UMW Special Collections and University Archives is excited to announce our newest digital collection, the MWC AIDS Quilt.
Modeled after the national NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, the MWC AIDS Quilt was constructed by members of the Mary Washington community in the mid- to late-nineties to commemorate their many loved ones impacted by HIV and AIDS during the height of the epidemic. Hundreds of colorful and intricate panels offer heartfelt messages to specific individuals lost to the disease alongside notes of encouragement, education, and unity. Illustrations of the iconic red AIDS ribbon appear prominently among recurring depictions of rainbows, flowers, hearts, and tears. The quilt presents devastation and hope in near equal measure.
We invite the Mary Washington community and members of the public to view the quilt and examine each square closely as is now possible through our digitization efforts. Special Collections and University Archives is honored to preserve this historic object and to provide access to these images, helping everyone to remember how deeply the AIDS epidemic affected our world, all the way to our campus.
For those who would like to see the quilt in person, we encourage you to attend the Fredericksburg Area Museum’s Out & About exhibit where the quilt is on loan until July 2025.
Please contact UMW Special Collections and University Archives staff at archives@umw.edu with any questions.
Written by Sarah Appleby. This announcement has also been featured on Eagle Eye: News for Faculty and staff.
This post was written by Regan Chancellor, Special Collections Research Coordinator and our newest staff member in UMW’s Special Collections and University Archives. We’re so excited to have her here!
Not a Devil nor a goat. If you had asked me if I were a devil or a goat a month ago, I would have thought you were making a joke. Since my starting week lined up with Alumni reunion weekend I had enough of the 1908 society members to explain. In a lot of ways, I was excited to begin my work as Special Collections Research Coordinator for the Special Collections & University Archives because it gave me a crash course in University of Mary Washington history.
People learn in diverse ways and as much as I loved sitting in a classroom, I thrive in an institution that proved alternative forms of learning. Such as museums, galleries, libraries, and of course archives. Growing up I always wanted to do something with history. I blame movies such as The Mummy,Page Master, and the original Indiana Jones for planting those seeds. Like so many others I had no other guidelines when it came to higher education so I picked a school that offered me the most scholarships and had a program I thought I would enjoy. That was Radford University where I studied Art History and Museum Studies and minored in Cinematic arts. My time at RU gave me the opportunity to explore the academic world more than just Harrison Ford made it out to be. I became incredibly involved in campus activities and had several student worker jobs while there. Resident assistant, food services, tour guide, tutor, art gallery assistant but the ultimate was working in the Archives and Special Collections at McConnell Library.
While I was there, I worked under the then Head of the Archives and Special Collections Aaron Spelbring and the now Archives Supervisor & Appalachian Music Specialist Bud Bennett. Both were supportive mentors and supervisors. They understood that I was a student but that I wanted to explore the potential of working in a university archive. They encouraged questions and included students in large projects. This time in the archives help me focus my studies and my goals to work in an archive.
Post RU I tried to soak up any historical, museum or archival experience I could. As I made my way around the museum world of Richmond, Virginia I set my mind on making sure that I would end up in an archival setting. I was ready to go back to school, move, get a new job, you name it, I was willing to do it. When I was starting to get that ball rolling a pandemic hit the world and made it stop spinning. Like so many others I was not left untouched by Covid-19. Throwing a wrench in my career plans was only one fraction of how it turned my world upside down.
Slowly turning my life right-side up again, I found a particularly good state job that I enjoyed but that left something missing. This led me to hope back on my career path and search for a job that would take me closer to an archival environment. As luck would have it the amazing people in Simpson Library needed a hand in their Special Collections & University Archives. As someone close to me kept pointing out, the job description fit my resume almost perfectly. Lucky for me Special Collections & University Archives thought so too.
Not a Devil nor a goat but I am elated to be a part of the University of Mary Washington as the new Special Collection Research Coordinator for the Special Collections & University Archives.
