Wednesday, July 14, 2010

day 26: in with the new

Jenny pulled 4 boxes of unprocessed materials from a different collection for me to start processing since the Riggs collection is temporarily on hold while I wait for supplies. These new boxes are from the Mount Vernon College and Seminary. The collection is divided into 2 separate sets of 2 boxes. The set I started with was documents from the Student Government Association at Mount Vernon College.

I decided to run a box survey through the two boxes first. The collection includes meeting notes, receipts, phone and member lists, documents pertaining to planning events at the school, and other similar papers. They range from years 1982 - 1996. I briefly examined the documents and made notes in my survey, which I'll refer to once I'm ready to begin setting up my processing plan. It shouldn't be too difficult since the collection seems pretty straight forward. I'm excited to handle this collection on my own and am hoping to ask for as little help as possible from Jen.

Jen suggested that I research the history of the school and I decided that once I finished reviewing the materials in the boxes that I would. I started reading a book titled Dear Daughters: A History of Mount Vernon Seminary and College by Nina Mikhalevsky. It's a comprehensive account of the history of the school from its inception in the late 1860s and discusses the transformations and growth of the school throughout its tenure. It's a really interesting book as it includes numerous pictures and personal accounts of girls that attended the school.

My reading and research will help me write a detailed account on the history of the school for researchers when I create the finding aid for the collection. I still have a lot to review from the book and other sources before processing. I think researching the topic that's being archived is really important. It has completely altered my perception of this collection. Initially I was like, how boring! Numerous binders filled with boring papers about events, money, and the college, ugh. After reading only half of the 2-300 page book I feel a lot more connected and invested in this tiny collection. Its made me want to be a part of this woman's college that was unique and exceptional for its time. It was founded in 1875 and initially run entirely by Elizabeth Somers. It attracted girls from all over the United States and abroad, including girls from China and India. The establishment of this successful and highly regarded institution that focused entirely on the education of females was an amazing accomplishment. To help put this era in perspective, this school was created ten years after the end of the Civil War in America. I now have incredible enthusiasm for assisting in the preservation of these documents and the memory of this institution.

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