Collections Aid

Museum Studies and Public Engagement

A graduate student wearing blue latex gloves uses a magnifying glass to inspect an item at the Delaware Historical Society Research Library in Wilmington, Delaware.

University of Delaware graduate student Rachel Nelson inspects a framed diploma at the Delaware Historical Society Research Library in Wilmington, Delaware, in January 2019.

Left image of a large pile of boxes and documents and right image of smiling students and faculty with an organized rolling shelp of boxes and documents.

At the Delaware Historical Society (DHS) Research Library, January 2024 — Two weeks of “conservation triage" helped the team of (from left to right) Emily Collopy, Samantha Hertel, Akimah Kumar, Lu Ann De Cunzo and Leigh Rifenburg turn the library annex into an organized space ready for the next steps.

Smiling students in group photos at the Delaware Historical Society Research Library and the Milton Historical Society

Delaware Historical Society Research Library, Wilmington Delaware, and Milton Historical Society in Milton, Delaware, in January 22–February 2, 2024.

Smiling students and faculty in group photo at Howard High School Alumni Association in Wilmington, Delaware.

Howard High School Alumni Association, Wilmington Delaware, on January 17–20, and January 23–27, 2023.

Group photos of students and faculty at C-AID project work sites.

C-AID 2022 teams at St. Johns African Methodist Church in Newark (January 28), Christina Cultural Arts Center (January 24–27) and Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League (January 17–22).

Screen shot of C-AID graduate students in a Zoom virtual meeting in January 2021.

C-AID 2021 team at Delaware State Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs Dover, Delaware, on January 18–21 and January 25–28.

SWAT 2020 team of graduate students at Greenbank Mills and Phillips Farm in Wilmington, Delaware.

SWAT Team 2020 at Greenbank Mills and Phillips Farm, Wilmington, Delaware, on January 13–16 and January 20–23.

SWAT 2019 team of graduate students at Delaware Historical Archives in Wilmington, Delaware.

The 10th Annual Collections SWAT Team took place at the Delaware Historical Society Archives, Wilmington, Delaware, on January 7-10 and January 14–17, 2019. The team worked with Chief Curator, Leigh Rifenburg, and Preservation Librarian, Bill Robinson, on clearing, organizing, and pre-cataloging a large office full of collections items that ranged from early American republic receipts to modern-day political and protest signs.

A group a graduate students outside the Rockwood Mansion and Museum in Wilmington, Delaware.

At the Rockwood Mansion and Museum in Wilmington, Delaware (January 8–11 and January 15–18, 2018), graduate students worked with the museum coordinator, Loretta Spigel, cleaning and organizing the large storage room in the Carriage House conference center; revising the “room books” that list the item in each room of the house tour; cleaning and beginning a cataloging process for the large family collection of books; and working on the complex process of cleaning up collection catalog records and related paper files.

The 2017 SWAT team of graduate students and faculty a the Historical Society of Cecil County in Elkton, Maryland.

At the Historical Society of Cecil County, in Elkton, Maryland (January 9–12 and January 16–19), the 2017 Collections SWAT focused on the vast textile collections. The students worked with curator Lisa Dolor to identify, clean, photograph and rehouse over 550 objects. These ranged from a 10-piece Quaker wedding dress from 1870 to Vietnam-era military uniforms. The students helped identify all WWI objects in the collection for an exhibition in April. There was also a complete assessment of the Society’s Military Museum collection. A curatorial workspace was created in a former storage space.

UD's 2016 SWAT team at the Milford Historical Society in Milford, Delaware.

At the Milford Historical Society in Milford, Delaware (January 11–14 and January 18–21), the 2016 Collections SWAT Team wrapped up its work at the Milford Museum on January 21. Sixteen UD students, three students from the Bard Graduate Center in New York City and one high school student exploring museum work joined forces to accomplish big things. From cataloging a doll collection to de-installing an old exhibition (including a full-scale replica cannon) and patching and painting gallery walls, our students proved they can do it all! The most unusual project was cleaning and rehousing a collection of historical documents that had been found in the wall of an old house in Milford. Thanks to Executive Director Claudia Leister, Museum Assistant Barbara Jones and Commissioner Charles Hammond, Jr., for their kindness and enthusiasm.

What is Collections Aid?

Collections Aid, or C-AID, is a collections-oriented service project performed by University of Delaware graduate students over a two-week period every January. C-AID helps institutional partners and community organizations preserve and organize their collections and related information, while Museum Studies students earn credit toward the graduate certificate. Students gain invaluable hands-on experience, applying their classroom learning to the design and execution of collections overhauls that go above and beyond traditional internships. From organizing storage facilities and building collections housing to cleaning up institutional or catalog records, C-AID leaves a lasting legacy of improved collections preservation, knowledge and access.

Read "untold Stories of the First State"

The annual projects were originally funded by an Institute for Museum and Library Services grant from 2011–2015, and are currently sustained by a gift from UOVO Fine Art Storage and annual support from the University of Delaware, Delaware Humanities and the generosity of local suppliers.

C-AID typically (but not exclusively) serves smaller organizations without enough professional staff to complete the project. Graduate students put their coursework into practice at a diverse range of institutions that may not consider themselves "museums." In recent years, students have completed C-AID projects for the Christina Cultural Arts Center, Delaware Historical Society Research Library, Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League and St. John African Methodist Church. If your organization is interested in being considered for a C-AID project, email the Museum Studies & Public Engagement Program at museumstudies@udel.edu.

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