In a time when many students begin their research by Googling and turning to Wikipedia, valuable, authoritative content is often overlooked. Archival material is difficult to identify, find, and search on the Internet because only a small portion of this material has been digitized or have finding aids. CUNY libraries subscribe to hundreds of research databases that give full-text access to peer-reviewed scholarly articles and full-length academic books. Moreover, the libraries have built unique collections of original documents that support historical and other kinds of research. These collections provide especially rich resources for students and faculty who are interested in researching topics on diversity and multiculturalism. In addition to peer-reviewed journals, libraries in CUNY provide access to a wide variety of resources such as archival material and specialized library databases. The library faculty and staff who develop these collections are experts at identifying hard to find resources that might otherwise go undetected. The main purpose of this presentation will be to convey the depth and the richness of diversity-related special collections in CUNY schools, which faculty, students and staff may not be aware exists. This presentation celebrates the same values as the newly approved Association of College and Research Libraries Diversity Standards, which provides diversity guidelines for academic libraries. In particular this presentation is concerned with Standard 4, which states: Librarians and library staff shall develop collections and provide programs and services that are inclusive of the needs of all persons in the community the library serves. (ACRL 2012 http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/diversity) CUNY’s libraries live up to this standard by providing a wide array of resources that support student and faculty research in topics that involve diversity, gender, cultural, LGBT, and multilingual issues. In the first half of this 45-minute presentation, Professor Albarillo will give a short overview of general services that library special collections provide, focusing on the types of materials these departments collect, and the unique opportunities they provide for students to become familiar with and to use primary resources for class projects. Professor Albarillo will focus on archives and special collections that are part of CUNY and will identify papers and archival material of diverse individuals and organizations available in library special collections throughout the system.

1. Part 1
Presentation by
Frans Albarillo, Reference Services
Librarian, Brooklyn College Library
March 8, 2013

2. Association of College and Research Libraries,
Diversity Standards: Cultural Competency for
Academic Libraries (2012)
Standard 4 - Development of collections,
programs, and services:
Librarians and library staff shall develop
collections and provide programs and services that
are inclusive of the needs of all persons in the
community the library serves.
Source: ACRL 2012 http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/diversity

3. Part 1
* learn about special collections and archives in
CUNY that enhance and support diversity
research
Part 2
* become familiar with CUNY library databases
and other online resources that support
diversity research

4. Part 1: Archives and Special Collections
and Diversity Research at CUNY
*

5. “In general, archives are places that store,
protect and provide access to unique records of
government and corporate bodies and the papers
of individuals and families. These are primary
sources.”
Source:
“Archives & Special Collections,” Hunter College Libraries website,
http://libguides.library.hunter.cuny.edu/content.php
pid=258237&sid=2131423.

6. “Primary source documents are original
documents that provide the first form or
appearance of new information. These original
documents provide unique insight into the
past.”
Source:
“Archives & Special Collections,” Hunter College Libraries website,
http://libguides.library.hunter.cuny.edu/content.php
pid=258237&sid=2131423.

7. “Special collections are libraries or departments
within libraries that store, protect, and provide access
to rare and/or unique books, and other materials that
do not normally fall within the scope of a library’s
circulating collections.”
Source:
“Archives & Special Collections,” Hunter College Libraries website,
http://libguides.library.hunter.cuny.edu/content.php
pid=258237&sid=2131423.

8. • Artifacts
• Institutional records
• Pictures
• Media
• Secondary sources
• Working with primary sources and
thinking critically
• Working with the archivist

9. •
•
•
By appointment
Limited hours
Finding aids

12. Brooklyn College Library Archives and Special
Collections

13. *1924 – 2005
*Childhood in Bedford Stuyvesant
*Graduated from Brooklyn College, where she studied
sociology and Spanish
*Master from Columbia University in early childhood
education
*First African American Congresswoman (1968 – 1982)
*Candidate for the Democratic presidential
nomination in 1972
*The Catalyst for Change
*Founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus
and the National Women’s Political Caucus
Source: Biographical note, Shirley Chisholm ’72 Collection,
Archives and Special Collections, Brooklyn College Library.

14. Processed by Erin Allsop
* 27 boxes and processing will total 40 boxes
* Material donated by Mrs. Shola Lynch, producer
of the Chisholm ’72 Unbossed & Unbought
documentary DVD 2008 and Professor Barbara
Winslow, director of the Shirley Chisholm
Project of Brooklyn Women’s Activism, in May
2011
* 300 photographs, reams of typed and
handwritten correspondence, rare magazines
and newspapers and various other forms of
media
Source: Finding Aid, Shirley Chisholm ’72 Collection,
Archives and Special Collections, Brooklyn College Library

19. John Jay College of Criminal Justice

20. * Organization was established in 1915
* Alice Stebbins Wells, the first woman to be
classified as “policewoman,” was elected
president
* Strengthen and raise the profile of women in
criminal justice internationally
* Collection (1956 – 1996)
* Numerous publications including Women Police
(1988 – present), The Policewomen’s Bulletin
(1962 – 1974), The IAWP Bulletin (1966 – 1997),
and Police Woman (1970s – 1987)
Source: Records of the International Association of Women
Police, Lloyd Sealy Library Special Collections, John Jay
College of Criminal Justice - CUNY

21. * Processed by Tania Colmant Donabedian
* 5 boxes
* Correspondence
* Conference programs
* Awards, minutes, reports
* Association history (1927-1985)
* Photographs and news clippings
* Publications
Source: Records of the International Association of Women
Police, Lloyd Sealy Library Special Collections, John Jay College
of Criminal Justice - CUNY

22. Image Source: Box 3,
Records of the International
Association of Women
Police, Lloyd Sealy Library
Special Collections, John
Jay College of Criminal
Justice - CUNY

23. Image Source: Box 3,
Records of the International
Association of Women
Police, Lloyd Sealy Library
Special Collections, John
Jay College of Criminal
Justice - CUNY

24. Source: International Association of Women Police website, http://www.iawp.org/

25. Queensborough Community College

26. Source: Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center &
Archives website, http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/khrca/.

27. “The mission of the Harriet and Kenneth
Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center &
Archives is to use the lessons of the Holocaust
to educate current and future generations
about the ramifications of unbridled
prejudice, racism and stereotyping.”
Source: Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center &
Archives website, http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/khrca/.

28. * 1983; opening of the center in 2009
* Holocaust and genocide
* Exhibition space
* Artifacts and photographs
* 10,000 books
* Many photographs and an exhibit space
* Online virtual catalog
* Index of New York Times articles on the Holocaust 19331948
* Yizkor (Memorial) books documenting Eastern and Central
European Jewish communities
* Videos (interns interviewing Holocaust survivors)
Source:
Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center & Archives website,
http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/khrca/.
Hadassah Magazine January 2010, The Arts: Memory Has a Home in Queens,
http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/khrca/docs/KHRCAhadassahmagazine.pdf

32. Thank you!
falbarillo@brooklyn.cuny.edu