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Each year the Society of American Archivists hosts “Ask an Archivist Day” — a time when those of us who aren’t trained in carefully curating and preserving history can ask archivists, well, anything.

As St. Olaf commemorates its 150th anniversary this year, the team in College Archives has been busier than ever sharing their work with the community. This includes virtual exhibits, pop-up exhibits, and partnerships on projects like the Flaten Art Museum’s fall exhibit celebrating 150 years of political engagement on campus.

In honor of this year’s Ask an Archivist Day on October 16, we asked Lead Archivist Kristell Benson and Distinctive Collections Engagement Librarian Jillian Sparks our own questions about their work. Here’s what they had to say.

What, exactly, does an archivist do at St. Olaf?

Sparks: I’m lucky to work with Kristell, not only because she’s a wonderful person, but also because we are able to divide and conquer when it comes to archival work. My role on campus is more public-facing. I teach classes, coordinate with my student associates on events, plan our exhibits, and think of new ways to connect our collections with our community. It is important to me that our community, and students especially, know that our archives are not there to become dusty objects, but tools to help us engage with our past and discover how our shared history has shaped our present.

Benson: I’m so lucky to get to work with Jillian, too! While she does more of the public-facing work, the work I do is a little less visible. A big part of my job is to make sure the materials in our archives are preserved, described, and accessible for our community. I implement policies to ensure that we are following best practices to keep our collections secure. I also learn what is in our collections and help organize them so that people can find the types of information they need. I work with our talented student employees, and a big part of their job is to help researchers navigate our materials. Sometimes that means answering research questions and sometimes that means helping them find materials that have the answers they need. I think the best part of my job is connecting with different departments and people to help them think about what records they might have or produce that would be a good addition to our collections.

What’s one of your favorite items in our collection?

Sparks: I love our Indian clubs or meels that belonged to Georgina Dieson Hegland. The wooden clubs look like juggling pins and would have been used in a choreographed routine like rhythmic gymnastics or perhaps something like our modern zumba classes. You can read about routines being performed in the gym in the early issues of the Olaf Messenger. I hold them and feel like one of those people directing airplanes on a runway. It is so fun to imagine early Oles using them as part of their fitness requirement!

Benson: My favorite thing in our collection is actually a set of things: the Felland glass negatives. We have a set of over 1,600 glass plates of the photos that Professor O.G. Felland took of the campus and the people of this community in the late 19th/early 20th century. There are pictures of students walking to class, sitting in the library, playing baseball, and living their lives here on the Hill. These images are such a great way to connect to a different time through a shared place. I’m also excited that so many members of our community have been able to use these images in various projects and classwork as a way to learn about and examine our history.

What’s the oldest item in our collection?

Benson: One of the oldest things we have in our collections is a metal candlestick holder and candle snuffer set. There was a note found with them that mentions the year 1700 and that it is from Norway. We have several objects from around this time period that would have been items used in daily life. They made it over to the U.S. over 100 years later with the Norwegian-American immigrants who founded St. Olaf.

What’s the most surprising thing someone has donated to the College Archives?

Benson: Back in 1998, the College Archives received class work done by Cora Martinson, a graduate with the Class of 1925. Charlotte Gronseth of Minneapolis donated the materials, which included botany and entomology drawings as well as work from other various classes like chemistry, psychology, public speaking, and religion. This donation is surprising to me because I don’t think many people understand the value of these types of materials in an archive — they are so important! They are a way for students to see their own current experiences reflected in material that is over 100 years old.

What makes something worth saving and preserving in College Archives?

Benson: All of our students, alumni, faculty, and staff members are part of our history. I often tell people that if something shows the work that you’ve done here at St. Olaf, then it too is part of our history and potentially a good addition to our archives. While official college records like reports, meeting minutes, announcements, and policies are important to keep, there are many other types of records that can be just as useful to researchers. Student work, course syllabi, programs, correspondence, and even some artifacts can also communicate quite a bit about historical happenings and events. 

