Oberlin College Library
IMLS Diversity Intern Program

Expanding and Creating Access to Diversity Documentation

Mentor(s): Roland M. Baumann

Department: Archives

Aspects of librarianship related to the project: Archival Administration, Reference, Archival Outreach, and Web Design and Web Publication.

This project will support research for a variety of users and at several different age groups.

Number of openings: 1

Estimated length of project: Four (4) weeks. Total project 42 hours.

Hours/day: 9 a.m. to 12 noon, MTWTh

Dates available: May 29 - June 22, 2001

Preferred skills/knowledge: Ability to pay close attention to detail, conduct research, do word-processing, scan documents, and hold some familiarity with HTML.

Additional comments: The Archives can offer some flexibility in the hours to be worked. Depending upon the skills of the intern the project could take up to 50 hours. Mentor will create a work plan for the intern.

Description: This project has a goal of enlarging access to an important source of African-American history and culture.

1. To scan and mount on the website of the Oberlin College Archives the "Catalogue & Record of colored Students, 1834-1972." This typescript of an original manuscript is in Series 3. Minority Student Records, Subgroup IV. Alumni records, Records of the Office of the Secretary (RG 5). The number of pages stands at 232. Eight pages cover Oriental, Native American, and Latino students for the years 1970-72, plus Post-Baccalaureate Students, 1965-72.
2. No names exist from 1862 to 1880 (none were kept). Thus, the IMLS Library Intern would carry out a modest research function. Said intern would work with staff to create an addendum to the above list. Reference resources do exist to build such a list, and to add this important addendum to the original list.
3. The Intern (in addition to descriptive work) would be asked to add links onto this record in two ways:
   a) Links to the Department of African-American Studies, the Oberlin College Library, and to the finding aids in the Oberlin College Archives;
   b) Links to select websites of black colleges where Oberlin College had exchange programs between 1946 and the 1960s. This WWW browsing would provide the student with exposure to the Internet culture on "Diversity," participate in online interactivity, and assume responsibility for evaluation.
4. The Intern would also be involved in one or more writing components, in collaboration with the Archivist:
   a) Draft a brief narrative description of the meaningful and usefulness of the new documentary site. This piece reporting on the online availability of the Catalogue would ultimately appear as a "Newsnote" on the website of the College Archives.
   b) A second written piece (of a publicity character) would be prepared for "Oberlin Online." It would highlight the project outcome and collaborative learning, in connection to the IMLS Library Diversity Intern Program.

Reference/Sources:

1. General Catalogue of Oberlin College, 1833-1908 (Oberlin, 1908)
2. Records of the Office of the Secretary, O.C. Catalogues, 1862-80
3. Records of the Office of Admissions (RG 25)
4. Elaine L. Westbrooks, "African-American Documentary Resources on the World Wide Web: A Survey and Analysis," Archival Issues: Journal of the Midwest Archives Conference 24 (1999): 145-73.

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