Processing the Ching-chih Chen papers

Over the Fall 2024 term, up to three students will have the opportunity to process the papers of Ching-chih Chen (b. 1937). Chen has had a long and impactful career in the library and information science field, serving in various administrative, librarian, and committee positions since the 1960s. Prior to July 1971, Chen held administrative positions at various organizations including the University of Michigan, head of Science Library at McMaster University (1963–64), head of Engineering, Mathematics and Science Library at University of Waterloo (1965–1968), and associate head librarian at MIT Science Library (1968–1971). She joined the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) as an assistant professor in 1971 and retired in June 2010; she also acted as Associate Dean of GSLIS from 1979 to 1998. In 1995, Chen became the first Asian American formally nominated by the American Library Association as a presidential candidate.

Throughout her career, Chen focused on subjects including information management, information technologies, international librarianship, and digital humanities and libraries/archives. Between 1980 and 2010, she offered more than 60 continuing education institutes at Simmons College and about 50 globally in more than two dozen countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Germany, India, Israel, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, and UK.

Field placement students will delve into the second accession of Chen’s papers. Work is available for three field placement students, each of whom will work individually on a series within the collection: Series II (Conferences), Series III (Publications and Writings), and Series IV (Correspondence). Students will be expected to craft and submit a processing plan and process–to the best of their ability–their assigned series. Archives staff will support them in these endeavors with open office doors, regular check-ins, and a midpoint one-on-one review.