Moore Papers and More: Reflections on an Internship

My ten-week internship this past summer in the Arrangement and Description unit of the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies has been an incredible experience. I graduated in December 2013 from the University of Maryland at College Park with a Master of Library Science (MLS) with a specialization in archives and, prior to my arrival at the Russell in May, I had completed a number of internships in the archives field. My experience here, however, has been unmatched in many ways. It has been amazing to see the inner workings of this university special collections department. Although the staff is not large in number, it more than makes up for it in the effort, dedication, hard work, and enthusiasm that they bring to the workplace on a daily basis.

My primary task for the internship was to process the papers of Powell A. Moore, a native Georgian with a lengthy career in legislative affairs, public policy and international relations. While staff described it as “not a particularly large collection,” it was nearly fifty linear feet of material, much larger than anything else I had processed thus far in my career.

Early on in my internship, I came to appreciate new ways of doing things when organizing and describing collections. Most of the other places where I interned did not adhere strictly to the “More Product, Less Process” approach, which stresses organizing and describing collections quickly and efficiently to make more collections available faster. The goal at those other places was to capture as much information as possible and provide extremely detailed descriptions for every item. Of course, every repository is different in terms of its resources, mission and users. The Russell Library would not be able to open as many collections in a timely manner if it provided item-level detail for all its collections. Most of its researchers do not require that time-consuming description. The Special Collections Libraries at UGA are also blessed with a climate-controlled high-density storage vault where conditions are kept at an ideal 50 degrees F and 30% humidity year-round.

The Powell A. Moore Papers were the right type of challenge at this stage of my career. I had to balance my desire to put every item in the collection “in its place” with the goal of creating an organizational scheme for the papers that could be generally described to the researcher in a finding aid or guide to the collection. It wasn’t easy!  Occasionally spending extra time processing parts of the collection paid off in terms of discovering content, but it did not always reveal as much about the collection’s structure and organization as I would have liked. I learned to gauge the amount of research value that was added from the time I spent on different parts of the collection and adjusted my efforts accordingly.

The average person who knows anything about archives work often draws the conclusion that the work is a solitary task. I got a taste for the importance of donor relations while working on the Moore Papers when it came time to make decisions about what items should or should not be retained for the collection, what archivists call appraisal. Through emails and phone calls, I had the opportunity to communicate with Mr. Moore about items from his papers that I determined did not have significant research value. It was an invaluable experience to be able to educate the donor on the theory and practice behind these decisions and to make arrangements for these materials to be handled according to his wishes.

Another huge takeaway was the use of electronic tools and technology when processing archival collections. My use of Archivists’ Toolkit made it possible to create the EAD-compliant finding aid for the Moore papers. I was able to accession an addition to the Eleanor Smith Papers and begin to create a process plans for the papers of Georgia State Senator Eric Johnson. I also was involved with processing the electronic records of the Georgia Project, Inc. and accessioning the electronic records of both Moore and Johnson. I expect to see a lot of exciting things occur with electronic records in archives in the near future.

In conclusion, I want to thank the staff at the Russell Library for giving me a top notch experience that I will not forget. Their blend of friendliness, humor, and professionalism that I found there is not something easily duplicated. I feel privileged to have learned so much about the archival profession from such a wonderful and talented group of people.

Post by Mark Walters, Political Papers Processing Intern, Russell Library

Memorex: Adventures in Unusual Formats

As 1974 was drawing to a close, Powell A. Moore wrote a letter to President Gerald Ford resigning from his post as Deputy Special Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. Moore had been a so-called “Nixon leftover,” having stayed on after Ford entered office. Perhaps he was following standard protocol or perhaps he wanted to use the latest technology, but Moore’s decision to use a Memorex magnetic card as the media to preserve the letter he had written to the President presented me with my first encounter with this piece of 1970s technology while processing the Powell A. Moore Papers during my internship this summer.

A Memorex memory card containing Powell Moore's letter resigning from the
Ford administration.

