Capturing Scholarship: Electronic Theses and Dissertations in the DRS

Northeastern’s electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) provide a valuable record of the university’s scholarly contributions, capturing the evolution of research across numerous academic disciplines over the past two decades. The Digital Repository Service (DRS) preserves all ETDs from 2008 onward, along with selected earlier works, creating a collection of more than 7,500 items spanning over 30 departments and nearly 70 academic programs.

As some of the DRS’ most frequently accessed materials, ETDs offer rich insights into the university’s academic history and digital presence. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the DRS, Digital Production Services (DPS) — the department responsible for managing both the DRS and ETDs — set out to share insights into how theses and dissertations are added to the repository and how Northeastern’s ETD collections have evolved over time.

ETD Creation to DRS Ingest: Process Overview

The ETDs are initially submitted to ProQuest by graduate students as a condition of their graduation. The rules for the submission package and document organization are determined by each program. Once the submission is completed and the student fills out information about their ETD, the file and metadata are sent in via a zip file to a library server. Over the last 5+ years, a local workflow has been developed to:

  1. Export the files and move backups to other networked drives
  2. Record submissions in a spreadsheet to ensure file provenance
  3. Document any additional information, such as embargo dates or original file names, in case there are issues with the submission
  4. Review, normalize, and transform the existing ProQuest metadata to create DRS-compliant records for each file
  5. Add degree, school, and department information to each record to support the DRS collection structure
  6. Ingest the ETDs into their corresponding collections in the DRS
  7. Generate digital object identifiers (DOIs) for each ETD
  8. Conduct name authority control on all advisor and committee member names
Screenshot of the DRS with the heading Theses and Dissertations, with several drop-down menus
Filtering options for ETDs in the DRS.

New ETDs are processed and ingested every 2-3 months, depending on the time of year and the volume of ETD submissions, and can involve anywhere from 30 to 100 ETDs at a time. DOIs are generated and ETD contributor names are reviewed bi-annually.

General Growth

The total number of ETDs submitted by Northeastern students has increased significantly since 2008. From 2008-2010, there was an average of around 190 documents submitted annually. As the 2010s continued, that number steadily increased from 353 in 2013 to 583 in 2019. There was a small dip in 2020, possibly due to COVID interrupting degree completions, but since then, there have been approximately 540-590 ETDs submitted each year.

Degree Distribution

Almost 90% of ETDs produced from 2008-2010 were either for Ph.D. or MS degrees, but as the School of Education started producing theses for the Ed.D. degree, those quickly became common, and represented 34% of all ETDs produced by 2020. Additional degree programs also started producing ETDs from 2010-2020, with MA, DLP, and MFA degrees representing almost 5% of ETDs during that period. In the last 4-5 years, numbers have stabilized, with Ph.D. dissertations regularly accounting for around 45% of all ETDs, Ed.D. theses around 35%, MS theses hovering around 15%, and all other degree types filling out the remaining 5%.

Line graph titled "ETD Submissions by Degree Type (2008-2024)
Data visualization showing ETD submissions by degree type from 2008-2014. Created by Claude (Antropic) based on analysis of dataset exported from the DRS and transformed by the author. Generated May 2025.

College, School, Department, and Program Representation

The early majority of ETDs produced by Northeastern students were from the College of Engineering (COE), which accounted for almost 62% from 2008-2010. Throughout the 2010s, other colleges emerged as significant contributors, including the Bouvé College of Health Sciences, the College of Professional Studies (CPS), and the College of Science (COS).

Line graph titled "ETD Submissions by College (2008-2024)
Data visualization showing ETD submission by college from 2008-2024. Created by Claude (Anthropic) based on analysis exported from the DRS and transformed by the author. Generated May 2025.

Within the College of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical and Industrial Engineering remain the most prolific ETD producers, as well as the Chemistry and Chemical Biology program, the School of Education, and the Department of Art + Design.

