Libraries often have hidden collections in their archives that schools can tap into with little effort – if they only know about them! This program explores a collaborative project between the Montana State University Library Special Collections, the Yellowstone Writing Project, the Museum of the Rockies, and Montana middle and high school teachers to create a traveling “Writer’s Quest” discovery trunk using a Montana author’s archive and works. Focused on Ivan Doig’s novel “The Bartender’s Tale”, our trunk intersects digital and physical archival materials with published books, writer’s tools (including a manual typewriter and digital recorder), and lesson plans to help teachers and their students enter the mysterious world of the writer’s process.
Attendees will come away with 1. ideas for promoting collections to new user groups; 2. a list of resources for a traveling trunk on books and writing; 3. sample curricular materials that engage students in library/archival materials and an author's works and process.
