Kristen Nyitray is the director of Special Collections and University Archives at Stony Brook University
By Joshua Berkowitz
Tucked away on the second floor mezzanine of the Frank Melville Jr. Library there is a room that preserves history and Stony Brook’s most unique collections of rare books, archives, maps, and manuscripts. That place is the Special Collections and University Archives. This library division houses a wide assortment of unique documents from a collection of 20th century political buttons to letters by George Washington concerning the Culper Spy Trail. The University Archives, a division within the Special Collections, has content that documents the history of Stony Brook University. These sources preserve institutional memory and include original Stony Brook yearbooks, photographs, and student newspapers demonstrating the University’s history.
Kristen Nyitray is the director of the Special Collections and University Archives. She is available to students who wish to explore the Special Collections and Archives and is happy to help students develop their research projects. Ms. Nyitray is herself an alumna of Stony Brook University, receiving her bachelor’s in sociology with a minor in health and society and child and family studies. She also studied at Queens College where she earned a master’s degree in library science. This interview discusses her faculty role as director of the Special Collections and University archive and the career of an archivist and librarian.
ACADEMIC JOURNEY
Tell me about where you did your undergraduate and what you studied.
I am a graduate of Stony Brook University, so I’m an alumna as well as a faculty member. I earned my undergraduate degree in sociology, and at the time there were minors in “health and society” and in “child and family studies.” I then decided to pursue graduate work at CUNY Queens College. I have a master’s degree in library science. I’m also a certified archivist, and have other professional certifications through library and archival organizations.
When you were doing your undergraduate degree at Stony Brook was working at the University later in your career something you envisioned?
Well, that is an interesting question – from my freshman year, I always had a job on campus. I worked as a student assistant, then as a graduate student, then staff, and for more than 20 years now as faculty. When I was an undergraduate student, I did not know I would end up spending most of my career at Stony Brook. I also worked at the university preschool which was located on the first floor of SBS. There actually used to be a playground behind the building. Stony Brook did not have a library science or archival science program, so initially I did not consider it as a career. Now thinking back, I did spend quite a lot of time in the Melville Library.
WORKING AS A LIBRARIAN
When you were doing your undergraduate in sociology was history, and the idea of working as an archivist something you were thinking about? How did you come to discover archival work?
With gratitude to my mother, I grew up surrounded by rare books and antiques, so I always had appreciation for and an affinity for history and the past. I loved libraries, but librarianship or archives work was not a professional or career path that I recall being discussed in high school or even in college. I also did not personally know a librarian or archivist – so I do not remember thinking about it as an option when I was an undergraduate student. When I finished my four years at SBU, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so to anyone who’s not sure, please try to not be stressed about it – sometimes it takes a little time to figure out how to align your interests with a career. For me, I thought – let me see if there were any possibilities to get experience in my local public library. My first job in a library was shelving books. That was my first job – and I thought well, you have to start somewhere.
You really started at the ground level.
Absolutely, and that was perfectly fine because I learned so much from that work, particularly about library science organization principles and about classification simply by handling the books. I have to say, I spent a lot of time in SBU’s libraries as a student, but a public library is quite different because they use another classification system, and there are differences in the collection scope and user/audience. That said, to make collections accessible both library types require understanding and knowledge of how to describe content, appraise and select materials, as well as making these resources available through a catalog. Although there is diversity among libraries, there is overlap in some practices. I started as a shelver and within a month or two, I decided I wanted to be a librarian. At that time SBU offered a couple of graduate classes through the school of professional development, so I started here and then transferred the credits to Queens College. I got a job in the Melville Library as a graduate student, and soon after applied for a full-time staff position. I wanted practical experience and to understand how libraries were managed. It is of course very important to learn theory and foundational methods, but nothing replaces the experience of working in a library and archive.
That’s actually a perfect segue, I think a lot of students don’t necessarily consider the possibilities to work in a library setting or an archival setting. What kinds of skills did you learn in your graduate education to become an archivist?
Typically, in most library science programs, similar to any graduate program, there are core classes that cover theory, cataloging, and collection development. But then after you complete that core requirement, you can specialize and select an area of concentration or emphasis, for example school media specialist, archives, preservation, and digitization. I actually returned to graduate school after finishing my MLS and completed additional credits for school media certification (school libraries/K-12). There are courses in history of books and printing, archives, law librarianship – and of course digital assets and how to integrate technology into archival work. There is a lot of variety to explore in these programs.
