Bemidji State University's History in a Nutshell

Shaman Shows Off a Secret Collection

By Travis Bosch

February 18th

On the second floor of the library is where many students gather for a quiet place to study. Everyday people walk by a small door on the far left side of the second floor. What they do not know is that inside that door is the special collections room. This is where you can find a man called Bill Shaman at work.

The old wooden shelves filled with books

Bill Shaman stands short statured with a slender build. He has snow-white hair and carries himself like a professional. He speaks intelligently by using a wide ranged vocabulary selection. Shaman has a passion for books especially the ones found in the tiny room.

The special collections room is filled with a bunch of old books on wooden shelves. The room has a very antique look to it and the old age of the stuff inside the room is clearly visible with ones eye. Shaman talks highly of the books inside the special collections room as he considers them to be like a treasure.

                Shaman explains that most of the books found in this tiny room are “special” and “rare.” If something were to happen to these old books they would be irreplaceable.

               While Shaman was sharing his excitement of the books he went on to explain about primary and secondary sources. Most people think that the material they read to consume information is a primary source when really it is a secondary source. The primary source would be the person’s notes that were used to create the interesting to read finished copy.

The black cage that holds Shamans favorite book

                Pretty well everything Bemidji States Library has to offer is a secondary source. It’s only in the special archives room that you will find primary sources. Shaman says, “My job is often lonely.” Not many students attending the school have any interest in the special collections room or even know that it exists.

                Shaman has a black metal cabinet with a lock on it inside the room. The cabinet has got a holed cage look to it and it contains Shamans favorite book, which is a bible from the 16^th century. The King James Bible was said to be published in 1611. Shaman disagrees with this fact as he thinks that the exact date is probably a couple years off.            

                Bill Shaman likes this bible so much because there weren’t many mistakes with the translation of the material. In most cases there would be quite a few mistakes. He enjoys learning about the history that the bible has in it. He doesn’t like to read into the bible messages though because he is not convinced to believe in one religion.

        

                These archives found in Bemidji State University’s library hold many more exciting things including all of the schools rich history. Next time while on the second floor of the library instead of passing the special collections room stop in, learn something and make Bill Shamans life less lonely.