Bibliography
University of Mary Washington, Battlefield (Fredericksburg, Virginia, 1941), Simpson Library Special Collections & University Archives., https://umw.access.preservica.com/IO_0e10a021-e152-4676-a576-42dcbbc96bd1/, June 10th, 2024.
University of Mary Washington, The Bayonet – Student’s Handbook (1936-1937) (Fredericksburg, Virginia, 1936), Simpson Library Special Collections & University Archives., https://umw.access.preservica.com/IO_76e73bce-e1d7-488d-9f1e-0ddec9b6887e/, June 10th, 2024.
University of Mary Washington, Students Handbook (1933-1934) (Fredericksburg, ,Virginia, 1933), Simpson Library Special Collections & University Archives., https://umw.access.preservica.com/IO_cdd3dc71-e824-45f0-9727-4e0396d18a58/, June 10th, 2024.
To highlight the power and opportunity in the DIY efforts of both archivists and archives users, this year’s Virginia Archives Month theme is Community Made: Zines and Self-Published Material. Archives are reflections of the communities who built them, and our users often find themselves inspired to add to the community’s story or to use our materials to create something new. Archives aren’t only for scholars and researchers; they can be for artists and writers and anyone!
A zine (pronounced zeen) is a self-created magazine about anything! They can be made from basic supplies like paper, scissors, pens, and markers, and then reproduced by simple photocopying.
Making a zine can be as simple or as detailed as you’d like it to be. Below, we’ve included a diagram that shows how you can make a zine with just a regular letter-size piece of paper and a pair of scissors.
Make your own mini zine!
Whatever goes inside is up to you! Zines can be used to tell a story, share artwork, bring together a community, spread information, or just for self-expression. You can cut and paste images on the pages, write, draw, or all of the above!
This month (and also all the time) we’re encouraging our friends everywhere to try making their own zines. Even if it’s just for you and no one else, you’re still part of a community of creators and we’re happy you’re here! Virginia is lucky to have several zine libraries and collections of self-published materials in repositories across the Commonwealth. We have a small collection of materials here at UMW too!
Spring 1993 issue of Static
One such example is Static, which was briefly the official student publication of the Mary Washington college radio station WMWC. The self-published newsletter showcases the classic cut-and-paste and hand-drawn aesthetic of 80s and 90s punk and, while generally focused on music and culture, openly invited submissions of all kinds.
There’s plenty more self-published and community made materials in the UMW Archives! Come visit us at our Archives Month table on Tuesday, October 24 from 4-5:30pm. We’ll be on the first floor of Simpson Library making zines and we invite you to join us! We’ll have all the materials on hand for you to get started! We’ll also have some examples from UMW’s collections and our own personal libraries for you to view, and some free Virginia Archives Month stickers and swag.
It’s been a bittersweet week in Special Collections & University Archives as we bid farewell and good luck to our two student aides, Jamie Van Doren and Kathleen Martin, both graduating this semester! Jamie and Kathleen have worked with us over the past year and made so many of our projects successful. Their work included curating two exhibits in Special Collections, assisting researchers in the reading room, processing and captioning oral histories, fulfilling digitization requests, creating metadata for digital collections, researching and developing technical workflows, and so much more! Before their last day with the department, they answered a few questions about their time here and their thoughts on the future of archives. Check out their answers below! (Spoiler Alert: Dr. Ferrell’s classes frequently lead to employment in our department!)
Jamie, Kathleen, Angie & Sarah in Special Collections.Kathleen using a small, metal spatula to carefully remove a photo from a sticky magnetic album.Jamie processing images from the rare book scanner.Jamie turning the page of a scrapbook on the rare book scanner.Kathleen placing a photograph on the high resolution flatbed scanner.
What brought you to work in Special Collections & University Archives?
JVD: I decided I wanted to work in Special Collections & University Archives when I found out about it through Dr. Ferrell’s 298 class. I was really fascinated by getting to see the rare books and the Digital Archiving Lab.
