Getting Help

So, I have a question for Special Collections & Archives, how do I get help?

By Email

The first, best place to start is archives@wfu.edu, your go-to email for anything—reference questions, faculty instruction requests, donations, and more. Messages sent to this email go to multiple staff members, so we can make sure it is handled even if one of us is out of the office.

In Person

If you’re asked for directions to Special Collections & Archives and are wondering where to send students, faculty, or visitors, the answer is Room 625. ZSR Room 625 is the SCA Research Room (west side, Reynolds Wing), the only public service research desk for all visitors and researchers to SCA. Our research hours are Monday-Friday 10:00am-4:00pm*. To schedule a time please fill out this form, email archives@wfu.edu, or call 336-758-6175. Visitors must follow current Covid-19 guidelines.  *See calendar for alternate hours or closures.

Classroom

Adjacent to the Research Room is our classroom, Room 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 5pm or on weekends. Requests to use the classroom are submitted via the EMS system and are reviewed and approved by SCA.

Staff Members

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.
• Craig Fansler (Preservation Librarian) rehouses our archives materials, creates boxes for rare books, completes minor repairs on both SCA and General Collection materials, and provides exhibit support for SCA.
• Ashelee Gerald Hill (Processing Archivist) is responsible for our collections accessions (keeping track of all the material incoming to 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.
• Melde Rutledge (Digital Collections Librarian) manages the digital production of SCA’s rare and unique collections.
• Beth Tedford (Cataloging Assistant) creates copy catalog records for SCA materials and is currently working on records review and cleanup in preparation for a future ILS migration.
• Tanya Zanish-Belcher (Director) manages the department, interacts with on-campus and external donors about collection donations or transfers and develops outreach events and projects with campus and external partners.

Part-Time Staff

As the number of our responsibilities has expanded, SCA has added several part-time positions to help us. They include:

• Finley Turner (WFU MA ’16, UNCG MLS ’18) who serves on the Reference desk, processes collections, compiles research resources, and oversees the WFU History timeline

Finally, we could not do everything we do without our student assistants, Mel Rutledge as Digital Collections Librarian, and the Digitization Lab students!

Please refer visitors with questions to our Research Room (625 ZSR) or archives@wfu.edu. We hope to see you soon!