The SHC has been collaborating with Historic Stagville, and the final project in my practicum is creating an exhibit on some of the enslaved families. On Monday my research brought me down the stairs to the North Carolina Collection in search of source citations, but on Thursday I decided to break from the books and visit the plantation itself.

The hour-long tour takes visitors to the Bennehan house, the enslaved quarters at Horton Grove, and the great barn, all of which are described briefly here. While the Bennehan home was interesting, Horton Grove impressed me with the tangible reminders of slavery. Along the chimney, you can see actual handprints of the enslaved builders who shaped and stacked the bricks. One brick even bears the faint footprint of a child who must have stepped or fallen upon it before it was quite dry. Hart House, too, retains connections to its enslaved past with the Hart family (one of the families I am researching, in fact). As sharecroppers and blacksmiths after emancipation, the Harts were able to buy the house eventually and resided there as late as the 1950s. There are some living in town today who can say they were born in [formerly] enslaved quarters.

If you'd like to peek into Historic Stagville virtually, head here.

(source)

At the SHC on Monday I spent a couple of hours looking through the minutes of UNC's Philanthropic Society for 1861-62, in attempt to find some material from University Archives to post on the blog. I did find some candidates--for instance, one entry recorded a report the society submitted to its governing board detailing the poor condition of its hall. In particular, the society members were incensed over the lack of lighting which caused them to stumble about, was "injurious to those who keep their eyes open," and prohibited them from seeing if members were attentive or asleep during the meetings, even those who "sat very near." Their complaint was related in such a dry but ruffled-feathers way I found it humorous. The report, however, was grounded as they recounted their dwindling number of members due to the war (this was written in August, I think, of 1861). In memoriam entries appeared with greater frequency the further I read as more of the society's members were killed in battle. As with the letters and other documents I've been reading, these entries show the human cost* of the war, the loss of individuals with great intellects, characters, and futures.

It was quite interesting to read some of the society's debate topics, too, which covered a range of issues such as man and woman, the war, and certain leaders (Napoleon came up a couple of times). Each meeting the secretary would dutifully record the query and the members chosen to represent each side in three weeks' time. One query, which apparently resulted in "lively discussion," was "Which exerts the greater influence over man, wine or women?" Another asked whether it was ever moral for the Confederate army to fight on the offensive (the answer was no). Another asked whether the North and South would ever be reconciled over the issue of slavery (which, again, was "no," I believe). I really wish the secretary had recorded bits of the arguments.

Of particular interest to me were the many entries devoted to the upkeep of the library and archives. The society often bemoaned the poor state of the library, as patrons left books scattered over the tables and there was no budget allotted to get more books or to repair the bindings of the ones they had. There were also a good many "delinquent" patrons to deal with and fines to levy. Even as the library's resources change, some things, apparently, have remained timeless.

The blog's first entry about the Philanthropic Society introduces it in greater detail.

*don't really like the financial overtones of the metaphor when talking about human lives, but you get the idea

I am tired; drummer-boy upstairs decided to practice between 1 and 2 last night. Honestly...

Tonight I'm heading back to campus for an introductory meeting for amliss, the UNC art-and-museum-library-&-information-student-society. I'm eager to get involved in these groups (the other one being SCOSAA, the Student-Chapter-of-the-Society-of-American-Archivists) which will hopefully help me develop the habit of participating in professional organizations throughout my career. And career time is fast approaching.

I have to say that I am quite happy with my classes this semester--finally, I'm on to learning practical skills like cataloging and reference and archival description. My assignments are hands-on projects that will help me to navigate these new areas in a real-life application way. Between those three and my course in cultural institutions (I'm exploring these as work environments in addition to libraries/archives), I'm feeling much more prepared for my career.

The Academic Common Market of VA just informed me that I'm eligible for instate tuition at UNC-CH. What a relief! Now I still need to contact the school and talk over the financial matters with them, but I am happy to know that I'm at least eligible.

Kristen and I are driving down to Chapel Hill on Monday to scope out the area and, most importantly, housing. I'll be so glad to have her guidance, for she's shopped for apartments many a time, and I've never done so. This year I'm only hoping to find some place that's reasonably safe and reasonably close to campus (biking distance, por favor?), but next year I hope to find a nicer, unfurnished apartment that I can set up as my own little nest, filled with the furniture and household items I've been collecting for years now. It will be so nice to use them!

Kathryn's been walking around in her apron this evening like she's...me! I love donning my own vintage apron as I tidy or bake because not only does it protect my clothing, but it also puts me in the mindset for whatever task I'm embarking upon. It's rather like dressing up for tests--you know, putting on that nice skirt and jacket and doing your hair all nicely so that you look polished and competent and think thoughts are polished and competent. It's simply dressing for the part.

But that's not what I'm writing about, so pardon the detour. As you might know, I've been seriously considering earning my master's in library science (MLS) in order to become a reference/research/instructional librarian in an academic institution. With this in mind I've arranged to spend a few weeks shadowing the librarians at Regent University, particularly those who work in public services. It's been so helpful to see what may lie on the other side of graduate school, the day to day routines and tasks that come with the work. Each of the librarians and staff members has been very accommodating, especially my liason, Marta. I'm getting more and more excited about my career!

Thus far, I've peeked into several departments at Regent Library, including the reference desk, circulation, periodicals, acquisitions, cataloguing, technical systems, and today I even sat in on the reference meeting. Here are some particular things I've learned in my hours at Regent:

• it's imperative that I gain practical experience while earning my degree. The credentials are useless without applying the knowledge, and application is what employers are looking for.
• become fluent in the language of technology. It's not worth the money to hire a librarian who cannot use the computer. Like it or not, technology is fast becoming the library's framework, and it is a useful tool.
• that second master's degree sets the applicant apart and enables her to specialize in a particular department, something which is almost necessary in academic libraries and collection development, reference instruction, and all the rest that comes with the job. I was rather crestfallen to hear that I need to commit to earning two master's degrees rather than just the MLS, but now that I hear that I can land a job with the MLS and then earn my second while working--and probably find tuition reimbursement among my benefits, I'm delighted to have that opportunity. So...a master's in Southern literature? Medieval theology?

I've gotten the course descriptions from University of Kentucky's school of library science, and I will also look into UNC at Chapel Hill and Greensboro, both schools in neighboring North Carolina. Each of these three schools are part of the academic common market, granting Virginia residents instate tuition, which, need I say, helps me tremendously.