Fellow Shawn Averkamp got more than she bargained for when she signed on for our African American student history project. Unlike other DLS fellows who were culling from only one archival collection, Shawn was working from a scholarly article listing primary source materials in a variety of collections drawn from the Iowa Women’s Archives and the University Archives, as well as borrowed from the Iowa City and Des Moines branches of the state historical society. The result of her hard work and perseverence was both a rich digital collection of interconnected materials documenting an important part of the University’s past, as well as a more accurate experience of the multi-tasking nature of digital librarianship.

Name: Shawn Averkamp
Hometown: Dubuque, Iowa
Pre-SLIS education: Luther College – B.A. in Music
DLS Project: African American Women Students at the University of Iowa, 1910-1960
Why did you choose this project? I’m interested in women’s history and wanted to work with artifacts from the Iowa Women’s Archives.
Most enjoyable project experience? The trust and support from the DLS staff.  Everyone was always willing to help with any problems, no matter how trivial.
Most difficult/challenging experience? Learning the metadata rules for the different types of artifacts.
What did you learn about digital library work that surprised you? The fact that “digital library work” is still not a clearly defined field.
Favorite item in the collection?
This dance card is one of a collection from Esther Walls’ college days. Besides being one of the only artifacts in this digital collection that actually belonged to one of the subjects, it references a Daily Iowan photo that I found in the University Archives vertical files. Also, the black ink on black paper [pages 2-3] is intriguing. Was it a secret message or a poor choice of pen?  We may never know…