As the Research Services Coordinator, I have the unique privilege of engaging with a diverse mix of archival collections and people who visit our Reading Room on the Fairfax campus. In my role, I’m able to learn new things about history and how people continue to use these records. It’s inspiring to see the range of visitors who come through our doors—some are exploring archival collections for the very first time, while others are “seasoned” researchers eager to uncover hidden treasures related to their focused topics. This semester alone, we hosted 143 appointments in our reading room. Our patrons traveled from across the United States, including Minnesota, New Jersey, and Arizona, as well as internationally from Italy, Poland, and Germany.
The research conducted in our Reading Room this fall served a multitude of purposes. Whether patrons were crafting exhibitions, penning scholarly publications/broadcasts, working on academic assignments – including thesis/dissertations, or digging into personal passions, our materials supported a wide range of inquiries.
Research Purposes Chart
Carts returned from reading room appointments
Collections Used
This semester, some of the most frequently accessed collections were the James M. Buchanan papers, Arena Stage records, the Federal Theatre Project collection, and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Records. The consistent interest in these collections underscores the valuable research material these collections provide. Other noteworthy collections that had consistent use include the Dulles Corridor Rail Association (DCRA) records, Emilie Miller papers, George Mason University Office of the President records, and the East German Poster collection.
To look through these collections, and others, search our collections database: Aspace. As a note, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy records, are currently unprocessed, which means they are not properly organized, making them more challenging to navigate, but we are dedicated to offering limited access to these important documents. For more information on accessing these records, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at speccoll@gmu.edu. To schedule an appointment, please fill out our Appointment Request form.
Duplication Services
In addition to welcoming visitors to our reading room, our team is dedicated to assisting patrons who request materials remotely. This semester, we received 22 digitization requests, and we successfully scanned 1700 individual items for remote access. This included photographs for publication and exhibits, as well as written documents for further study and many reunions of GMU dissertations with their original authors! We are glad to provide services that create better accessibility to our collections. Below is a snippet of the materials we scanned for individuals over the semester.
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- Federal Theatre Project, C0002, Box 227, Folder 1
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- George Mason University Office of University Relations news clippings and press releases records, R0004, Box 1, Folder 15
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- R0004, Box 1, Folder 15
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- Arena Stage records, C0017,Box 710
Many Thanks!
As I close, I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our amazing Research Services student workers, Madeline Puppos and Phoebe Salomon. Their dedication and hard work are essential to the smooth operation of our team and they play a big role in enhancing the experience of our visitors. Additionally, I want to bid a warm farewell to Madeline, who is graduating this semester. Her contributions to our team have been invaluable, and her presence will be greatly missed!!
Thank you also to everyone who visited us this semester and those who engaged with our collections from afar, your support makes our work immensely rewarding. We look forward to continuing our mission of providing excellent service and accessibility in the coming semester.
