The Office files series is nearly complete. All 11 boxes have been processed. My next step is to go back through all of the folders to finalize the arrangement. Finalizing the arrangement consists of adding dates to the folders, ensuring proper arrangement of materials within the folders which may result in the addition of a few more folders for a clearer organizational structure, and recording precise folder names into the finding aid. The last step is to use the notes I have been taking as I process this section and create a scope and content note about the series and abstracts for the subseries where necessary. While I enjoy all of the steps of processing a collection, writing the notes and abstracts tends to be my favorite. Not only do I enjoy writing, but having the ability to see that portion of the collection complete and ready to be researched is very satisfying to a processing archivist (at least to me).
Once I complete the finding aid for the Office Files series, I will move back into the Projects series to work on specific projects categorized into subseries. The restoration of a bathhouse and sanatorium in Hot Springs, Arkansas, is next on the list. I am excited to work on this section because the project sounds fascinating.
Challenges:
An ongoing challenge has been the organization of the tax records. There are many types of tax records for a business including withholdings, annual and quarterly reports, and federal and state returns. Taxes also cover anything from federal and state taxes to social security and unemployment taxes. This leads to Department of Labor and social security employee records which can overlap the tax records. It can be very confusing, especially when there is a necessity to separate the materials containing personal information like social security numbers. This is where scope and content notes as well as abstracts are invaluable. It is conceivable than any number of archivists may develop any number of organizational structures for this information. However, as long as the arrangement is logical and there is some form of instruction to help researchers better understand the structure, then the chances of a researcher missing valuable information decreases. My goal is to make this collection as accessible as possible through the arrangement and description of the collection.
Another challenge is the best arrangement for the separation of personal information. In some cases, I have created two folders: one containing freely accessible information and the other containing social security numbers that will require it to be closed. In other cases such as employee records, whole sections will be closed due to the inclusion of personal information. While the physical location of these records is a minor detail, portraying the division of these records in the finding aid proves to be rather tricky. If I list everything by series and subseries, then how do I succinctly note the separation of some of the records? If I list the arrangement according to boxes, then the description of the “closed” boxes might prove very confusing. So far I have decided to list the materials according to series and subseries. While in most cases the listing of the folders and the boxes will be linear, there will be places in the finding aid that seem to skip around since the closed boxes are at the end of the series. For instance, there are two Employment Security folders. For example, the general Employment Security folder’s location may be listed as “Box 1, Folder 8” while the very next folder listed is closed so it will be recorded as “Box 7, Folder 1.” Since the folder after that is not closed, it will be listed as “Box 1, Folder 9.” This may seem a bit confusing at first glance of the finding aid, but for the researcher who wants to access the collection, as long as the correct box and folder are listed then the order of those are not as imperative. I hope that this arrangement will work well, but if it does not I can always revise it for better access.
While I had planned on being ahead of schedule this week by having the Office Files series completed that has not happened. Not to fear, however, since I am still on schedule and the work is coming together quite well.
Until next time…
Amanda J. Carter
Franklin Library, Fisk University
IMLS HistoryMakers Fellow 2012-2013
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