Most people don’t think about donating digital photographs or electronic materials to Colleges Archives. Do you want those, too?

Benson: Yes! Photographs are an extremely important resource in the archives, and probably our most requested type of material. While we do have quite a large photograph collection, we are always thrilled to accept more, either in a digital or physical format.

How can people donate items to College Archives?

Sparks: We would love to accept your donations! You can read more about our donation process and policies on our website. Students, alumni, faculty, and staff: You all are making St. Olaf history during your time on the Hill, and we would love to include your experience in the College Archives. One of the best parts of my job is being able to share past student experiences with our current students in the classroom! We also have a records retention program, and information on our transfer program for departments is also available on our website. We would love to have more records from student organizations! Paige Ewert ’26, our student associate for collection and donor support, and Kristell have been reaching out to student orgs, but we would love to hear from them too!

How can people engage with the work you do in College Archives?

Sparks: You can engage with us by exploring our exhibits online and in person. We love connecting with the St. Olaf community at events like Homecoming and Reunion. We hope it inspires our community to explore our College Archives collections and think about their own connections to St. Olaf. 

Why did you want to work with archives?

Sparks: I love the materials! I was lucky enough to work with rare books and special collections during my first master’s degree, and that’s when it finally clicked that I could get a job working with rare materials. My graduate assistantship at the University of Iowa Special Collections and University Archives introduced me to archival collections, and I loved the intimacy of working with family and personal papers. You can learn so much more about our cultural heritage by interacting with primary objects and documents, and I love being able to share our materials and my enthusiasm for them with our students.

Benson: I love learning, and I am so lucky to work in a profession that values and encourages lifelong learning. When I was in graduate school I discovered how much I loved archives. I’ve always been interested in history and the stories from our past, but I also came to realize how important it is that there are people who know how to organize and preserve those records so that they are discoverable and around for people to learn from in the future. I wanted to be a part of that work.

“Archives are more than just official documents from the school. Our collections contain student work, scrapbooks, photographs, artwork, creative writing, and so much more! In order to have a more complete picture of the history of St. Olaf, we need experiences and records from as many members of our community as possible.”

— Lead Archivist Kristell Benson

What brought you to St. Olaf?

Sparks: I interviewed at St. Olaf in October 2018 and immediately fell in love with our beautiful campus! As a graduate of a liberal arts college, I was excited by the possibility of working at a liberal arts campus. This job also presented an opportunity to build out the instruction and outreach program essentially from scratch, and I loved the challenge of thinking about how we get our campus excited about Special Collections and College Archives. 

Benson: While I love the work I do here, it is the St. Olaf community that makes my job so rewarding. I recognized immediately how special the people of this campus are, and I feel fortunate that I get to work with colleagues and students who care deeply about each other, their communities, and the world. 

What’s the hardest part about being an archivist on a college campus?

Benson: I think what can be difficult at times is the fact that no matter how hard I or my colleagues try, we will never be able to collect every record of the history of our school. There will always be missing records and missing voices. I can, however, ensure that we are reaching out and telling our community that everyone’s voice is valuable and important to the historical record, and that there is a place in our collections for their experiences to be kept for future researchers to discover.

What do you wish more people knew about your work?

Sparks: We aren’t collecting these items and preserving them to create a treasure room for the college. We steward our collections with the intention that they will be used by students and researchers. All are welcome in our reading room and at our events. You don’t need to have a research project to view materials — you simply need to be curious! And we will happily share YOUR campus collections and archives with you!

Benson: Archives are more than just official documents from the school. Our collections contain student work, scrapbooks, photographs, artwork, creative writing, and so much more! In order to have a more complete picture of the history of St. Olaf, we need experiences and records from as many members of our community as possible. Whether you are faculty, staff, alumni, or a student, I encourage you to reach out to us if you feel like you have an example of the work you do on campus or something that represents the experiences you’ve had here. It is only with our community’s involvement that we can have a more robust and representative archive.

Do you want to know more? Continue the conversation by asking questions of your own on our St. Olaf Instagram stories on October 16!