John Vincler
PRCC Library Final Report – Student Summary
Community Informatics Corps (LIS490CIO), Spring 2008
During the Spring 2008 semester, in collaboration with Saul Melendez from Dr. Pedro
Albizu Campos High School (PACHS), I initiated a project that would culminate in an
exhibition of materials at the Newberry Library relating to the culture and history of Puerto
Rico. The Newberry Library, an independent research library in Chicago, is open to the
public free of charge and houses an extensive collection of rare books and maps. The
project was incorporated into the PACHS Puerto Rican history and culture class, and aimed
to teach students primary research skills while empowering them to serve as curators of an
exhibition of Puerto Rican materials at a prominent cultural institution in the city of
Chicago.
In February 2008, Saul Melendez, Hector Vazquez (also a teacher at PACHS), and I headed
to the Newberry to scout the wealth of Puerto Rican materials available at the Newberry and
to gauge the potential scope, focus, or themes of an exhibition. Here we found materials
ranging from sixteenth century atlases to a two-volume set of books containing dozens of
early photographs of Puerto Rico at the turn of the twentieth century. In one book, Discours
of voyages East & West Indies from 1598, Puerto Rico was shown on a map as “Boriquen,” or
the name the Tainos called the island. The map was accompanied by a brief description of
the island and referenced folklore about Puerto Rico that persists today (including a story of
how a group of Tainos drowned a Spaniard to prove if the Spanish were or were not
immortal). An abundance of material was also discovered covering the Spanish-American
War and depictions of Puerto Rico in the United State’s popular press at that time. During
this initial trip, we stayed for several hours to assess the materials, and finished by having a
conversation about how this hands-on experience should inform our next steps and when
we should and can bring the students into the Newberry. We also began a conversation with
Newberry staff members from readers services, exhibitions, and public programs to
coordinate the exhibit and student visits.
On Thursday, March 13 Saul Melendez and about 8 students from PACHS came to the
Newberry for a tour and introduction to the library, and a “show-and-tell” of Puerto Ricanrelated materials identified during the previous trip and supplemented with materials pulled
by John Brady, Director of Reader Services, at the Newberry. After welcoming students to
the Newberry Library, John Brady gave a Power Point presentation briefly covering the
history of the Newberry and gave an overview of the scope of the collections. Then he took
the students on a tour of the building, including a tour of the stacks building where library
materials are kept in a climate-controlled environment usually off limits to the public. After
the tour, the show-and-tell consisted of John Brady and Saul Melendez both discussing a
variety of materials from the collection, which were laid out on a large conference table for
the students to view and handle. The items ranged from a road map of Puerto Rico from
1974, several items from the Spanish-American war, and a Dutch map from 1644. The
conversation that emerged was as much about historiography as it was about history: Who
writes history? How is history documented and inherited? And what ultimately are the
consequences? How do exhibitions provide for an opportunity to address these questions?
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After the Newberry, the class went to a local pizzeria and discussed their reactions and
responses, and began to think about how an exhibition should be organized.
After this meeting the students became familiar with the Newberry Library’s online catalog
and began to research their own specific items of interest. At the time of this writing, plans
are underway to document the exhibition so that it can be shared with those interested
beyond Chicago and so that the project can persist after the exhibition closes.
The exhibition—based on a participatory model—is scheduled to be on display from June 3
to July 12, 2008 in the Newberry Library’s east gallery. The students are producing the
exhibition copy and providing the text in both English and Spanish (as the participating
students are also in Hector Vazquez’s Spanish class at PACHS). Since many of the materials
relating to Puerto Rico are relevant to the curriculum at PACHS, plans are also underway to
expand and extend the relationship between the Newberry Library, the Puerto Rican
Cultural Center, and Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School.
Personal Critical Reflection:
This project is still ongoing, however I have tried to reflect critically on the process
throughout. I have tried especially to remain critical of my role within the process. I came to
the project with an interest in special collections libraries and exhibitions of books. I knew
my enthusiasm for these subjects could easily lead to pushing a given direction or vision for
this project. However, I’ve tried to remain conscientious of the ethics and core principles of
community informatics and action research. In so doing, I purposely proposed an exhibit
(and primary research skill-building) project built on a participatory model. To keep in line
with this I initially consulted with the leadership of the PRCC to make sure the project was
appropriate for the goals and values of the PRCC. The perspective provided by Jose and
Alejandro encouraged me to move forward, and I have since let Saul Melendez take the
reigns as the project is meant especially to serve the goals of his class and the needs of his
