1. Primary Sources from the Inside Out:
Discovering Uncharted Territory
Heather Briston & Heather Ward

3. The Inspiration Growth in primary source assignments
History
Journalism
Theater
Honors College
Intimidation factor
Challenging to find
History courses—military, medical, women, Oregon, etc
Journalism Courses—early journalism, documentaries
Theater courses—dramaturgy course
Honors College—thesis projects, HC421
Student quote: “This class would be great for anyone preparing to take Information Gathering [J202].”

4. The Idea: Inside
Students become better researchers by studying and practicing basic archival work
Learn what to expect to find in a collection
Think about likely repositories for an item
Understand structure of standard research tools
Learn how to treat original documents by studying preservation & handling originals
learn the structure of a typical finding and thus know what to expect when approaching a finding aid for another collection
Students will know how to access & use a variety of primary source materials by:
Learning about the ways in which materials are collected and organized
Studying how to effectively use access tools specific to primary materials to find relevant sources
Learning about the unique requirements for accessing archival materials

5. The Idea: Outside
Students become better researchers by practicing research & writing
Consider different media
Hear practitioners’ stories
Research strategies
Assessing sources
Put them in their historical context
Guest speakers on audio, photos, art, fellow students
Students will be able to incorporate primary sources into their research by:
Learning to critically assess and select relevant sources
Learning to place primary sources in their context

6. Background Research Looked for similar classes
Library/archival course syllabi
History course syllabi
Searched for articles in databases in various disciplines
   Education
Library science & archival theory
History

8. The Students 12 students Sophomore to Senior
1st time—mix of lit, history, journalism, etc.
2nd time—more history majors
Reasons for taking class varied

9. Coursework Theoretical Topics Guest Speakers Exercises Assignments
Collective memory
Access & Censorship
Ethics of primary source research
The future of primary sources
Exercises
Evidence of your life
What will be preserved & how
Makes primary sources concrete
Frémont expedition accounts
Different perspectives of writers & their authority
Intended audience of a primary source
Ethical dilemmas
Return of stolen artwork
Preservation vs. ownership rights
Assignments
Read history article & analyze use of sources
Analyze
Diary
Photo
Recording
Final project in several segments
Preliminary topic, final topic, intro/outline, bibliography
Final presentation

10. Student Projects All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Founding of Astoria, Oregon
The Black Panthers in Eugene
1st woman sports reporter for Daily Emerald
The real Joseph Lane
The Rogue River War

11. Unexpected Issues Students had little writing experience
Added guides to historical writing
Handed out writing tips
Discussed in class
Courseware experience varied widely
Profs use at many different levels
Some students wanted more online, some less
Writing tips from composition instructors, history profs
When they say they’ve used Blackboard, it may not be to the level you plan to use it.

12. Second Time Around Reduced archival work
Still had hands-on experience with manuscripts
Reduced required visits to Special Collections
Emphasized paper & presentation
Greater freedom in selecting research topic
More time to focus on research
Less emphasis on archivist work
More engaging to students when allowed to select own topic
Still see how finding aids are created and what details are typically there or not—such as item level
Still got to “discover” unique and exciting items
Limited hours of Special Collections made extensive use of collections challenging for swamped students

13. Student Comments Student Quotes:
My eyes were opened to the abundance of primary document info available…I learned a ton.
I wish I would have taken this class earlier…it would have helped me with so many projects and papers

14. What Next LIB399 becomes LIB323 Field trips with lectures
Continue to revise reading list
Discuss disciplines outside of history
Incorporate more teaching effectiveness tips
Assign students to lead class discussions
Plan to teach again in Spring 2006, no longer “experimental”
Art museum
Natural history museum
More new publications all the time
Find more engaging readings