Last Week

I just finished up my last week of internship hours.  That's right, 180 hours just flew by!  I spent the week wrapping up projects and almost made it.  There is still a bit more of Briscoe to clean-up, but I've been asked if I want to work on some archives hours to finish it if there are any available!  I've really enjoyed my internship and all of the support I've had in making me more prepared to be a real archivist.

Last week I mentioned that I was looking through the chronological files in Briscoe's Dean of Faculties Papers.  I went through about eight of the larger folders in a box and about half had one sensitive document.  The call was made to go ahead and restrict these in the same manner as the subject files.  I wrote up a little thing in the scope and content note. 

Several files have been restricted, including lettered files in the subject files and the chronological files series.  These files were restricted because of a few sensitive documents; however, there are other materials in the folders that are not restricted and are of research value.  Materials include correspondence about students, faculty and the university during World War II and about university events, research, and daily life during Briscoe’s tenure as Dean of Faculties.  These files can still be requested for use and the restricted materials will be removed at that time.

I really hope that researchers aren't detered if they need the files because there is some really good stuff in there!  It is just too much to go through at this time.  It will be better to just do small amounts as needed.

I also got a new box of Briscoe files to be interfiled in with the rest!  They were files kept by the old archives in the President's office.  As papers came in they would be collected and labeled by the date that the folder was created.  Now I had to take these the old archival files and mix them with the new.  Keeping them together wasn't as important because their order was artificially created by the archives at a later date.

Most contents of the old folders were absorbed by folders that already existed in the chronological files.  The ones that filled in holes I went ahead and put into new folders.  The older folders were few in number and looked out of place next to the new folders.  It wasn't too much more processing.

 I also went over the Bureau of Public Discussion finding aid that Carrie had made notes on for me.  I did some editing and it is now off to Phil for review!  There were a few files that could have been removed earlier because they were just telephone records and financial statements.  These were things Carrie said shouldn't have gotten to the archives anyway.  I also put labels on all of the boxes in both the Bureau of Public Discussion Records and the Briscoe Papers.  I really like the look of boxes with new labels. 

It was a great semester and I'm looking forward to more time in the archives.  I still have to do a presentation about my internship on Monday, so maybe if I go through blog withdraw I can blog about that.  Thank you to Carrie, Dina, Phil, Kate, and Brad for sharing their expertise with me and giving me a great archival experience!  Now for one last semester and job hunting.

Reading Response Nine: Digital Considerations

College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice

Chapter 2- “The Impact of Information Technology on Academic Archives in the Twenty-first Century”

By Helen R. Tibbo

As the title suggests, this chapter is about how personal computers and network technologies have transformed society and has given users heightened expectations for instant and highly personalized products.  This chapter focuses on the growing need to collect and preserve digital materials, increasing user expectations regarding access to digital resources and the changing landscape of public service, and the demand for digital projects, digital preservation, and digital curation.

Tibbo points out that archivists have the important question of how to ensure the authenticity of records in digital form.  However, she continues, there is a lack of discussion on the subject right now and few repositories included digital formats in mission statements and collection development policies.  It is important that archivists be involved in digital preservation research and the building of preservation systems to ensure that archival perspectives and priorities are addressed.

Themes that ran throughout this chapter, and many of the readings for this semester, are that archivists need to work with other professionals to obtain their goals and they need to expand their skills.  Partnerships with information scientists and technologists building the systems are important in this context to ensure that the systems meet archival needs.  At the same time, archivists need to be able to understand the systems and the considerations of undertaking digitization projects and providing remote access.  Therefore, archivists need to be equipped with a high level of information technology skills and a deep understanding of archival principles. 

I am glad that I am taking both digital curation and electronic records management next semester after reading this chapter!  These skills are essential and will add to my experience working with technology in archives, other technology classes, and my archival principle courses.  My professor and the archives director, Phil Bantin, was actually mentioned in this article for his work in electronic records management, so I feel like I will be in good hands.

Tibbo,, Helen R. “The Impact of Information Technology on Academic Archives in the Twenty-first Century.” In College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice, edited by Christopher J. Prom and Ellen D. Swain. Chicago : Society of American Archivists, 2008.

Reading Response Eight: Outreach at College and University Archives

College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice

Chapter 7- “Perspectives on Outreach at College and University Archives.”

By Tamar G. Chute

The concept of outreach is quite broad, but it is essential to the survival of the archives for both use and funding.    There can be direct outreach in the form of activities and programs sponsored or indirect outreach in the form of word of mouth and praise.  This chapter covers different types of outreach that college and university archives have or can attempt.  The chapter contains a great deal of information to take in and refer back to.

