No. 56: Developing Special Collections of African-American

Materials

7 -11 August 1995

This course is aimed at research and rare book librarians, MS librarians, and archivists whose current responsibilities include the care of collections containing African-American printed and/or MS materials. Topics include: the history of African-American institutional collecting; sources for acquiring materials; developing clienteles of users; description and preservation; and current issues (Afrocentrism vs Eurocentrism, ethics, inter-institutional competition).

1. How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: They were helpful because we talked about issues related to the readings. 2: The readings were extremely useful. 3: Very -- gave me an understanding of ways to use African-American materials. 4: Great. Very useful. 5: Pre-course readings didn't apply to the betterment of the course. 6: Course readings gave a solid background for discussions and assignments. 7: Very. I could put a lot of the lectures into historical context as a result of my reading. 8: Read some; could've used more time. 11: They were useful and informative. 12: The pre-course readings were very useful. For the most part, I had read most of the books. The reading list should have been distributed at least three weeks prior to the commencement of the course. 13: Very useful. They provided a good background for discussion and placed the issues covered in context. 14: OK, as an introduction, but I was looking for more bibliography and historiography (bibliographical lists handed out later were better).

2. Did your instructors prepare properly and sufficiently to teach THIS course?

1: The instructors were well-prepared for the course. A detailed and descriptive syllabus was given to us on the first day of class. 2: The instructors were prepared. I also enjoyed the team approach. The materials distributed were useful in class and will be useful to my career when I return home. 3: Yes, I would have liked a course packet for the readings. 4: Yes, the instructors prepared adequately for the course; they adhered to the syllabus that was given out. 5: Yes. Materials along with notes can be useful after I return home. 6: Preparation was excellent. Materials distributed will be tremendously helpful to me in my new assignment!! 7: Yes. 8: Yes and yes. 9: Course materials and those materials recommended by the instructors will be useful. 10: Instructors gave great care to course preparation. Materials distributed in class were useful for informational and background reading. 11: Yes. Yes. 12: The instructors did an excellent job in presenting the materials and were well prepared. The course syllabus and other materials were good. I would have liked to have received more compilations of resources for various time periods. 13: Both instructors prepared adequately for this course, and a useful syllabus was distributed that kept us on track. This was the first time LE and MP have taught the course and I'm sure they will institute changes based on this experience the next time they offer it. 14: Both were a bit shaky about print/rare book sources and concentrated more on manuscripts and Virginia (and region), rather than books and the United States. The syllabus was OK, but some topics were touched on only briefly. 15: Adequately prepared and made notes for future ideas. Handouts were generous and well organized.

3. Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?

1: Very much so. It is necessary to discuss the inclusion of blacks in history in order to understand the need to collect in that area. We also had helpful discussions concerningpreservation and the processing of the material. 2: Yes. 3: Yes. The level of the class was mixed, but I was never bored or ever felt that the course was over my head. 4: Somewhat. 5: Yes. 6: Intellectual level was more than appropriate. I truly gained a historical and professional understanding of African-American literature as collected. 7: Very much so. 8-9: Yes. 10: I admire the instructors' abilities to meet the diverse knowledge base of the attendees and found the intellectual level of the course content appropriate. 11-12: Yes. 13: I have some mixed feelings about it, but generally I think the intellectual level of the course was appropriate. The real intellectual content was derived from student discussion of issues presented. 14: LE's history overview dealt with broad concepts rather than imparting much information. Frustrating because it is obvious that HE has the knowledge, but wasn't too focused -- wasted a lot of time on long stories to make a point. MP was more focused -- but too polite to cut off and refocus LE's wandering. I respect the knowledge of both instructors and know that first-time courses are difficult. Both have much information to impart -- just need a little more structure. It is important that such a course continue. Both manuscripts/rare books and African-American are important to include -- just need more substance in the first two days -- or modification of the course description. 15: Definitely!

