After earning a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Anne Crafton undertook a postdoctoral fellowship in the Hesburgh Libraries’ Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC), where she spent a year cataloging a diverse collection of previously undocumented materials. The opportunity was made possible through the College of Arts & Letters' 5+1 postdoctoral fellowship program, which offers a postdoctoral fellowship to any student who finishes and submits their dissertation in five years.

What made you choose the Hesburgh Libraries and RBSC for your post-doc work?

During my time as a graduate student, I had the opportunity to work as a graduate student assistant in RBSC. During that time, encouraged by the department's staff and faculty, I fell in love with library work and specialized collections. In particular, through coursework offered through RBSC, such as David Gura's paleography and codicology courses, as well as an assistantship, training, and research trips, I became obsessed with medieval manuscripts. When I learned that RBSC had a postdoctoral fellowship through the University of Notre Dame's 5+1 program, it was clear that there could be no other options for me! Additionally, at the time, I was very interested in pursuing both teaching and library positions, for which this program promised to help prepare me.

Explain your post-doc project at the Libraries?

When I first consulted Dr. Gura regarding a potential postdoctoral research project, he directed me to the Hesburgh Libraries’ then-undescribed collection of manuscript charters (i.e., pre-modern manuscript deeds, relating to the conveyance of property or rights), a significant number of which originated from medieval and early modern England. As my personal research specialization is medieval England, the description and arrangement of this hitherto-untouched collection seemed to be a particularly well-suited project.

Thus, I have spent the last 10 months cataloging this diverse collection. What began as a fairly simple endeavor—cataloguing 43 medieval English private deeds—expanded into a massive project: cataloging, arranging, and describing 278 manuscript charters, ranging in date from the 12th to the 19th century, in origin from England, Italy, France, and the Duchy of Savoy, and in genre from wills, assignments of shares, ordinances, feoffments, deeds, decrees, etc.—each with their own distinct provenances, nuances, and annoyances.

Today, this broad collection is split into six smaller collections (Medieval English Charters from Yorkshire and Norfolk; The White Rock Copper Works Shares; The Canterbury All Saints Deeds; A Collection of Early Modern European Documents; A Collection of Medieval Documents; The José M. Martelli Collection of Savoy Documents), each with their own descriptive finding aids available on ArchiveSpace. I am currently writing an elaborated descriptive catalog of the Medieval English Charters from Yorkshire and Norfolk, which will significantly expand the finding aid using paleographic, topographical, network, and prosopological analysis.

In addition to description, I have also used these collections for library outreach and teaching, including a graduate student workshop (Introduction to Early Modern English Handwriting), presentations (Processing, Preserving, and Preparing Early Documents: A Postdoctoral Reflection, conference presentations, and a presentation for the Library Advisory Council), and an exhibit, Bibliomania: The Library of Sir Thomas Phillipps), which is available for viewing in the RBSC Exhibit Hall (102 Hesburgh Library) until August 29.

What was your experience like at the Libraries?

My experience has been absolutely phenomenal—both during my postdoc and my graduate career. It goes without saying that the Libraries have extraordinary resources, many of which were critical for my dissertation research, but it is also full of absolutely wonderful staff and faculty. Every person I have ever interacted with at the Hesburgh Library, whether it was the subject librarian for my research specialty (shoutout to Dr. Julia Schneider!), teaching services, web and user experience, etc., has been willing to answer my many questions and encouraged me as I pursued this postdoctoral fellowship. The RBSC department, in particular, has been extremely wonderful, both in welcoming me as a student and scholar and in guiding me through this process. I am incredibly grateful to the Hesburgh Libraries and everyone in it!

In addition to the charter project, I also had the opportunity to learn from various departments in the Hesburgh Libraries through instructive workshops. During this time, I learned the intricacies of rare books cataloguing (from Daniela Rovida), preservation and conservation (from the entire Preservation and Conservation team), and archives (from Patrick Milhoan and Jennifer Brcka in the University Archives). I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to teach me about their work. I also taught several library sessions for the University's Writing and Rhetoric courses. Finally, I also worked with Dr. Eileen Hunt, of the Department of Political Science, to build an extensive LibGuide on Mary Wollstonecraft at Notre Dame, which highlights Dr. Hunt's NEH Wollstonecraft Edition project, the Wollstonecraft collection in RBSC, and the various resources available for Wollstonecraft studies at Notre Dame.

What have you learned while working in RBSC that you will take into the next chapter of your career?

There are many tangible skills I have gained during my tenure here, not the least of which include manuscript study and description, cataloging, constitution of exhibits, provenance research, primary source pedagogy, public-facing writing, website building, etc., for which I am incredibly grateful. I have also learned how to effectively manage large projects, produce high-quality research, and translate said research for a general audience.

What would you tell other students considering the 5+1 program about doing a post-doc at the Hesburgh Libraries?

Do it!! There are so many opportunities at the Hesburgh Libraries, whether you are looking for a primary-source research project in RBSC or various library work experiences. Since I spent much of my time on independent research, however, I would strongly encourage potential 5+1 applicants to have a clear vision of what they would like to accomplish and how to do it, with the flexibility to adapt (whether that means changing the project or simply dedicating time for opportunities relating to the project [e.g., exhibits, blogs, workshops, presentations]).

What are you going to be doing after you leave?

I will be joining the faculty at Mississippi University for Women as their Assistant Professor of Linguistics and Early Literature! I also plan to continue working on my descriptive catalog of the 43 medieval English charters, which has the potential to grow into a significant research project and book.