By: Jesse Vanderveeken
Somehow I can’t get through a week without discovering another amazing resource available to Western students!
As always, the revelation begs so many questions: why didn’t I know about this sooner? How many others are in my shoes? Would I be a better student if I had known? I soon spiral into a daze of self-interrogation and awake in a cold sweat beside an empty tub of Ben & Jerry’s “The Tonight Dough” ice cream. With slightly less theatrics, I imagine this is the case for many undergraduate students. It is far too easy to fall into the same old routine of attending lectures, completing assignments and working nights, completely ignorant of events happening on campus, outlets to contact the writer-in-residence, or volunteer opportunities to gain work experience. It’s a keep your head down, get your degree and get out mindset—and I am probably as guilty of it as anyone.
Going to the Archives and Special Collections reading room at Weldon Library was another one of those aha moments for me. I was shocked by just how accessible, resource-rich and downright cool it is. 15 minutes taking some photos of an early printed book for an English assignment quickly became a couple of hours spent flipping through the wheaten pages of several Renaissance texts deep in a trance. Again a similar question came to mind: how did I go my first two years as a Western Student not noticing this treasure trove of historical knowledge? I am writing this post hoping others won’t have to ask themselves a related question. To you, bright-eyed freshmen, visit the reading room before it’s too late—before you’re caught in the hustle and bustle of routine and regret it dearly. No matter your department, or major, you stand to gain something. Trust me!
The Archives and Special Collections at Western houses items ranging from rare books to monographs to maps, all made accessible through the reading room at Weldon Library. The collection includes “special collections” donated by particular collectors, dedicated to certain topics including, The Dr. James Good Collection of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and The Hannah Collection on the History of Science and Medicine.
While the archives may have more apparent applications for a student studying history (e.g., providing primary sources to use as evidence in historical essays), English students can also benefit in a number of ways.
Beyond aiding study in specific courses that look at book history or bibliography, analysing the intricacies of manuscripts and early printed books can put into perspective the general materiality of books, which is often overlooked in many introductory English courses despite being tightly intertwined with the topics considered in said courses. When discussing the historical context of different literary works in the classroom by touching on censorship, contemporary reading practices and historical genres, an undergraduate student can benefit from seeing the actual material traces of these phenomena. They can look in books of the period for insightful redacted text, detailed reader annotations and the material elements of a work which may have influenced or constrained its generic conventions (analogous to the need for repetition, rhythm and rhyme in oral poetry).
Additionally, besides providing a richer understanding of books as material objects that persist through time, intimate study of archival items gives undergraduate students a taste of what graduate school could be like—with the real possibility of writing a thesis on a specific book or period in book history, on topics as diverse as the Digital Humanities (using technology for digitization and textual analysis) or Reception Studies (how books have historically been received by target readers and the general public).
The possibility of having such an intimate relationship with centuries-old manuscripts and incunabula is also just downright cool. If you are like me, you sometimes wander through the stacks of Weldon wondering what interesting title will catch your gaze and key you into a topic or area of human endeavour that redefines your preconceived limits to academia. Browsing on OMNI through ancient archival sources accessible for study provides that same feeling ten times over. But to get the most out of the experience, you have to physically visit the reading room…
The basic formula for visiting the Archives and Special Collections reading room goes: (1) find a specific archival item or an area of study that you are interested in; (2) reach out to archives.services@uwo.ca with an inquiry regarding whether the item(s) can be sent to the reading room for a future visit; (3) visit the reading room at Weldon Library, following all of the rules of conduct to enjoy your research safely and ethically! Bonus: take photos or make scans that can be used for later study.
Now let’s do a quick walkthrough to make it clear:
Begin on the Western Libraries website and type into the search bar the title of a book you are interested in finding an older edition of. Be sure to try and refine your search with the “Advanced Search” option if you do not get the desired results (if you cannot find anything on the library website you may want to check on the archives database).
Once you get your search results, scroll down on the left margin of the screen until you see the heading “Western and Affiliate Libraries”. Click the arrow beside the heading and select “Archives” at the top of the list.
Once you see the search results for items stored in the archives, browse and make your selection by clicking on the title you are interested in (keeping in mind you can always revise your search to include publishing date, publisher and author/editor).
Email archives.services@uwo.ca requesting to see the item, making sure to identify it with key characteristics such as the date, editor and barcode number.
If your request is accepted and you are sure that the item is ready for you in the reading room then it’s time to visit (certain items may be restricted because they are in poor condition or contain personal information, however, in such cases, either a scan can be provided, or a “research agreement” can be negotiated). When you visit the reading room make sure to have your student ID available to sign in along with papers and pencils (not pens!) for taking notes on your chosen archival item.
Keep in mind that much of the information regarding the particulars of the “steps” I have outlined can be found on the Western University website under Academics > Western Libraries > Catalogue Collections > Archival Collections and Finding Aids. You can also send your queries to the archives staff who have been very attentive and polite in response to all my questions. Also, keep in mind that the archives are really open to anyone, and though I have focussed on the rare book side of things, they have a lot more than just that if you are interested. I only hope that this post excited your fascination and you delve deeper of your own accord.
That’s right, you now have all the tools you need to study priceless relics of human ingenuity, but use this information wisely. As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. But don’t forget to have fun with it as well. Your university experience should not be limited by the stagnancy of a crystallised routine and you shouldn’t have to wait until late in your degree to begin researching like a postgrad!
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