Students in Katherine Turk’s honors seminar in American history began the spring semester anticipating an archival adventure. Under the guidance of Sarah Carrier, North Carolina research and instructional librarian, and Rachel Reynolds, special collections exhibitions coordinator, the class was preparing to use collections from the Wilson Special Collections Library to create “Climbing the Hill: Women in the History of UNC”— a full-scale exhibition about the history of women at Carolina.
Although the COVID-19 emergency upended those plans after just a few meetings, the class did go on. Thanks to quick action by University Libraries scanning experts, students were able to view and learn from archival documents online. The class changed its focus to a digital exhibition with the assistance of Lara Lookabaugh, a doctoral student in geography and Carolina Humanities for the Public Good Fellow working with the class. Wilson Library will produce an exhibition with the original items at a later time.
Visit the virtual exhibition at go.unc.edu/ClimbingTheHill
Students examine rare books in Wilson Library. (Photo by Johnny Andrews, University Communications)
Rachel Reynolds, special collections exhibitions coordinator, speaking to students among special collections materials in Wilson Library (Photo by Johnny Andrews, University Communications)
Sarah Carrier, North Carolina research and instructional librarian, lecturing students in Wilson Library (Photo by Johnny Andrews, University Communications)
Instructor Katherine Turk with her students in Wilson Library (Photo by Johnny Andrews, University Communications)