One of my favorite suggestions was using the alumni magazine.  The archives could sponsor an “ask the archivist” section in which an archivist could answer questions, write a short article about some of the history of the university, or highlight a collection.  This could help to gain wider interest and illicit donations from alumni who may have similar materials to those highlighted.   The basis of the suggestions outlined seem to be that highlighting archival materials in a variety of ways from tours, exhibits, brochures, and aiding anniversary celebrations is a great way to gain new interest and new materials.  A tour of the archives for a class in undergrad is actually how I initially discovered the archives and began using it.  This was a history class, though, and this chapter actually encourages archives to reach out to disciplines less likely to hear about the archives, such as English, architecture, speech, and journalism classes.  It is important to think of the wide variety of audiences who could utilize the archives.

The chapter also discussed target audiences, including students, alumni, faculty, administration and staff, and the local public.  The faculty stay longer than students and are also a direct link to students, so it is important to make them aware of archival resources.   Outreach to administration is also important as they are the ones who allocate the funds.   Something I had not thought about as much, however, was outreach to staff.  Chute points out that the staff is usually responsible for the transfer of records and therefore should be informed of what is important to transfer.

To wrap up, Chute discusses evaluating outreach and the importance of setting obtainable goals.  Possible conflicts are also discussed, such as budgeting and staffing.  Outreach has to be balanced with other activities going on in the archives.  However, it also includes other activities, such as reference, exhibits, and teaching, and is essential for obtaining funds and new materials.

Chute, Tamar G. “Perspectives on Outreach at College and University Archives.” In College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice, edited by Christopher J. Prom and Ellen D. Swain. Chicago : Society of American Archivists, 2008.

It's Christmas Time in the Archives!

The songs have been being hummed and sung by Phil since early October (and occasionally other staff accidentally), so it's felt a bit like Christmas for a while, but now the decorations are up too!  I was working at the desk on Monday while Phil happily put the decorations up in the entry area.  We have the beloved President Herman B Wells as Santa and a Christmas Tree on the table.  It's very festive!













In actual archival work, the Newell and Eleanor Long Papers finding aid been approved!  I had to go back and fix a few little things.  There was a question about a course that I noted Newell Long as teaching, so I went into the course catalogs and got more information on that.  I also added a couple of missing dates.  It's exciting to see things getting wrapped up.  I'm glad that I was able to complete it and see the end result. 

Carrie and I talked to Phil about my clean-up on the Briscoe Collection this week, as well.  We talked about how I was finding letters of recommendation and if they were still covered under FERPA.  Apparently FERPA protection ends at the death of the individual, but IU counsel interprets the law as never expiring.  Therefore, grades and letters of recommendation, etc., should always be protected.  Even if we were to only do the lifetime rule, that would have to account for a life of 120 years, just to be sure, so these documents would still be young, only being 70 years old.  So if you accounted for people being 20 or 30 year old students they would only be 90 to 100 now.  Although the risk is minimal, we have to do the right thing still.  I surveyed eight boxes and most of the problem documents were in the folders with correspondence designated by the senders last name.  It was decided that these would all just be restricted.  I was concerned about the good content in these folders not being seen, though.  We're going to attempt to remedy this by giving good description about why the folders are restricted and make sure that people aren't scared away.  If the folders are ever requested they will be gone through at that time.  This saves me time now not having to go through every lettered folder in every box.  It has been very time consuming thus far.

I also encountered a similar issue with the chronological files of correspondence in the same collection.  There are about 5 boxes with these files divided by month.  I really didn't want to have to restricted these all, so I began sampling a few folders to see if there was anything of concern.  Thus far I've only found one document and it seems to be an anomaly.  I may check a bit more, then I'll finish going through and pulling folders and shifting. 

Reflecting on Reference

I feel like I did a variety of tasks again last week. I finished interfiling the additional accessions into the Bureau of Public Discussion Collection and rearranged the folders into new subseries in the Program Records.  I also remembered to go back and edit the scope and content note to reflect the new order.  I took some time to look through some of the folders in Briscoe for sensitive materials again.  I have discovered that it is the folders with correspondence with names or letters on them that need to be looked at more thoroughly.  Additionally I did some reference, which is always fun.

I helped Dina look through folders for a reference question and I pulled audio tapes from a collection for another reference question.  I recently read a chapter about outreach (reading response to come) which discussed reference as a form of outreach.  While I was performing those tasks for those reference requests I thought about how that is really true.  The patron who gets a full and quick response is going to be satisfied with their experience.  I find that a lot of times people are even surprised by the amount of information that they can obtain from the archives.  A satisfied user is not only more likely to use the archives again but also more likely to tell others about their positive experience.  Good reference services can therefore play an important role in increasing usage and aiding more people in research.