So what exactly is a magnetic card? To me it looks like a piece of undeveloped film or microfilm without any images, except in the shape and size of a punch card minus the punches. (Without “Powell’s Resignation letter to the President” written on the self-proclaimed “Flexible Folder” in which the magnetic card was enclosed, I would have had no idea what content it contained.) According to the promotional material I discovered online, Memorex released a new “writable surface” magnetic card for use with IBM’s second generation Mag Card II, Mag Card Selectric, and Mag Card Executive typewriters in early 1974. So in order to understand what properties this card has, I needed to look at how the equipment transferred information to and retrieved information from this magnetic card.

All of IBM’s Mag Card typewriters stored information on magnetic cards and had the ability to erase errors by backspacing and typing over the error, automatically saving the new data to the card. New content could be inserted into the text by only typing the changes; what is already stored will appear without the need to retype it. Editing and revising the document happens on the card, not on the sheet of paper. But unlike later word processing typewriters, there was no screen; your only frame of reference was your paper. You had buttons to help you navigate by paragraph, line, and word to get to the location where the correction was to be made. Once errors were corrected and your draft finalized, the typewriter typed your document automatically from the information stored on the card at a rate much faster than even the most skilled typist could type.

It is not possible to tell which type of IBM typewriter Moore used to prepare his letter by examining the magnetic card alone. And the Russell Library does not have the typewriter that could tell us if the card is still viable. In large part because of the cost – the Mag Card II Typewriter was priced at $11,000 in 1973 -- the typewriters and card reader systems would have been restricted to use in an office environment. And the typewriters were never produced on the scale that personal computers came to be, making the format even more obsolete than the floppy disk.

Moore’s position with the federal government led to the creation of a record on this technological format. Had he not used a Memorex magnetic card to preserve his resignation letter, I would not have learned about this small technological current that rose and crested in the 1970s.

Post by Mark Walters, Political Papers Processing Intern

Mark Walters, Russell Library summer intern.

Reflections on an Archival Internship

This summer I spent ten weeks processing papers as an intern at the Russell Library. I am a graduate student from Auburn University (War Eagle!) but live in Athens and was selected for the internship. I was hired to process a collection donated by former Athens Mayor, Heidi Davison, from start-to-finish. With Mayor Davison’s papers I learned how to inventory a collection, work with accession records, appraise materials, process papers, create a finding aid and upload it to the library’s system. Heidi Davison’s papers were well-organized and with the help of electronic records guru and archivist Adriane Hanson, I finished the collection quickly. The lessons I learned from processing Mayor Davison’s papers allowed me to have the confidence in my own ability to work as an archivist in training.

I gained even more experience by processing three more collections over the course of the internship. Each collection was different and offered its own unique learning opportunities. The Phillip T. and Maria Alicia Crespo Parkerson Collection  required less processing than Mayor Davison’s records but a more personal biographical approach. The Parkerson papers documented the family’s travels in official and unofficial capacities and unlike the Mayor’s records these papers offered personal insight into the family and how they lived in Latin America. The John C. Foster, Sr. Papers documented the work of former Georgia State Senator. These papers required more physical processing than any of the other collections; some folders had to be removed due to mold, rusted paper clips had to be removed, and two boxes of loose speeches needed to be corralled into order.

The last collection I processed was the smallest and left me most perplexed about its organization. The Melvin Hill Files on the Select Committee to Revise State Constitution  papers were originally housed in large binders in five boxes. When the materials were removed from the binders the collection measured 2.5 linear feet. This collection was definitely a learning experience as I had never processed any collection of this size. It was new to have to give up some of the archival training of creating description and content notes and let the collection stand on its own. Some of the most helpful and meaningful experiences this summer have come from actually applying “more product less process” standards (meaning that we use flexible, efficient processing techniques).

I think the most important knowledge imparted to me through my time at the Russell Library this summer was what you can actually achieve when you process minimally. Four new collections are now available and open to researchers thanks to my work over three months time. These collections are now ready for students, researchers, historians, and others interested in Georgia’s history. I think one of the most important and satisfying aspects of being a processing archivist is the knowledge that you have created access to materials that were previously closed to the public. I could not have chosen a better environment to work and learn than the Russell Library. These past ten weeks have afforded me an immeasurable amount of professional and practical experience as well as personal enjoyment. All of the staff of the Russell Library were friendly, helpful, and made my internship a very memorable ten weeks.

