Not The Library You Remember Tours (and Dewey’s cake!)

On Friday September 13th we again welcomed WFU alumni into ZSR and gave them brief tours of our spaces. It is such a joy to hear stories from students who attended across the decades. Comments like “you can EAT in here?

In Special Collections & Archives, we had about 45 people come through to see our space, hear about our collections, and of course leave with some SCA buttons, magnets, and postcards.

Festival on the Quad

Once again we joined thousands of alumni, families, and friends for Festival on the Quad. This really is one of the most fun events each year, as everyone is there to have a good time, connect, reminisce, and talk about Wake Forest. Tanya, Emily, and Rebecca spoke with 383 people while also giving out buttons, magnets, stickers, bookmarks, postcards, but what was most exciting to people were the Howler yearbooks! This year more than ever, people spent a lot of time finding themselves, friends, and family on the yearbooks. We saw parents showing pictures to their children, grandparents showing grandchildren, and lots of classmates remembering their time at Wake Forest together. They enjoyed talking to us about how much they love the library, and where they spent their time in ZSR during their college years. We heard a lot of stories about the Zoo! These great conversations also allowed us to connect with alumni to promote our “Expanded Wake Voices: Inclusive Student Life Project” with the hopes that alumni will share their WFU experiences with the University Archives.

Other campus partners on the Quad were the LAM Museum, the School of Professional Studies, the School of Business, the MBA program, the Education department, the Environmental and Sustainability studies department, and more! You could also throw an inflatable ax, get your face painted, and have a caricature done. A good time was definitely had by all!

Strings, AWFUBA, and the Gospel Choir

Finally, SCA also collaborated with WFU Trustee Donna Boswell on her Strings brunch, which she always hosts on Saturday morning. We provided a popup exhibit, some artifacts, and swag, of course. Over 100 participated and we also received some additional collection donations. In addition, SCA attended the Association of Wake Forest University Black Alumni (AWFUBA) and their special focus on the 50th anniversary of the Gospel Choir. We shared about the oral history project and recorded some of the history panel’s remarks.

A good time was definitely had by all! We look forward to participating again next year. Go Deacs!