Frustration. Confusion. Trepidation. All these things I felt at the onset of my internship. I longed for administrative files from a student group, or financial records from a campus department. Anything more basic than what I found before me. Nevertheless, there was work to be done, and I was determined to do my part. The sheer volume of materials combined with various restrictions, formats, and miscellaneous personal items made for one confused intern. Yet, one thought kept coming back to me: if I can do this, then I would prove to myself that I could do this job.
After a few weeks of studying the Nugent papers, I began to formulate the overall arrangement of the collection. I recognized common themes and slotted documents into series based upon these. I decided to create a massive list of all folders in all 79 boxes. From this list, which took at least 20 hours to create, I noted publications. Then I recognized professional organizations. Soon, I also began to see general correspondence, logs, special projects, academic positions, and finally, personal items. Seven series were born from those boxes, and once I had a plan, I had something to work from. Happily, my processing plan was approved! So I began to process. I opened the first box, pulled out the first folder, and looked at it.
I had no clue what to do next.
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