Post by Angelica Marini, Processing Intern, Russell Library

Time Well Spent

For days 7, 8, and 9 of my Georgia Archives Institute I was an intern at the National Archives Southeast Regional Branch in Atlanta. Seated next door to the Georgia Archives, NARA moved into this space in 2005. The facility is new and very nice, and has ample space for meetings and other public programs (which always catches my eye), as well as seemingly endless storage space. All told the facility has four storage bays with a combined capacity of 200,000 cubic feet.

NARA houses series of records, not collections. According to the main website, of all documents and materials created by the federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that the NARA keeps them forever. In compliance with a set schedule, records are transferred from the creating body to federal record centers and then on to various regional branches throughout the country. NARA Atlanta is home to records relating to the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The nature of these collections is quite different from the manuscript collections at the Russell Library, and the processes used to arrange and describe them is also quite a bit different. That aside, I still learned a good deal during my three days at NARA. My classmate Melissa and I were ably guided/supervised by Rob Richards, one of the archivists on staff. Rob was generous with his time and made sure that we had a great experience. He fielded every question we threw his way, addressed our individual interests (when possible), and showed us every nook and cranny in the building. So thanks Rob!

To begin, let me tell you about our project. Rob pulled two boxes of customs house records from Mobile, Alabama, ranging in date from 1826-1906, related to legal matters. Melissa and I spent a day and a half going through all the folders. We arranged the correspondence chronologically and re-housed everything in acid free, legal size folders. When we came across particularly delicate items, we placed them in plastic sleeves. When we came across particularly dirty documents, or those which could in some way be damaging to other items in the folder, we separated them using acid free paper. And finally, we moved everything into new legal sized archival boxes. The legal sized envelopes and boxes allowed us to remedy some crowding issues, as many of the documents had been folded previously in order to fit into smaller folders. Through this process we were able to create a better micro-environment for the records.

Rob told us to move through the folders at our own pace and insert place holders around any items that might be of particular value to researchers. Because these were customs records from the early 19th century, he mentioned specifically that items relating to the slave trade would be interesting to note. Most of the documents were correspondence between the U.S. Treasury and customs officials in Mobile regarding debts of various individuals and reports of various customs violations. Reports noted offenses like mail theft, assault and battery on the high seas, mutiny, and illegal slave trade. The handwriting was difficult to make out, but the further we got into the project, the better I became at skimming letters and looking for those with good research value. NARA does not dispose of any documents, so there was no appraisal in our process. In truth, Rob told us that he could have gone through these records in about an hour - so clearly there is a learning curve, because we took a day and a half.

So, what did we find? Glad you asked – because this part really rocked. I came across several letters regarding the attempted invasion of Cuba in the 1840s and 1850s. I tagged them because they stuck out, in overall content, from the other correspondence which related largely to unpaid debts. Rob told us that during this period proponents of slavery made “expeditions” to Cuba, Nicaragua, and other nearby territories in an attempt to make them U.S. possessions that could be brought into the union as new slave states. Several of these letters referenced William Walker and were appeals from the U.S. Department of State to local authorities in Mobile to be on the lookout for Walker and other unsavory characters who were attempting these ill-advised expeditions into Spanish territories.

My final find on the second day was the best. Rob checked in at the end of the afternoon to see what else we found that might be of interest and I mentioned a letter that referenced a slave ship that arrived in Savannah in 1858. When I told him the name of the ship was the Wanderer, he flipped out! The Wanderer was reportedly the last slave ship to arrive in the United States, bringing just over four hundred slaves from Africa into the port at Savannah, Georgia in 1858. They were then dispersed to states throughout the South. Rob has been culling through customs records from various states and creating a special finding aid of all materials related to the Wanderer and thought he had collected all there were to be found.

