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With the start of a new school year, we frequently hear: “So, I have a question for Special Collections & Archives, how do I get help?”

The first, best place to start is archives@wfu.edu, your go-to for anything e-mail and for referring reference questions, faculty requesting instruction for classes, or donations. Messages sent to this email go to Megan, Rebecca, and Tanya’s inboxes, so we can make sure something is handled even if one of us is out of the office. If you’re asked for directions to Special Collections & Archives and are wondering where to send students, faculty, or visitors, the answer is ZSR Room 625. ZSR 625 is the SCA Research Room (west side, Reynolds Wing) the only public service research desk for all visitors and researchers to SCA. Our reference desk is constantly staffed during our regular business hours of 9-5, Monday-Friday and is the only public destination in the department. Adjacent to the Research Room is our classroom, ZSR 624. This classroom is utilized by SCA during our open hours of 9-5, Monday-Friday, but it is available for booking by anyone in the WFU community for events after 5 p.m. or on weekends. Requests (including those for internal ZSR requestors) to use the classroom are submitted via the EMS system and are reviewed and approved by SCA. Once approved, keys for the classroom can be picked up at the Circulation Desk.

Each SCA staff member has an area in which they focus their attention, although we all multitask. Stephanie Bennett (Collections Archivist) processes collections (including born-digital), supervises students working with collections, and oversees the creation of collection finding aids, which are then made available online. Ashelee Gerald Hill has joined us as a FT Visiting Librarian, and she is responsible for our collections accessions (keeping track of all the material incoming to SCA). Craig Fansler (Preservation Librarian) rehouses our archives materials, creates boxes and CoLibri covers for rare books, completes minor repairs on both SCA and General Collection materials, and provides exhibit support for SCA. Rebecca Petersen May (Public Services Archivist) coordinates our introductory instruction efforts (Lib100), answers reference questions, coordinates the reference desk and 624 classroom, and organizes other outreach activities, such as Hop into History. Megan Mulder (Special Collections Librarian) does in-depth instruction and works closely with faculty to integrate our rare books into their curriculum, curates exhibits, and creates original catalog records. Beth Tedford (Cataloging Assistant) creates copy catalog records for SCA materials and is currently working on records review and cleanup in preparation for the forthcoming Alma migration. SCA has expanded Finley Trent’s PT hours (WFU MA ’16, UNCG MLS ’18) and she serves on the Reference desk, processes collections, compiles research resources, and oversees the History Timeline. We work closely with Mel Rutledge (Digital Collections Librarian) who oversees reproduction requests from our patrons and coordinates the many SCA and DH@Wake digitization projects. Finally, in addition to managing the department, Tanya Zanish-Belcher (Director) interacts with on-campus and external donors about collection donations or transfers and develops outreach events and projects with campus and external partners. Finally, we could not do everything we do without our 10 student assistants!

Please refer on-site visitors with questions to our Research Room (625 ZSR) or archives@wfu.edu, and mark our fall events on your calendar. We hope to see you soon!