Library

How do I find information in the library? How do I use that information in academic contexts? How do I decide which sources are relevant and credible? This course aims to introduce research processes and resources and help students feel comfortable and confident in the library. More than just searching the library catalog, we will focus on developing information literacy skills that are integral to lifelong learning and transferable to any class where you do research at Whitman. These transferable skills include: understanding how to approach a research project or paper, recognizing what resources you need and how to find them, evaluating sources with a critical lens, and exploring copyright and intellectual property. Graded credit/no credit. Open to first-and second-year students, others by consent of instructor.

Libraries in the United States and around the world have historically promoted the values of equal access to information, patrons' rights to privacy, and preservation of the cultural and historical record. At present, information is increasingly created, disseminated and preserved online, and new models for corporate or public ownership of information are being tested. With these changes, many issues and challenges arise for information access, privacy and preservation. This course will ask how do new information systems enable or constrain our civic engagement with information? We will examine topics such as the digital divide; scholarly publishing and open access; big data, surveillance and privacy online; and digital preservation and how it relates to the previous topics. Graded credit/no credit.

Through the lens of our local culture and history, this course will provide an introduction to using archives and special collections for research. After learning how archives are organized and how to navigate them, we will explore the politics of archival collections, learn to interrogate a wide variety of primary sources, and develop cross-disciplinary research questions based on these sources. Based in the Whitman College and Northwest Archives, students will get hands-on experience using collections, with a particular focus on student life, the College as institution, the Whitmans and their legacy, and the socio-cultural history of Walla Walla. Graded credit/no credit.

How can or should an archive document the underrepresented voices in the community/communities they serve? Through hands-on work in the Whitman College and Northwest Archives, this course will explore the ethical, legal, and technological challenges of creating-a digital or material archival collection that documents the history and politics of underrepresented voices, both at Whitman College and in the Walla Walla Valley. Students will learn the relationship between archives and oral history projects, and think about how to organize, and display digital content to public audiences. Professional and ethical standards that govern how archivists negotiate with potential donors will also be considered. With this background, students will propose projects that expand who is represented in the Whitman Archives. Topics for student research could include, but are not limited to: International students, First-Generation students, the histories (and present) of student clubs and organizations, and the histories (and present) of migrations to the Walla Walla Valley. Graded credit/no credit.