I don’t think Rob dreamed we would find such interesting material in this very small group of records, but the big finds were exciting for us! They capped off an already great experience. We spent our final day entering the records into the NARA database (ARC), so with any luck our hard work will be approved and accessible on the web in a few weeks.

When we reported back to our classmates on Friday about our experience, we had some truly interesting things to share. Beyond our project, we were able to offer a very different perspective on archives, as the records NARA manages and their methods for doing so are vastly different from the habits of university archives. Long blog post short – new perspectives, great research finds, helpful mentor = great experience at NARA Atlanta. I’ll post my overall recap and final thought on my GAI experience tomorrow (hopefully).

Your Archivist in Training,

Jan

Nothing Lasts Forever

Today's class focused on archival preservation -- from materials, vendors, and best practices (still, "it depends") to setting priorities and planning for disasters. Like our sessions last week, we used case studies to tease out some larger preservation concerns. As an added bonus we got to explore the Georgia Archives conservation lab and use teaching samples of real materials to test our knowledge of formats and to make recommendations for preserving the variety of items before us. It was a pretty engaging day and one which marked the beginning of our second (and last) week at the Institute. And while I am sad to say we're half way through already - my lamenting did not inspire the title of this post. Slide three of the opening Powerpoint presentation did...

Preservation - The activities an archives undertakes to extend the life of its holdings.

Conservation - The physical stabilization or treatment of individual items.

Led by Georgia Archives staff members Christine Wiseman (Preservation Services Manager) and Tina Seetoo (Conservator), our class learned the basics of archival preservation and one very important lesson: preservation (at its very best) = preventative medicine. Nothing lasts forever. Preservation is the process of stalling the deterioration of an artifact. Everything from what the artifact is made of to the condition in which it is found (at which point preservation can begin), to the resources that can be expended to maintain its condition, determine how long that process can ward off the inevitable. Armed with extra time to consider the options, archivists can make informed decisions about how to secure the legacy of a particular artifact or entire collection.

Right: Classmates examining "mystery" objects in the conservation lab.

Now, this next observation is pretty obvious and in many ways we've been talking about this in class all week, but when I heard one of the instructors make the point out loud today it really stuck with me. Christine said that the major challenge in an archives is patron use of the collections. In a museum, more often than not, objects are not something that visitors get to touch. The nature of the interaction, or lack thereof, between museum visitors and displays gives museum objects a level of protection that archival collections don't typically receive. Any way you slice it, handling a collection increases the risk that those documents won't be around for future researchers to handle. It is the job of the archivist to reduce this threat by providing the best environmental conditions, instructing users in best practices for handling, and knowing when to say when and removing original items from public use. Researchers are their own worst enemies .

While taking it all in, I tried to hone in on tips and tricks of preservation that might aid the Russell Library in its move to the new special collections building. Certainly, the refresher course in environmental monitoring gear was useful in thinking about how to manage our new exhibit spaces from the start. And Christine has some particularly good tips for moving materials safely, since the Georgia Archives successfully executed their own move in 2003. All in all, another rewarding day! Tomorrow morning I start my mini-internship at the National Archives Southeast Regional Branch. More on that as things develop.

Your Archivist-In-Training,

Jan

Below: Shots of Jenny and I examining a 19th century scrapbook and making recommendations for preservation.

Security Matters

While I've been really enjoying our discussions in class each day, trying to relay them into blog posts that convey not only my enthusiasm but also relatable information about archives has been challenging. And truthfully, we covered archival appraisal (deciding what to keep, what to toss, and what to...everything else) two days ago and I was enthralled, but I have yet to compose a post on that information. But it is coming soon, I swear. In the meantime, today we talked about some pretty juicy information that I feel like most folks can relate to. Here goes...

