THE UNDERGRADS ARE COMING THE UNDERGRADS ARE COMING

THE UNDERGRADS ARE COMING, THE UNDERGRADS ARE COMING! Managing large-scale student research projects Rebecca Goldman Drexel University Archives August 14, 2010

Our HIST 285 project � Research a technology at Drexel � Develop a thesis, and find supporting material in the Archives � Create a digital exhibition of findings on the Archives website

A HIST 285 exhibit

Why collaborate with an undergraduate class? � opportunity for outreach � learn new things about our collections � support Library's mission � students are future alumni � stress test for our procedures

HIST 285 by the numbers, Fall 2009 90+ student researchers 9 group projects 10 -week quarter And… 2 full-time Archives staff

Challenges in Fall 2009 � tracking team research progress � scheduling researchers, interns and student workers � tracking offsite storage requests � tracking scan requests

Managing the hordes: Solutions for Spring 2010

JIRA � Bug-tracking software customized for tracking reference questions

You can assign and schedule reference questions…

…add attachments and comments…

…track progress on a question…

…and search the whole database.

Google Calendar � Track researcher appointments, student and intern schedules, and archives closures on the same calendar

Google Spreadsheets � Track requests from off-site storage (on a small scale)

Paper files � Folder for each group �Sign-in sheet to track when groups come, which members come, and what Archives staff need to do before the next visit �Scan request form �Paper materials generated during research (research notes, photocopies of materials, printouts of search results)

Looking to the future

Future plans for HIST 285 � More instruction on exhibition design � Have students blog about their experiences � Find ways to involve interns in the process

Thinking about working with an undergraduate class? Recommend good research topics � Maintain contact with students � Set multiple deadlines � Group projects suck � Manage expectations of the Archives � Manage your own expectations of students � Participate in creating assignments and grading � Be a partner in the research process �

What do students think? Some survey responses � All said archives research was at least “sort of fun. ” � All said research took as much time or less time than they expected � Most common favorite part: seeing old documents and photographs � Used to keyword searching, and would have preferred to have more content available online

“I'm a nerd and felt like Batman when I was doing it. ”

Contact info � Rebecca Goldman Digital Archives Technician, Drexel University Archives Rebecca. Goldman@drexel. edu http: //www. library. drexel. edu/archives

Thanks � Photo credit: Drexel University Archives � Drexel University Libraries � Dr. Erik Rau � Laurie Rizzo � Rob Sieczkiewicz