Diving In!

Week 2

I spent the second week of my internship diving into my materials. I finished familiarizing myself with the contents of the remaining five boxes, so I now have a pretty good sense of what I am working with. More importantly, I have a clearer sense of how I can organize these materials, both physically and on the future online archive. However, I am already discovering an issue that could impact the remainder of my work.

I have found that the library’s unofficial archive is not only undocumented, it is unorganized as well. While the materials in four of the boxes are very easily identified (i.e. photo albums, Accession Books, Collection Records, Day Books, etc), there are six boxes that essentially contain loose-leaf documents that are much more difficult to sort through. Three of those boxes contain materials that generally relate to each other, even if they aren’t necessary in any particular order. The contents of the remaining three boxes, however, seem to have no internal logic. It’s almost as if these boxes are the archival equivalent of the kitchen drawer that contains the miscellaneous detritus of the house. While the boxes include a few folders, the majority of the information is in the form of individual papers, which will take time to identify and sort.

I also met with Sophia (my supervisor) to work out some of the archive documentation details. Before I upload these documents online, I need to create an archive documenting these materials, and that archive needs to meet library standards.  Sophia referred me to a PDF document that outlines the proper method of documentation of archival materials, developed and supported by the International Council on Archives (available at http://files.archivists.org/pubs/DACS2E-2013.pdf). I reviewed this document, focusing on the various levels of information I need to provide for each document I add to the archive. I now have a fairly good idea of how this archive will look going forward.