Katz, Robin M. “Engaging Undergraduates, Advancing Archives: Innovative Approaches for a ‘Forgotten’ User Group.” Society of American Archivists (SAA) Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA. August 6 – 11, 2012. Panelist.

1. Students & Faculty
in the Archives
Robin M. Katz
@robinmkatz #safabhs
SAA Annual Mee:ng 2012

3. Students & Faculty
in the Archives

4. primary sources

5. first-­‐year undergrads

6. grant-­‐funded

7. grant-­‐funded
Jan 2011 -­‐ Dec 2013

8. grant-­‐funded
US Dept of Ed -­‐ FIPSE

9. 3 schools

10. 3 schools
LIU Brooklyn, City Tech, St. Francis

11. 18 faculty

12. wide range of disciplines

13. class visits to archives

14. Our Teaching Philosophy

15. Our Teaching Philosophy
Learning Objec:ves

16. Our Teaching Philosophy
What we do NOT do

17. Our Teaching Philosophy
Less is more!

18. Our Teaching Philosophy
Document Analysis

19. Our Teaching Philosophy
Different Kind of Research

20. How Do We Do It?

21. How Do We Do It?
Before the Semester

22. How Do We Do It?
-­‐ 3 weeks: Online Call Slips

23. How Do We Do It?
-­‐ 3 weeks: Agenda

24. How Do We Do It?
Pulling Procedures

25. How Do We Do It?
-­‐ 1 week: Cita:on List

26. How Do We Do It?
Before Visit

27. Class Visits

28. Class Visits
Introduc:on

30. Class Visits
Context

31. Class Visits
Small Group Work

32. Class Visits
Specific Handouts

33. Class Visits
Some Findings

34. Class Visits
Wrap Ups

35. Class Visits
Coming Back

36. Small Changes

37. Small Changes
can make a BIG impact

38. Fall 2011
• 15 courses
• 41 visits
• 287 unique students
• 696 students thru the door
• 409 items requested
• 62 students returned

39. Spring 2011
• 14 courses
• 19 visits
• 201 unique students
• 338 students thru the door
• 207 items requested
• 53 students returned

40. Community

41. Community
Summer Ins:tute

42. Community
Na:onal Partners

43. Goals

44. Goals
Establish a collabora:ve network

45. Goals
Provide faculty development

46. Goals
Engage students

47. Goals
Improve student learning and performance

48. Goals
Improve student reten:on

49. Assessment

50. Assessment
Pre and post document analysis

51. Q: Why might this document be worth preserving in an archive?
PRE POST
Students noting a
single feature or giving 72% 49%
a vague response
Students noting
multiple physical 28% 51%
features

52. Q: Why might this document be worth preserving in an archive?
Sample PRE responses Sample POST responses
To show how society valued
This is a photo from the past.
entertainment.
Because it showed what was [It] shows how technology was
going on at that moment. progressing in the US.
It shows how people were
It gives insight... to what life was sending postal cards through the
like during the 1960s. telegrams and how it was
different... than... today.

53. Assessment
Compare SAFA + non-­‐SAFA students

54. Just one class at LIU Brooklyn
SAFA NON-SAFA
ENG 16C ENG 16C
Freshman Seminar Freshman Seminar
3 sections (N=59) 2 sections (N=43)
Completion Rate 96.9% 76.7%
Passing Rate 91.9% 48%
Grade of B or Better 60.7% 30.3%

55. Assessment
Student Blogs and Interviews

56. Evalua:on Report
hjp://safa.brooklynhistory.org/docs/Eval-­‐Report-­‐2012.pdf

57. Fellowship

62. Fellowship Symposium
Wed, Aug 22, 2012 -­‐ 6:00 pm -­‐ Brooklyn, NY

63. Looking Ahead

64. Looking Ahead
Expansion? Sustainability?

65. Looking Ahead
Dissemina:on

66. Looking Ahead
safa.brooklynhistory.org

67. What can SAFA do for you?
@robinmkatz | #safabhs | rkatz@brooklynhistory.org