Remember when I commented that not all collections are filled with WWII photographs and love letters? Well, that is definitely true of the City of Kingsport Planning Commission files from the 70s and 80s.
Following is a little photo essay of what I have been doing this week and it ends with a fun little gem for computer history aficionados.
The commission’s files are divided into 10 series. Basically everything you see here. The bottom three boxes with the yellow envelopes peeking through the handholds are glass plate negatives of aerial photography.
To get the record center boxes to my work station involves a lot of miles with this blue baby!
When I’ve determined that certain materials do not have archival value, they go into this pile. Progress!
The best find of the week was this envelope. Here is a little history about these IBM magnetic cards.
These cards were produced post-punch card era but before hard drives.
Although sorting through donated materials is not as glamorous as scanning photographs, completing a reference request, or preserving 19th century correspondence, conserving shelf space in such a small archives and allocating our limited processing supplies budget with care is vital!
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