Week 16 at the Alabama Department of Archives and History

Greetings and happy holidays from Montgomery!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their families and loved ones, I know I did :). Well, this week has been much of the same as the last couple of weeks. I am still working on my public projects, inventorying the Charles Morgan papers, and scanning the Peppler collection. Nothing new has happened, but the holidays always bring good cheer!


Have a wonderfully blessed and prosperous new year!

Cheylon Woods
IMLS Fellow
Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Week Fifteen at Amistad

In preparation for next week’s archival workshop and tour, I attended a webinar entitled “Building Bridges #2: Community Outreach.”  The webinar focused on the importance of building and maintaining strong community partnerships and explains why these partnerships are integral to outreach and success.  Collaborations not only help us gain more outreach opportunities, but also help us operate more efficiently (save money) and communicate more effectively. The presenters introduced other benefits of partnerships, which include tapping into community assets/strengths; enabling knowledge and vision sharing; using technology for outreach opportunities; and most importantly, increasing respect for diversity. The webinar concluded with tips of how to find creative ways to be resourceful and how to drive partnerships with purpose, passion, gifts, and without setting limitations.

After the workshop I will leave for the holiday break and take the next “midnight train to Georgia.”

Until next year! Feliz Navidad!

Felicia

Week Fifteen at The Mayme A. Clayton Libray & Museum

This week I had the opportunity to process a scrapbook.  The scrapbook featured letters and notes from Samuel Brown. Brown was an African American musician from the Los Angeles region.  The most interesting item I found was a rejection letter from a Baltimore university that bluntly stated “this [teaching] position will have to go to a white person.”

This week I also cataloged visual art materials. Everything from movie posters to art prints. The most important part of cataloging in a database is to remember to add subjects to the items.  The subjects are pulled from the LOC authorities and the Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus.  The AAT comes into often when dealing with obscure art materials that the LOC has not encountered. 

Week 14: December 12- 16th

This week, I completed processing section 1 of the Smith collection. I also submitted my report, which was pleasing, with a complete and detailed outline of the entire section. I labeled each box and folder to reflect what it contains. When the year arrives, I will work on the precise wording for the labeling.        Of course, I am at an academic institution...thus, the end of the semester has arrived. I will be out from December 19, 2011 through January 2, 2012. So, I say to you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Weeks Thirteen - Fourteen at Amistad

Series two of O’Neal’s papers is finally complete! During week thirteen, I finished processing the community organization series and wrote the second series description of John O’Neal papers to enter into Archon. The series encompasses 2.5 linear feet of materials documenting O’Neal’s contribution as a member of several art and community organizations located in New Orleans and the Southeast, and collected records of over 50 associations.

Second, I met with the Director of Library and Reference Services to discuss two digital collection projects, the submission of the proposals for each project, and the review of metadata for entry into the LOUISiana Digital Library.  The projects will highlight existing collections at Amistad, including the papers of noted civil rights attorney A.P. Tureaud, (dated from circa 1798 – 1929) and printed ephemera produced by civil rights organizations and student groups, documenting several aspects of the civil rights efforts in the United States.

Lastly, I spent the rest of the week preparing for Amistad’s board meeting and preparing to co-lead a tour and archival workshop for the Westbank United Seventh-Day Adventist Church youth group.  We will introduce the youth group to the basics of using archives for effective research and guide them on a tour of the archives and a tour of  "The Revolution Will Not Be...": Print Culture of the Civil Rights Movement Exhibition.

Week fourteen began with Amistad’s board meeting, where all staff from each department reported highlights of their recent projects. We also discussed our upcoming acquisitions and processing plans for the Center.  I met several board members and discussed the importance of my fellowship and my involvement as an archival fellow at Amistad, and interestingly, one of the board members was my former undergraduate school history professor. She currently teaches African American Studies at Georgia State University. I never thought I'd run into a former professor at the board meeting...click here for more information.

Felicia

Week 15 at the Alabama Department of Archives and History

This week I continued to process the Charles Morgan Collection, scanning the last book of Peppler negatives and registering participants for my exhibit design workshop. I am excited because it is almost full! I can't wait to present it! I also met the Bracy sisters, who came to identify people and places in their family's photographs in the Jim Peppler collection. The Southern Courier reported on their family after their house was firebombed in Wetumpka, Alabama. Sophia and her older sister Debra integrated the all white high school in Wetumpka, and her sister was arrested for an altercation she had with a white student at the high school. This incident resulted in her being expelled for 3 months until the federal government stepped in. their story is very interesting and I enjoyed my day with them.

Until next time

Happy holidays

Cheylon Woods
IMLS Fellow
Alabama Department of Archives and History

Week Fifteen at the Maryland State Archives

I spent most of the past week record stripping from the Maryland State Colonization Society manumission and emigrant lists. I've highlighted a few potential case studies on my blog.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Krystal