The top 10 departments by total submission count:

  1. School of Education (2,143 submissions)
  2. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (910)
  3. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (705)
  4. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (316)
  5. Department of Art + Design (271)
  6. Computer Science Program (245)
  7. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (242)
  8. School of Pharmacy (212)
  9. Department of Chemical Engineering (209)
  10. Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology (202)

Addition of Supplementary Files

The first ETD to include supplemental files, or files submitted to accompany the ETD PDF file, first appeared in 2013. The number of supplemental files grew throughout the 2010s, with supplemental material representing 4% of all ETD file submissions during that time. Since 2020, the number of supplemental files has seen a slight decline, but there are still regular submissions, with 26 provided in 2024. The college that most often submits these files is the College of Arts, Media, and Design (CAMD), with almost 1 in 4 theses including supplemental materials.

Other notable contributors include COE and the College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH). The smallest contributor is CPS, which, despite being the largest contributor of ETDs overall, has only 11 total supplemental files since 2013.

Screenshot of an item in the DRS titled "Supplemental file for 'Horn of plenty.'" A photo of a decorative green plant is on the left and metadata is listed on the right
Screenshot of a supplementary file page that features a photograph stored in the DRS. Original photo by Hannah M. Groudas.

New Undergraduate Theses

More recently, undergraduate programs from departments like Biology, Biochemistry, Marine and Environmental Science, and Psychology have begun to submit electronic theses directly to DPS staff. DPS offers the same level of service to the undergraduate theses as the graduate ETDs and includes the same metadata in each accompanying description to ensure these materials are as discoverable as the graduate theses and dissertations.

Maintaining ETDs is a vital part of the DRS’ mission, presenting unique challenges that library staff are well-equipped to manage. As the submission processes, file formats, academic disciplines, and research topics continue to evolve, the library remains committed to preserving and providing access to these scholarly works. Through ongoing innovation and stewardship, we ensure that the academic contributions and history of Northeastern students are securely archived and shared for generations to come.

AI acknowledgement: Claude Projects was used to generate data visualizations based on ETD metadata exported from the DRS and transformed into a spreadsheet dataset. Specific visualizations based on identified columns were requested. Project instructions, prompts, and dataset are available here.

Reading Challenge Update: November Winner and December Preview

Welcome to the final month of the 2025 Reading Challenge!

In November, we challenged you to read a book about your major or field of study. Our November winner is Katelyn Santilli, who wins a finals week care package from the library! To be eligible for the prize drawing, make sure to read a book that fits the month’s theme and then tell us about it.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the November Reading Challenge. Here are a few of the books you read. (Comments may have been edited for length or clarity.)

What You Read in November

Cover of The Information

The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood, James Gleick
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library

“Coming from a computer science background, I found the history of information deeply illuminating. The final reflections on infobesity and the Library of Babel truly resonated. We inhabit that library today, each of us both librarian and lost reader.” — Sanath



Cover of The Library Book

The Library Book, Susan Orlean
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Find it at the School of Law Library

“Susan Orlean uses the 1986 fire that destroyed the Los Angeles Public Library as a way to share the history of this innovative library system and the role libraries play today. It was a refreshing recognition of the importance of libraries, with a dash of true crime thrown in.” — Kerri

Cover of The Language Instinct

The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language, Steven Pinker
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library

“A great book that covers all sorts of stuff about language, such as language acquisition, production, perception, and more!” — Eliza



Cover of The Origins of Totalitarianism

The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

“A dense but timely read from the 1950s.” — William




Cover of The Toyota Way

The Toyota Way: 14 Management Practices from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer, Jeffrey Liker
Listen to the audiobook

“The book taught me that long-term thinking and respect for people, processes, and quality build resilient organizations. It also elaborates on how culture matters. It is good for project managers or project management professionals.” — Saakshi

Cover of Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, David Grann
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Find it at the School of Law Library | Listen to the audiobook

“It was a great book! I’m not in history or criminal justice, but I’m in English and trying to read as much nonfiction as possible to help with writing it! I think Killers of the Flower Moon is a masterclass in how to write nonfiction in a way that is informative and still gripping and reads like a novel.” — Avery

Suggested Reads for December

It’s almost time to wrap up another year of the Reading Challenge. To close out the year, we’re challenging you to read a book that retells or is inspired by a classic myth, fairytale, or folktale. Maybe it’s a modern Cinderella story, a reimagined Odyssey, or a new spin on a Chinese folktale — there are a lot of great options!

