day 39: searching

Jenny and Jen gave me a new project to work on for the next few days. In an attempt to prepare for future events on GW campus for students and alumni, they requested I search through AT and look for memorabilia, documents, and photographs that would be of interest or relevance to these events. It's incredibly vague and broad. Search through our vast collections and make a list of dates, the item/object/document, and its location for some future event based on any topic that doesn't exist yet.

I decided I should probably learn more about the history of GW before searching through the depths of AT. Through the Gelman library website at GW there is an online encyclopedia that details various events and people in GWs history. I spent the day reading through the various topics and taking notes on key words and events that I should use and search for in AT.

day 38: and now for something completely different

Jen reviewed the last two collections I entered and found only one tiny aspect that needed to be changed. There were two Betacam's in one of the collections and I had listed them as such in AT and not as a folder, which was correct. However, I continued the numbers in the box for the tapes. So I had folders 1,2,3, and then I wrote Betacam 3, and 4. I learned that this implies there should be 2 other tapes if I numbered them 3 and 4. You can have numerous instances of 1 in a box, they just have to be different types, like a folder, object, tape, etc. So I renumbered them 1 and 2.

Today I received my first research request. It required me to search through alumni records of George Washington University (previously known as Columbian College) from the late 1800s and to search through old handwritten, giant ledgers that listed student registration from 1873-1898, student records from 1881-1892, student registration: dental dept 1887-1903, and student registration: law school 1888-1898. I only selected the ones that were within the date range requested by the researcher. Despite all my searching I only found some of the information that was requested.

Once I had finished researching I used the SPEC staff WIKI to export one of the two collections I completed of Mount Vernon College from AT to EAD. I completed one XML file and was able to view it successfully in Firefox. I don't have the permissions to upload the completed file to the website, but will meet with Jen tomorrow to review the EAD process and discuss my research.

day 37: another one bites the dust

I finished entering my third complete collection in AT today. It was the same process I had been doing for the previous collections. I labeled and completed each box and informed Jen that I was finished and ready for her to review my work.

Jen and Jenny decided that it was time for me to do something different, so tomorrow I will have new projects!

day 36: looking good

I finished processing the collection today. There were a lot of pictures from the 1996 winter formal that were interesting to look through. I could definitely tell that the girls were products of the 1990s. I remember wearing the dresses and hairstyles the girls had selected. It was really fun to process. I ended the collection with 2 Betacam tapes that perfectly fit into a slim document box.

This collection contains records from the Office of Student Activities at Mount Vernon College. A lot of it was pretty neat; there were packets from orientations, commencement information, events, student groups, and school newspapers. I used this in the scope notes that I typed up for the AT entry. I used a lot of the same information from the last collection but modified specifics like dates, contents, and historical background. I like seeing everything I've processed into neat and orderly folders and boxes. The best part is knowing that hopefully someday a researcher will be able to use the collection that I took great care organizing and processing.

day 35: finding ways to make it interesting

I finished one box and got started on the second. There wasn't anything too exciting until I found an old lotus notes training floppy disc. It was old school. Luckily, Jen and I decided that we didn't need to keep this floppy because it didn't hold any information about Mount Vernon College. I had forgotten about that consideration when it comes to processing collections. I also discovered a CD-ROM that was just a slide show of information about why all girls schools are beneficial, also not needed to be kept in the collection.

I almost finished processing the second box that was overflowing with folders. I should be able to finish processing this collection this week and start entering the data in AT next week. I'm just moving along!

day 34: folder-ing, folder-ing

Today I worked on processing the two boxes from this second collection. I prearranged everything so it was a simple process, just a little tedious. I check each existing folder for a label or title, review the documents and come up with a relevant title for the new folder to be placed in the collection. I almost finished one of the boxes; I'm getting pretty good at this!

day 33: organized paper chaos

This morning Jen exported and uploaded the updated finding aid for the Riggs family papers. It's exciting to see all the work that I completed and realize the amount that I've accomplished and learned since March. It was even more exciting to know that I can continue to apply this knowledge to more collections. Jen reviewed my work from yesterday and only had three changes. She first suggested I move around the order of my topics in the historical note; to list the most pertinent information about the Student Government Association first. Second, I hadn't filled in the information for the finding aid tab in AT and she directed me to that section in the Wiki, which was very simple. Third, she directed me to the section in the Wiki about adding names and subjects to the entry that are related to the collection. This section holds words that researchers may search for and help provide accurate search results. She had added Mount Vernon College and the Student Government Association for me, but showed me where and how I can add them myself for the next collection I work on. But otherwise she was impressed and pleased with my work.

I started organizing the second collection Jenny had pulled from Mount Vernon College. I made an organized mess in the office before I started processing the records. Since it's only 2 boxes, I can easily move around all the folders and arrange the order before processing. There is significantly more within these two boxes than in the last two. It still shouldn't take a long time to process, but it will be longer than the last set I completed. This picture is what one of the boxes looked like after I organized its contents. Afterward, I started transferring and labeling the records into new folders and boxes.

I was also inadvertently complimented today. We have folders that aren't marked with guides for folding, which makes creasing more interesting. Since we can't get new folders until we use all of these I decided to use as many as possible to get rid of them! I've developed a pretty simple system for creating creases, just by using the edge of the folder as a guide and forcing the crease. I vary sizes depending on how many documents I have per folder but it's always straight since I'm using the folder as a guide. Jen told Chris that I had a really good system and that he should ask me how I manage with these unmarked folders. I felt pretty talented, even for something as simple as creasing a folder. A long time archivist needed my help :)