Worcester Chapter Meeting
Caroline White presents:
Quakers, Aggies, and Archivists: An Inside Look at Genealogy Resources in UMass Amherst’s Archives
The Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center (SCUA), in the UMass Amherst Libraries, holds more than 1,500 collections of varying sizes and in a range of formats. SCUA is open to all, and researchers come from on campus, off campus, and way off campus to use the collections; those unable to visit ask questions by email and/or use SCUA’s ever-growing online digital collections. For researchers whose interests are genealogical, whether they are asking about one ancestor or trying to construct a complete family history, SCUA has two collections that are chiefly consulted: the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends Records and the University Archives.
In a presentation that will describe SCUA’s holdings and include examples of her own work helping researchers and seekers of genealogical information, Caroline White will cover the following:
- SCUA’s mission and collecting areas
- Collection highlights
- Collections for genealogical research including
- New England Yearly Meeting of Friends Records: what they are/include, why we have them, how they fit into our collecting mission
- University Archives (official and unofficial): how they come in, what they include, what they do not include
- How to work effectively with an archivist, whether doing research in person or remotely
- SCUA resources and using them/how researchers (and casual Googlers) find us
- Challenges of remote research and why everything isn’t digitized
- Digital resources and digitization challenges
About Caroline: Caroline J. White, Archives and Manuscript Librarian in the Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center (SCUA), in the UMass Amherst Libraries, is a graduate of Simmons School of Library and Information Science, where she earned an MS in archives management, and of Princeton University, where she majored in English. Before becoming an archivist, she worked for nineteen years as an editor for Viking, Penguin, and Penguin Classics, in New York City. She has taught as an adjunct instructor in Simmons’ archives program; held several short-term positions at Mount Holyoke College’s Archives and Special Collections; and given presentations at professional conferences including the Society of American Archivists, New England Archivists, and Academic Library Advancement and Development Network. Her articles have appeared in Acid Free and Archival Outlook, among other publications. A native of Philadelphia, her mother’s hometown, she grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, like her Kentucky-born father, but also has deep roots in Massachusetts, her adopted state.
9:00 am EST Library opens
9:30 am EST Socializing
9:45 am EST Business meeting
10:00 am EST Presentation
9:45 am EST Business meeting
10:00 am EST Presentation
Join us for lunch at a local restaurant after the presentation.
This presentation will be Hybrid - In Person and Virtual via Zoom. Pre-registration is required if you are attending virtually at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkceGpqj8iGtLzvLOU2gf16yyW9wf-3Ubo#/registration
The presentation is free and open to the public.
In Person Location:
Millbury Public Library
128 Elm St
Millbury, MA