Embedding Archival Collections in the Postgraduate Curriculum at Maynooth University Library

The Ken Saro-Wiwa Archive, a collection of deathrow correspondence and other material from Nigerian writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa to Irish nun Sister Majella McCarron (OLA), is one of Maynooth University Library’s most hard-working collections. Since acquiring the archive in 2011, it has been utilised as part of a wide range of outreach experiences, including seminars, exhibitions (nationally and internationally), blog posts, articles, poetry workshops, school visits, and guided tours.Most recently, the collection was the focus of a workshop delivered as part of the module Peace, Religion and Diplomacy offered on both the MA in Mediation and Conflict Intervention and the MA in International Peacebuilding, Security, and Development Practice at Maynooth University (MU). New approaches to skill acquisition and critical thinking using primary sources are increasingly common across campus and beyond. They present to the Library exciting ways to engage with users, and to the archivists awonderful opportunity to share their knowledge and love of archival collections to an engaged and enthusiastic audience