First Week

Hello to all those interested in Blogging Hoosier History!  I will be publishing this blog as part of my internship in the Indiana University Archives.  Though I do not have much experience in blogging, I am no stranger to writing so this promises to be fun for me and I hope for any readers out there.  I will be posting an entry at least once per week, hopefully more as time allows.

I should begin by talking a bit about myself.  I am beginning the second year of the Master of Library Science program at Indiana University Bloomington, where I am working toward a Specialization in Archives and Records Management.  I do not have any prior experience working in an archive or records center; in fact, I have more experience working on the print and publication side of things!  However, I have always enjoyed historical institutions, archives, and museums.  I am an avid reader of historical literature, specifically works related to Indiana state history.  While earning my degree in history from Purdue University, I decided that if I loved history, then working toward the preservation of the historical record was right for me.  Thus far at IU, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning an array of archival theory and concepts, and I am eager to take those ideas out of the classroom and put them to use.  I have a lot to learn about actually doing archival work!

My supervisor for my internship is the director of the Office of University Archives and Records Management, Phil Bantin.  To begin, Phil went through the basic strategies for processing a collection and discussed the best ways for a newbie like me to begin.  Like all interns at the archives, I will be creating a processing plan prior to undertaking actual processing of the collection.  The processing plan is designed as an exercise to make one think about the organization, arrangement, and any special needs of a collection.  Indeed, I am certain each collection poses its own unique set of challenges.

In any case, I was assigned the paper of former IU Professor of History Walter Nugent as my first collection!  There are dozens of boxes of material associated with this collection to process.  As I began to work through a collection for the first time, I found it both exciting and a bit overwhelming.  However, the best thing to do is to jump right in.  In order to help myself gather a clear idea of potential series or even sub-series may be present, I took notes on folder lists and thematic content.  Dr. Nugent has written several books during his career, and I found it helpful that notes and source materials were mostly organized by research project.  The collection also contains a wealth of multimedia, including photographs, slides, CD-ROMs, VHS, audio cassettes, and a Zip100 drive.  I have a lot to learn about processing and preservation practices for all these data formats.

In my first week I have analyzed a few dozen boxes of material and began to see a general processing plan take shape in my mind.  In my second week, I hope to complete my first run through the collection and then write up a formal processing plan.  I am certain every week interning in the archives will bring something new for me!