The Manuscript as Question: Teaching Primary Sources in the Archives—The China Missions Project

Michelle McCoy

Abstract

The collaborative effort between two Special Collections librarians and a history professor at DePaul University led to a quarter-long undergraduate project in the archives using China Missions Correspondence. In a reversal of traditional methods that assumes archival use to answer a question, this project looks at the document as the source of the questions. A qualitative analysis of student responses from these class sessions between 2002 and 2008 reveals the impact that direct experience has on primary source education and how outreach and user instruction in the archives can transform research, education, and the place of special collections within the institution. As a case study, this paper examines planning, administration, identification, instruction, and assessment of the project from the librarians’ perspective.

Full Text:

PDF
Copyright 2010© Michelle McCoy


Article Views (Last 12 Months)

No data available

Contact ACRL for article usage statistics from 2010-April 2017.

Article Views (By Year/Month)

2023
January: 3
February: 2
March: 5
April: 2
May: 2
June: 2
July: 0
August: 0
September: 1
October: 0
2022
January: 1
February: 0
March: 2
April: 3
May: 0
June: 2
July: 2
August: 2
September: 0
October: 6
November: 7
December: 0
2021
January: 2
February: 4
March: 2
April: 3
May: 1
June: 6
July: 3
August: 3
September: 4
October: 1
November: 0
December: 3
2020
January: 2
February: 3
March: 1
April: 6
May: 0
June: 4
July: 2
August: 4
September: 2
October: 3
November: 2
December: 1
2019
January: 4
February: 2
March: 5
April: 14
May: 4
June: 2
July: 1
August: 4
September: 5
October: 6
November: 6
December: 1
2018
January: 2
February: 1
March: 9
April: 10
May: 12
June: 8
July: 3
August: 5
September: 1
October: 4
November: 1
December: 2
2017
April: 0
May: 6
June: 6
July: 3
August: 3
September: 3
October: 11
November: 6
December: 6