Historical Research as Critical Practice and Relationship: The Carnegie Libraries in Iowa Project

The Carnegie Libraries in Iowa Project (CLIP) is an interdisciplinary project that seeks to chart the history of Iowa's Carnegie libraries by creating a digital library of images and other documentary and statistical information to be made publicly available over the World Wide Web. Using CLIP as a starting point, and by using critical methods to analyze the records from sociological, historical, architectural, aesthetic, and technical perspectives, library users ranging from humanities scholars to school children are encouraged to study the history of Iowa's Carnegie libraries in the context of their changing communities. CLIP represents a partnership among faculty, students, and staff at the University of Iowa's School of Library and Information Science (SLIS), Iowa's library practitioners, and members of Iowa communities, including high school and college students as well as members of the general public.