4. If your course had field trips, were they effective?

1: Yes. We made a trip to Special Collections and the Kilty Foster dig. The trip to Virginia State University [VSU] gave us an idea of how a one-person shop is run. The Kilty Foster trip was something the students wanted to see. It provided a good illustration of the importance of special collections material and archives in terms of reconstructing history. 2: Yes. 3: Very well spent. We learn in this profession by viewing what others are doing. 4: We travelled to VSU, and this was probably one of the best uses of time. We saw an African-American archive at an African-American college collecting African-American materials!! 5: Yes, very much so. 6: The time devoted to a visit to VSU was very well spent and could not have been duplicated in a classroom. 7: Extremely. 8: Yes. 9: The timing for me was great, because the class discussed the materials before going and from that there were certain questions about the handling of the materials. These questions were answered. 10: The time away from the classroom was very illuminating on the course content. The practical reinforced the theoretical discussions. 11: Yes. 12: Yes. It was interesting to see the contrast of two academic institutions with different backgrounds and orientations for collection development. The amount of financial support of the institutions was a striking contrast, as well. 13: The visit to Special Collections and the field trip to VSU were certainly of great interest to me, but, for me, did not add significantly to the course content. For others in the course, however, who are not special collections librarians, I think these visits added significantly to their conceptualization of special collections in two different academic environments, and the kinds of materials that are collected. 14: The trips to Special Collections and VSU were worth it and both instructors did well on their home turf. (Not too great as role models for handling of rare materials.) 15: Very much so!

5. Did the actual course content correspond to its RBS brochure description and Expanded Course Description? Did the course in general meet your expectations?

1: Yes, the actual course content was exactly as described in the brochure. All of my expectations were met. 2: I think so; the course met my expectations. 3: N/A: I didn't get the Expanded Course Description. 4: Yes, in general. 5: Yes. 6: My expectations were surpassed! 7: Yes, and more than met my expectations. 8-9: Yes. 10: The course corresponded to its description and met my expectations. 11: Yes. The historical content surpassed my expectations. 12: N/A. 13: Generally, I believe the content corresponded well with its description, although I think I expected a more thorough and structured discussion of the development of African-American historiography. 14: Class discussions on Thursday were more like what I had hopedfor the entire course -- class was mixed in levels of expertise and focus -- but several made major contributions to the success of the course. I had hoped for more on collection development strategies/private collectors/potential donors, but I may have been reading my own agenda into the course description. Some modification of the description seems appropriate to parallel more of what was presented -- sources and interpretation and use of special collections rather than acquisitions. Emphasis should be on introductory level and meeting the needs of a one-person shop -- for which this course would have been helpful. Either make it clear that manuscripts/archives are the focus, or add a stronger rare book component. 15: Mostly; in truth, we didn't seem to have time for everything we wanted to do/talk about.

6. What did you like best about the course?

1: The instructors were both very knowledgeable. The fact that one was from a small university and the other from a larger and better endowed one provided for a good general idea of problems and solutions both to those of us just building collections and those maintaining established ones. 2: The team approach and the practicality. It was not a boring course with much theory. Also, I gained much from the experience of the others enrolled in the course. 3: Both instructors knew what they were talking about. I liked the way the class was able to ask questions. 4: The opportunity for open dialog and the free exchange of ideas. 5: The knowledge of the instructors and the exchange of ideas from my fellow classmates. 6: The historical perspective and the professional perspective were effectively presented. 7: The instructors had such expertise in archival work. LE was very knowledgeable in African-American history and local history as well. It was a great networking and mentoring vehicle. 8: Both instructors were knowledgeable and worked well together. The guest lecturer, Ervin Jordan. The session held in the Electronic classroom with David Seaman. The field trip to VSU. 9: The discussion and exchange of ideas after the points were presented by our instructors were key elements in this course. 10: The information exchange of course participants enhanced the course. I enjoyed the team teaching approach. The instructors complemented and supported each other. The variety of two voices prevented the boredom or distraction common to single instructor courses. 11: The historical content was excellent. Examining the documents was very useful. 12: The instructors were extremely well informed. It offered an opportunity to network with others involved with African-American collections. The subject was an exciting one for the class as a whole. This was evident in the lively discussions that took place. 13: The lively discussion and rapport among the students. The frankness of discussion. The willingness to share knowledge among a group of widely varied experiences, the warmth and humanity of the instructors and the depth of their understanding of the issues. 14: Discussions on tensions between small black colleges and big white universities re: collection building; Jordan and field trips; meeting a variety of course members -- even more class discussion would have been good. 15: Good discussion among students and instructors.

