By Ollie Idzikowski
It’s no secret that the Beloit College library has been perhaps the location on campus that has experienced the most change during this school year. The entire first floor of the place had to undergo some intense renovations after the summertime flooding. Besides the building itself, the people are changing. Fred Burwell is stepping down as an archivist at the college library and passing on the torch to Diane W Ray.
I interviewed Ray in the hope of helping introduce one of our newest members of staff to our readers. Ray views their role as a balancing act between managing college, history, and community. Of course, right now they are focused on ensuring that the transition of roles goes smoothly, which includes replacing the filing cabinets that have been damaged by the recent flood. Students studying certain historical topics will also likely interact with the archives to get primary sources.
When asked about Fred Burwell, Ray praised him for focusing on preserving student movements and the diversity of the campus through his selection of posters, photos, and other memorabilia. The new archivist is aspiring to continue this by using the archives as both a place for students to learn history as well as preserve their own history. Using the archives’ website is a great springboard for exploring Beloit’s history and Ray encourages students to come into the archives and ask more questions about specific topics.
As you can imagine the place is a veritable cabinet of curiosity. The two sections I explored over the course of the interview were the reading room and the vault that could be accessed through a door in the back right of said reading room. Whereas the rest of the library is well-lit and rather spacious, the vault initially was intimidating as about half of the space was dedicated to crank-turned rolling aisles that were tall enough to block out the light.
Ray has yet to fully familiarize themselves with the archives, but they already possess knowledge about some of the more intriguing items in the collection. I could write a long list of all the objects and articles we discussed but that would offer little insight into the awe of looking at primary sources that date back to the American civil war. Beloit sports fans will find a goldmine of trophies and scorecards, even old footballs can be found in the collection. Out of interest in art history I asked if any paintings were stored in the archives. There were no traditionally framed pieces, but the many journals preserved often were filled with sketches.
That was just a small snapshot of the large collection in the archives. The past is the initial attraction, but the future of the archives is also interesting. Ray acknowledged that new media has increasingly become digital as opposed to physical, which is a complicating factor considering the fleeting nature of the virtual world.
The cost of server upkeep often leads to the takedown of websites, which creates a ticking clock for those looking to print out physical copies. It’s clear that the archives are a technologically diverse place, a firm juxtaposition to the seemingly unstoppable growth we see today. Old film reels sit alongside VHS tapes and DVDs. The archives are obviously in good hands and a definitive look into the history of Beloit, so make sure to consider going next time you need to gaze back into the roots of our college and community.
Featured image: Svea Jones ’25
Leave a Reply