students. I have tried to view my role as the facilitator and as an assistant to Saul. I have
been successful making the arrangements with the Newberry, and have continued to remind
Saul that he can call on me as needed and that the project is of high priority for me generally.
I have found some aspects of the project to be challenging as well. First off, I expected to
spend more time with the students directly. Since I have not met with the students after our
initial trip to the Newberry, I have felt a bit out of the loop at times. However, I realize this
may have more to do with my initial expectations and not with what is ultimately needed for
the project as decided by the most important participants in the project: Saul’s class. I have
proceeded by simply ensuring Saul that I am available to help in the classroom as needed. I
have also tried to help by doing research or by preparing material for his class. (I also initially
thought I would have more of a role in shaping the curriculum).
My expectations and self-envisioned role has since shifted. I still am ensuring that the
project stays on schedule and that we meet all of our set deadlines. But I have also begun to
think of the project as a preliminary model that could be replicated in the future or simply
used in its current iteration to build relationships that the PRCC has identified as beneficial,
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and to create knowledge and provide access to knowledge (especially via information held at
the Newberry) that can be created, utilized, and brought back to the PRCC, Paseo Boricua,
and Humboldt Park.
Appendices:
Appendix I: Select Bibliography
Appendix II: Schedule and Specifications Document
Appendix III: Newberry Library Visit Show-and-tell Object List
Appendix IV: “Boriquen” hand-out from library visit
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Appendix I: Select Bibliography
Atkinson, Ross. “Transversality and the Role of the Library as Fair Witness.” Library
Quarterly 75:2 (2005): 169-189.
This essay calls for a reconsideration of the role of libraries. Who do they serve? How and why? And is the
typical role of the library really very effective in the contemporary environment? The questions raised by this
essay are particularly interesting when applied to a special collection like the Newberry Library. Are the
books on “native” peoples and exploration—such as those collected by Edward Ayer a century ago—useful
today? If they are useful, what world view do they reflect? If as Atkinson says, “Every society has a dominant
ideology, and most libraries necessarily reflect or manifest the ideology of the society they serve,” than what
ideology is reflected in the Newberry’s collection (174)?
Fischer, Gerhard. “Learning in Communities: A Distributed Intelligence Perspective.” The
Journal of Community Informatics, Vol 2, No 2 (2006).
I discovered Fischer’s article while attempting to conceptualize a companion project for the student-curators
of the Newberry Library exhibition of Puerto Rican materials. The aim of this companion project would be
to encourage the students to reflect on their place in history and create a record of their lives, communities,
families, etc. A secondary question was: How to utilize technology to gather and connect these stories in an
innovative manner that would reflect the technologies that they use on a daily basis (MySpace, Flickr, etc.).
“Distributed intelligence”—as described by Fischer—seemed to be an interesting theoretical model that
stood in sharp contrast to the model of the research library. Much of what the students are discovering in the
archives of the Newberry are artifacts produced by imperialists and colonizers. Ideally, a companion
exhibition would enable students to use the tools and media that they are familiar with to document their
own histories, and thus become the subjects of their history and not the product of history or its
predetermined object.
Freire, Paulo. “The Adult Literacy Process as Cultural Action for Freedom.” Harvard
Educational Review 40:2 (May 1970): 205-225.
In this article Freire writes that “All educational practice implies a theoretical stance on its educator’s
part…an interpretation of man and the world” (6). This project seeks to complement the educational
objectives of the class at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School (P.A.C.H.S.), while also
developing primary research skills as well as critical skills. The educational process will be viewed as a “true
dialogue” that “unites subjects together in the cognition of a knowable object which mediates between
them” 12). All those engaged in the process will participate on a level field, each bringing their own
knowledge and experience, and recognizing that all have something to offer to the process that is the project.
The result will be a transformation of the materials chosen and studied, brought from the past into an
attentive and critical present through dialog, reflecting the collective work of the group.
Lee-Sung, Audry. “Boyle Heights: Neighborhood Sites and Insights A Multicultural
Community Partnership Initiative of the Japanese American National Museum.” First
Monday. Vol 6, No 4 (April 2001)
<http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/853/762>.
This article was of interest because it situates the activities of a cultural organization (the Japanese American
National Museum) within a larger metropolitan community through digital initiatives (including exhibits),
with the aim that this would lead to sustained later communications. This isn’t exactly what I was hoping to
find, but expresses a vision for a project that is sympathetic with my hopes for the Newberry exhibition. The
