丁香园AV

About 30 Department of English graduate students and their counterparts from History, Philosophy, Graduate Liberal Studies, and Film Studies gathered on the top floor of the Bennett Library on Friday, February 18th to celebrate all things archival! Organized by Farley Visiting Professor Linda Morra and Distinguished University Professor Betty Schellenberg, this all-day event, titled 鈥淎rchival Research: A Best-Practices Workshop,鈥� offered six different sessions covering traditional and current issues encountered in archives. The sessions were facilitated by ten experienced archival researchers from 丁香园AV and other universities across Canada. Also making a special appearance were some of the unique objects held in 丁香园AV鈥檚 Special Collections and Rare Books.

Topics included the negotiations involved in working with 鈥淎uthors and Their Archives鈥�; 鈥淓thics in the Archives鈥�; 鈥淩econstructing the Past鈥� (sights, sounds, and tastes) from theatre playbills, manuscript books, and parish records; 鈥淒igital Mediations鈥� of sound recordings into accessible and durable forms; and a hands-on comparison of 鈥淒igital and Physical Archives,鈥� including manuscript recipe books and unwashed punk-rock t-shirts. Our participants were especially keen on the opening collaborative session, a 鈥淪tart-Up Guide to Working in Archives,鈥� in which the day鈥檚 presenters shared their top-ten tips for planning and carrying out archival research.

Hint: Be kind to archivists 鈥� they hold the keys to the treasure!

Second Hint: Archival time and clock time are not the same thing!

We are currently processing a Zoom video, so we can offer highlights of the event for viewing. Stay tuned for more details.