The Dr. John Archer Library and Archives is continually striving to connect with broader academic communities by providing mentorship opportunities to students in a library and archives environment. One of the key ways we do this is by offering U of R students experiential and service learning opportunities at the Dr. John Archer Library & Archives.
Mariko joined us as part of a series of Faculty of Arts Work Experience Internships in partnership with Dr. John Archer Library & Archives and the Faculty of Science. Mariko’s work on the first journal transcriptions of Dr. Ledingham will be a key building block for the larger project. Her work has resulted in a physical component that will be installed at the University of Regina showcasing the beauty and research potential of the Herbarium collection.
As part of the Herbarium Project, the Archer Library hosted several other Faculty of Science students who required the use of our specialized scanner to digitize herbarium specimens. The project will facilitate greater access to the Herbarium Collection and promote broader awareness of the work of Dr. Ledingham.
In partnership with Grow Regina, Abby prepared an inventory of Grow Regina records including minutes of meetings, newsletters, reports, grant applications, photographs and prepared the material for a Grow Regina donation to the U of R Archives. She conducted interviews with Grow Regina Board members to document their story for archival purposes.
In the summer of 2022, we were thrilled to welcome Kennedy Ermel for a student assistant placement with the President’s Art Collection. Kennedy spent the summer exploring the campus and inventoried over 400 works of art located in hallways, classrooms, offices and labs. She produced condition reports and entered data into the collections database, allowing us to keep track of the large number of works on display. She also assisted in the removal of the Takao Tanabe Ad Hum banners, which had been in place since 1973. Working with Curator/ Preparator Alex King, she carefully reviewed over 240 feet of fabric in detail (front and back!), recording damaged areas and general condition. Kennedy was enthusiastic, diligent, and fantastic to work with, and we wish her the best for the remainder of her History BA.
In 2022, Emma Moros joined the Archer Archives team as a co-op student for the fall semester. Emma is a student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver where they are pursuing a Masters in library and archival studies. Emma is passionate about archives because “archives have a responsibility to care for not just these stories, but also the people and communities who entrust us with them.”
Moros worked with us remotely from Vancouver on several fully virtual projects, including migrating finding aids into an online system, compiling examples of best practices related to equitable and inclusive archiving for the Archives to implement, and helping support records and information management work at the University of Regina. Emma wrote that they’d “learned a ton” from the Archives team during the internship.
Emma also joined the External Communications and Promotions Team (ECPT) bi-weekly meetings, where they provided invaluable input during the ECPT’s social media strategizing, content brainstorming, and other discussions.