project described in the article is not built explicitly on a participatory model, however it does address issues
of sustainability and situating a project within a larger city-wide community context. This is an aspect of the
Newberry project that I am beginning to attend to now.
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Malavet, Pedro A. America’s Colony: The Political and Cultural Conflict Between the United
States and Puerto Rico. New York: New York University Press, 2004.
This book provides a critical history of Puerto Rico with an emphasis on the status of Puerto Rico under the
law. Malavet uses argument is informed by so-called post-colonial studies, “race critical theory,” “Lat-crit,”
and recent theories and philosophies of power (e.g. Michel Foucault, Edward Said, etc.), and he applies these
theories in very interesting ways while discussing Puerto Rico’s standing under the law.
Srinivasan, Ramesh. “Where Information Society and Community Voice Intersect.”
{Submitted to The Information Society} (April 21, 2006).
Inspired by the writings of Paulo Freire, Srinivasan carries Freire’s concerns into the present information age,
with an emphasis on “participatory” models. How can these ideas apply to the special collections setting?
How can the proposed project be developed to engage the community (i.e. students) “to develop and
articulate their own model and methodology or [engage the community] to develop and articulate their own
goals.” While Srinivasan focuses on ICTs (information and communication technology, this project will be a
repurposing of the traditional exhibit to discover and even critique historical materials (i.e. for ideological
bias). Students will be empowered to contextualize these materials rather than be determined by them.
Suchman, L. A. and Trigg, R. H. 1992. Understanding practice: video as a medium for
reflection and design. In Design At Work: Cooperative Design of Computer Systems, J.
Greenbaum and M. Kyng, Eds. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 65-90.
I came across this chapter from In Design At Work: Cooperative Design of Computer Systems. This seemed
to fit well with the approach and ideals of CI, and it got me thinking about using video as a means of
documenting how the students are imagining an exhibit. What, in their mind, should the exhibit be? What if
they were not constrained by the libraries specifications? What sort of exhibit would they build?
While they are not building a digital exhibit, I thought that a video could be created that would enable them
to imagine a virtual exhibit, an imaginary one which could capture their vision for presenting history in the
way that they see fit. Even if all of their ideas could not be incorporated into the actual exhibit, it would be
worthwhile to allow them to imagine an ideal exhibit—a virtual exhibit—and to have this as a point of
reference for later reflection and study (perhaps the ideas forged in this way could inform a later exhibit at
the PRCC).
Taxén, G. 2004. Introducing participatory design in museums. In Proceedings of the Eighth
Conference on Participatory Design: Artful integration: interweaving Media, Materials and
Practices - Volume 1 (Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 27 - 31, 2004). PDC 04. ACM, New
York, NY, 204-213 <http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1011870.1011894>.
As the abstract states: “This paper describes how a set of participatory design methodologies have been
introduced to and adopted for museum exhibition design. It provides a brief historical account of museums
and reviews some current trends in museum exhibition design. Furthermore, the paper outlines a number of
reasons why participatory methods may be appropriate for museums.” This essay does a good job of
connecting participatory principles with the process of exhibition production. Alejandro has mentioned the
possibility of using video to document the exhibit and also to share it with other interested people including
students in Puerto Rico or New York. This led me to think about the project as a model that could be
documented on video for others’ reference. It also made me think about how video could be used as a
companion to the exhibit itself. The students have looked at documents from the past that tell them
something about the history and culture of Puerto Rico or how that history and culture was manufactured,
perceived, or interpreted. By producing a video component, the video could serve as a contemporary
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document allowing the students to record their own histories, in context with and reflecting upon the
historical materials they have been working with.
Watkins, J. “Social media, participatory design and cultural engagement.” ACM International
Conference Proceeding Series; Vol. 251, 2007. pp. 161-166
This paper outlines what it calls “an experiment in social media production” founded on participatory
principles. The project aimed to make the Australian Museum “a social media hub for external communities
of interest to co-create their own narrative-based interpretations of the Museum's content, leading to an
individualized cultural experience for physical and online visitors alike.” This is the closest description I have
found that mirrors the underlying idea behind a Newberry Library exhibition of Puerto Rican materials. The
emphasis on electronic media is much more elaborate and resource intensive than will be possible with the
Newberry Library exhibition. However, if an onsite exhibition is impossible, this article provides some useful
ideas for alternative approaches to the project.
Supplemental of Select Books about Puerto Rico, its culture, and history:

