Open AccessThe Manuscript as Question: Teaching Primary Sources in the Archives—The China Missions Project
Author(s) -
Michelle McCoy
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
college and research libraries/college and research libraries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.886
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 2150-6701
pISSN - 0010-0870
DOI - 10.5860/0710049
Subject(s) - outreach , library science , class (philosophy) , special collections , china , identification (biology) , quarter (canadian coin) , administration (probate law) , perspective (graphical) , computer science , world wide web , political science , history , archaeology , botany , artificial intelligence , biology , law
The collaborative effort between two Special Collections librarians and a history professor at DePaul University led to a quarter-long undergraduate project in the archives using China Missions Correspondence. In a reversal of traditional methods that assumes archival use to answer a question, this project looks at the document as the source of the questions. A qualitative analysis of student responses from these class sessions between 2002 and 2008 reveals the impact that direct experience has on primary source education and how outreach and user instruction in the archives can transform research, education, and the place of special collections within the institution. As a case study, this paper examines planning, administration, identification, instruction, and assessment of the project from the librarians’ perspective.