archives (12)
  • Database Trial (8)
  • Events (55)
  • Exhibits (6)
  • Faculty and Staff Profiles (4)
  • Library Building (44)
  • Library Collection (61)
  • Library Ethnography Project (2)
  • Library Hours (81)
  • Library People (31)
  • Musings (34)
  • Services (31)
  • Student Employees (24)
  • Summer Reading (284)
  • Teaching & Education (2)
  • Uncategorized (1)
  • Web Resources (11)

Archives

Contact Us:

(240) 895-4264

ask@smcm.libanswers.com

47645 College Drive
St. Mary's City, MD, 20686-3001

Follow Us

Follow Library News

  • Directions
  • Archives
  • Directory
Support the Library
White and Gold text reading 'The National Public Honors College' linking to the SMCM Homepage
St. Mary's College of Maryland
47645 College Drive
St. Mary's City, MD, 20686-3001

(240) 895-2000
Give Today

Next Steps

  • Request Information
  • Visit Campus
  • How to Apply
  • Explore SMCM

Just For You

  • Prospective Students
  • Current Students
  • New Students
  • Parents & Families
  • Faculty | Staff
  • Employment

Resources

  • InsideSMCM
  • Directory
  • Events | Newsroom
  • Hilda C. Landers Library
  • College Rankings
  • Brand Resources

St. Mary’s College of Maryland reserves the right to provide some or all of the course content through alternative methods of course delivery, including remote methods of delivery, and it reserves the right to change the method of delivery at any time before or during the academic term, in the event of a health or safety emergency or similar situation when it determines, in its sole discretion, that such change is necessary and in the best interests of the College and the campus community.

  • © St. Mary's College of Maryland
  • Consumer Information
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Title IX Compliance &Training
  • Report an Accessibility Issue
  • Non-discrimination Policy
  • Reporting Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect
  • OLA Fraud Hotline
  • Help Desk
  • Website Feedback
  • National Human Trafficking Hotline
  • 1-888-373-7888
  • BeFree Textline
  • Text HELP to 233733 (BEFREE)
  • More resources on human trafficking in Maryland