History of Puerto Rico : a panorama of its people / Fernando Picó.

Puerto Rico, 1898 : the war after the war / Fernando Picó.

Puerto Ricans : a documentary history / edited by Kal Wagenheim and Olga Jiménez de Wagenheim.

Colonial subjects : Puerto Ricans in a global perspective / Ramón Grosfoguel.

Sugar, slavery, & freedom in nineteenth-century Puerto Rico / Luis A. Figueroa.

Puerto Rico : the trials of the oldest colony in the world / José Trías Monge.

Intellectual roots of independence : an anthology of Puerto Rican political essays / edited by Iris
Zavala and Rafael Rodriguez ; with an introd. by Iris Zavala.

Divided borders : essays on Puerto Rican identity / Juan Flores.

Legal construction of identity : the judicial and social legacy of American colonialism in Puerto Rico /
Efrén Rivera Ramos.
For additional readings see of primary sources see Appendix III
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Appendix II: Schedule and Specifications Document
Exhibition of Puerto Rican Materials at the Newberry Library
Curated by Students from the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School
Important Dates:
May 19:
Must have object list finalized by this date
May 30:
Need all exhibit copy by this date
June 2 / 3:
Exhibit Installation
June 4:
Exhibit Opens (perhaps June 3)
June x:
Need to schedule date(s) for dedicated community walk through (advertised
in La Voz?)
June 13 – 15: Community as Intellectual Space Symposium
July 12: Exhibit Closes
Exhibit Specifications:
Donnelley Gallery (East Gallery)
Exhibit Cases (6):


Case dimensions: 33” x 33” (4 cases, possibly only 2)
Case dimensions: 57” x 27” (2 cases)
All materials on object list must be reviewed by conservation staff
 Riva Feshbach is the contact for this
Bindings must open readily (i.e. can’t be too tight)
Materials cannot overlap (i.e. no fanning of documents)
Major Tasks:
Create object list
 10 to 15 items
 keep conservation concerns in mind
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