Need help deciding what to read? Check out our recommended e-book and audiobook titles in Libby. Or stop by the Snell Library lobby from 1 – 3 p.m. on Wednesday, December 10, and Thursday, December 11, for your final chance of the year to browse print books, get recommendations from librarians, and pick up 2025 Reading Challenge swag. You can never have too much to read over the winter break!

Cover of Katabasis

Katabasis: A Novel, R.F. Kuang
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

Inspired by: Ancient Greek mythology
Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to work in Cambridge with Professor Jacob Grimes, the greatest magician in the world. That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault. With nothing but the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, Alice and her rival Peter Murdoch set off across Hell to save a man they don’t even like. But there’s something in Alice and Peter’s past that could forge them into the perfect allies…or lead to their doom.

Cover of Victory City

Victory City: A Novel, Salman Rushdie
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

Inspired by: The ancient Indian city of Vijayanagara and Indian mythology
In 14th-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for a goddess, who begins to speak out of the girl’s mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana’s comprehension, the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of the great city of Bisnaga — “victory city” — the wonder of the world. Over the next 250 years, Pampa Kampana’s life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga’s, from its literal sowing from a bag of magic seeds to its tragic ruination in the most human of ways: the hubris of those in power. Victory City is a saga of love, adventure, and myth that is in itself a testament to the power of storytelling.

Cover of The Changeling

The Changeling, Victor LaValle
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

Inspired by: European folklore story of the changeling
When Apollo Kagwa’s father disappeared, he left his son a box of books and strange recurring dreams. Now Apollo is a father himself — and as he and his wife, Emma, settle into their new lives as parents, exhaustion and anxiety start to take their toll. At first, Emma seems to be exhibiting signs of postpartum depression. But before Apollo can do anything to help, Emma commits a horrific act and vanishes. Thus begins Apollo’s quest to find a wife and child who are nothing like he’d imagined. His odyssey takes him to a forgotten island, a graveyard full of secrets, a forest where immigrant legends still live, and finally back to a place he thought he had lost forever.

Cover of Blob

Blob: A Love Story, Maggie Su
Read the e-book

Inspired by: Several stories, including The Frog Prince, Frankenstein, and Blubber Boy
The daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother, Vi Liu has never quite fit into her Midwestern college town. Aimless after getting dumped by her boyfriend and dropping out of college, Vi works at the front desk of a hotel. In the alley outside of a bar one night, Vi discovers a strange blob — a small living creature with beady black eyes. In a moment of concern and drunken desperation, she takes it home. But the blob is no ordinary pet. Becoming increasingly sentient, it begins to grow, shift shape, and obey Vi’s commands. As the entity continues to change, Vi is struck with a daring idea: she’ll mold the creature into her ideal partner. But when Vi’s desire to be loved unconditionally threatens to spiral out of control, she is forced into a journey of self-discovery that teaches her it’s impossible to control those you love.

Cover of The Bright Sword

The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur, Lev Grossman
Find it at Snell Library | Listen to the audiobook

Inspired by: The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a place at the Round Table, only to find that he’s too late. King Arthur died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table are left. The survivors aren’t the heroes of legend — they’re the oddballs of the group, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. But it’s up to them to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance. They must reclaim Excalibur and make this ruined world whole again — but first, they’ll have to solve the mystery of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell.