There was another instance this week when a student wandered into the archives.  The archives are located on the 4th floor of the library, off of the stacks.  This girl was trying to find a book but couldn't and wondered if we could help her.  I was watching the desk and couldn't leave, but my fellow intern Mike was in the reading room, so I sent him to help her.  It turned out that she was reading the call number wrong, so it became an educational opportunity.  Hopefully she will now have a positive view of at least the library and its services.  It also underscores the fact that archivists still serve an instructional role in the archives.  It may be talking about the services, educating students on how to use primary documents for research, of just helping people find their way around the library.

Reading Response Seven: Documenting Diverse Populations

College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice

Chapter 5- “Giving It More Than the Old College Try: Documenting Diverse Populations in College and University Archives.”

By Kathryn M. Neal

This chapter is about documenting those who are traditionally underrepresented in archival repositories, focusing in on university archives.  Neal states that it is the university’s responsibility to attempt to interpret the times to meet the developing needs of society.  In order to do this the archives should also attempt to collect materials for diverse groups.  Citing Elizabeth Kaplan, however, best efforts cannot fully capture a collective identity of a group because there are individuals within the group with different identities.  Therefore, collecting materials does not guarantee the documentation of the true of full collective experience.  Archivists should attempt to document and represent several aspects of campus life.

The point that stood out to me the most is that archivists cannot simply wait for records documenting the lives of the traditionally underrepresented people to come into the archives.  Instead archivists need to be proactive in seeking these out.  They need to learn where to look and who to ask.  Forming relationships and establishing trust is also important.  Some groups may be distrustful, so first developing a relationship and understanding can help both the archives and that group document their history.  Cultivating allies such as subject specialists and professors can also help in gaining records.  Outreach is also an important tool.  Specialized subject guides and exhibits can build awareness.  Showing what the currently held at the archives demonstrates to others who may have similar materials that what they have is historically significant and could be donated.  I feel like people do not always understand what archives have and that the diary that they have from his or her time at the university would be a treasure to the archives. 

Another good point raised is that oral history projects can be a good way to fill gaps in the collection.  While I was at Ball State they digitized the Other Side of Middle Town Oral History Project which documented the African-American Community in Muncie.  Currently IU is working on a project to collect oral histories from alumni.  Hopefully this project will be able to collect from students of different backgrounds to gain a full, rich history of Indiana University.  Neal ends by saying that pursuing additional collections and projects may seem daunting, but it is important to stay viable and to fulfill the mission of the university archives.

Neal, Kathryn. “Giving It More Than the Old College Try: Documenting Diverse Populations in College and University Archives.” In College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice, edited by Christopher J. Prom and Ellen D. Swain. Chicago : Society of American Archivists, 2008.

Between the Bureau and Briscoe

I worked on the Bureau of Public Discussion again this week.  I fixed some missing dates on the finding aid and ended up moving some things around again.  Items such as cash vouchers and requisitions were also deemed unnecessary to keep.  After looking through quickly to make sure, those items were removed.  I also found out that there is more stuff to be added.  One box is from a program the Bureau worked on jointly with the League of Women Voters.  I've decided to make this a subseries within the project files.  With that will also be subseries for the Package Library Service, reference requests, and a general one.  There are also other boxes which have some Package Library Briefs.  Neither sets seem to be complete runs, but by combining the two I think we will have everything.  There are more copies of some of the briefs than what we need though, so those will be discarded.  All of the adding and subtracting is going to take some shifting, so there's that to look forward too!

I also continued to look through Briscoe for sensitive materials.  It's really a lot of fun to look through because it's World War II era.  There is a lot of correspondence regarding professors and students leaving for the service and how to handle this.  There was also discussion about which nationalities should be allowed to attend the university and who should get financial help.  It is really interesting to see the decisions made and the thoughts behind them.  It's also exciting when you can flip through a folder and find correspondence from Alfred Kinsey sending along his studies in human sex behaviors to Briscoe to send to Herman Wells.  I try not to get to involved and read too much, but I do have to read enough to make a privacy call.  Also, it is good to get to know the collection better, at least when I am in my permanent job.  That will enable me to better help patrons. 

It seems like a lot of letters of recommendations for former students of Briscoe when he was a chemistry professor are in his dean of faculties papers, but since he doesn't have personal papers there they will stay.  They are 70 years old, so I'm not sure if a restriction is necessary, but I'm flagging them for now until I get the final word.  Even though it's before FERPA, there is an ethical obligation to protect people.  Carrie told me to think about what I would and would not want people to see.  On the other side of that, though, many of these people are likely deceased and it is interesting to see where people are applying and how they were judged at that time.  I feel like Briscoe's considerations about what are important qualities could possibly have research value.  He was a bit harsh...