Ardra Whitney: Week 2 @ Avery Research Center

Monday, September 10^th: I continued working on the W. Melvin Brown, Jr. Papers, surveying two additional boxes from the collection that Manager of Archival Services, Aaron Spelbring was able to find in archival storage. That morning I had met with Processing Archivist, Georgette Mayo and Mr. Spelbring to address questions concerning general collection processing and finding aid creation. E.g., how are accession numbers for collections assigned? How long should a finding aid’s abstracts, historical/biographical notes and overviews for collection be? How many subject headings (min. and max.) should I include in a finding aid? And which formatting and style guide does Avery use for finding aid citations? In response to question two, Ms. Mayo poignantly stated that no two collections are alike; each collection has its own distinct nature and characteristics. Therefore, a collection’s descriptive text (including number of words) was dependent upon the collection itself.

Tuesday, September 11^th: I attended my first Eastside Day Committee meeting at Trident Technical College’s Palmer Campus with Ms. Mayo. At the meeting I met and spoke with several committee members including Dean, Dr. Lou Robinson; President of the C.A. Brown Alumni Association, Joey Washington; Professor of English, Susan Williams, Librarian, Erlene Payne; Marketing Coordinator, Noelle Orr Blaney; and others. I also had the opportunity to talk about collection materials at Avery Research Center pertaining to of C.A. Brown High School that will be used in a display honoring the legacy.

In an effort to preserve the material and cultural heritage of the Eastside neighborhood, Trident Technical College at Palmer Campus hosts ‘Eastside Day’, which features lecturers, vendors, student activity groups and faculty all coming together for a week-long celebration of the rich history of the Eastside community. This year C. A. Brown High’s 50^th anniversary will be commemorated with a historical marker from The Preservation Society of Charleston that will be placed at the site that once housed school-- Trident Technical College’s Palmer Campus. “This prestigious honor was the result of alumni, family and friends voting overwhelming for [their] Alma Mater to be recognized as having historical and meaningful impact on the community.”

Wednesday, September 12^th and Thursday, September 13^th: I sent e-mails to members of the committee regarding the collection of C.A. Brown High School’s newspaper, The Pioneer at the Avery Research Center and scanning photographs from the high school’s yearbooks. I also sent an e-mail to Avery’s Public Historian, Dr. Robert T. Chase about the possibility of collaborating on an oral history project for Eastside Day. Additionally, I digitized W. Melvin Brown, Jr.’s high school basketball team photograph (1951) with Reference Librarian, Deborah Wright; began revising the collection’s series list and created a folder and item list for the collection as well. I also began evaluating the video oral history interview for Bobby Rogers, songwriter and member of Motown Records' first signed act, The Miracles. I ended my Thursday afternoon with reviewing Avery’s subject files on MUSC Humanities Scholar in Residence Professor of Health Professions and Dental Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, J. Herman Blake, Ph.D. and Pastor of Morris Brown AME Church located in Charleston, South Carolina Rev. Joseph A. Darby —which Ms. Mayo was kind enough to share with me—in preparation for the 3^rd Annual Back To School With The HistoryMakers program.

Friday, September 14^th: I completed the series and folder lists for the Melvin W. Brown, Jr. Papers as well The HistoryMakers, interview evaluation for Bobby Rogers. I also participated in a morning conference call with BTS Team Member, Bradley Morgan and HistoryMakers J. Herman Blake, Ph.D and the Honorable Lucille Whipper regarding scheduled events for the 3^rd Annual Back To School With The HistoryMakers program on September 28^th. I also completed a normal office assignment for Education Outreach Coordinator, Sheila Harell-Roye, who asked me to make a list of Black Power Conference participants whom had not yet registered for the conference.

As part of my weekly report to Ms. Mayo and Mr. Spelbring, I included a suggested a list of monthly readings based on my collection processing needs;  pertinent information to post on Avery Research Center’s Facebook page and other viable social networking opportunities for Avery, i.e., Historypin and HooteSuite.

References

Charles A. Brown High Alumni Association. (n.d.). Upcoming events. Retrieved from http://cabhaa.wordpress.com/upcoming-events/

 

Preservation Society of Charleston. (n.d.) [Informational document]. Retrieved from http://www.preservationsociety.org/caapa/C.A.%20Brown%20.pdf