Although most Dickinsonians have spent hours studying in the Waider-Spahr library, many have never stepped foot into Dickinson’s archives. The college’s archives contain evidence of the thousands of lives and experiences connected to Dickinson College. From a series of diaries of a World War II soldier to videos of Dickinson’s Vietnam War protests, 1990s LGBT activism materials to James Buchanan’s classroom notebook, the Dickinson archives document real-life stories of student experience.

Malinda Triller-Doran, the special collections librarian at the Archives and Special Collections, thinks of the collection as a “living archives, not a vault of paper sealed up preparing for someone who someday might need to look at them.”

Triller-Doran wants students to feel comfortable engaging with the diverse collections, saying that “we have something for everybody…. We have a hands-on philosophy and we’re really excited to have faculty and students come in and use the archives, whether that’s for an in-class activity or a more extended project, or even individual or independent work.”

The archive’s interactive philosophy opens the collection to a variety of possibilities. Triller says that Carol Ann Johnston, professor of English, holds class biweekly in the archives classroom to explore Dickinson’s first edition copy of “Paradise Lost;” student senators often come by to review the history of policy decisions before making a senate judgment; and organization leaders peruse records to see what has changed. She encourages students to visit the archives to get a sense of their history, “what’s your organization’s legacy, and how can you continue to add to that?”

“Dickinson College’s Archives is the standard I hold all other archives to,” said Allison Schell ’11, former archives student worker and current development manager at Chadd’s Ford Historical Society.

Schell says that her time at the archives informed her choice to continue with museum work for her career. She explained that the most important thing about the archives is that “education is the top priority,” and she values the many things she learned while working there, including her research into the history of coeducation at Dickinson.

Schell is humbled by the history of Dickinsonian women, from the “adversity they faced with their male counterparts” to the strict rules of curfew, dress code and behavior.

Andrew Cassidy-Amstutz ’05 wants to encourage students to contribute to the “living” archives. He marvels at the breadth of the archives, which contain “the records of now defunct secret societies, alternative publications, literary societies, eating clubs and special interest groups…. The archives and special collections rely on student organizations to donate their records on a regular basis to ensure that each organization is well represented.”

In addition to documenting life at Dickinson, Cassidy-Amstutz also notes the interesting artifacts that can be found within the archive walls, such as an Emmy, a “horn chair,” student home videos and several incunabula, books “from the very earliest stages of printing” that predate the 16th century.

Triller-Doran said that her favorite pieces in the archives “are the things that tell the story of student life, the individual students here.”

She has read the entire diary kept by Esther Popel Shaw, the first African American woman to graduate Dickinson College, stating that “it gives you some personal insight into what it was like to be a young African American woman in central Pennsylvania in the early twentieth century…it’s always a pleasure to read a diary of an author, a natural writer.”

Part of what Triller-Doran loves about Dickinson’s archives is its accessibility. With the help of student workers, Shaw’s entire diary has been transcribed, scanned and put online.

Triller-Doran is also excited to share that Dickinson Archives has been working in collaboration with the National Archives to scan and upload personal narratives and documents from the Carlisle Indian School onto the Carlisle Indian School Project website, which is accessible to anyone with internet access. She thinks that this project is important to allow descendants of students at the school to connect to their history.

Last spring, Amy Steinbugler, associate professor of Sociology, had her students work in collaboration with the LGBT Center of Central PA and Dickinson’s archives to add important oral histories to the collection, according to Triller-Doran.

Students reviewed, transcribed and conducted oral history interviews of LGBTQIA+ individuals in central Pennsylvania. Due to their efforts and to the work of local community members and interns, the archives currently contains about 60 transcribed interviews from LGBTQIA+ individuals who have lived in central Pennsylvania, including a Dickinson alumna and several Dickinson employees. The LGBT History Project also contains artifacts from generous donors and activists in the area that demonstrate the immense impact of community organizing in central Pennsylvania throughout the twentieth century.

Sara Tyberg ’16, a student worker for the LGBTQ oral history archives, said that “you see someone on the street and you don’t know how they’ve been involved in creating a history themselves, within a community, or part of a broader global narrative.”

Schell explained that one of the most striking aspects of the archive is realizing “how connected our alumni network is. We have celebrities, authors, inventors, a former president, world explorers and athletes, just to name a few.”

Dickinson’s archives are open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. To learn more about Dickinson’s archives and special collections, contact the staff at [email protected].