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As we often do the in the spring, some of Special Collections’ student assistants will be blogging this spring about once a month, telling us about their work and their time here. First up is a newcomer to SCA this year, freshman Riley Richards!

I began working in Special Collections and Archives last semester and have loved it. I spend most of my time here working on processing collections for the archives and staff the desk in the SCA Reading Room. At the desk, I help patrons handle the collections and answer any questions they may have about the services provided by Special Collections.

I also organize and describe University records that are donated to Special Collections and the University Archives, which are collections of documents from different departments and offices on campus. Currently, I have been focused on learning about all the different departments and all of the work that goes into making Wake the organized place that it is. Specifically, I organize records from individual departments, offices, student clubs, etc.; label folders describing the contents; and create finding aids that people can use to see if we have what they are looking for. Recently, I also updated the finding aid for the personal manuscripts of Julius H. Corpening. Corpening was a graduate of Wake Forest College, worked in development for the university, and assisted in the creation of the law school. Essentially, I make sure that the collections are easily accessible to anyone who needs to reference them or document the history of the university.

Thanks for being part of the Special Collections team, Riley, and for telling us about your work!