Week Two in Review

This week I almost finished the Jewish Studies Program records.  It's so close!  I spent the first part of the week arranging the container list based on my processing plan, then I rearranged the folders in the boxes.  IU Archives attempts to adhere to More Product Less Process by not re-foldering unless it's necessary.  This does greatly speed up the process as most of the files are in good shape.  I did run into a small problem with the adhesive labels that came on the folders.  The problem being that adhesives don't really stay adhesive but instead fall off leaving you label-less.  Files that once had labels then had to be relabeled, but luckily the container list made this pretty easy.  I also began removing photographs from the collection so that they can go upstairs to live with Brad, the photograph curator.  I made a copy of each photograph to leave in the file and copies of identifying  information to go with the photos.  I also recorded from where photographs (and negatives) were removed on the finding and recorded it in the separated materials portion of the finding aid.  It's important to track where things are so that things can be found later.

I also spent time working on the description parts of the finding aid.  I wrote an abstract, a scope and content note, and an administrative history.  The abstract was the easiest for me as it was just a short description of the program and the collection and I feel like quite familiar with both now.  The scope and content not was not hard, but the language feels weird.  All I really had to do was write how the collection is organized and where things are.  To write the administrate history I used the reference file on the program. The archive has various files on IU departments, programs, events, buildings, and some people.  This one was filled with newspaper clipping about the program from over the years that provide good historical information.  I also explored the program's website to get some more current information.

Now what is left.  I still need to go through and check the floppy and zip disks for important information and then possibly remove those.  I also need to reorder the folders some more.  I tried my best to stick with original order.  Original order shows how the individual, department, or program kept their records, which can be useful for a researcher to observe.  However, original order doesn't always make sense when you are trying to find something.  That was the case, as I feared it might be, with this collection.  At first I was excited because there actually appeared to be an order to the original order.  But, the subject files contain a number of materials that should actually be contained within the administrative files series instead.  I will spend Monday trying to sort that out.  How it is ordered now may have made sense when it was used in the office of the Jewish Studies Program, but now that the files will be used for research a slightly differed order will be more beneficial to the researcher. 

If all goes well I can start on a new collection next week.  It will be personal papers and I'm excited to see how this differs from the program records.  I also need to get to work on my readings that I need to do for my internship.  I tried to pick articles out and went to the SAA's journal American Archivist to get some ideas.  The problem is that about four articles seemed really interesting and useful and they are all on different topics.  I may end up with an eclectic array of readings.