Rally Help for a Small Archive: Matching Studentand Volunteer Needs with Collections Management Priorities

This paper explores various ways that students and volunteers have been recruited and matched with rewarding projects in artist and architecture archives at the University of Hawaii's Hamilton Library. In small archives there are somanycompeting demands for solo archivists that some may shy away from what seems like additional effort to find and direct the work of others. Just a few hours a week can make a huge difference when you have the right people lined up. Consider all the small things that we can never find the time to do, or things that distract from more complex tasks. Having students and volunteers presents more structure to prioritize projects. Assignments that match their skills and interests can reward them with the experience or personal fulfillment that they are seeking, while benefitting the archivist and improving collections stewardship. Visual resource collections are positioned to attract amazing talent.