For each of the last 5 Januaries Bethel High School National History Day students have made a road trip to nearby Pacific Lutheran University to do research. These students are a treat to work with since they are so highly motivated. It is gratifying to see high school students doing in-depth research by reaching beyond their local resources. For many of them, this is their first trip to a university library and they get quite excited at all the resources.I overheard one student (with her arms full of books) say, "this is book heaven". (We smile because our collection is small compared to research institutions.) We know these students will use our library for other high school projects and some of them will decide to attend PLU.

History Day is an organization dedicated to making "every day History Day". There are regional, state, and national contests where "students present their work in original papers, exhibits, performances and documentaries" (http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/NHDOverview.htm). To prepare for these contests, students do rigorous research including work with primary and secondary documents and visits to museums and libraries. The students may work alone or in a group.

Bethel students consistently excel at the History Day Contest. In 2005 they won the Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction's "Most Outstanding School" traveling trophy. The Senior Group Exhibit also won first in the state and third in the nation with their exhibit "Radio Free Europe: The Key to Raising the Iron Curtain." While announcing this honor, Bethel teacher Jim Sawatzki sent me an email, "Gail: Our success begins with you!!!"

Mr. Sawatzki coordinates the visit with me. He is enthusiastic and fun to work with. His energy infects the students and he is responsible for much of their interest. And, as is obvious, he is willing to share the glory. He provides me with the topics in about mid-December so I have adequate time to prepare a handout for the students. In early January Sawatzki accompanies his students to PLU.

This year there were about 50 students in 2 classes who came on 2 different days. The 2006 theme is "Taking a stand in History". Some of the topics the Bethel students are addressing are: "The Pullman Porters Strike: Standing for Equality through Economic Justice", "The Battle of Algiers: Terrorists against Colonialism, France against Terrorism", and "Lenny Bruce: Foul-Mouthed Prophet of the First Amendment".

The Bethel students spend a morning with me showing them how to use the library resources. I discuss the differences between Library of Congress and Dewey Call numbers, explain the physical arrangement of our library, and where the help desks are. I talk about how they will probably not find a book specifically on their topic, and that they will need to look at journals in addition to books. The students have used the ProQuest products that are in all Washington libraries but they are not familiar with the additional ProQuest products such as the historical New York Times or the other databases to which we subscribe.

The students are introduced to a huge amount of new information in this one-hour presentation but they tend to pay attention because they are so invested in their topics. Having worked on their topics for about a month, they have an idea about the type of information they will need. Of course, they are often surprised by the resources we have. They begin thinking they are going to need a lot of books and end up heavily using periodicals resources. (They also enjoy the espresso stand.)

After the main presentation the students are off to start their research. Mr. Sawatzki and I spend time with individuals who request help. Many of the students need to focus their overambitious topics. Since they have such a variety of topics, I spend some time with individuals to show them additional resources. The students usually leave with photocopies and call numbers of resources they wish to explore in more depth. They individually return to PLU (on their own time) to use the print and electronic resources. PLU library staff members are aware that they will be coming in and have a general idea of the resources they will need for their History Day Projects.

The timing of this research visit works well for us at PLU. In January many of the university's students are studying off-campus so the library is quieter than it would be at the beginning of second semester, and I have fewer instruction sessions with the PLU community. Jim Sawatzki reached out to us and suggested this partnership; due to our wonderful experiences with the high school students we hope it continues.

The Washington State History Day Contest it is May 6, 2006, at Green River Community College.

Resources:
Bethel High students dominate History Day: http://www.bethelsd.org/news/news_detail.php?id=574
History Day: http://www.washingtonhistory.org/wshm/education/history-day/
National History Day: http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/
Sawatzki lands state award: http://www.bethelsd.org/content.php?id=345

Gail Egbers is Instruction Librarian at Pacific Lutheran University

Photos by Jim Sawatzki