Center of Southwest Studies Special Collections Handling/ Use Instructions Scheme

Goals Statement: Each person in contact with special collections materials at the Center of Southwest Studies will receive an appropriate level of instruction in the handling and use of those materials. The Archivist, with the support of the Southwest Research Library staff and other Southwest Studies Center staff, is responsible for the provision of this instruction.

Instructional Philosophy: From experience, we begin with the assumption that no user of the special collections materials has a foremost concern for their long-term preservation. Each user has his or her own interests at heart, and in most cases the user's self-interest focuses on obtaining data in the most readily used form. Therefore, our defense of the special collections materials must proceed from preliminary fortification of those materials to subliminal unavoidable instruction in the only acceptable use of those materials. Staff commitments, user priorities and the independent spirit of the West make it unrealistic to believe that the Center can offer everyone formal instruction in the proper use and handling of the materials. The instruction will be more effective if it is built into the ambience of the research experience. In tune with Fort Lewis College's philosophy that we are a community of lifelong learners, the Center's use and handling instruction will be an interactive dialogic barrage, not a lecture.

Preparatory Fortification: Before the user comes to the Center, wherever possible,...

...special collections will be placed behind a double level of security. For most materials, this will mean that a key is necessary to open the room or vault or cabinet in which the collection is housed. Access to that key is limited to the appropriate staff. This furthers security in our custody of the materials.

...special collections will be housed professionally by the time the researcher sees them. This means that they will be boxed and/or filed in inert, stable enclosures that are labeled professionally. This furthers respect for the materials.

...the Center will post attractive reading room regulations notices, i.e. the "Guidelines for Using the Materials" which are printed on the lower half of the user registration form, and will provide each user with a take-along bookmark that contains these guidelines. This furthers proper use of the materials.

...the Center will provide researchers with the minimally necessary resources for proper handling of the special collections materials. Pens will be eliminated from the research area, and pencils will be provided at each research area table. Tables will be kept clean and cleared of extraneous materials. This furthers proper handling of the materials.

...the program planning for the new Center of Southwest Studies has built in preservation-conscious components such as proper siting of staff work areas in relation to researcher study and collections storage areas, and other elements that facilitate the proper handling and use of the materials. This furthers preservation programming to protect the materials.

Instructional Barrage: Once the user is at the Center, wherever possible,...

...each researcher must complete the front side of the Center's user registration form before using any special collections materials (with the exception of the cataloged books), and should be given the bookmark that contains the Center's use guidelines. This furthers accountability in the use of the materials.

...each user will be under the eye of Center staff while using special collections materials. To achieve this objective, sight lines within the research area will have to be maintained by the selection of seating for researchers. This furthers enforcement of established procedures for handling and use of the materials.

...each tour through the Center will include mention of the measures the Center has taken to assure the preservation of its holdings, such as shielding the materials from undue exposure to the various types of light, prohibiting food and drink, using pencil rather than pen, and some of the various security devices. Tours include everyone: school groups, college students, new and prospective faculty, tourists and other visitors. This furthers awareness of preservation issues.

...printed materials about the Center will (if appropriate) contain informative text concerning the proper handling and use of the collections. One example is the Center's "Behind the Scenes" activity guide for adults and younger persons (two versions). This furthers understanding of preservation issues.

The Center maintains a separate reference collection that includes texts on most of the theory and practice of our professional operations as an archive, special collections library and museum. These volumes, including the Society of American Archivist Basic Manuals Series and a number of other practically-oriented texts, are available for anyone's use at the Southwest Center.

Students who are considering a career in historical research and/or archival management will be encouraged to take the Southwest Studies Department's four-credit introduction to archival theory and practice course which is offered in the Fall Trimester.

In addition, the Department may consider offering a two-credit course tentatively titled Whiz-Bang Information Access, a 100 or 200 level course geared toward freshmen and sophomores. It will be a combination of classroom and workshop experience for anyone who wants to get a grip on some of the various technologies for information access and preservation. It will develop the student's confidence in using library resources, automated information retrieval tools, and recording equipment. The course will start at the beginning--no background is needed. Through reading, instruction, discussion and hands-on experience the student will be assisted to feel at home in most any library and will learn the skills for acquiring and preserving the data that is important to your student's personal, academic and career interests. The course will include numerous tours through library/special collections facilities, revealing little known facts about extra ways to make a library serve you. Five aspects of Whiz-Bang Information Access are:

(2) National information access. How to access libraries and archives across the country from the local library.

(3) High tech savvy. Demystifying the Internet, cd's, imaging, how to use electronic mail and national databases, etc.

(4) Oral history. How to draw out historical reminiscences from friends and interesting characters.

(5) Archival preservation. Tips on how to organize and preserve important materials of various types.

v "Behind the Scenes" visitors' activity guide (adult and younger visitors' versions)