Cover of Sisters of the Lost Nation

Sisters of the Lost Nation: A Novel, Nick Medina
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Listen to the audiobook

Inspired by: Native American mythology
Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder. For the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation’s casino…and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step — an ancient tribal myth come to life, one that’s intent on devouring her whole. As girls begin to go missing and the tribe scrambles to find answers, Anna struggles with her place on the rez, desperately searching for the key she’s sure lies in the legends of her tribe’s past. But the demons plaguing the reservation — both ancient and new — are strong, and sometimes, it’s the stories that never get told that are the most important.

Whatever you read, make sure you tell us about it to enter the December prize drawing. Good luck, and happy reading!

10 Years of the DRS: Environmental Voices

In our series of posts highlighting 10 years of the Digital Repository Service (DRS), I wanted to shine a light on the audio and video materials we host that engage with global warming, pollution, and the climate emergency.

Student Research

The annual Research, Innovation, and Scholarship Expo (RISE) is an opportunity for students and faculty to showcase their research focused on solutions to real-life problems. In 2021, these presentations were recorded.

Screenshot of an infographic on environmental justice
  • The debt calculator: a gratitude-based approach to environmental justice by Kira Mok and Sophie Kelly describes how Chelsea and East Boston have a higher burden of pollution and negative health consequences compared to more wealthy parts of Boston, which benefit from industry in these neighborhoods. Their project “What Does Chelsea Do for You?” led to an infographic and online quiz about the debt Boston residents owe to these areas.
  • Northeastern University green chemistry education symposium, a presentation by Olivia Sterns, Umin Jalloh, Christopher Mahir, Christina McConney, and Angelica Fiuza, describes a sustainable and environmentally responsible chemistry curriculum and plans for a related conference. You can also check out the organization Beyond Benign.
  • The impact of biological knowledge on pro-environmental behavior is a presentation by Kyleigh Watson, Kelly Marchese, Jasmine Ho, and Daniela Ras that explores the relationship between study participants’ knowledge of nature, urbanicity, and implicit and explicit connection to the natural world.

Podcast Episodes

The What’s New podcast, hosted by Dean of the Library Dan Cohen, is one of the most popular collections in the DRS. It consists of wide-ranging conversations with faculty members across the university.

Coursework

The DRS team also works with professors to host student coursework in the repository.

Screenshot of a video title screen with the heading "5 Easy Ways to Save Money & Help the Environment"

These selections demonstrate how the DRS documents both the climate crisis and the innovation solutions emerging from Northeastern’s academic community.

Reading Challenge Update: October Winner and November Preview

In October, we celebrated Banned Books Week and the freedom to read by asking you to read a book that has been banned or challenged. Our winning reader is Fresnel Fabian, who takes home a Northeastern University Library READ poster! To be eligible for the prize drawing, make sure to read a book that fits the month’s theme and then tell us about it.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Reading Challenge this month. Here are a few of the books you read. (Comments may have been edited for length or clarity.)

What You Read in October

Cover of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

“It was so good! As a bio major, this is a must-read because it dives into the person behind so many of the discoveries you will learn about in classes. This book shares the human side of the story of HeLa cells and honestly made me teary-eyed at parts. The book is so eye-opening and it’s definitely going to change the way I think about healthcare for the rest of my life.” — Rhea

Cover of Animal Farm

Animal Farm, George Orwell
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library

“The way in which the author uses the animals and their characteristics to explain a society that is embracing an idea that promises to liberate that society, which leads to the enslavement of the society, is insightful. It points out the hypocrisy of the leaders who become corrupted as soon as they get a taste of power. The author tells us a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of the revolution.” — Fresnel

Cover of The Fire Next Time

The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

“I thought that the book was extremely intelligently written. I’m glad I picked this up and am very intrigued by a new perspective on the state of racial tension and conflict in 1960s America.” — Nikolas


Cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

“I’ve been really into space and science fiction recently and this book is extremely well-written and humorous. My favorite thing about this book is that it’s really unpredictable, especially certain characters that would say out-of-pocket and bizarre comments that seem really silly on the surface level but are actually quite meaningful and deep after you think about it.” — Hannah

Cover of 1984

1984, George Orwell
Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

“1984 hit me harder than I expected. It’s eerie how Orwell’s world of control and twisted truth mirrors parts of our reality today. It’s not just a story about surveillance; it’s a reflection on how fragile freedom and individuality really are. The book lingers in your mind, quietly reminding you to stay awake to the world around you.” — Om

Cover of The Song of Achilles

The Song of Achilles: A Novel, Madeline Miller
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

“The Song of Achilles is a beautifully written retelling of the Trojan War from Patroclus’s perspective, offering a fresh and emotional look at his relationship with Achilles. The characters felt deeply human, and their bond is developed with sincerity and nuance. Overall, it’s a heartfelt and memorable take on a classic myth.” — Alison

Suggested Reads for November

As we get closer to the end of the semester, we’re challenging you to read a book about your major or the field you’re studying. Check out our recommended e-book and audiobook titles in Libby, or stop by the Snell Library lobby from 1 – 3 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12, and Thursday, November 13, to browse print books, get recommendations from librarians, and pick up Reading Challenge swag.

If you’re studying engineering or entrepreneurship…

Cover of More Everything Forever

More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity, Adam Becker
Read the e-book

Tech billionaires have decided that they should determine our futures for us. According to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and more, the only good future for humanity is one powered by technology. In More Everything Forever, science journalist Adam Becker investigates these wildly implausible and often profoundly immoral visions of tomorrow. The giants of Silicon Valley claim that their ideas are based on science, but the reality is darker: they come from a jumbled mix of shallow futurism and racist pseudoscience. More Everything Forever exposes the powerful and sinister ideas that dominate Silicon Valley, challenging us to see how foolish, and dangerous, these visions of the future are.

If you’re studying English literature or writing…

Cover of Dear Writer

Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life, Maggie Smith
Listen to the audiobook

Drawing from her 20 years of teaching experience and her bestselling Substack newsletter, For Dear Life, Maggie Smith breaks down creativity into 10 essential elements: attention, wonder, vision, play, surprise, vulnerability, restlessness, tenacity, connection, and hope. Each element is explored through short, inspiring, and craft-focused essays, followed by generative writing prompts. Dear Writer provides tools that artists of all experience levels can apply to their own creative practices and carry with them into all genres and all areas of life.

If you’re studying health sciences or behavioral neuroscience…

Cover of The Mind Electric

The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains, Pria Anand
Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

A girl believes she has been struck blind for stealing a kiss. A mother watches helplessly as each of her children is replaced by a changeling. A woman is haunted each month by the same four chords of a single song. In neurology, illness is inextricably linked with narrative, the clues to unraveling these mysteries hidden in both the details of a patient’s story and the tells of their body. In The Mind Electric, neurologist Pria Anand reveals all that the medical establishment has overlooked: the complexity and wonder of brains, and the vast gray area between sanity and insanity, doctor and patient, and illness and wellness, each separated from the next by the thin veneer of a different story.

If you’re studying business administration or computer sciences…

Cover of Enshittification

Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It, Cory Doctorow
Find it at Snell Library | Listen to the audiobook

We’re living through the Enshittocene, the Great Enshittening, a time in which the services that matter to us, that we rely on, are turning into giant piles of shit. When Cory Doctorow coined the term “enshittification,” he was not just finding a funner way tot say “things are getting worse.” He was making a specific diagnosis about the state of the digital world and how it is affecting all of our lives (and not for the better). Here, now, in Enshittification the book, Doctorow moves the conversation beyond the overwhelming sense of our inevitably enshittified fate. He shows us the specific decisions that led us here, who made them, and — most important — how they can be undone.

If you’re studying music or psychology…

Cover of Musicophilia

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Oliver Sacks
Read the e-book

Neurologist Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls “musical misalignments.” Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of 42; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with “amusia,” to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds — for everything but music.

If you’re studying economics, public policy, or women’s, gender, and sexuality studies…

Cover of Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner?

Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner? A Story of Women and Economics, Katrin Marçal
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book

How do you get your dinner? That is the basic question of economics. When economist and philosopher Adam Smith proclaimed that all our actions were motivated by self-interest, he used the example of the baker and the butcher as he laid the foundations for “economic man,” arguing that the baker and butcher didn’t give food out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s an ironic point of view coming from a bachelor who lived with his mother for most of his life — a woman who cooked his dinner every night. Such a viewpoint disregards the unpaid work of mothering, caring, cleaning, and cooking. It insists that if women are paid less, then that’s because their labor is worth less. Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner? charts the myth of economic man in a witty and courageous dismantling of one of the biggest myth of our time.

If you’re studying biology, history, or anthropology…

Cover of Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Women, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook

As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi consider plans and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as “the younger brothers of creation.” As she explores these themes, she circles toward a central argument: The awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world.

If you’re studying sociology, linguistics, or communication studies…

Cover of Like

Like: A History of the World’s Most Hated (and, like, Misunderstood) Word, Megan C. Reynolds
Read the e-book

Few words in the English language are as misunderstood as “like.” Indeed, excessive use of this word is a surefire way to make those who pride themselves on propriety, both grammatical and otherwise, feel compelled to issue correctives. But what the detractors of the word fail to understand is its true function and versatility — as an exclamation, a filler of space, a means of subtle emphasis, and more. In this book, culture writer Megan C. Reynolds takes us through the unique etymology and usage of this oft-reviled word, highlighting how it is often used to undermine people who are traditionally seen as having less status in society — women, younger people, people from specific subcultures — and how, if thought about differently, it might open up a new way of communication and validation.

If you’re studying journalism, law, or urban studies…

Cover of Bad City

Bad City: Peril and Power in the City of Angels, Paul Pringle
Listen to the audiobook

On a cool, overcast afternoon in April 2016, a salacious tip arrived at the L.A. Times that reporter Paul Pringle thought should have taken, at most, a few weeks to check out: a drug overdose at a fancy hotel involving one of the University of Southern California’s shiniest stars — Dr. Carmen Puliafito, the head of the prestigious medical school. Pringle knew that reporting the story wouldn’t be a walk in the park. USC is the largest private employer in the city of Los Angeles, and it casts a long shadow. But what he couldn’t have foreseen was that this tip would lead to the unveiling of not one major scandal at USC but two, wrapped in a web of crimes and cover-ups. The rot rooted out by Pringle and his colleagues at The Times would creep closer to home than they could have imagined — spilling into their own newsroom. This is LA at its darkest and investigative journalism at its brightest.

Whatever you read, make sure you tell us about it to enter the November prize drawing. Good luck, and happy reading!

Bringing It All Together: Methods for Cataloging News Articles for the BNDA Version 2.0

Since its initial launch in September 2022, the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive (BNDA) has established itself as one of the most comprehensive digital records of racial homicides collected to date. This blog series aims to highlight the work of the archivists on the BNDA team and their experiences preparing for the launch of BNDA Version 2.0. You can read more about the Version 2.0 update in Gathering the Red Record: A Two-Day Convening on Linking Racial Violence Archives.

Methods Overview

The first thing I have to say about the archival work methods for cataloging news articles at the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project’s BNDA is that they are a team effort. The workflow structure is maintained through shared instructions, templates, the data dictionary, and a responsive, organized supervising team.

All of the archives assistant work is digital. Archives assistants receive batches of news articles to catalog in the form of spreadsheets with links to images of the original newspaper articles stored in the Digital Repository Service. We then verify those articles against information we currently have and complete standardized fields for the information we want supplied. If we encounter a question about the records that we can’t answer with assurance, we flag it to be reviewed by either our supervisors or the legal team.

