9:08 a.m., Feb. 5, 2010----Over the past few weeks, five University of Delaware graduate students archived and digitized a Delmarva history collection of photographs, postcards and other artifacts at the Corbit-Calloway Memorial Library in Odessa, Del. They also developed recommendations for improved preservation of the collection, which will be made available on the library's Web site and utilized by local fourth-grade social studies classes.

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The UD volunteers -- Stephanie Lampkin, Jennifer Matthews, Hillary Mohaupt, Robin Valencia and Jackie Williams -- are all working toward master's degrees in the Department of History and are a part of UD's Museum Studies Certificate Program.

According to Matthews, the Delmarva collection contains about 2,000 postcards -- many of which are over 100 years old -- that depict scenes from various areas of Delaware. Matthews notes that it is not just the pictures on the cards that have historical value, but also the messages that were written on their backs.

The students scanned both sides of the postcards to create a digital database, including information such as when the postcard was published and who created the image on the front of the card, Matthews says. They also recommended ways for rehousing the postcards in accordance with accepted archival standards to ensure that the cards remain in good condition for many more years.

The project was organized by Katherine C. Grier, professor in the Department of History and director of the Museum Studies Program at UD, in response to a Delaware State Library study that found that only 20 percent of Delaware collections are properly inventoried. “This is a crisis situation,” Grier says. “Delaware's cultural patrimony is in trouble.”

With the Corbit-Calloway project successfully completed, Grier hopes to develop a similar project each year for students to participate in over Winter Session. She says she aspires to branch out into more involved collections by using this year's project “as a template for developing grant applications to support more extensive projects.”

While generously helping the library and its patrons, Lampkin, Matthews, Mohaupt, Valencia and Williams also earned valuable hands-on experience. This project benefitted everyone involved, because it helped “to build a stronger relationship between the Museum Studies Program at the University of Delaware and the surrounding community,” says Mohaupt.

She adds that projects like this are useful for the UD students because they “promote the use of best practices in the field and give students hands-on experience. Really, it's a win-win situation for the grad students and for Corbit-Calloway: I think everyone involved will be able to learn and to teach.”

Valencia concurs, saying, “I absolutely love museums and their mission to preserve history, whether local, regional, or national, as well to educate the public. Museums can be fun for anyone and as a future museum professional I hope to create exhibits that are both educational, valuable, and fun for the public.”

Similarly, Matthews appreciates the opportunity to apply what she has learned in the classroom to a real-world situation. “This project gave me a chance to put the skills I learned to practical use,” she says. As Grier notes, “hands-on experience is a great way for [students] to learn about “real world” working conditions.”

According to Grier “the Delmarva History Collection in well-known in the state,” but not well-known enough. In addition to learning for their own sakes, these five students are practicing how to teach what they learn to others.

Mohaupt explains that “in the program we are trained in applied public history -- how to connect people with history and how to use objects to tell a story.”

Updating and organizing the Delmarva collection allowed the team to practice those skills in a manner that will have a substantial impact on the area -- by working on a local collection that will be used to educate local youth and citizens.

Mohaupt reflects that the project was not only a great learning experience and professional development opportunity, but a chance “to provide service to the community.”

Article by Shannon Robbins