THE JOY OF ARCHIVAL WORK
It sounds like your early experiences working in the library were almost like a return to what originally got you interested in the humanities, you mentioned your mother’s rich collection of antiques, and how those were an early source of inspiration for you. Do you have any in particular that are especially memorable?
She collected French language and literature works, so that spurred my interest in rare books. When I was younger, I viewed them more as decorative. As I got older, I really immersed myself in learning about how books are made. I would like to point out – while librarianship and archival work do have some overlap in terms of arranging and describing collections – and making them available for use – they are two distinct professions. You do not have to be a librarian to be an archivist. There are combined master’s degrees in history and archives. But there are intersections in a lot of academic institutions – and library and archival work can be intertwined.
I have been able to integrate my interest in history, arranging and interpreting collections, and public service (e.g., events and programming). I understand the frustration of students when they can’t find information to complete an assignment. How do you surface hidden collections or materials that someone might have not examined in two hundred years? You need to selectively acquire research materials and make them accessible. This is also a very public service-oriented role – helping students and researchers connect with the information they need to produce new scholarship. This work is unique in that it requires several skill sets from technical knowledge to public engagement.
Is there one aspect you enjoy more than the other?
I actually enjoy both aspects. I love teaching, and helping students find resources. But I also find it rewarding to provide access to content and to make collections discoverable through the catalog and by building/designing websites. Archivists appraise and arrange collections – they create inventories and finding aids, which are guides for collections. Sometimes this descriptive work is done to the box level, for example – you make notation that a box includes correspondence from a specific decade – but sometimes you may need to get more granular – perhaps you want to note the correspondents and the scope of a letter – then you can go to the folder or item level. These decisions can be dependent on time, resources, or the volume – if you have a thousand boxes, perhaps you can not get very specific, but you can provide a description that will lead a researcher to the box they need.
THE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
I’d like to transition more specifically to your work at Stony Brook. For those who don’t know, what are the Special Collections?
Special collections in general are materials that have artifactual, or intrinsic, or historical value. They also comprise, sometimes, unique formats, like maps and photographs. They might require special housing,e.g., an item might be fragile, or oversized and require special housing or shelving. There are a variety of reasons why materials get housed in a special collections department. But primarily it is to ensure that the item is preserved and that it can be accessible over time. At SBU, you can schedule an appointment to consult collections. We have a diverse collection of formats and subjects represented in the collections, and certainly it spans centuries.
And you made clear before, there’s really a difference between the work a librarian does and the work an archivist does, and at Stony Brook you have a foot in both camps it seems, could you elaborate on how that works?
The work of an archivist is complex – it includes selecting, appraising, arranging, describing, and creating access points to manuscript collections and records. We have collections with more than 1,000 boxes each. Adherence to archival principles is predicated on respecting original order and provenance – so if you had a collection organized in a particular way, we would maintain it as such. Sometimes we receive what appears to be the contents of a drawer and there is no order or coherence – so it would not help any researcher to keep it in that state. We can then arrange the materials by categories or develop a schema that best fits that collection. We also do not intermingle or combine collections – we maintain the separateness to reflect the origins, ownership or custody of a collection or item – this is a foundational principle of archives. Librarians/catalogers create access points through classification, assigning Library of Congress authorized names and subject headings to best represent and reflect content, and integrate these records into a library catalogue. In essence, a library catalogue is a huge database with pathways to library collection assets. Both roles perform research and reference services. In addition, Stony Brook’s librarians are faculty – we teach, serve on university and professional committees, present at conferences, and produce scholarship. So, there are added responsibilities and obligations with being a librarian or archivist in an academic library.
When did the Special Collections at Stony Brook start?
SBU was founded in 1957 at Oyster Bay; that location served as a temporary campus. The Stony Brook campus opened in 1962. By 1963-64, administrators realized the library already needed to be physically expanded but also that the collections needed to grow to support the curricular and research needs. In 1969, there was a discussion of a dedicated area for special collections, particularly rare books and manuscripts. Professors in the English department suggested purchase of a collection primarily consisting of correspondence, so therefore the general stacks were not conducive to housing it. Concurrently, there were plans to enlarge the library. Special Collections was originally on the third floor, where the DVDs are currently shelved. By 1971, the department moved to the second floor mezzanine in the Melville Library, where it had specialized shelving and a reading room. That was the genesis of the department – purchase and acquisition of a collection coupled with the building expansion.
