Another misconception may very well be the extent of the ARHC holdings!
The Archives and Regional History Collections are housed within the Zhang Legacy Collections Center off of Oakland Drive, along WMU’s eastern campus. The bulk of archival storage space at the ARHC consists of nine double-sided units that are 32 feet tall and 57 feet long. In fact, staff use a special forklift to make full use of them!
Holdings include the Kalamazoo Gazette archives, over one million photographic images including negatives, digitalized journals from the Civil War, business and organizational records (like those of the Kalamazoo Genealogical Society, Kalamazoo Nature Center, Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, Arts Council of Kalamazoo Upjohn Company and several paper companies that had their roots in Kalamazoo).
Dr. Carlson points out that visual resources include the Ward Morgan Collection of over 26,000 photographic negatives that give insight into companies and products made in Kalamazoo from 1929-1980. The same collection contains more than 500 images highlighting the contribution of women to industrial production during WWII, which have been digitalized.
“Libraries are changing,” says Dr. Carlson, hence the digitalization of records and photographs making them accessible on-line.
The ARHC houses the French-Michilimackinaw Research & Translation Project, which is the largest collection in the United States of microfilmed French documents about the history of European settlement in the Great Lakes and North America.
And the ARHC holds the records of the Kalamazoo Ladies’ Library Association, which has the distinction of being the first women’s organization in the United States to build a clubhouse (in 1878.)
An oral history collection includes interviews that document the experiences of African-Americans, Native Americans and Mexican Americans who lived in Kalamazoo.
As you might expect, the Archives and Regional History Collections are very much a public resource, shared with several historical organizations, including the Kalamazoo County Historical Society, Oshtemo Historical Society, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society.
All of this is to say that Dr. Carlson, along with four full-time staff and part-time WMU students working in the ARHC are very busy people!
“My work is very different and very interesting,” she says. “It seems like there’s never enough time to work with all the collections (within the ARHC).”
Dr. Carlson’s own interest in history began when she was growing up in Shelbyville. “I’ve always been interested in the places I’ve lived.”
So, because her parents met while attending WMU and were well aware of its resources, they took Dr. Carlson to Waldo Library to research her home.
“I’m a product of WMU,” she says, noting that several family members claim WMU as their alma mater. Dr. Carlson has been employed by WMU for 35 years, most recently as the Director of the Archives and Regional History Collections.
She has a library science degree and was originally hired as an archivist. She subsequently earned a Ph.D. in history. Dr. Carlson also has a master’s degree in public administration and teaches archival administration.
With such a broad range of academic experience, Dr. Carlson advises that the type of degree a person chooses who is interested in her field should partially depend upon where you’d like to work after graduation. She points out that a degree in library science offers job flexibility.
Dr. Carlson’s love of learning and for the career she has chosen are evident in her conversation. For her, history goes well beyond a series of dates and isolated events. “When you make history personal, it makes a difference.”
To access the Archives and Regional History Collections' on-line click here
For information on ARHC's hours and parking, check here
No comments:
Post a Comment