Scholars Uncover a National Treasure
February 19, 2008
No book of secrets here! This spring, sophomore International Studies Scholars Pat Mauro and Christina Grolman are exploring one of our nation's richest resources as they take part in College Park Scholars' Library of Congress Discovery research course.
For almost two months this semester, every Friday morning, a van pulls up to the Cambridge Community to shuttle a group of Scholars to Capitol Hill. After a 20-minute ride, these students, enrolled in the Discovery/Library of Congress (LOC) research course, find themselves across from the nation's Capitol Building at the Library of Congress. They present their LOC Reader Identification Cards and gain access to the resources stored on the 535 miles of shelving that spread throughout the Library's three buildings: The original Thomas Jefferson Building, which houses the Main Reading Room; the John Adams Building, containing business and science resources; and the most recent James Madison Memorial Building, which consists of the law library and non-print media.
Handing materials to Christina that she had requested earlier in the week, Reference Librarian Darren Jones assists Scholars in navigating through the library's resources. Christina is researching the issue of human trafficking; Pat is examining terrorism in the post 9/11 world.
In addition to hands-on archival and bibliographic research, an on-campus seminar that is co-taught by Dr. Sung Moon Kim, a College Park Scholars lecturer, and Mr. Bob Garber, a librarian with the University Libraries, augments the students' research experience. Students receive Metro fare cards to encourage and facilitate independent library visits as well.
Since 1996, College Park Scholars has provided students opportunities to take advantage of the University of Maryland 's research emphasis. With the assistance of a $211,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE), Scholars launched its Discovery Research course, providing students the opportunity to develop research skills using primary resources, by exploring individually generated research questions. The program expanded to include Community-Based Research, and the most recent Library of Congress offering.
Students will conclude the semester by presenting their research at the 12th annual College Park Scholars Academic Showcase on Friday May 2nd, in the Cambridge Community Center. The public is invited to attend.
For more information on this press release or on College Park Scholars, contact Kevin Baxter at (301) 314-1522, or bax@umd.edu.