KM: Spring of 2022, I was taking History 297 (now 299, as it was the transitional semester) with Dr. Ferrell, and we came into Special Collections and the Digital Archiving Lab to get introduced to our Omeka project. I didn’t know they had existed prior to that day and I was enchanted the moment I walked in. When it was mentioned that the Archives was hiring for a student aide for the following semester, I knew I wanted to do that; at the end of that class session, I asked for a job.
What was your favorite project that you worked on during your time as a Special Collections & University Archives Student Aide?
JVD: It’s hard to pick a favorite project, but if I had to choose I think I would go with the Black Alumni Oral History project. The content was obviously fascinating, and I also feel like I learned practical/useful skills with that one (the captioning process, how to use Premier Pro and Media Encoder).
KM: While it was tedious work, I thoroughly enjoyed doing captioning for the oral history projects. I enjoy problem-solving and feeling useful, and revamping the workflow for that project made me feel both of those things. Of course, I’ve enjoyed much of what I’ve done here, but that one gives me a real feeling of accomplishment.
What is your favorite item (or collection of items) in UMW Archives and why?
JVD: My favorite collection of items in UMW Archives is the yearbook collection. One of my favorite things to do is flip through a random yearbook and look at pictures of places that I recognize (or don’t recognize). I think they give such a rich perspective on what UMW was like in different time periods, and I enjoy them a lot.
KM: I have a soft spot for the student handbooks. I found them while doing research for a patron and enjoyed them so much that I did my senior thesis with them as my primary source. I think they give a really interesting look at the structure of student life, which is a topic that fascinates me endlessly.
What is your favorite book from the rare book collection and why?
JVD: My favorite book is Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. The book itself has such a fun story. I think it’s an awesome addition to the collection, a beautiful book, and an interesting one with the writing in the margins and the insides of the front and back covers.
KM: I enjoy the James Joyce Ulysses collection we have, both because I enjoy Joyce’s work (though I’m mostly familiar with Dubliners) and also because I am entertained by the fascination that previous archivists clearly had with Joyce. The collection takes up several shelves, all filled with various editions of the same book, and that entertains me to no end.
What are your post-Mary Washington plans?
JVD: My post-Mary Washington plans are to start my job as Senior Library Assistant in Access Services at George Washington University’s Gelman Library. I will also be pursuing a Master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences from University of Washington through their online program.
KM: I just interviewed for a museum position in Maryland, so fingers crossed, but if that doesn’t work out, I’m keeping my eyes open. I’m a very opportunity-driven person (see above, when I applied for this job because the opportunity jumped out in front of me) so I don’t have any specific plan I’m trying to follow. That being said, I enjoy working in both Museums and Libraries, and I think I would like to continue working in one or the other. That might eventually force my hand to grad school, but I’m going to see what I can do with my Bachelor’s first.
What kinds of archival resources do you think researchers will use in the future when looking back at what Mary Washington was like in 2023?
JVD: I think the school newspaper will be incredibly useful, as well as social media accounts for the school and it’s programs—SAE, CPB, sports teams and clubs, etc.. Those will say a lot about what day-to-day life was like for UMW students. If there’s a way to archive the social media posts of campus organizations, I think that information would be very useful for people to have.
KM: I think digital-born archives will be heavily utilized, such as course catalogs, student handbooks, and archived emails, but I also think that things like archived websites and student blogs could come in handy as well. In my opinion, physical archives will never become obsolete, and things like scrapbooks and journals will always be useful and interesting.
Do you have any favorite Mary Washington memories?
JVD: I have lots of favorite Mary Washington memories! In SCUA, I think one of my favorite days was the big reunion we had over the summer in 2022. I had a ton of fun showing people their yearbooks and the interesting items we have in the Rare Book Room and stuff like that. I don’t think I was necessarily having fun at the time, but I also love looking back on climbing the stairs up from Russell to go up to campus. The tree with a bunch of shoes on it is one of my favorite things, plus the view as you make it up the hill and can see the Bell Tower and stuff like that.
