Posted Sept. 27, 2017
Elizabeth Cassidy West, B.A. '89 and MLIS '95, works for the South Caroliniana Library. She also has an M.A. in History. Her unique educational background has provided her with the foundation needed to serve as university archivist.
What do you do in your current job?
I manage the University Archives, which is the repository for the university’s historical
records. These records date back to the school’s founding in 1801 and include minutes
of the board of trustees, photographs, maps, university publications, and correspondence
of administrators, such as the president. I assist researchers in accessing these
collections, consult for university projects, provide information and images for media
requests, and conduct outreach activities for the South Caroliniana Library, including
exhibits, presentations on university history, and history tours of the Horseshoe.
I’ve written several books on Carolina’s history; the most recent is "On the Horseshoe:
A Guide to the Historic Campus of the University of South Carolina," with my coauthor,
Katharine Thompson Allen.
What’s the most interesting or significant thing you’ve done since graduating?
The acquisition of the diploma of Richard T. Greener was a great thrill. A Reconstruction
era diploma was one of my holy grails of USC history. Carolina was integrated during
Reconstruction, from 1873 to 1877, but we did not have a single diploma from that
significant time period. In a moment of serendipity, a construction worker in Chicago
discovered a trunk of materials belonging to Greener in a house under demolition.
Greener was our first African American faculty member, teaching here during Reconstruction
as well as earning his law degree here in 1876. Finding his diploma in such a way
was magical.
What are you passionate about in your work?
An archive lives, breathes and speaks with thousands of voices in the collections
preserved within its walls. My passion is to bring to life the stories within those
collections, to share them so that students and visitors alike who walk across this
campus gain a sense of what has come before them, what has changed, and what still
resonates today.
What did you learn while in school at the CIC that still resonates today?
I learned in both the journalism and the library science schools to evaluate sources
of information. It doesn’t matter how information is delivered as long as it’s accurate
and documented.
Do you have a favorite professor or a favorite memory from your time at the CIC?
I adored the late Dr. Lee Dudek in journalism. Dr. Connie Schulz was my mentor in
the library school and guided me into the world of archives.