7. How could the course have been improved?

2: Warmer environment -- the air conditioning was set too high. 3: The course description should add the level that the members of the class should be at, whether it's for those new to the profession or for those new to the subject matter. 4: More emphasis on organizing and developing a collection and less library (general) information. 5-6: Don't know. 7: I think a larger group would be better next time. Perhaps more printed material, as well. 8: Make it in two parts, for two weeks. 9: If at all possible, it would have been good to have the class sessions closer to Special Collections. 10: I would have liked more lists of dealers, Web sites, collection guides, &c. 11: Perhaps a field trip to Washington, DC (Library of Congress, Moreland-Spingarn Collection at Howard, &c.) could be added if time were available. 12: I think that the analysis and examination of materials and resources should be divided into time periods. In discussingspecial collections in African-American materials, pre-colonial records should also be considered. I would also suggest dealing with records of blacks who traveled from the Americas to the Caribbean and Europe. 13: More structured presentation of certain subjects like African-American historiography. A blackboard to compile list of points made during discussion and to emphasize important concepts. The addition of another kind of exercise (a role-playing exercise that I have already discussed with the instructors). 14: More opportunity for sharing information about strengths and weaknesses of collections of participants and of other major African-American book collections. More discussion or brainstorming on ways to explore institutional cooperation. Expand the scope beyond the Virginia region.

8. Any final thoughts?

1: I would recommend this course to anyone interested. It was informative, but it also provided an opportunity for networking and making contacts. 2: Be prepared for a long week (with long days). However, it's fun and you'll learn a lot. 3: A very good class. LE and MP did a great job with a new course. 4: The course was taught well; however, it just did not serve my purpose. I am interested in the archival area and was not as well versed in library terminology and applications. 5: The course was very good. The instructors prepared themselves for the lectures and brought extensive knowledge to the class. Handouts and other materials were very important in helping to collect materials in special collections. Visiting Special Collections and VSU added to the knowledge of what goes into the management of special collections. I would recommend that other librarians, archivists, and rare book librarians take this course. I would also recommend that LE and MP continue to work on the course for people who may be interested in this area. 6: I would highly recommend the course!! 7: It is a valuable experience for any serious librarian, historian, archivist, curator of manuscripts, &c. This material is too valuable to let fall by the wayside from neglect. Future students should do the pre-course reading to have a good foundation in the history. That is very important. 8: I found this course to be both exciting and educational. I leave with knowledge and information that will help my students in years to come. The staff was very helpful and spent long hours preparing for the comfort of the group. Special thanks to TB for his insight, offering a course like this at RBS. Thanks. 10: I found this an admirable effort as a first-time offering. I would like to revisit the course in the future to see how it improves with age. 11: This course would make an excellent addition to library school curricula. 13: One of the reasons I have never attended RBS before was because of funds and timing. Coming on the heels of the RBMS preconference and the ALA annual meeting, it has always been very difficult to justify going to all three. This year I was able to do just that because I was a guest of RBS, otherwise the entire venture would have run over $2400. My kids miss me, and they need to eat. I am very grateful to have been able to attend RBS for the first time -- it was an extraordinary experience -- but I know that I must continue to make choices between my education, my professional organization commitments, and my family. 14: I learned a lot -- but not exactly what I expected. RBS is always worthwhile! I was just a little frustrated because both instructors had the knowledge and ability and could have imparted even more with a little more focus and making every minute count. I'm sure the second time around will be great, because they work well together and will know more what to expect. (I realize that the difference in individual background and experience of class members makes it harder to please everyone.) 15:Yes, yes! Do it!

Number of respondents: 15

Percentages

Leave Tuition Housing Travel

Institution Institution Institution Institution

gave me leave paid tuition paid housing paid travel

93% 0% 47% 47%

I took vaca- I paid tui- I paid for my I paid my own

tion time tion myself own housing travel

7% 0% 40% 40%

N/A: self- N/A: Self- N/A: stayed N/A: lived

employed, re- employed, with friends nearby

tired, or had retired, or or lived at

summers off exchange home

0% 100% 13% 13%