Meet the New Archivist

Dear DSU Community and Friends,

My name is Rejoice Scherry, but you can call me Joy.  I am the newest University Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at Delaware State University.  I am so excited to be joining the library team at the William C. Jason Library!

I hail from the tiny town of Olivebridge, New York in the rural Catskill Mountains (about 2 hours north of New York City).  I am a graduate of Hartwick College where I majored in history and minored in museum studies.  I also attended the University of Pittsburgh for my Masters in Library and Information Science.  I have a deep interest in the history of the American Revolutionary War, but more specifically the spies who helped ensure victory against the superior British forces.  Want to know more? Drop me a line!  

Diversity. Integrity. Scholarship. Community. Outreach.  DISCO! These are the qualities encouraged among all of the DSU students, faculty, and staff.  I intend to incorporate each of these qualities in my work here in the archives. 

•  Diversity: I will seek out opportunities for collaboration.  My job requires me to make decisions about whether record groups will be of lasting informational value to the University.  As a one-woman operation here in the archives department, it can be easy to pursue my own interests and forget the audience I serve.  I will look for opportunities to learn the viewpoints, lifestyles, and perspectives of others in order to assure the archives is inclusionary of all outlooks here at DSU.

•  Integrity: I will take the time to do my job correctly.  I will not cut corners.  Constructing an archive can be a slow-going process that requires attention to detail and careful examination.  I promise to give 100% to my work.

•  Scholarship: Do you have a question about the history of Delaware State University? Do you need access to primary sources? I am here to help you pursue any DSU-related research question you may have.

• Community: The DSU archive preserves papers, photographs, and objects. But I’d like the university archives to be a place where community is preserved too! My office in the library should not be a closed off space where “The Past” lives.  An archive also needs to live in the now in order to support the future.  Please come visit me and help me preserve the current culture of DSU for the continued advancement of the community.

• Outreach: The DSU archive is open to all! I will construct descriptive finding aids to assist patrons in locating the information they are searching for.  The archive is still getting started but I will do my best to provide access to the records you seek. Stop by my office (227 in the library), call my phone (extension 6130), or shoot me an email (rscherry@desu.edu).

I want to be of service to you! Please let me know how I can help you learn about our community’s history and realize your academic heritage.  I look forward to getting to know all of you!

Yours,

Joy