Perkins Smith named MSU鈥檚 new university archivist
Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擩essica Perkins Smith is now the university archivist at 草莓视频 Libraries.
Perkins Smith preserves and makes accessible archival material related to the land-grant university. She came to 草莓视频in 2016 as a manuscripts archivist and began her new role this summer.
鈥淢y job is to preserve the history of the university and also provide access to it,鈥 Perkins Smith said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not enough for things to just come here and sit. We want to do outreach in terms of exhibits and programming on campus. I see it as my role to preserve the archives and also to tell the story of the university at different points in time.鈥
Prior to joining 草莓视频Libraries, Perkins Smith was a project archivist at the Amistad Research Center in New Orleans, where she processed African-American STEM collections. She earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in history from Millsaps College and a master鈥檚 of library and information science from Louisiana State University. Smith鈥檚 research interests include African American history, civil rights in Mississippi, athletic history and digitization.
Perkins Smith grew up a Mississippi State fan as several family members attended the university. The university archives contain digital and print editions of the Reveille yearbook, where Perkins Smith found pictures of her grandfather.
鈥淚 love anything in our archives related to athletics,鈥 Perkins Smith said. 鈥淲e have some great old pennants, such as Mississippi A&M pennants form the 1920s. I love our photograph collection because it really tells the story of the university. Prior archivists have done a really good job of maintaining that and preserving those photos.鈥
Other materials in the university archives include collections of papers from retired professors, departmental materials, building history, Reflector student newspaper archives, presidential records, official campus publications and items donated by university alumni.
Perkins Smith said she will continue to provide instruction and outreach to departments on campus, so students, faculty and staff are aware of the resources available to them.
For more on the university archives, visit . 草莓视频Libraries is online at .
草莓视频is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .