UC Libraries Forum 2025: Standing Up and Standing Out in Turbulent Times

UC Santa Cruz Special Collections and Archives has a rich tradition of engaging students across disciplines in archival practice through programs designed for both graduates and undergraduates. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the Center for Archival Research and Training (CART) supports graduate student development through immersion in archival processing, research, and exhibition curation, while new models like our Undergraduate Internship Program aims to provide a similar experience to an undergraduate interested in pursuing graduate education in libraries and archives. Through these programs, archivists collaborate and share expertise in order to provide meaningful, practical experiences to students, while students share their content expertise in helping to make our archival collections accessible through collection guides and exhibitions.

The panel will include both archivists and students, who will present on three case studies: 1) processing the papers and digital files of UCSC Distinguished Professor Emerita Donna Haraway by the current graduate fellow in CART; 2) an undergraduate intern making student activism and protest materials accessible through a finding aid and an exhibit; and 3) training graduate students to assist in processing the records of Dolores Huerta and the Huerta Foundation during an intensive alternative spring break program affiliated with CART. Panelists will also discuss our approaches to mentorship and encouraging the career development of students interested in archives, including those who go on to pursue MLIS degrees after their time at UC Santa Cruz.