size matters: bigger items = fewer items
all objects will be displayed in cases (i.e. nothing will be in frames and hung on walls)
Name exhibit
Produce introduction text
 This will be on the introduction panel at the beginning of the exhibit and on the
handout
 Includes: introduction text, citation list, overview of the collection, and description
of PACHS and the project
 Create Spanish and English versions
 Riva will send the word count for this
Produce object-specific text (to be included in the cases with the materials)
 Can describe individual objects or describe objects in related batches (or a mix of
both)
 Must fit on two 8.5” x 11” sheets within exhibit cases (will impact foot print of cases,
i.e. available space for materials)
 Create Spanish and English versions
Online
 Will be listed on the homepage and listed/archived on the dedicated Spotlights
Exhibit page: http://www.newberry.org/exhibits/spotlight.html
 PDF of the handout will be available for download
 Does not include photography
Newberry Contacts
Riva Feshbach, Exhibits Manager
Telephone:
(312) 255-3536
Email:
feshbachr@newberry.org
John Brady, Director of Reader Services
Telephone:
(312) 255-3527
Email:
bradyj@newberry.org
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Appendix III: Newberry Library Visit Show-and-tell Object List
Bibliography of selected Puerto Rico historical materials
Complied for Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School
John Brady, March 13, 2008
1. Selected map from Historie ofte Iaerlijck verhael van de verrichtinghen der
Geoctroyeerde West-Indische compagnie (1644) – call# Vault folio Ayer 1000
L22 1644
2. Selected maps from Discours of voyages East & West Indies (1598) – call# Case
folio G 131 .506
3. Outline military map of Puerto Rico (1897) – call# Artifacts cage MapRoll G
10975 .91
4. Real estate for sale (1899?) – call# Map4F G3690 1899 R3 (PrCt)
5. Puerto Rico. Road Map. (1974) – call# temp Map2F G4970 1974 .C7
6. Our islands and their people as seen with camera and pencil (1899) – call# Ayer
2061 .B91 1899
7. Our new possessions and the diplomatic processes by which they were obtained
(1899) – call# Ayer 245 .N56 1899
8. General Orders and circulars. Headquarters, Department of Porto Rico. (1900) –
call# Ayer F1975 .U54
9. Boletin historico de Puerto Rico (1914-1927) – call# Ayer 2 B682 1914
10. A recent campaign in Puerto Rico (1907) – call# F835475 .4
11. Examples of U.S. Federal Census records for 1721 S. Halsted Chicago from 1910
& 1920. Ancestry.com has Puerto Rico census for 1910, 1920, 1930 – available
for research when in the Newberry.
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Appendix IV: “Boriquen” hand-out from library visit
IOHN HVIGHEN VAN LINSHOTEN.
his Discours of Voyages unto ye Easte & West Indies. Devided
into Foure bookes
Printed at London by IOHN WOLFE Printer to ye Honorable
Cittie of London
[1598]
Newberry Library Call Number: Case folio G 131 .506 {pp. 224-225}
Boriquen
From this Island [Hispaniola or Haiti] you come unto
Boriquen, now named S. Iohn a rich hauen: on the East side
it hath the Island of Sancta Croce, on the West other small
Islandes, Northward the Islande of Saint Dominico, which is
fiue and twentie miles distant, and on the South, the Cape
of Pario, distant aboue three hundreth thirtie fiue miles.
The length of this Islande is more than the breadth, for
from East to West it is fiftie miles, from north to South
eighteene miles, and is diuided into twoo partes, that is,
the North and the South quarter : the middle of the Island
lyeth under 303. degrees longitude, and 18. degrees
latitude : in forme almost square , populous and wel
housed, hauing many good hauens and woods. The inhabitants
haue continual warres against the Canibals, or such as eate
mens flesh. This Island was rich of gold on the north
side, and towardes the south, fruitfull of bread, fruit,
grasse, and fish : it is said these people bsed not to eate
any flesh, which is to be understood of wilde flesh, but
they eate many birdes, as Pigeons, and such like : in other
things they are like those of Hispaniola, onely that they
are better souldiers, and use bowes and arrowes : in this
Islande there is a certaine gumnie, by them called Tabunuo,
unholsome and fatty like tallow, wherewith and with oyle
they dresse their shippes, and because it is bitter, it
preserueth the ships from wormes. There is likewise much
porwood, which is bsed to heale the pore and other
diseases. This Island was discouered by Chrostopherus
Columbus, in his second uoyage into India: There is a uery
strange and notable Historie written of the inhabitants
herof, which is, that at the first arriual of the Spaniards
in that Island, they thought the Spaniards to be immortal
and neuer died, whereof to be assured, uppon a time, one of
their Cariquen or Lors, called Uraioa de Yaguara, raused
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one of the Spaniards to be taken, and to prooue if he were
immortal, caused him to be put into a Riuer under the
water, and thereholden, to see if hee would come foorth
aliue, but being dead, and brought before the king, he was
thereby assured of their mortalitie, whereupon he rose
agaist them, and slew 150. of them, that were busie in
seeking of gold.
In modern English:
From this island you come to Boriquen, now named San Juan a rich haven [Puerto Rico
means “rich harbor” – they seem confused]: on the eastside is the island of Saint
Dominico, which is 25 miles away, and on the South, the Cape of Pario, located 335
miles above. The length of this island is more than the breadth, for from east to west it is
50 miles, from north to south 18 miles, and is divided in two parts, that is, the north and
the south quarter: the middle of the island lies under 303 degrees longitude and 18
degrees latitude: in an almost square [rectangular] shape, populous and well housed,
having many good harbors and woods. The inhabitants have continual wars against the
cannibals [Caribs?], or those who eat men’s flesh. The island was rich with gold on the
north side, and towards the south, fruitful of bread, fruit, grass, and fish: its people are
said not to eat any flesh, which is to be understood as wild flesh, but they eat many
birds, like pigeons and such: in other things they are like those of Hispaniola, only that
they are better soldiers, and use bows and arrows: in this island there is a certain gum,
called Tabunuo, unwholesome and fatty like tallow [rendered fat], with which they dress
their ships, and because it is bitter, it preserves the ships from worms. There is likewise
much porwood, which is said to heal the pores and other diseases. This island was
discovered by Christopher Columbus, in his second voyage [(1493-1496)] into India [i.e.
the West Indies]: There is a very strange and notable history written of the inhabitants
here, which is, that at the first arrival of the Spaniards to the island, they thought the
Spaniards to be immortal and never died, so to be assured, upon a time, one of their
Cariquen or Lords, called Uraioa de Yaguara, caused one of the Spaniards to be taken
[kidnapped], and to prove if he was immortal, caused him to be put into a river
underwater, and held there, to see if he would come up alive, but being dead, and
brought before the king, he was thereby assured of their mortality, whereupon he rose
against them, and killed 150 of them, that were busy seeking gold.
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