KM: I have enjoyed my classes here and I have enjoyed the people I met here. As I am a “non-traditional student” (which I think is a silly label) I have looked at Mary Washington as just another job. I don’t live on campus and I haven’t done many student activities or events. Still, getting to form a friend group who have similar interests and values to me has been a dream, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to do so.
Special Collections & University Archives is so appreciative of all the excellent work Jamie and Kathleen accomplished this year, and we can’t wait to see what they do next!
Check out the third video in the UMW Rare Books Spotlight Series! In this installment, Dr. Antonio Barrenechea discusses our first U.S. edition of Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, published in 1792. A common favorite among staff and students, and frequently used in classes, this book is currently out for conservation treatment with the help of Giving Day donations. The treatment will include restoring the corners of the covers to better protect the pages inside, and reattaching loose pages.
This video was filmed and edited by Nick Onorato ’23.
The second video in our Rare Books Spotlight Series is now available! In this video, Dr. Antonio Barrenechea discusses one of our most popular treasures in the rare book collection, a first edition of Ulysses by James Joyce.
This video was filmed and edited by Nick Onorato ’23.
This semester, Special Collections & University Archives is excited to welcome our first Rare Books Faculty Liaison, Dr. Antonio Barrenechea. Dr. Barrenechea is a professor of English at the University of Mary Washington. He holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Yale University. Upon arriving at Mary Washington in 2005, he developed two primary research tracks in literature and cinema studies. In both cases, his work ranges over the territories of North, Central, and South America from the pre-Columbian era to the present. His 2016 book, America Unbound: Encyclopedic Literature and Hemispheric Studies (University of New Mexico Press) is a study of how big novels reimagine early European and Native American cultural encounters in the New World. Dr. Barrenechea is currently working on an intellectual history of Literature of the Americas with the support of a Reese Fellowship from the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. In summer 2023, he will begin an M.C. Lang Fellowship at the University of Virginia’s Rare Book School.
Dr. Antonio Barrenechea is a professor of English at the University of Mary Washington and the Rare Books Faculty Liaison with Special Collections & University Archives in Spring 2023.
Dr. Barrenechea is working with Special Collections & University Archives this spring to enhance the visibility of Simpson Library’s rare book collection, which includes over 2,000 volumes of unique books and serials. The collection holdings include many first editions, signed volumes, and historic books published as early as 1496. As part of his work, Dr. Barrenechea will research the history of the rare book collection, survey the collection for strengths and potential future development, and work with interested faculty in incorporating rare books into their courses. One project also includes the creation of a series of videos highlighting distinctive books from the collection. You can check out the first video discussing the Library’s first edition copy of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four here:
UMW Rare Books Spotlight Series #1: Nineteen Eighty-Four
In 1965, Dr. Sidney Mitchell, Professor of English and member of the first rare books committee, was quoted in an alumni newsletter stating the collection’s purpose: “It is important that the Rare Book Room not be confused with a museum or repository for peculiar objects protected behind glass barriers. It is not. The Rare Book Room is an integral part of the library, and its contents are purchased and cared for solely in order that they may be available to students and faculty for examination, study, and research.” Since the formal beginnings of the rare book collection around 60 years ago, the primary purpose of the collection has been to be available for faculty, staff, and student research, and our hope is to continue to increase usage and engagement with the materials across the community.
Special Collections & University Archives has open hours on Tuesday & Wednesday afternoons, 1:30pm-4:00pm; available for anyone to stop by and work with our collections! We’re also available by appointment throughout the week – email archives@umw.edu to schedule an appointment.
It’s no surprise that Civil Rights leader and icon James Farmer has placed his stamp on UMW history. His bust has stood outside of what is now James Farmer Hall for over two decades now, along with his quote that encourages young people to stand up and speak out on behalf of people denied their rights. Alumni who were fortunate enough to take his Civil Rights History course when he taught at Mary Washington between 1985-1998 tell incredible stories of his inspiring and powerful lectures. James Farmer spoke from the unique perspective of someone who truly lived at the center of a historic moment, and he spoke of his his experience with a profound mixture of honesty, knowledge, and courage.
