1. Amy Chen
CL IR Pos tdoc toral
Fel low
Di v i s ion of Spec ial
Col lec t ions
Uni ver s i t y of
Alabama
WHAT TO CONSIDER
WHEN INTEGRATING
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
INTO YOUR ASSIGNMENTS
@coolathoole

2. TYPE
Digital Physical
acumen.lib.ua.edu Williams Collection in the
Gorgas Library and/or
W.S. Hoole Library in Mary
Harmon Bryant Hall
100,000+ items (limited) Millions
Easier to navigate Harder to navigate
Less engagement Higher engagement
24/7 access 9-5 M,W,F
9-8 T, Th
@coolathoole

3. Creative
Project
Poem, nonfiction
article, exhibition,
something else?
Research
Paper
Is it short (under 5
pages) or long?
Writing
for the
Web
Blog post? Digital
exhibition?
GENRE
@coolathoole

4. SCALE
Major project? Multiple sections? Number of sources?
Secondary and
primary research
required?
@coolathoole

5. Research
Meet with
instructor
Class
Discussion
GUIDANCE
Class
Discussion
Research
Meet with
Instructor
Meet with
instructor
Class
Discussion
Research
@coolathoole

6. TIMING
Instructor
Subject
Librarian
Students
Special
Collections
@coolathoole

7. TIMING YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Project with
Physical Items
Class Period 1:
Research
Methods
Class Period 2:
Reading Room
Lab Time
Project with
Digital Items
Class Period 1:
Research
Methods
Class Period 2:
Acumen
Lab Time in
Classroom
Primary Source
Analysis
Class Period 1:
Image Analysis
Class Period 2:
Textual Analysis
EXAMPLES
@coolathoole

8. TIMING YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Show and
Tell
Class Period 1:
Tailored for your
class theme
Creative
Project
Class Period 1:
Research
Methods
Class Period 2:
Lab Time in
Classroom or
Reading
Rooms
Research
Project
Class Period 1:
Research Methods
with Special
Collections
Class Period 2:
Research Methods
with General
Collections
EXAMPLES
@coolathoole

9. ALWAYS RETURN TO
Time Commitment
Learning Objectives
@coolathoole

10. QUESTIONS?
Amy Chen
ahchen@ua.edu
@amyhildrethchen
@coolathoole