Chapter eight in our reading talks about security issues and disaster planning. Our group will be touring preservation spaces at the Georgia Archives (including the conservation lab) and talking about all things disaster on Monday with the conservators as our guides/discussion leaders, so our instructor Tim honed in on questions of security today. As in most of our class sessions, we divided time between discussing case studies in groups and with the class, and discussing the actual readings from Hunter. The two situations we were put into involving security were: (1) what happens when you observe a researcher stealing materials, versus (2) what happens when you observe a volunteer stealing materials. What is your priority? What is the best approach? Do you approach the "culprit" at all? How can you approach them if you aren't sure about the theft? In either case - the priority seems to be stopping the materials from leaving the archives. That was universally agreed upon in our class. But, how do you go about it? Our various groups explored different options and their respective ends. In terms of the researcher situation, it seemed that most favored a moderate approach was giving the researcher the benefit of the doubt on the first offense. Most folks felt the same approach would also work with volunteers. In the end, a more direct approach was recommended for the latter - because a dishonest staff person or volunteer poses a far more dangerous threat to the protection of the collection than a researcher who may or may not come back (depending on the archivist's recommendations following an "incident"). I thought this was an interesting revelation and prompted most people in the room to assume a more assertive role than many would have liked (me included). The one thing we all recognized and felt strongly about was at the core of the situation - protecting the stuff. If that protection involves directness, I think that most of us are now willing to take on that new role when confronted. Having the opportunity to to assume - as I said in the last post, a role of authority - made us all realize and assert our level of responsibility in this situation.

I think the security questions made us all think that we should be more vigilant with the collections we currently play a role in managing. I know that was the impact I felt. They emphasized the importance of implementing good policies (using standard forms and agreements, checking identification, making sure no outside materials come into the archives) on the front end, and making sure everyone abides by them -- students, faculty, scholars, average joes - everyone. I wouldn't say this leads to second guessing, but these exercises certainly made me appreciate the policies we have in place at the Russell and the team of staff that I have in place to back me up in situations where I have to confront visiting researchers. Hopefully, I never confront one of the situations that we covered in class, but if I do I am grateful (in advance!) that we have such excellent groundwork in place. If I do, then I feel more prepared. So - win/win. I'm lucky I work for a great place with supervisors with TONS of experiences handling everything under the sun. Like many of our sessions in class, I found today showing me how much I have learned already from working in the archives, mostly from my colleagues, which builds my confidence as an archivist.

I would be remiss not to mention the fabulous reception we had tonight at the Auburn Avenue Library in Atlanta with all of the intern supervisors! It was great - with amazing food and great company. Next week, we will each spend three days at an internship in the Atlanta area, applying some of the knowledge we have amassed in the last several days. I found out that I will be at the National Archives (right next door to the Georgia Archives, so I already know where to park!) but haven't been filled in on the details yet. Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow and be able to fill you in this weekend. Meantime - thanks to everyone who put together the reception AND to our fabulous instructor Tim who has prepared us for the week ahead.

Your Archivist in Training,

Jan

PS -- My apologies for no new pictures!! I meant to take them at the reception at least, but got wrapped up in mingling and forgot - so I pledge to take more photos during my internship next week!

Day One: It Depends

Georgia Archives Institute 2010 Pretest, Question 8: What are the two most frequently used words in the archival profession?
Answer: It Depends

My Guess: Donor Agreement (I have a lot left to learn...)

And so it all began. On my first day in class my fellow attendees and I dove into archival ethics, case studies, and group discussions (using the former to flesh out the latter). We moved through two chapters of our primary text (Developing and Maintaining Practical Archives by Gregory S. Hunter) at lightning speed, learning essential terminology left and right. And through it all we found out that when faced with decisions in the archives there is one response more than any other that you will hear: it depends. It is both reassuring and unnerving that armed with this single phrase I may now be able to fake my way through conversations with experienced, professional archivists without seeming like a total novice. Or so our instructor told us (though I submit that the results of my pretest may suggest otherwise). Now that I've gotten my money's worth out of the class (insert laughter here) let's see what else is in store.

