Avila Archives

Martha Smith, CSJ, PhD Archives & Research Center holds the Avila University Archives, the CSJ Heritage Center Archives, & Women Religious Special Collections.

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Thanks for the memories. The Avila Archives is sad to announce it is closing to the public. This account will no longer be monitored.

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Avila was founded in 1916 (as St Teresa's Junior College), a year that introduced us to words like "doozy" and "ponytail" and "end zone." What's a "doozy" of a word from a year significant to you?! #AvilaHistory #Vocab

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

Do you know what words first appeared the year you were born? Reply below with your favorite from your birth year. https://t.co/C0xVPMhgvP

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

October is Spooky Month, and what’s spookier than a campus ghost story?! Is Avila’s Goppert Theatre haunted by the ghost of the architect who designed it? Depends on who you ask… #AskAnArchivist #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Avila has long been known for its strong Education program, and for a time it had the only baccalaureate degree in Association Montessori Internationale teacher training in the U.S. – running its own Montessori school on campus from 1967-2008. #AskAnArchivist #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Avila’s commitment to accessible education led to expanded adult programming at a downtown campus @ 11th & Prospect in fall 1954. But changing demographics in KC following Brown v. Board of Ed led to its closure just 3 years later in 1957. #AskAnArchivist #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Avila’s mission is guided by “Service with the Dear Neighbor,” & this value was lived by sociology faculty Dorothy Gallagher, who founded KC’s Guadalupe Center in 1922. The Center helped Mexican immigrants find jobs, learn English & build community #AskAnArchivist #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Yesterday, I mentioned a visit by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1937. Many other notables have come to Avila, including Coretta Scott King, Leonard Nimoy, Margaret Mead, Langston Hughes, Ethel Barrymore, William F. Buckley, Nancy Kassebaum & more! #AskAnArchivist #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

It's here! #AskAnArchivist Day is here!! What questions do you have about Archives or #AvilaHistory? #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Today is Eleanor Roosevelt's birthday (10/11/1884)! In 1937 she visited Avila, then St. Teresa's Junior College, when it was still located in Brookside on the campus of @STAstars. #ArchivesMonth #AvilaHistory

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Tomorrow is #AskAnArchivist day for #ArchivesMonth2022! We will spend some time sharing interesting finds in our research so far for the NetVUE Reimagining the Institutional Saga grant. #AvilaHistory is fascinating!

Here to answer any questions you have as well.

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Professional Archivists attend graduate programs in Archival Studies, Library Science or Public History. Due to rapidly changing needs, especially in technology, Archivists require lifelong education to learn needed skills. #ArchivesDYK #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Archives are not neutral. Archivists are fallible & often work in institutions with their own perspective. Historically, this has led to amplification of some voices in collections & silence of others. We strive now to do better. #ArchivesDYK #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

@judgereeve @USNatArchives Wow! Now I know what I want for *my* next birthday 😍 Well done...

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Outreach promotes use of archival holdings by broader programming & educational opportunities. Advocating for importance/usefulness of your collections is the best way to get necessary resources to preserve them. #ArchivesDYK #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

We live in a digital world & digital records are archival records. Digital preservation is an active and ongoing process because digital records are far more fragile to degradation and loss than paper materials. #ArchivesDYK #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Archival materials are unique & valuable and are preserved as long as possible: By protection from natural elements (proper storage conditions), use (careful access policies), and theft or disaster (emergency preparedness). #ArchivesDYK #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Providing access to archival materials is key, in balance to preservation. Access includes assisting research inquiries or providing documents online. It requires Archivists know their user base & find diverse ways to reach them. #ArchivesDYK #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Processing archival collections is the work of making it accessible to future users. It includes creating descriptive aids like indexes, catalogs or finding aids that list contents & explain context/relationships between records. #ArchivesDYK #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Archiving is just one piece of the life cycle of a record. Ideally Archivists are involved in the entire records management process to guide creators & users of records to the best preservation outcome. #ArchivesDYK #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesMonth

[Avila Archives @avila_archives]

Each Archives defines its own mission & collection scope. That’s what guides which records are selected for addition to the Archives. It’s simply the truth that no Archives has the space or personnel to keep everything. #ArchivesDYK #ArchivesHashtagParty #ArchivesMonth