Building on something you just touched on, how the library expanded, any Stony Brook student is of course familiar with the unique layout of the library, is that something you can elaborate on
Yes – it is a bit confusing when you first enter the library building because the east and west wings do not connect. The original library footprint could not be greatly expanded, so in addition to building around the perimeter, two stories were added. The original building is essentially the footprint of the central reading room, so that is the core of the building. From ‘69 to ‘71 they built around and upward. So the atrium connects the original building to the newer space. Throughout that time period of construction they never closed the library once – it was a bit like 7-11 – it never closed. Despite all the mess and construction, the library was still the place to study, a place to view art, and a location for campus activism. From the fourth and fifth floors, you can see the roof of the original building. If you walk around the second floor west side, there are interestingly shaped windows that allow you to see the original portions of the building.
Much like how the building blossomed over time, it sounds like the Special Collections have built up over the course of time. So when did you come on with the Special Collections at Stony Brook?
I started working in the library in the late 1990s and I joined Special Collections in 2000. When I was a graduate student, I did use the collections but I did not know much about the full scope of them. The internet and web development was fledging – so it was a different time. I was telling someone the other day about how we used to have a room full of photocopy machines – you would retrieve a bound physical journal, purchase a copy card with 100 copies, and make a hardcopy of it. But with databases and e-resources, that need was phased out. Initially my work with Special Collections centered on evaluation and assessment of the collections, setting priorities for processing and cataloging, and aligning/integrating the collections with the curriculum. Those were my first objectives.
That sounds like a daunting task, what were some of your initial impressions, when you started to appraise what the school had?
Right – so my first impressions were that it was an amazing collection – it is so varied and voluminous – and the research could greatly benefit from the rich collections that we have here. I wanted to add that in the early years when Stony Brook was building a library very quickly, the professors were very instrumental in forming the collections. They would go to auctions, or know someone who had an incredible collection and through purchase and donation Stony Brook was able to acquire them. My goal was to inventory them and make them as accessible as possible, it of course did take time – along with patience and persistence. We have finite resources and we are not overstaffed (one faculty member – me – and one staff member). There are only so many hours in the day, so you really have to think strategically and prioritize processing. I was able to partner with different catalogers and librarians to set priorities for working on these collections and making them accessible through our website which I built, and through the libraries catalog.
That brings me to my next point, you mentioned that when you started your work the internet was in its infancy. I as a student can now of course access digitized versions of the archives in seconds, was that a big part of your work?
Right, I did not anticipate becoming a webmaster or digitizing collections. My work requires studying the material, researching it, processing it, building/designing the web presence, developing programming, and answering research queries. I also wanted to standardize the information you could obtain from each finding aid – for example information about when we acquired it, provenance, the subject matter, etc. Finding aids usually have a scope and content note or biographical information about the collection if they are papers of a person. Through Google or any other search engine you want it to be discoverable. So selecting subjects and names via Library of Congress controlled vocabularies and thesauri is very important. It is very rewarding when within a week of publishing a finding aid or a catalog record, you receive a research question about it.
You mentioned that one of the things you found when appraising the archives was the rich scope of what was contained. Now the archives are organized into very specific collections, could you go into detail on how that was done, and what the Special Collections contains?
In terms of manuscripts and archival collections, some people prefer to use our A through Z list(https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/libspecial/collections/manuscripts/index.php). Others prefer to look thematically or by subject, so we have both options available on our site. For example, Long Island history, literature, political science, arts. A collecting area strength is regional and Long Island history. There is an extensive collection of books and maps, and papers of politicians and poets and artists. We have the papers of U.S Senator Jacob K. Javits whose collection alone comprises over a million items; includes a wide spectrum of formats, there’s papers, audio, video, political buttons, campaign posters, cartoons(https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/libspecial/collections/manuscripts/javits/index.php). We also have literature collections, for example, papers of poet William Butler Yeats, which is the largest collection outside of Ireland. As I mentioned earlier, many of these collection acquisitions were driven by faculty recommendations and by relationships that faculty had with collection creators and collectors.
THE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
It sounds like in a lot of ways the story of the archives is reflective of the story of the university. One of my favorite functions of the archives is recording Stony Brook history, for example, the collection of college yearbooks that the school used to publish. I know you yourself were involved in publishing a photographic history of Stony Brook, is that something that came out of your being an alumna or did you view it as an extension of your job?
