Honors Students Explore Special Collections

This past month, a team of Loyola Marymount University librarians and archivists introduced 56 Honors students to the William H. Hannon Library’s resources and special collections with a uniquely-tailored orientation experience, one befitting of LMU’s Honors program.

The orientation consisted of two parts. Part 1 was brief and consisted mainly of a friendly welcome and gentle introduction to library resources. Student Engagement Librarian Ray Andrade provided an overview of the library’s collections, services, and events. Students watched a “Welcome to the William H. Hannon Library” video and discussed their key takeaways: e.g., that the 24/7 Ask a Librarian live chat is monitored by a real librarian, and that the library has vinyl records, special events, and special collections took top honors. Andrade, an LMU alumnus, took special joy in reminding students that, not only should they meet with professors during “office hours,” they should also meet with librarians during a “research consultation” when they are starting their research.

After this brief welcome, Andrade led the group to Level 3, where the students met up with Head of Archives and Special Collections, Cynthia Becht, and University Archivist, Liz Zepeda, for Part 2. Upon entering the classroom, students saw a variety of thoughtfully curated library treasures and rare materials on display, ranging from contemporary Latinx art and couture fashion to 15th century medieval manuscripts and 20th century scrapbooks.

Becht and Zepeda paired students to work as teams using an object analysis activity. The activity offered a list of guiding questions designed to introduce the idea of using archaeological analysis for examining a primary source. Students reflected on questions such as “What is your selected object? Can you tell when it was made?” and “For whom do you think this item was made?” Each teams of students reported their responses to the rest of the class and then had the opportunity to visit the objects at other stations.

At the conclusion of the session, Becht and Zepeda  encouraged to return to the library’s archives and special collections to continue exploring any treasures that pique their interest.* Years ago, one Honors student took this invitation to heart, as reported by Becht:

“Michael Madrinkian, ’12, encountered a 16th century English manuscript in one of his class visits to archives and special collections. Intrigued by the mysterious clues of its early provenance noted inside the book (“ … discovered in Errary [underground cellars] of Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle”), Michael embarked on a detective hunt that resulted in his making a thorough analysis of The Rych Cheyne the subject of his senior thesis. Michael successfully approached both the Honors Program and the library with a request for funding to travel to England to seek its attributed early home at Windsor Castle. Embarking on the adventure, he was permitted entry into an area of the chapel usually kept off limits to visitors. Not only did Madrinkian walk the historical spaces that may have been where the manuscript was discovered, he also learned to read the challenging 16th century handwriting in the manuscript and won an Undergraduate Library Research Award that year for his deep dive into the mysteries of the book.”

After Becht and Zepeda concluded their sessions, Andrade encouraged students to complete a brief survey. All 56 of the new Honors students participated in the survey, with the overwhelming majority (88%) indicated being “very satisfied” with their visit. When asked about what they found most useful, some students shared comments such as: “How to interpret and examine artifacts” and “Seeing all of the primary sources firsthand was amazing, getting to see actual parts of history.” When asked about what was missing from their experience, many students shared a similar sentiment: “Nothing! I was glad there was an artifact similar to every major.”

When the orientation sessions officially ended, many students found it difficult to leave and continued speaking with Becht and Zepeda about the items they examined and other items to explore in special collections. Some students also inquired about making an appointment to come back.

*Access to the library’s archives and special collections is not just for Honors students. These are resources we make available to all students, faculty, and staff upon request. To explore more, make an appointment.

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