6 2 - Dominican University

All institutional records and special collections materials –
even the fragile and delicate 14th and 15th century documents
and Civil War collection – are available to faculty and students,
as well as visitors to the archives for education and research. It’s
this commitment on behalf of the library and the university that
makes the collection so valuable – and not just monetarily. Much
of the information can be accessed from the archives website at
www.domweb.dom.edu/library/archives/archive.html.
“There are two types of practice – one is to protect materials from the
people, and the other is to protect materials for the people. Through
the library and GSLIS, there is an active interest in the preservation
and conservation courses and seeing the materials used. We make
them available for people to enjoy,” says James Twomey, adjunct
faculty member, Graduate School of Library and Information
Sciences. Twomey – an expert in preserving and restoring antique
books, documents and maps – has been teaching Dominican
graduate students in library science since 2004. Twomey is also
working with the archivists at the Sinsinawa Mound in Wisconsin
on preserving the many original volumes and records of Fr. Samuel
Mazzuchelli, founder of the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters.
“Dominican University has an amazing collection of materials,”
Twomey says. “There are many first editions and representatives of
every major printer demonstrating innovations in type, printing and
illustration. So clearly there is a focus to the collection, and whoever
purchased or acquired elements of the collection knew what
he/she was doing.”
In addition to the countless Rosary College/Dominican records and
materials, some of the most prized materials in the archives include a
a French, hand-written Christian journal from the late 1600s; personal
letters written by Studs Terkel, Susan B. Anthony and Jefferson
Davis; original testimony documents from the Spanish Inquisition;
papal bulls and letters; a suffragette letter; Civil War-era documents
and ephemera; and books on Irish personalities and Irish history.
Though the inventory and cataloging process is an all-consuming
task, under Twomey’s tutelage, Szegedi is also undertaking many of
the restoration and preservation tasks himself. “The single most
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important step in preservation and conservation is to make the paper
stable, so our philosophy is to slow down, stop or reverse the aging
process using safe chemicals to de-acidify the paper,” Twomey
explains. “We then try to heal the problem, whether it is torn paper
or separated pages, and then we create a protective box for the
document or book.”
Preserving history – in all its forms – is a priority not only for the
archives and Rebecca Crown Library, but also within the Graduate
School of Library and Information Science where students can pursue an
emphasis in archival studies. In addition to preservation, conservation
and archiving classes, Dominican is seeking to carve a niche for itself
in the area of cultural heritage informatics, and in fact last spring,
sponsored an archives and cultural heritage symposium for Chicagoarea
archivists and cultural heritage specialists. According to Cecilia
Salvatore, PhD, associate professor, and cultural heritage informatics
scholar and researcher, GSLIS students are collaborating with museums
and centers, including the national McGreal Center for Dominican
Historical Studies, located on the Dominican University campus.
“Our students can gain valuable practical experience working with
organizations in assessing their cultural heritage collections, including
recorded oral histories, museum and cultural artifacts, recorded
performances and rituals, etc.,” Salvatore says. “The collaboration has
been a fruitful and positive experience for all.” Salvatore recently
received the Parsons Fund Award from the American Folklife
Center of the Library of Congress to support her work to identify
and evaluate the library’s institutionwide assets pertaining to the
culture and history of Micronesia. In addition, Salvatore is a project
consultant on behalf of the Institute of Museum and Library Studies
working with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in
the South Pacific, assessing their cultural heritage collections.
Working together with the expert faculty and with the assistance of
several volunteer workers, Szegedi’s sights are focused on achieving
the ultimate goals of accessibility and awareness. “Our job is to create
tools to ensure that these amazing materials are available to everyone
for generations to come.”
Fall 2010 Dominican University Magazine
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