Front of the GA Archives in Morrow, GA

The morning kicked off with introductions from our instructor, Tim Ericson, and members of the Archives Staff who helped to put the institute together. Then, straight to work. Working in groups of four, we tackled the first case study. In the scenario each of us had just been hired as an archivist at a community archives and were confronted with a useful but troublesome collection of health surveys. The nature of the questions on said surveys, coupled with the personal information (names, birth date, social security number) provided, raised questions about how to prepare this sensitive material for researcher use while accounting for issues of privacy and adhering to the ethical code. We explored the range of possibilities for dealing with this collection, from opening it sans restrictions to disposing of the collection entirely - favoring some options in between the extremes. The exercise encouraged my classmates and I to work together and talk through some of the underlying issues in groups, followed by commentary from Tim.

Two chapter overviews, a guided list of terminology, and several more case studies later, I had completed my first day. I am happy to report that I now have an understanding of the characteristics of records and an overview history of archives (initiated by the French Revolution). The group work and other case studies we reviewed were great - putting each of us into the position of a decision maker when considering what records to keep and why. And speaking as someone returning to the classroom for the first time in a few years, the case studies are a great way to cover material in an engaging way that pushes folks in the class to interact.

End of day one: I have lots left to learn. But, I'm heading home to reach chapters 3 & 4 in our text with great ambitions for tomorrow. Up next: appraisal! I can't wait. I'll let you know what I find out.

Your Archivist in Training,

Jan

Great Expectations

My official title at the Russell Library is Assistant Outreach Archivist. I find it a bit misleading. While I certainly do the bulk of my work in “outreach” – developing exhibits, planning public programs, and working with students and researchers to explore our collections – my experience with the duties typically associated with the title “archivist” are more limited. I don’t process collections, write finding aids, or cultivate donors. I still understand archives more from a researcher's perspective. In my life as a graduate student I learned how to navigate finding aids, request boxes, and handle materials. I discovered the importance of investigating secondary literature on a topic before diving into primary documents, and how to budget my time and avoid feeling overwhelmed with an abundance of rich materials once I got into the primary sources (knowing when to say when).

When I’m stationed at the research desk or responding to emails from off-site patrons, I find that perspective useful. Not so long ago I was that nervous student stuffing my belongings into a locker, so I try to make new researchers feel welcome and comfortable in the archives. I remember sending emails when repositories were too far away for me to visit frequently, and try to go the extra mile now in doing legwork for off-site patrons. But customer service aside, there are other important parts to being a good archivist, most notably a good depth of knowledge on the collections and a solid foundation in archival principles and practices. The longer I’m here at the Russell the greater my level of knowledge on our holdings, but my understanding of archival principles has been slower to develop. I learn new things from my colleagues almost every day and have joined some professional archival organizations that host interesting conferences and workshops, but I’m anxious to dive in and really learn the underpinnings of our activities. What are the nuts and bolts of processing a collection? How does archival appraisal work? What are people in the field saying about digitization efforts? Why do we manage the organization of objects differently than museums? Next Monday I will begin a more structured approach to learning about archives as an attendee at the 2010 Georgia Archives Institute (GAI).

Designed for beginning archivists and librarians, GAI is a two week course hosted annually that provides instruction in basic concepts and practices on archival administration and management. In addition to seven days of classroom instruction, attendees participate in a three-day internship at an archival repository in the Atlanta area – which provides a link between classroom theory and real world application. Attendees come from across the state and beyond! Luckily for me, Atlanta is a short trip from Athens and I have a friend’s couch with my name on it. For more specifics on GAI, you can visit their website at http://www.georgiaarchivesinstitute.org/index.htm.

So why this blog post? Well, I thought it might be worthwhile to document my experience in this class as I go through it. This introduction will be the first in a series of posts to come over the next few weeks in which I will discuss what I learn and how this new knowledge can enhance my abilities as an outreach archivist. Also, I’m developing a small case exhibit in the Russell to describe how collections go from acquisition to accessibility (re: a finished product on the shelves that is open to researchers) to be installed in July. Hopefully what I learn will enrich the voice of the display. I’m currently taking suggestions for a clever title for the series – so if you have a suggestion, email it to me at jlevinso@uga.edu or tweet me @RussellLibrary. Talk to you all next week!

Your Archivist-in-Progress,

Jan