The following is an announcement from Queens University:

Thanks to our amazing partners at Queens University of Charlotte, DigitalNC is pleased to announce that over a hundred new literary journals and six new beautiful books are now available online! Four of these new books are scrapbooks created for and by Queens students, while the other two are administrative records. They span from as early as 1919 to as late as 1978; combined, the collection offers a cohesive glimpse into campus life on Queens during the twentieth century. This fantastic collection will join Queens University’s burgeoning presence on DigitalNC, which has added almost three hundred records in the last year!

The highlight of this collection is by far a scrapbook titled “The Princess,” created in 1919. Scrapbooks created by students are often artistic and unconventional, pushing the conventional boundaries of the scrapbooking medium, and this volume is no exception. It chronicles Ms. Effie J. Wall’s first year at Queens, from her arrival at orientation to her departure for summer recess. Ms. Wall’s freshman experience is not unlike many modern college students’ — she quickly forms a tightly knit group of friends, finds a “beau,” makes fun of her professors, and dives in to extracurriculars. Her handwriting fills the margins of each page, providing color commentary on clippings of newspapers and official campus publications. She also includes a variety of unconventional material in her book, including (but not limited to) peanut bags, candy wrappers, locks of her friends’ hair, and scorecards for bridge. The inclusion of these unusual materials hints at that wide-eyed fascination with the wider world many college students experience after moving away from home, even centuries ago. The Princess is an amazing example of humans remaining humans throughout the years (or, rather, teenagers being teenagers!).

Another excellent example of student creativity can be found in the wealth of literary journals included in this collection. Published under a variety of titles during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, these journals embody Queens student’s skills in written and visual art. Each issue contains poems, illustrations, and creative nonfiction created by and for Queens’ faculty and students. The issues span as far back as 1917 to as recently as 2024, meaning DigitalNC now has over a century of published material available online!

We are also pleased to announce that a brand new collection of the Queens University student newspaper has been digitized from microfilm for the very first time! The new issues will join an impressive collection of nearly 500 issues already online, ranging from 1920 to 2005. The papers chronicle campus life at Queens from 1961 to 1985, a period where Queens began accepting male students to its hallowed halls for the very first time. You can find the new issues of the Queens University student newspaper online at DigitalNC here.

You can find The Princess, along with the other scrapbooks and administrative records, online now at DigitalNC here. You can also find the literary journals online now at DigitalNC here. Interested in learning more about Queens University of Charlotte? Try exploring their records online at DigitalNC here, or visiting their website online here. Thanks again to our fantastic partners at Queens University for making this collection, and many other amazing pieces of history, available online at DigitalNC.