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October 18th, 2024
One course, offered through Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies, influenced three former students to pursue graduate degrees in library science and museum studies and aspire to work in those fields upon completion of their programs.
Former students and now Purdue graduates Emily Lewis, Sophia DeWitt, and Grace Kuhlman were enrolled in ILS 495 with instructors Adriana Harmeyer and Kristin Leaman during the spring 2023 semester.
ILS 495: Research Methods for Rare Books is a course offered through Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies. The course introduces students to the world of rare books and the endless research possibilities they provide, and covers the methods necessary in understanding and successfully researching rare books primarily published between the 15th and 19th centuries.
As a result of their newfound passion found through the course, Lewis, DeWitt, and Kuhlman each enrolled in a virtual seminar offered through the Newberry Library—a renowned research library in Chicago specializing in the humanities, particularly American history, literature, and rare books—that took a deep dive into rare books and discussed how to analyze, classify, and interpret them. Lewis, DeWitt, and Kuhlman earned Purdue ILS course credit through the seminar as a result of the university being a Newberry Consortium member.
ILS 495 demonstrates the impact academic programs can have in shaping student success, sparking a passion that inspires the next wave of leaders in library science and museum studies; Lewis, DeWitt, and Kuhlman were asked to reflect on their experience in the course and how it inspired their future aspirations.
Emily Lewis
Lewis majored in history as an undergraduate and is now enrolled in the Master of Library and Information Science program at Simmons University. She does not have a set career path after graduation, but aims to work with rare books, particularly early modern books, and special collections.
When reflecting on her experience, Lewis said the course was one of her favorite courses she took at Purdue and inspired her to pursue library science as a future career.
“I was mostly inspired after taking ILS 495 since it was essentially the first place I learned anything in depth about library science. I had a general idea going into undergrad that it would be nice to do something involving some sort of archives position with my history degree, but I did not actually have any idea how to go about that or that library science was even a field until then.”
Lewis enjoyed the hands-on aspect of the course and getting to use original materials in the Purdue archives to conduct research for assignments.
“I think that one of the most important parts of the class was simply being able to get our hands on a lot of very cool rare books as opposed to something like an online class where you can only see pictures of something and not see and/or handle them in person. Being able to see real life examples of things we’d read or discussed was very helpful.”
She also mentioned that the course taught her various aspects of library science, such as how to use library databases for research and the different career paths in the field.
“Our one big assignment was a research paper on a topic of our choice revolving around some aspect of rare books. I believe most, if not all of the people in the class were able to work with material from Purdue’s archives for that. As a result, the hands-on research experience was quite useful and fun.”
Sophia DeWitt
DeWitt has undergraduate majors in anthropology and classical studies and is now enrolled in the Master of Museum Studies program at Indiana University Indianapolis. She plans on working in a museum or archival collections after graduation.
DeWitt mentioned her initial excitement about registering for the course, as she is a self-described “avid reader,” and how her excitement remained strong as the course integrated hands-on opportunities with a number of rare books.
“I’m an avid reader and book lover so when this course was advertised, I jumped at the opportunity. I thought we were just going to talk about rare books, but getting to have hands-on experience with any book from the archives was a dream come true.”
DeWitt enjoyed the topics discussed in the course as it progressed through the semester.
“Each week we discussed different aspects of the rare book world. We also touched on other career paths that either involve rare books or work together with rare collections. I loved getting to find new ways to connect rare books with my interests and career opportunities.”
DeWitt also gave a shoutout to Harmeyer and Leaman, and said “I wouldn’t be here without either of their support. Whether it was about school, or you just needed someone to talk to, either one of them was always there when you needed them.”
Grace Kuhlman
Kuhlman has an undergraduate major in literature and is now pursuing a Master of Library Science at IU Bloomington.
ILS 495 solidified Kuhlman’s educational journey, as she was originally at a crossroads before taking the course.
“The ILS 495 undergrad course at Purdue is what really did it for me. I was at a crossroads in my education until I took this course. On the very first day, we walked into the tiny classroom to the most beautiful books I’d ever seen. We got to pass them around while instructors Leaman and Harmeyer explained that we were getting a glimpse of what the semester would look like. We spent the weeks learning the basics of ‘book talk’ and got a grasp on the core ideas that make up the world of books.”
Kuhlman then enrolled in the Newberry seminar to get a sharper sense of what a graduate program and future career would look like—she described it as a “wonderful and fruitful” experience.
“I’ve loved books ever since I can remember and had no idea that being a librarian didn’t have to mean at a school or public library. This field is so broad, and I feel so lucky to have had the resources at Purdue show me what I never knew I always wanted,” she said.
She also commented on the Reading Room in Archives and Special Collections.
“The Reading Room was one of my favorite places on campus. You can request any book at Purdue [Archives and Special Collections], make an appointment to see it in the Reading Room, and spend all the time you want with it. Once you realize the vast array of books Purdue has to offer from the archives it becomes a really beneficial resource.”
Purdue University Archives and Special Collections (ASC), housed within Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies, aims to support the discovery, learning, and engagement goals of Purdue University by identifying, collecting, preserving, and making available research records and papers of enduring value created or received by the university and its employees. Purdue Libraries is proud to offer ILS 495 to students and provide hands-on opportunities with rare books that they cannot get elsewhere.
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