My academic rank is Associate Librarian and my title is Director of Special Collections and University Archives, and University Archivist. The University Archives is another facet of the department. We collect materials that are publicly accessible and can be used to understand the history of SBU. The yearbooks were published from 1961 to 2006, and we wanted to make those accessible so they were digitized – as well as The Stony Brook Statesman, Stony Brook Press, and Blackworld. I wanted to have the student experience represented through the archives. As a SBU student, I did live on campus, and that certainly has been beneficial in understanding the organization and layout of the campus. Like you suggested earlier, the history of the campus, and the curriculum is somewhat tied to the buildings. So in the early years, you had smaller buildings like humanities and old chemistry(today, Frey Hall). As Sbu’s mission and programs expanded, there was a need for buildings, e.g., physics, life sciences, engineering, math – many of these buildings were larger because of the need for lab space and growing enrollment in these programs.
Is there a particular piece in the collection that is your favorite?
While I can not choose just one, I can give you one example of a map that was one of the first items I studied when I joined the department. It was produced between 1635 and 1640 by Dutch cartographer Willem Janszoon Blaeu. It’s one of the first maps that depict Long Island as an island, and a lot of place names make their first appearance like Block Island, Hellgate, New Plymouth. Then there is iconography which you can glean a lot of information from – for example, the animals depicted on this map are unique – depictions of turkey, beaver, and otter may have suggested the economic potential of the region to land speculators.
The George Washington Letters
I’d like to touch on some of the more famous pieces the Special Collections holds, I know when I first visited I was struck by the illuminated manuscript page we have and of course the George Washington letters. What’s the story behind some of these big-ticket items?
We have two letters authored by George Washington. One was acquired in 2006 and the other was acquired in 2009 – both at auction. I was fortunate enough to be the one who bid on behalf of the university at Christie’s in New York City – and we were successful. The reason SBU Libraries wanted to acquire those letters was to make them true public documents – accessible for research. Setauket – and Long Island was very instrumental in intelligence gathering during the time period of the American Revolution. In these two letters, Washington gives instructions on how to spy, how to be discreet, how to use invisible inks, and other spycraft. The letters provide insights into national history, but also local history. It provides evidence of Long Island’s instrumental role in this aspect of the war.
Are you at liberty to discuss what the university paid for the letters? And what was that process like?
Sure. The acquisitions were made possible with the support of private donations. I was tasked with the bidding and coordinating all logistics with Christie’s. The letter had been placed for auction the year before, but it did not sell because it did not meet the minimum reserve price. It was owned by Malcolm Forbes, the multi-millionaire (he had passed away years earlier). He was an avid collector of Americana. This auction had items spanning the presidencies of George Washington to George Bush, and everything in between. So – the items of interest wer presented early in the auction. There was competition in the room – in person and on the phones. I waited at first, and then raised my paddle. Bidding did go back and forth. The winning bid was $80,000. At an auction, there is typically a buyer’s premium – the auction house’s commission – and that was 20%, or $16,000. We acquired the second letter in 2009. I wanted to add – both letters we also professionally conserved. When we sent them out for assessment there were some issues, primarily with the ink, because the ink has iron and tannic acid in it that were corroding the paper.
Can any student view that document from the collections?
Absolutely. Student researchers can make an appointment. Both letters are digitized, so they can be viewed on our website with full transcripts and context. There are also links to other primary sources pertaining to the spy ring, so there are many ways to engage with the letters. I want to add – during this time Washington had several aide-de camps, so he dictated the letters, but he did sign both of them – so they do include his original signature.
STONY BROOK HISTORY
Circling back now to something we spoke about earlier, you helped publish a photo essay chronicling the school’s history in photos. The book ends with the opening of the Manhattan Stony Brook campus. If you could add onto the book what might you consider?
Well, it has been more than nineteen years now since its publication. Since then, SBU has had another president, Dr. Stanley – and now Dr. McInnis. Stony Brook acquired the Southampton campus – and there have been renovations such as to the hospital, Frey Hall and the Student Union – and additions like the stadium – so those are things I might want to include. I should also add, when I first embarked on that book I did not have a timeline to work with. That part of historical research: I was organizing the photograph collection(25,000 items) as I was researching the history. Sometimes there was an important fact but no photograph – or sometimes there was a great photograph but there was no indication of who was pictured on it.
To wrap up, how can students at Stony Brook make use of the archives and Special Collections, or make use of yourself as a resource?
I encourage all students to make use of the collections and to consult with librarians. We have online chat, reference/email, and library liaisons, so depending on the subject you can contact your department liaison or I can help direct you. I cross all of those disciplines, and I am always available and here to help. I can be reached at kristen.nyitray@stonybrook.edu. Thank you for the opportunity to be interviewed and to discuss Special Collections and University Archives. Website: www.stonybrook.edu/libspecial.