Ardra Whitney: Week 18 @ Avery Research Center

Wednesday, January 2^nd:

Happy New Year! On Wednesday I returned to the Avery Research Center refreshed from my holiday break and ready to get right back into the swing of things. Over the vacation, I began drafting a descriptive summary for the digital photo archive project I had proposed earlier in the year. Hence, when I met with Processing Archivist, Georgette Mayo on Wednesday morning, one of the first things we discussed was the project—well that and 2012’s gripping holiday blockbusters, “Django Unchained,” “The Hobbit” and “The Guilt Trip”. Ms. Mayo explained that in order to display photos online submitted by the public, I would need to get their permission via a photo use request form or policy agreement statement. She also explained that her and Manager of Archival Services, Aaron Spelbring would want to review photo submissions before scanning and posting them in order to choose the most appropriate and relevant images.

Throughout the day I continued working on arrangement, description and finding aid preparation for the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Records. I researched dates for news clippings from the collection that seemed to have none and asked Mr. Spelbring about using cotton twill tape to secure the covers of ledgers, books and other bound items that were coming apart due to age, wear and lack of preservation.

Thursday, January 3^rd:

I continued classifying materials from the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Records in order to create a folder/item list organized by series for the collection’s finding aid. My run in with some painful paper cuts reminded me of the importance of wearing gloves—not only to protect the archival materials, but to protect myself as well. Additionally, I continued my research on collection materials that I had initially deemed miscellaneous. By learning more about the context and value of these materials in relationship to St. Mark’s, the better I am able understand how to describe them for reference and research purposes. For example, I am currently researching the church’s affiliation with the Homebuilders Association of Greater Charleston.

 

 

Friday, January 4^th:

By noon time I had finished a final draft of the descriptive summary for my digital photo archive project and sent it to Ms. Mayo, Mr. Spelbring and Avery’s 2011-2012 IMLS Fellow, Aaisha Haykal, for feedback. Ms. Mayo was the first to chime in with some points for discussion regarding the project, which she said we could talk more about on Monday. I also completed description and arrangement for four out of the nine proposed series of the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Records.

Somehow I think the New Year is inspiring the writing of significantly more fantastic articles on African American history and culture in South Carolina. I did a Google search on Tuesday using the terms “African American history” and “South Carolina,” which returned way more relevant hits than usual. By Friday I had a favorites folder full of articles that I am looking forward to sharing on Avery’s Facebook page.