Mahn Center intern brings Asian American and Pacific Islander Collection to Alden Library

Each semester the Robert E. and Jean R. Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections hosts undergraduate internships. In spring semester 2022 staff at the Mahn Center had the pleasure of working with another in a line of truly gifted interns on an exciting student-led project. Alexis Karolin, senior and history major, came to the Mahn Center with the idea of creating a new Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) focused collection. Karolin has been the driving force in collecting and describing materials from three AAPI groups at Ohio University and in the larger Athens community. She has accomplished in months what can take archivists years to do. 

As part of the internship, Karolin has successfully worked with the Athens Asian American Alliance, the Asian American/Pacific Islander Student Union, and the AAPI-Lead community groups to transfer founding documents, meeting minutes, and images from events. As Karolin explains in the project collection policy, “The purpose of this project is to increase the visibility of Asian American/Pacific Islanders in Athens’ local history, especially in response to the increase in reported hate crimes against the community in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Archivists Miriam Intrator, Bill Kumok, Laura Smith, and Greta Suiter provided readings, guidance, and support for Karolin’s internship and are thrilled to see this new collection added to the Center. It will be open for researchers soon. To read more about Karolin’s work see the OHIO News article on the project.