day 02: frustrated

Today I finished processing the remaining correspondences to John Beverley Riggs from World War II. Jen was busy in a meeting, so I decided to be proactive and see if I could figure out what I should do next. While I was reviewing my box surveys I realized that I was no where near finished with letters to/from J.B. Riggs. Although a large portion of letters had been grouped into two boxes, there were still more letters randomly stored in other boxes. Once I dug out the other boxes and found the letters, I realized there were letters that started from 1930s through the 1970s. I had just finished numbering boxes and folders for letters starting from 1942 through 1945. I also noticed there was a gap between October 1945 and January 1946, that I should've paid more attention to. The letters that were written after 1945 I don't consider a problem for the current boxes and folders that I had processed. I could continue processing them chronologically without issue. The letters that were written in 1945 and earlier however, presented a problem.

I had already taken the time to number boxes and folders. Renumbering boxes isn't a big deal, since there are only 4 so far, but each box has 70 numbered folders. Inserting these letters into these boxes requires a lot of shifting and renumbering, and I realized a lot of time that I have now potentially wasted. I was incredibly frustrated, but luckily it was time to head out and consider the potential options I had for reorganizing these letters. Also, first thing on Thursday I have decided to discuss my thoughts and ideas with Jen before processing anything further.