| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2009
Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
IMLS Celebrates National
Library Week
Director Tours Historical
Treasures Found at Capitol Hill Middle School
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Stuart-Hobson Middle School Principal Brandon Eatman
welcomes everyone to the new school archives. IMLS
Director Anne Radice stands with Mara Rimpsey, a
5th grade student who wants to be an archivist when
she grows up.Click any image for a larger view.
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Students
explain to IMLS Director Anne Radice the contents
of the time capsule including essays on their hopes
and dreams and collages of popular culture images.
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IMLS
Director Anne Radice joins Stuart-Hobson Middle
School students to bury a time capsule in honor
of the school's new archives. |
Washington, DC—In
honor of National Library Week, Anne-Imelda M. Radice,
Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services
(IMLS), toured the newly-created archives at the Stuart-Hobson
Middle School on Capitol Hill on April 14. The historical
treasures, including irreplaceable PTA scrapbooks, historical
photos, and roll books dating from 1926 to 1967, were
re-discovered during the 2006 renovation of the school
library. After the tour, Radice joined the students and
others in burying a time capsule containing essays on
the students’ hopes and dreams as a “letter
to the future celebrating the letters from the past.”
The project was funded by the District of Columbia Public
Library through a grant from IMLS.
“I share the students’ excitement about the archives and the stories
they tell about students from long ago. The students’ connection to the school’s past, and to
their own place in history, highlights the value of these archival documents, photos, and other
items. I am proud that IMLS is able to support the school and student efforts to preserve these
community treasures for future generations.”
At the event, School Archivists Satu Haase-Webb
and Elizabeth Behrendt talked about working with students
to organize, clean, order, and catalog the archives. Students
explained how they have used the archives for their National
History Day projects to answer questions such as how did
integration happen at the previously all-white school
and what was World War II like for students.
All upper grade students of the middle school
have been involved in this project. Eighth graders now
have carefully sorted and labeled documentation to work
from when writing about their school’s history.
These students have also been trained in how to clip news
articles for posterity, and are examining the "The
Washington Post" and "The Washington Times"
daily to find, save and archive articles about their school
and the full Capitol Hill Cluster School consortium. Students,
trained in the techniques of conducting oral history interviews,
have also met and interviewed people in the community
with historical ties to the school.
The Stuart Junior High School was built
on Capitol Hill in the 1920s for white students only.
In 1954, District public schools were integrated in response
to the Bolling v. Sharpe decision handed down
at the same time as the Brown v. Board of Education
decision. These changes and other aspects of the neighborhood’s
rich history are reflected in the archives.
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