Katz, Robin M. and Julie Golia. “Using Technology to Bring Brooklyn’s History into City Tech’s Future.” CUNY IT Conference. New York, NY. December 1, 2011. Panelist. Students and Faculty in the Archives (SAFA) is an innovative postsecondary education at Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS). SAFA uses primary sources to build document analysis, information literacy, and critical thinking skills in first-year undergraduates.

1. Students and Faculty
in the Archives (SAFA)
CUNY IT Conference
December 1, 2011

2. Brooklyn Historical Society
Julie Golia, PhD
Public Historian
Robin M. Katz, MLIS
Outreach & Public Services Archivist
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

3. Brooklyn Historical Society
• Museum
• Events and Public Programs
• Educational Center
• Library and Archives
• www.brooklynhistory.org
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

4. Brooklyn Historical Society
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

5. About SAFA
• U.S. Department of Education FIPSE grant
• 3 Years, 3 Schools, 18 Faculty
– Five semesters until January 2013
– City Tech (CUNY), LIU Brooklyn, St. Francis
– Many different classes and topics
– Will reach over 2,000 students
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

6. SAFA’s goals
1. Build local, collaborative networks
2. Enhance faculty integration of primary
sources in first-year courses
3. Improve student critical thinking and archival
literacy skills
4. Show positive impact on student
engagement, academic success, and retention
rates
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

7. SAFA in practice
• Collaboration on course and assignment design
• Faculty Summer Institute
• Class visits to BHS
• Fall 2011: over 40 visits, 400+ students
• Student independent research at BHS
• Classroom visits to SAFA courses
• Course websites
• Student summer fellowship
• Independent evaluators
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

8. Participating City Tech Faculty
• Peter Catapano, History
• Matthew Gold, English
• Robin Michals, Photography
• Barbara Smith Mishara, Architectural Tech.
• Jody Rosen, English
• Geoff Zylstra, History
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

9. What are students examining?
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

10. Photographs
Early Brooklyn Farm, circa
1880, v1972.1.824; Early
Brooklyn and Long Island
photograph collection, ARC.201;
Brooklyn Historical Society.
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

11. Manuscripts
Slave bill of sale, Gilleyam
Cornel and Jan Lefferts, May
21, 1751; Lefferts family
papers, ARC.145, box 3, folder 9;
Brooklyn Historical Society.
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

12. Maps
Detail from Map of the
progress of His Majesty's
armies in New York during
the late campaign, circa
1776. Brooklyn Historical
Society Map Collection.
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

13. And more!
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

14. IT challenges and SAFA
• Public wifi
• Limited collection access
• Digitization (in-house and online)
• Online description of collections
• Course websites
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society

15. SAFA’s early findings
1. Students are excited!
2. Focus on document analysis – not searching
3. Less is more
4. Reading and handwriting are technologies
5. iPads and digital cameras skills and uses
6. Media literacy through archival literacy
Students and Faculty in the Archives Brooklyn Historical Society