Goshen College students work with MC USA archive project
Feb. 29—GOSHEN — Three Goshen College students are currently or have recently taken part in and archival project with Mennonite Church USA.
The Schowalter Foundation, North Newton, Kansas, has provided $10,000 to fund up to four semester-long internships at the MC USA Archives and to help digitize fragile resources in 2024.
"J.A. Schowalter wanted his legacy to continue beyond his lifetime, supporting the missional work of Mennonite churches and organizations with similar faith and values," said Schowalter Foundation President Diane Yoder in a news release.
"We are pleased to support the efforts of MCUSA Archives through his vision and generosity."
Oscar J. Murguia, a third-year History major at Goshen College, has been awarded the 2024 spring semester internship. Murguia and the other three future interns will help the archives staff process a backlog of manuscript collections and audiovisual materials.
Andrew Ness, a recent Goshen College graduate and 2022-2023 intern, said he values his experience in the MC USA Archives. Lydia Stauffer, also from Goshen College, served as an intern as well.
The Mennonite Church USA Archives has over 800 linear feet of unprocessed documents and audiovisual materials, according to Archives Coordinator Olivia Krall.
"We receive more collections each year than we can process, and this problem has worsened in recent years," Krall explained. "Unprocessed materials are less accessible to researchers, and their contents are often housed in boxes that do not meet archival standards and are potentially damaging to the records inside."
The students also will learn about the process of digitizing film.
"Many of our film reels are deteriorating due to age, putting their contents at risk," Krall said. "We currently have several boxes of films we suspect have 'vinegar syndrome,' so named because of the vinegar smell films emit as they deteriorate. However, we have not had the staff or financial resources to digitize these materials."
Students will learn how to test the film's quality to determine which reels to digitize and learn how to catalog and preserve the new digital copies, the release added.
Krall said she hopes the internship program will bring greater awareness of Mennonite history and foster a new generation of historically minded leaders.
Ness shared his thoughts as well.
"Not only did I learn about working in an archive, but I also encountered fascinating stories, people and artifacts that I never would have come into contact with otherwise," Ness said.
To learn more, visit Mennoniteusa.org.
