Archives foundation for Burgess Research

Lilly stands next to a large congratulatory sign. She is in elegant black and white. Her red hair is pulled back and her smile is proud.

Lilly Dowty was recognized for her efforts at the IU Libraries Spring Deans’ Advisory Board meeting.  Photo courtesy of Ellie Pursley

The Sam Burgess Undergraduate Research Award recognizes outstanding undergraduate research every year. The Indiana University Libraries Awards and Scholarship Committee focuses on how that research was performed and the use of library resources, honoring students for their thorough employment and creative use of databases, special collections, and other resources such as interviews and the Indiana State Archives. For the 2022-2023 school year, there were two winners: Lilly Dowty and Christina Yang. 

Lilly Dowty, a history major with a gender studies minor, heard about the Burgess opportunity from her professor, Dr. Wendy Gamber, after writing her paper for HIST-J400 Research Seminar in History. Gamber felt Lilly was an exceptionally strong candidate. “I love research,” Lilly said, “especially history research. There's always some new story to tell, some new document to find, and we're creating history every day.”

Behind the research: using interest to fuel the project

“The IU Archives and their reading room at Wells Library were the foundation of my research,” Lilly explained. Her paper, “'To Procure a Miscarriage': Abortion in Southern Indiana, 1960-1973” utilized the Martha Vicinus collection in the Archives. Dr. Vicinus, an IU English professor from 1968-1982, was involved in women’s organizations in Bloomington; presided over the Bloomington chapter of the  American Federation of Teachers from 1975-1976; helped create IU’s Women’s Studies (now Gender Studies) program; and was an expert on Victorian literature. 

Lilly was interested in how small-town Indiana dealt with the topic of abortion before Roe vs. Wade. “Another library resource that was incredibly valuable to my project was the IU Bicentennial Oral History Project,” she shared. This creative resource gave Lilly access to some of the voices in the Bloomington women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s. When she found the oral histories, she “dove headfirst and was just so amazed at the source,” she said. “My paper  snowballed from there.” 

Besides primary sources from the Archives and oral history project, Lilly utilized the services of Government Information, Maps, and Microform (GIMMS), multiple databases, research guides, books, and journals. As Lilly explained, “There's just something so special about connecting the pieces in different sources and building a narrative out of them and developing the history from what we have.” 

Tips on researching

Lilly’s passion for researching primary resources goes back to her freshman year when a professor took the class to University Archives. For that introductory history course, she wrote about the League of Women Voters in Bloomington. Later, she took a Hoosier history class. “I wrote about influential women who made changes here at IU, who helped develop campus and campus life.” LIlly wrote about sorority development, the first Black women on campus, and the first female faculty. For her capstone project, she designed an exhibit on Second Wave Feminism in Bloomington using archival sources.

 

Dr. Gamber is a petite woman with short, gray hair and a big smile. Lilly stands next to her with a big smile.
Lilly and Professor Gamber pose together at the Deans’ Advisory Board Meeting. Photo courtesy of Ellie Pursley

When asked if she had tips for current students doing research, Lilly said, “Just reach out to people.” She found success by looking on websites and emailing people. “Everyone was so willing to help and excited to have someone reaching out and asking questions. I got to talk to some amazing people because I asked if anyone knew anything.”

When Lilly wanted to contact University Archives, she looked at their website. “I just emailed one of the archivists. They all have different specialization areas, so I would match the archivist with the specialization. Then, I sent her an e-mail and said, ‘I'd love to make an appointment.’” The archivist would set up the appointment, and they would go from there. Lilly notes, “I was very nervous, wondering if I could send a cold e-mail to this person asking if they'd like to meet with me, but so many people were just absolutely thrilled to hear from me.”

 

Addendum

Lilly, who graduated in May, has accepted a job as her local library’s youth librarian. She is saving up money to go to graduate school in Museum Science. “I have such a strong love for museums as a history lover and a material history lover.” Her Burgess Award money is in a savings account, creating a solid foundation for graduate school. She muses, “It was a wonderful gift to get right at the end of the year. It was like – here’s to your future here!”

Lilly stands smiling in front of the Rose Well House on the Bloomington campus. She has on a red sash and a white dress. She has a smile and a round face.
Lilly Dowty is one of the 2023 winners of the Sam Burgess Undergraduate Research award given by the IU Libraries. 
Photo courtesy of Lizzie Pierce
 

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