The Collins Memorial Library archivists and specialists already have all the materials they need for the upcoming spring exhibit, but they are missing one very important thing: student experiences.
This school year, the spring exhibit will be all about exploring the Northwest region of the United States. Although it will not be set up until March 29, most of the pieces have already been curated for this exhibit.
The library archivists and specialists are looking for one last thing to complete their collection; they are calling for students, faculty and staff to submit their own photography.
“The student experience is one of the pieces that we don’t have well documented in the Archives and Special Collections. That is something I would like to get more of,” Archivist and Special Collections Librarian Katie Henningsen said.
Aiming to get a large variety of pictures from the Northwest, submissions opened up to students on Nov. 30. After two days, 20 photos had already been submitted.
“We want the community to submit their photos so we can show a more contemporary way of interacting with the Northwest,” junior and peer research specialist Morgan Ford said.
The other pieces of the exhibit include rare books, manuscripts and photographs from the University Archives and Special Collections.
“Our oldest material about the Northwest is 250 years old, so the exhibit will span about 250 years,” Henningsen said.
The early pieces of the exhibit contain information about pathfinders who were contracted by the government to do exploration for the United States, like Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s famed expidition. In addition, the exhibit will also contain modern framing of the Northwest.
“The exhibit spans all the way to the 21st century to cover things like road trips, going on day hikes and other things that we do now on our weekends,” Henningsen said.
Any photos that capture adventures in the Northwest can be submitted online with a name, place and an optional caption. Ford and Henningsen will choose which photographs will be included in the exhibit closer to the springtime.
“We would love to have a broad range of experiences from students, staff and faculty,” Henningsen said.
The purpose of this exhibit is to get students involved, and all students have the opportunity to have their photos featured. Additionally, this exhibit is meant to inspire students to use old university records in their research.
“We have a lot of material that covers the Northwest in Special Collections, and it’s not the material most students would think to use on research projects,” Henningsen said. “A lot of the materials are untouched and have no scholarship. It would be great to see students doing research with some of this material.”
