LITTLE BIT OF THIS/that/the other
ARCHIVAL RESEARCH
What is the labor of archival research? Is it assisting a scholar across the globe looking for collection assistance? Can it be as simple as creating an online research guide or working in tandem with an educational workshop to provide the best information for classroom use? No matter it’s form, archival research illuminates collections in new and exciting ways to patrons who never thought archives could be so cool.
LARGE-SCALE PHYSICAL PROCESSING
There’s just something really amazing about feet and feet of unprocessed archival materials in need of some serious organization and accessibility. Planning a workflow? Invigorating. Coordinating and collaborating with colleagues? Inspiring. Taking a look at a collection well-processed and fully-accessible at the end? Ultimate archival satisfaction.
REFERENCE SERVICES
Archival work has a tendency to lurk in windowless rooms away from public view. Bringing that experience into the sphere of public service access gives the work I do meaning, energy, and life. Helping researchers navigate a collection that I have intimate knowledge of not only benefits the public, but helps me understand HOW the collections are used. Cheers to future processing improvements!
DIGITIZATION
Not all archivists need to know how to digitize their materials, but the ones who are comfortable creating high-quality images can help set their collections free.
SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH AND PROMOTION
What are archives if they can’t be shared with as many people as possible in the ways they most connect with? Branching out and celebrating archives in view of people who never even knew what archivists do or how they could benefit from them is essential in the evolution of archival repository success.
RESEARCH GUIDES
Libraries and museums have understood for years that you need to start children loving books, facts, and history early if they are going to respect its preservation for the future. Why then do many archives insist on catering mostly to adult academics and researchers? Research guides bridge the gap between the amazing stories archival collections contain and any misconceptions people may have in thinking that ‘there’s nothing in the archives for them’ or that ‘they aren’t allowed in because they aren’t an academic.’