While most members of the UMW community probably know about James Farmer’s history, many may not know how much of it still lives in the archives. Special Collections and University Archives holds multiple collections of James Farmer materials that add breadth and depth to the story that we know. These materials are open and available to use in Simpson Library’s Special Collections Reading Room.
The James L. Farmer, Jr. Papers is a manuscript collection of Dr. Farmer’s materials collected by the archives from his Spotsylvania home after he passed. The papers are mainly reflective of his life while at Mary Washington, and they include correspondence, printed materials, photographs, audiovisual materials, and other items reflective of his activities towards the end of his life.
James Farmer addressing Farmer Scholars, 1988.
The James Farmer Records from University Relations and Communications is a collection of materials transferred to the archives from the Office of University Relations and Communications, dating from 1984-2008, with the bulk of the contents from the late 1980s through the mid 1990s. The majority of the collection’s content includes public media materials such as television and radio appearances, and newspaper and magazine articles. The collection also includes correspondence, secretarial notes, speeches written by James Farmer, and documentation of some of Dr. Farmer’s many awards and honors. This collection offers insight into the life of James Farmer’s career as an educator and public figure later in his life.
Both of these collections are rich with audiovisual material that can be viewed or listened to in the Reading Room due to copyright restrictions. Fortunately, we also have many AV items available online that are publicly accessible from anywhere in the world! The James L. Farmer Digital Collection has a substantial collection of photographs, along with several videos of class lectures filmed at Mary Washington and audio of a 1968 speech delivered at Kent State University.
Contact us with questions or to make an appointment at archives@umw.edu. We also have open hours in the Reading Room from 1:30 – 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Come visit us in Simpson Library, Room 217!
In December, Simpson Library added a new book to the rare book collection: The Adventure of Cobbler’s Rune by Ursula K. Le Guin. Cobbler’s Rune was published in 1982 through Cheap Street Press, an independent press located in New Castle, Virginia, just outside of Roanoke. The press, specializing in science fiction and fantasy, was owned and operated by George and Jan O’Nale from 1980 to 2001.1 The Ursula K. Le Guin Literary Trust and the book itself note that only 277 volumes were produced, and Simpson Library holds number 71. The text is signed by Le Guin and the illustrator, Alicia Austin.
The Adventure of Cobbler’s Rune
Cobbler’s Rune joins a growing collection of special Le Guin publications in the rare book room, which includes signed first editions of the Left Hand of Darkness and Tales from Earthsea. The majority of this original collection was donated by Dr. Warren Rochelle upon his retirement from the English department at the University of Mary Washington. The purchase of Cobbler’s Rune was made possible by donations to Simpson Library, and staff look forward to sharing this book with the UMW community as part of Ursula K. Le Guin’s extensive works, and as an interesting example of Virginia independent press publications.
The title page, special edition information, and signature page of The Adventure of Cobbler’s Rune published by Cheap Street Press.
Jamie Van Doren ’23 contributed research and writing to this post, as well as digitized the cover and pages from The Adventure of Cobbler’s Rune.
Did you attend last week’s Great Lives lecture by Craig Nelson on the subject of Thomas Paine? If so (or even if not!), you might be interested in stopping by Special Collections & University Archives to view some of the items in our collection written by Thomas Paine and published during his lifetime. Paine (1737-1809) was a pamphleteer and political activist whose writings greatly influenced the American Revolution. He is often known for his most famous piece, Common Sense. Simpson Library’s rare book collection includes the following titles, all published in the 1790s:
The title page and table of contents from The Works of Thomas Paine (vol. 1), located in Special Collections & University Archives. This volume was published in 1797.
Stop by the reading room during our open hours or schedule an appointment to take a look at these publications!
Jamie Van Doren ’23 completed the digitization of pages from The Works of Thomas Paine (vol. 1) for this post.
