Student life archivist Rebecca Wells. Photo by Christopher Gannon.
In the classroom and beyond, students make history at Iowa State. The projects, coursework, events, organizations and activities that students take part in during their time at the university become integral to its legacy. Preserving records from student life past and present is crucial to the work of Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) and its new student life archivist Rebecca Wells.
How do student life archives help tell the university's story?
The history of the university is a mosaic of the experiences, memories and accomplishments of every student, staff, faculty and administrator at Iowa State. If one of those groups' perspectives is absent, then the university’s history is missing a piece.
Although we will never be able to collect, preserve and share every single person's perspective in the archives, we do seek to build an archival record in which everyone can see themselves -- one that is representative of every Iowa Stater and can truly serve as a reflection of the campus in which no one who calls Iowa State home is forgotten or erased.
What's something especially meaningful you've archived?
The Jill Wagner papers. The university commemorates 100 years since Jack Trice's passing this year, and while co-curating the exhibition "Once, Twice, Trice: Students Tackle Naming Jack Trice Stadium," the name Jill Wagner came to the forefront.
Wagner, the first elected female president of the Government of the Student Body and alumna with a predilection for social justice, was one of the thousands of students who contributed to the nearly 25 years of student activism that went into naming the football stadium in honor of Trice. Adding the voice of this one student to the archives helps represent the thousands of students who signed their names to petitions, wore armbands during football games and contributed their time and money to exact tremendous change at Iowa State.
Name: Rebecca Wells
Position: Student life archivist, Special Collections and University Archives
Education: Bachelor's degree in English, creative writing and Scandinavian studies from Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois; graduate academic certificate in advanced management in libraries and information agencies from the University of North Texas, Denton; master’s degree in information studies with endorsements of specialization in archival administration and preservation administration from The University of Texas, Austin
When people think of archives, websites don't always come to mind. Why is it important to archive university websites?
It's not just websites! People are often shocked to hear that we archive born-digital materials, like Word documents, PDFs, digital photos and websites.
For decades now, we have used computers and the web in our daily exchange of information and interactions with others. These materials are evidence of the functions and responsibilities of their creators, making them vital to capture and preserve for future use.
I currently am revamping our web archiving program to better collect and preserve our online presence and serve our users. If anyone notices that a university webpage hasn't been captured in a while, or at all, they can contact me to get the process started.
You recently held a Recordkeeping 101 workshop -- what were the takeaways, especially for employees?
Good recordkeeping means managing your records throughout their lifecycle to prevent the accidental loss or erasure of history. In my role as student life archivist, I often talk with students about why their records matter, but faculty, staff and administrators' records are just as important. Both the official records created in your role at the university and your professional contributions to field-specific research and service provide evidence of important decisions made and actions taken, which are important to archive.
What do you wish more people understood about archiving?
Archiving is a way to connect to each other, relate to one another and communicate across time through shared experiences. We welcome you to be a part of the archival process here and encourage you to collect, preserve, donate and share in the creation and use of the archival record of Iowa State and its major research areas. Archival collections can only be as representative as the people who choose to share their stories.
If you're ever unsure about visiting us, donating things to us or want to know more about what we do and how you can be a part of it, reach out to archives@iastate.edu. We want to hear from you!
