Day 17: Collections Processing

I have started processing the Miscellaneous Papers series. It is trickier than I thought because the order is unclear. I find it helps to sort the materials into piles on my work counter as each box or pouch I open defines the word “miscellaneous” more graphically than the one before. These piles help me to establish topics or eras to the papers so that I can group them in folders. I made it through two boxes and I have two to go.

The real hero of the day is Katie. She delivered the box she made for the ephemera from this series. Much of it is mixed media. Fabric, ribbons, medals, pins, and the like. The box is double layered, like a Whitman’s Sampler!

In the top layer, some objects are encapsulated and some are in tissue. The little sewn bag in the front right corner is filled with silicone to keep the metal from rusting.

The bottom layer has an extra compartment for a very long ribbon.

You can see how the divider slides out first, then the top tray, revealing the bottom layer, below. Isn’t it just beautiful? She is so clever and confident.

I hope to finish Miscellaneous, tomorrow. That gives me four days to finish the last two series.

Kate Thiemer, the author of the ArchivesNext blog, posts an interesting discussion, today. It is about the misconception about the archives professional being someone who just acts as a caretaker of old stuff and not really someone focused on helping people. Think of the ancient knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He sat in that cavern for hundreds of years staring at several dozen fake grails. He wasn’t really helping anybody during that time.

I think people will be helped by accessing the Hugh B. Brown Family Papers. But then again, I don’t think of myself as a caretaker; but an Archiventurist!