Stacie Williams is keynote speaker for Digital Library Forum

Stacie Wiliams

Stacie Williams, Special Collections Research Center Learning Lab manager, is the keynote speaker for the 2016 Digital Library Forum. According to DLF Forum planners, the "keynote will help us kick off a pragmatic, get-stuff-done conversation, unfolding over the following days." UK Libraries is a member institution of the DLF.

Stacie's keynote will focus on labor issues in our field, and we will share a title and abstract in the coming months. The 2016 DLF will take place in Milwaukee. Stacie is a Milwaukee native, a background she says shaped her perspectives on issues like the “Implications of Archival Labor”.

Learning Lab students present on Special Collections archival work

Interns from the Special Collections Research Center Learning Lab presented the projects representing the culmination of their work during the 2016 – 2017 academic year during an event on April 14, 2016. The interns spent the year processing and researching the archival collections of the Frankel and Curtis architectural drawings collection. The collection consists of the files of the Frankel and Curtis architectural firm, a leader in designing buildings in Kentucky in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

The interns each spoke on a facet of the collection, detailing analyses of material culture, race relations, and history drawn from the primary source documents.

Six interns worked in the Learning Lab this year, supervised by Learning Lab manager Stacie Williams. The interns this year were as follows: Nick Hodge, a sophomore architecture major with a minor in environmental studies and sustainability from Lexington; Sommer Cade, a sophomore architecture major from Louisville; Steve Ngandu-Sankayi, a sophomore architecture major with a minor in French from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Abby King, a sophomore majoring in history and classics from Lexington; Daria Goncharova, a senior English major from Russia; and Aaron Mueller, a sophomore computer science and linguistics major from Louisville. 

Aaron Mueller

Abigail King

Daria Goncharova

Nick Hodge

Sommer Cade

Steve Ngandu-Sankayi

Learning Lab intern named one of twelve Gaines Fellows

Aaron Mueller

Aaron Mueller, a UK Libraries Learning Lab intern in the Special Collections Research Center, was just selected as one of the twelve new University of Kentucky Gaines Fellows. Aaron is a sophomore computer science and linguistics major from Louisville. He will be a Gaines Fellow for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 academic years. Gaines Fellows are academically excellent students with a strong interest in the humanities. Learning Lab manager Stacie Williams recommended Aaron as a Gaines Scholar. 

All Gaines Fellows are required to take a specially designed seminar in the humanities during both semesters of their junior year. In addition, each junior fellow must complete a jury project, planning and optionally carrying out an improvement for a local community. In the senior year, each fellow must complete a major independent study project of six to 15 credit hours. At the conclusion of this project, a thesis paper must be submitted and defended in front of a thesis committee of three university faculty members and the director of the Gaines Center.

In addition to the course requirements, Gaines Fellows enjoy a rich program of field trips, lectures, and other activities designed to widen and deepen their educational experience.

A complete news release on the Gaines Fellowship program is available on UKNow.

Congratulations, Aaron.

Save the date: Learning Lab student presentations

Students from the Special Collections Research Center Learning Lab program will present their year-long projects on April 14, 2016, from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Great Hall of Margaret I. King Library. The students have been engaged since the beginning of the academic year in processing the Frankel and Curtis Architectural Drawings Collection. The Learning Lab program is managed by Stacie Williams. A reception will follow the presentations.

(Click on image to view full size)

New Learning Lab interns begin work and research

Learning Lab interns Daria Goncharova and
Aaron Mueller work on the blueprint collections

The UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center recently welcomed a new class of interns to the Learning Lab program. The internships, supervised by Learning Lab Manager Stacie Williams, take place over the course of the academic year and target undergraduates interested in primary document research.

Interns process archival collections and produce scholarly projects related to the collections and their own research interests. The 2015-2016 interns will process 10 cubic feet of blueprints from Lexington, Kentucky, architectural firm Frankel and Curtis. The students will work on scholarly projects examining the economic development of Lexington through construction and development.

The Learning Lab interns are: sophomore architecture major and environmental studies and sustainability minor Nick Hodge; sophomore architecture major Sommer Cade; sophomore architecture major and French minor Steve Ngandu-Sankayi; sophomore history and classics major Abby King; senior English and linguistics major Daria Goncharova; and sophomore computer science and linguistics major Aaron Mueller.

Learning Lab interns attend "Description Camp"

SCRC Director of Archives Ruth Bryan led interns in a "Description Camp" to learn about proper handling of archival documents. The interns also received training on ArchivesSpace and had the opportunity to practice describing collections.

Students will present their final projects in April 2016.

Learning Lab applications due September 4

Archival processing in the Special Collections Research Center.

Students engaged in the UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center Learning Lab Internships for 2015-2016 will work to highlight Lexington architectural history as they process the Frankel and Curtis blueprints and papers. Students will work together on a multi-format project layering GIS technology, city government data, and archival photos using digital humanities tools. This project will also include analysis of a National Register of Historic Places application.

This is an ideal project for students from many academic departments including computer science, architecture, engineering, historic preservation, geography, sociology, anthropology, fine arts, or history. Find more information on the project and instructions for how to apply for Learning Lab Internships online.  

The SCRC Learning Lab is a center of primary research, experiential learning, and training targeted to UK undergraduates in various disciplines who want to enhance their studies through training in archival methods and theory. Applications for fall and spring internships are due Friday, Sept. 4.

Stacie Williams attends Social Justice Collaboratorium

Stacie Williams

Stacie Williams, Learning Lab manager in the Special Collections Research Center, recently participated in the Social Justice Collaboratorium, an invitation-only symposium at the University of Maryland. The two-day symposium, sponsored by the American Library Association and the Institute for Museum and Library Services, was based on a resource created by ALA Spectrum Scholar doctoral students. The event aimed to help information professionals more fully integrate social justice practice and theory into regular librarianship.

Stacie joined more than than 30 participants from libraries and archives across the country, and spent much of the day in active sessions to develop a mission statement and case use studies for the website. The symposium also had a significant research component and served to join people who are creating scholarly works around social justice issues in the field of library and information science.