At Trinity Western University, the TWU Archives and Special Collections plays a vital role in collecting and conserving institutional history for current and future generations to access.
TWU Archives also provides hands-on learning opportunities for students interested in the field of archival studies. Faith Nelson, an English major who is interning at TWU Archives, shares her experience.
It was an inspirational character from a fictional horror podcast that first motivated TWU student Faith Nelson to want to become an archivist.
Since receiving this first spark, the second-year English major has pursued her interest in archival science by volunteering at the Langley Centennial Museum, helping to transcribe early twentieth-century documents, including corporate records.
Faith was thrilled to discover that she could have the opportunity to gain archival skills while studying at TWU.
Soon, Faith’s academic advisor Dr. Katharine Bubel noticed Faith’s passion for archival work and suggested that she contact the university’s library about a volunteer position. Faith was thrilled to discover that she could have the opportunity to gain archival skills while studying at TWU.
Gaining career-related experience
After starting as a volunteer intern in the 2021-2022 academic year, this year, Faith began officially working for the TWU Archives as an intern. In her internship, she works under the mentorship and supervision of University Archivist and Assistant Librarian Tracey Krause. Tracy has trained and supported many students in archival work, helping students to gain career-related experience.
“Ms. Krause has been an amazing mentor to me, fostering my love for archival artifacts and making sure that I have the skills necessary for my future career,” said Faith, who has already taken on several projects during her time of interning with TWU Archives.
“This archival work has involved reviewing and recording the contents of each file in each of the boxes of Smith’s papers and putting the contents in as chronological an order as possible while still preserving Mr. Smith’s unique organizational system.”
Working with Inklings authors and Mel Smith Papers
Since this fall semester, Faith’s work has been featured in TWU’s newly opened reading room, The Rev. Dr. Hans and Colleen Kouwenberg C.S. Lewis and Friends Collection, which is located on the second floor of the Norma Marion Alloway Library, and houses rare and autographed copies of books by C.S. Lewis and Inklings authors. One of the collection’s prominent displays showcases Faith’s written work, an academic and personal response to Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew.
In addition to contributing to the TWU’s Inklings authors display, Faith has been working on another significant project: examining, organizing, and preserving the Mel Smith Papers.
The late Mel Smith was a public servant in British Columbia for three decades (1960s-1990s), and he also served at Trinity Western as a Special Assistant to the President and an adjunct faculty member teaching Canadian politics. In his honour, TWU hosted the Mel Smith Lectures for many years. A scholarship funded by the Mel Smith Endowment continues to support one upper-level student each year.
“When working with the Mel Smith Papers, I had the opportunity to reflect on past Canadian views on subjects ranging from Indigenous communities to adoption laws."
Faith shares some of her processes when working with the Mel Smith Papers, “This archival work has involved reviewing and recording the contents of each file in each of the boxes of Smith’s papers and putting the contents in as chronological an order as possible while still preserving Mr. Smith’s unique organizational system.” Following this stage of the archival process, Faith digitally catalogues the contents of the papers for future readers to find and use.
Helping preserve institutional memories
The outcome will be improved access to the Mel Smith Papers so that many others could benefit from the materials, as Faith shares, “Eventually the database on the ‘Mel Smith Papers’ will be available on the TWU Archives website so that any researchers, including students and faculty, will have an easier time locating the type of material they need on Mr. Smith or his political endeavours for their projects.”
Beyond books and papers, Faith’s work in archiving also engages videos, namely uncatalogued TWU VHS tapes, which Faith reviews, dates (through her “powers of deduction”) and describes in detail major aspects of the videos’ contents. This step is followed by carefully cataloguing each tape in the digital database and then labelling them and storing them in their proper location.
Faith’s work has provided her with new insights into Canada’s history and politics. “When working with the Mel Smith Papers, I had the opportunity to reflect on past Canadian views on subjects ranging from Indigenous communities to adoption laws.”
On the lighter side, she shares, “When focused on the TWU VHS tapes, I found the 1980s promotional videos for the university to be thoroughly entertaining, mostly because of their ‘archaic’ technology, especially their rudimentary 3-D graphic logos. I also found the changes in student fashion fascinating.”
To continue her educational journey in archival science, Faith hopes to enter a Master of Library and Information Studies program upon graduating from TWU.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier global Christian liberal arts university. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four locations in Canada: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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