Skip to Main Content

Archives After Dark Resource Guide

A guide for participants preparing for Archives After Dark

Event Details

Friday, January 24th, 2020, 7pm-7am, Noel Studio for Academic Creativity

  • We hope that Archives After Dark will be both an enjoyable experience and a unique opportunity to get to know other creative students on campus. All participants will be expected to act in accordance with EKU’s student code of conduct and all EKU Libraries rules and policies.
  • On the night of the event EKU Libraries will provide food and refreshments. If you so choose, you are responsible for bringing blankets, pillows, and any other items that you will require for rest breaks, which we encourage so you can remain comfortable and creative.
  • Computer access, scrap paper, and writing utensils for brainstorming and outline development will be provided; however, if you intend on producing a creative product other than a written piece you must bring your own materials and supplies. To ensure that your creative process is library-friendly, please bring plastic sheeting or other protective covering for library tables and carpet.

Advice from Previous Participants

We're Here to Help

  • Trust your instincts. You may go into this experience unsure if you can do it, or worried that your ideas are not going to be interesting enough, but know this: You can do it, and whatever you create will be wonderful. Work when you feel the inspiration and go after your ideas without relenting, and when you feel like you need to take a walk or have a snack, go do that. Trust what you feel that you need to do, and you will get everything done just the way it should be.
  • Take a nap before Archives After Dark!
  • Five Tips:
  1. Bring a blanket.
  2. Save often if you're using anything digital.
  3. Have an idea of what you want to do before you go in, but be flexible to changes.
  4. Nap before you go, you'll be able to focus better with a bit of sleep under your belt.
  5. Get to know the people you're working with and be open to advice and advising.
  • If you're doing a creative project make sure you have all of your materials! Double check for things that are easy to forget like glue, tape, and scissors. A good pair of headphones or a Bluetooth speaker is also nice to have. Have fun!
  • I would highly recommend that you come prepared to be up all night, but certainly plan to take nap breaks as well. I did not take a nap prior to the last AAD, which would have helped my productivity throughout the night. I had class all day, and then ate dinner and came to the Noel Studio and I feel that it would have been much more efficient for me to have taken an hour nap prior to coming to the event.
  • Come with a game plan and a time strategy. I was most productive in the first three and a half or so hours, with my productivity falling each hour after that. I wish I had planned for that more effectively. Also budget out nap times, even twenty minutes can help rest your eyes enough to proof a paper and catch things that need to be expanded upon.
  • Don’t plan to do anything the day afterward. I did AAD and then slept for about four hours, then moved my sister-in-law in Frankfort and did not get back until midnight that night… It was a rather miserable day for me after AAD, because I had not expected that it would drain me physically as much as it did. This is not just a game of mental stamina, it also takes an element of physical endurance as well. With this being said, it was well worth the experience and I highly recommend it to anybody who is interested!