We send our seasonal greetings and hope this finds our readers healthy and safe, as we near the end of the semester and approach the new year. Please reach out to us at burke@library.columbia.edu with questions any time.
Burke staff collaborated with our friends at the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (or LGBTQ-RAN) on a resource we hope will be of interest to our readers: this guide for Archiving Digital Content. The intended audience for this page is LGBTQ+ religious organizations or representatives who are not themselves archivists, digital archivists, or technical experts.
Kristen Whitson, archivist and intern at the LGBTQ-RAN in Summer 2020, conducted extensive user research: "The people we met with are already busy, overwhelmed, and barely thinking about preserving their online or digital content. The goal here is not to teach them to be digital archivists, but just to have them start thinking about preserving any of this content (any is better than none!) for eventual donation to a repository."
Carolyn Bratnober (Public Services Librarian) and Leah Edelman (Outreach Archivist) at the Burke provided editorial guidance for this project.
Film research is always an exciting opportunity for librarians -- and this Fall, the Burke received a request from a researcher working on a documentary film about the first women ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church (the "Philadelphia Eleven"). The request came from Heather Merrill, an independent film researcher. Heather was kind enough to answer a few questions in correspondence with Carolyn Bratnober, Public Services Librarian at the Burke, about remote archival research during the COVID-19 pandemic:
How would you describe your job as a researcher?
I'm a freelance researcher, and about half of my work is for PBS historical programs, and half is for independent films.
Has your work changed much during the COVID-19 pandemic?
My work is usually pretty steady throughout the year and surprisingly, there was no slowdown for me in the demand for research on film projects, so I'm extremely grateful that I've had non-stop work for the entire pandemic.
Has it been difficult finding resources online?
The majority of my work is online anyway, and I've been surprised and so appreciative for all the material that I CAN access. For material that can't be accessed, we've had to come up with other plans. For material that I'm able to access, all the same databases are still available and so many archives have at least some material digitized and accessible, that I've been able to make some progress. It's been wonderful how many archives have done remote research requests, even if it takes longer.
How was your online Burke Library research experience?
The Burke staff has always been patient and responsive, and has always tried to answer my questions, and if possible, dig up what I'm looking for. This was true before COVID, and it's true now. I so appreciate what I've been able to access remotely at the Burke, and this is all due to the staff. There are other institutions who simply haven't allowed any staff in their buildings at all, and I understand that too.
-HM Since our initial correspondence, librarians were able to take a few photographs and send Heather several images of materials from collections in the Burke Archives.
Got an archival research project? View our Special Collections page for updated access instructions.
Image from a page of a publication of Women's Ordination Now (WON), which worked to support the recognition of ordained women as priests in the Episcopal Church. From the Suzanne Hiatt Papers, in the Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship, at The Burke Library (Columbia University Libraries) at Union Theological Seminary. (Series 2C, Box 5, Folder 9, "Women's Ordination Now (WON), 1975-1976").
Digital Collections
Did you know about Columbia's Digital Library Collections portal ("the DLC")? Materials from the Special Collections that have been digitally reproduced for exhibits, research, and other purposes can be stored in the DLC and made available for researchers online. Currently the DLC includes over 500,000 images. Many Burke Library materials--including rare books and manuscripts, photographs, and archival materials--have been added to the DLC in recent months.
Deanna Roberts, Circulation Supervisor at the Burke Library, gave a presentation titled Libraries and Access to Information in Palestine at the annual Online Conference of the Atla organization for librarians in religion and theology. Her presentation can be viewed here and the accompanying published paper can be read here.
Online Events & Workshops
See the Burke Library Calendar and the wider Libraries Calendar for all online events in the Burke Library. Registration is required for all Online events. Participants will receive the Zoom link and info on the day of the event.
Let's Use CLIO (offered weekly, various days/times)
Virtual hands-on workshop series, facilitated by librarians in various schools and departments, with practical hands-on activities to brush up on the basics of finding e-books, databases, Research Guides, and more through the libraries. Open to all Columbia University Libraries users and departments (registration required).
