Raymond Schmidt

My observation is that the internship directly and immediately helps the Archives by expanding awareness of its collections and shows how they can be used to serve researchers on campus. I sense—and hope—that it results in positive learning outcomes for both the students and Archives faculty/staff mentors. Students may add depth to their research skills and their ability to curate virtual exhibits. One goal is to help train widely-experienced professional librarians and archivists who are essential to society. Ultimately, supervising and mentoring interns by faculty and staff should bring lasting gains for both partners in the venture. Such initiatives that show Libraries enhancing their range and depth of service to researchers can serve as stepping stones to larger programs that strengthen ties with University students and faculty, as well as with cooperating libraries and scholars, and even Nebraska taxpayers and citizens. 

Original sources help investigators get to the heart of an issue, if not to the truth of an inquiry. Consider how early in the history of Western Civilization libraries and archives were formed to retain memories of the past. The 7^th century BC Assyrian Library and the Sumerian Archives of the 4^th millennium BC held collections of irreplaceable records of the ancient world. Librarians and archivists especially can appreciate the Muslim scholars of the 7^th and 8^th centuries AD who rescued Greek and Roman manuscripts from destruction. Maimonides, one of a number of Jewish scholars, also used these writings in his studies, keeping ideas alive for future generations. Libraries and archives obviously existed in other regions on other continents. 

I value the organized collections of information (documents and artifacts) in Archives (and other repositories) based on what I learned over six decades of official and personal research. My first historiography professor in the Washington, DC area devoted several class sessions to tours and briefings at the Library of Congress and the National Archives. Students gained specific relevant knowledge and skills and met with officials who explained regulations and procedures to locate potential sources of interest to each of us. Using original materials often gives insight into the context of the topics addressed by an author. My visit to President Woodrow Wilson’s home in DC helped me visualize how he and Mrs. Wilson worked together on cables to “Colonel” Edward M. House in Europe who was attempting to mediate peace among belligerents prior to the U.S. entry into World War I. 

The more a researcher understands about the context of events, the stronger the relationship with and understanding of the subject of inquiry. On occasion I re-interpreted facts, events, and my opinions formed from secondary sources. This happened when I read the invitation by Nebraska Governor Robert Cochran to President Franklin D. Roosevelt to dedicate the new Lincoln Capitol building in the fall of 1936. It was purely a political visit. Such first-hand exposure to original sources can help researchers gain confidence in understanding an issue. At a minimum, such deeper inquiry should get the student beyond superficial generalizations and biased interpretations of events. It may even result in detecting misinformation and exposing hoaxes. 

Like many other teenagers, several adults directly influenced me: The minister-father of a good friend and my high school English, history, and math teachers and coach sparked an interest in learning about the past. Tales of previous generations of my family added to my curiosity in finding out the truth about those ancestors. University professors in U.S. social and economic history and Constitutional Law, plus a well-known scholar on Medieval Europe, made it clear that studying the past can help enlighten understanding of our current relationships. Just natural curiosity prompted me to explore more aspects of world history, which I continue into retirement. Over time, I found parallels between historical research and investigations by detectives and practitioners of the legal profession. Who does not enjoy tracking down new evidence about familiar places, events, and people? 

For almost all four of my undergraduate years in Lincoln, I lived one block south of Love Library in “Que Ball Hall” (a private boarding house) at 13^th and Que Streets. After I downed juice and a roll for breakfast at a small diner next door, I took a few more steps north and Love welcomed me on campus. A number of friends and classmates routinely studied in the library and sometimes we gathered in a room to socialize and enjoy discussing major news stories of the day—such as whether UFOs really existed. Love Library and the then-nearby law library became quiet places for serious reading and served as a welcome refuge from the sometimes beastly Lincoln weather during the mid-1950s. 

When I graduated, my purpose was to pay back the investment that taxpayers and caring personal donors made in my education, from a Regents Scholarship to other aid from individual Nebraskans. Initially, I requested that my dollars help support students who worked to afford attending the University. As years passed, my ability to increase that support grew, along with a desire to focus the benefits on a broader purpose and to more students. My Navy training in the mid-1950s emphasized that transistors were replacing vacuum tubes in our equipment, although we could not appreciate the changes this meant for the years ahead. With the wider application of information technology in business, government, and research, I inquired whether the advantages of the cyber revolution could be transferred wisely and effectively to more disciplines, especially in the humanities. 

I believe that support for University Libraries can help not only individual students and researchers, but also perhaps cooperating institutions, taxpayers, and alumni/-ae. Every discipline welcomes financial aid and recognition of the vital role it serves. The University Libraries interacts with virtually all of them in supporting teaching, research, and public service. I was pleased to note that Love also provides space for education and testing. Thus, our investment might help Nebraska Libraries respond to a wide spectrum of needs and interests. 

Donors can make large or small investments in the functions of acquisition and operations, as well as planning and upgrading facilities. Funds may also go toward cooperating with institutions that share resources with the Nebraska University Libraries. Archivists and librarians engage every day in finding, evaluating, and supplying information to patrons, so enhancing their professional growth is essential to remaining relevant to needs of students and faculty.