When completed, those standardized spreadsheets are reviewed by the supervising team and transformed into a format compatible for inclusion in the BNDA. Having multiple team members verify information improves the accuracy of the records and makes for sustainable collections processing practices.

Our goal is to add as much accurate and data-verified cataloged information as possible in order to provide supporting evidence of each incident, case, and victim identifier. These standardized identifiers, as well as authorized names for each unique individual, allow the team to take advantage of the relational-based search capability of the Airtable database. Not only does this system help us make better cataloged records, it allows for more retrievable information for future research.

Examples in the Records

Washington Sniper Victims
One example of data verification is to identify the victim(s) present in a news article whenever possible, even when minimal information is present. Breaking news articles often lack details. Names can be absent or incorrect, or focus on the perpetrator of the crime rather than the victim. One strategy I find helpful is to work by victim-subject, going through batches of news articles that are all related to one victim or group of victims. This allows me to glean patterns of context clues that allow for victim identification even if the victim is unnamed.

Newspaper clipping with the headline "Baffled D.C. Police Sift Tangled Clues In Hunt for Sniper"
News article describing the ongoing search for the perpetrator and victims in the D. C. sniper case. Evening star. Washington, D.C.: October 16, 1940.
List of metadata tied to an article titled "Evening Star. Washington, D.C.: October 16, 1940. Baffled D.C. Police Sift Tangled Clues in Hunt for Sniper
Cataloging metadata for the news article (left).

I found this strategy particularly helpful when working with a case related to a serial sniper who murdered multiple victims in Washington, D.C., in 1940. Three victims identified over the months of press coverage were Hylan McClaine, Lushion Sam Banks, and Theodore I. Goffney, but the chronological order of their murders was not shared. Press coverage of the sniper continued into the 1960s, long after the trial, with inconsistent reference to the victims. At the BNDA, we can link the victim names at the forefront of these articles in our catalog, centering the narrative around the victims rather than the perpetrator.

Bryant Family Murder
The research crucial work that aids in the cataloging effort is also on display in the case of the 1932 Bryant family murder. The news coverage of the tragic murder of the Bryant family was sometimes unclear about which family members survived and which were killed in the horrible robbery, torture, and death by arson. Some articles appeared sympathetic to the murderers and provided little to no details on the victims.

Our Airtable database supports a field for notes written by Project Historian Jay Driskell when they are available. Through Jay’s notes, I could confirm with certainty that the father and son, Lewis and Ozola Bryant, were murdered. The mother, Missouri Bryant, survived. The more detailed news articles corroborated these facts. The Bryant murder trial also stands out as a case that upheld the murder charges against a white killer despite appeals up to the Missouri State Supreme Court.

A screenshot titled "Ozola Bryant and Lewis Bryant in Mississippi in 1932" with a case summary and other categories of metadata
The BNDA incident page for the killing of Ozola and Lewis Bryant

Given the graphic nature of the emotional events and the polarized reporting, I was grateful to have ready, retrievable access to previous work to clarify the Bryant family’s story in order to help me accurately represent the family in the cataloged work. I also benefitted from the concurrent work of another archives assistant and the support of my supervisor, Project Archivist Joy Zanghi.

These cases and many more are available in BNDA Version 2.0 and you can browse the current version now. I had the privilege of working with archival methods developed over the past 18 years of the project, taking into account the humanity of the sensitive subject matter. The final result is that the CRRJ developed an archival format with the BNDA that allows for the data within it to be scalable, buildable, and retrievable for the future.

CRRJ Archives Assistant Stephanie Bennett Rahmat (she/her/hers) has 17 years of experience working with historic and cultural heritage resources throughout the U.S. She completed her Master of Library and Information Science degree at Simmons University in 2021, with a focus on Archives Management and Cultural Heritage. She came to work in the archives and libraries after a career in North American archaeology.