This week, I am happy to say that I have been able to complete the arranging of the Ruth C. Engs collection up at the archives. Overall, I must say that the process of completing the arrangement went a lot faster than I had initially expected. Although some of the series that I processed last, mainly the teaching files, were less organized to begin with than were the files related to research and writing, the fact that the individual files were bigger (and, therefore, there were less of them per box) made the latter stages of the arrangement go more quickly. The fact that Professor Engs had created and outlined a basic organizational structure for her papers also greatly facilitated the process of arranging collection.
On the whole, I think that the collection has the potential to be very useful and interesting to scholars interested in studying the history of health sciences, or more specifically, in studying the history of views and theories about substance abuse and use, since much of Ruth Engs' research deals with this subject matter. The collection thoroughly documents her research and her publications, containing notes and correspondence about and drafts of many of her publications. Based on archival collections I have dealt with in the past, I would say that the documentation of the research and publishing process is much more thorough in this collection than in most. The collection also contains a good deal of interesting non-text materials, including some VHS, DVD, and film recordings of presentation material.
In total, the collection will contains 16 boxes of material, with a 17th box dedicated to oversized material. Originally, the collection was housed in about 24 boxes before I started arranging it, but, because I was able to remove some duplicate materials and pack the boxes in a more condensed way, we will be able to save some space.
The next step in the processing of this collection will be the creating of a finding aid for the collection. While I have already started working on this step a bit, I will hold off on discussing it for now and dedicate my next post to this stage of the processing.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Week 4: Processing Progress
Hello Readers,
Last week, I was able to have the opportunity to devote a great deal of time to the processing of the Ruth C. Engs collection and I am happy to report that progress has been going quite well. I have completed arranging the series dedicated to writing, research, and professional activities, which is by far the largest series in the collection. Overall, this series provides a very thorough documentation of Professor Engs' professional career and scholarly work. Emphasis is placed not only on scholarly publications, but also on articles published in non-academic periodicals and editorials as well as on conference presentations and grant proposals. Given the fact that much of Professor Engs' research is related to health and drug and alcohol use, considerable interest in her work has been seen outside of academic circles, and this more widespread activity is evident in the collection. Furthermore, the collection features incomplete research and unpublished materials in addition to materials related to published works.
Beyond this series, I have completed arranging a smaller series dedicated solely to correspondence and have nearly finished arranging a series containing teaching and course files. These two series both have a variety of highly interesting and useful materials. Two folders that stand out in particular in the correspondence series contained hostile and supportive letters, respectively, from other academics or members of the general public mainly regarding Professor Engs' views on educational programs for students about alcohol. Engs was a vocal critic of abstinence-only alcohol education, which, at the time, was a stance that generated some controversy. The contents of these two folders provide unique evidence of the spectrum of public opinion about alcohol education.
Course files have always struck me as particularly interesting sources of evidence as they can be useful in studying the history of educational methods. Studying historical course syllabuses and analyzing similarities and progressions in their content and structure over time can allow us to understand developments of values and trends within a specific academic field. While this could be of interest to a researcher studying the history of health education, it is mainly interesting to me as a historical curiosity to see what sort of assignments that students of decades past were expected to complete.
Last week, I was able to have the opportunity to devote a great deal of time to the processing of the Ruth C. Engs collection and I am happy to report that progress has been going quite well. I have completed arranging the series dedicated to writing, research, and professional activities, which is by far the largest series in the collection. Overall, this series provides a very thorough documentation of Professor Engs' professional career and scholarly work. Emphasis is placed not only on scholarly publications, but also on articles published in non-academic periodicals and editorials as well as on conference presentations and grant proposals. Given the fact that much of Professor Engs' research is related to health and drug and alcohol use, considerable interest in her work has been seen outside of academic circles, and this more widespread activity is evident in the collection. Furthermore, the collection features incomplete research and unpublished materials in addition to materials related to published works.
Beyond this series, I have completed arranging a smaller series dedicated solely to correspondence and have nearly finished arranging a series containing teaching and course files. These two series both have a variety of highly interesting and useful materials. Two folders that stand out in particular in the correspondence series contained hostile and supportive letters, respectively, from other academics or members of the general public mainly regarding Professor Engs' views on educational programs for students about alcohol. Engs was a vocal critic of abstinence-only alcohol education, which, at the time, was a stance that generated some controversy. The contents of these two folders provide unique evidence of the spectrum of public opinion about alcohol education.
Course files have always struck me as particularly interesting sources of evidence as they can be useful in studying the history of educational methods. Studying historical course syllabuses and analyzing similarities and progressions in their content and structure over time can allow us to understand developments of values and trends within a specific academic field. While this could be of interest to a researcher studying the history of health education, it is mainly interesting to me as a historical curiosity to see what sort of assignments that students of decades past were expected to complete.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Week 3 - The History of Indian Students at IU, Reference, and Informational Value
This past week, I spent a good deal of my time at the IU Archives working to answer a challenging but interesting reference question. While the idea of spending hours on a reference may sound tedious to some, it can actually be an interesting process with the desire to find the right answer serving as a source of motivation and excitement. Many reference questions that patrons ask archivists are factual ones (as opposed to ones asking for a recommendation of a resource), so there certainly exists a sense of satisfaction in being able to track down the specific fact that the patron needs.
The particular question that I was researching was a question about students from India at Indiana University in the first half of the 20th century. The patron was interested in any documentation of or records about Indian students during this time, and also wanted to know the name of the first Indian student to earn a degree from IU.
I started off by searching through our subject files related to international students. These subject files typically contain clippings, news releases, and basic information about specific topics, organizations, and events, and are generally used to answer reference questions or for patrons interested in basic-level research. While I was able to find some information about Indian students, I was unable to find any reference to the first Indian student. Similarly, I consulted the records of the Indiana University Cosmopolitan Club and found some interesting clippings, but again, no reference to the first Indian student.
Next, I consulted our collection of historical issues of the Indiana University Bulletin, which contained a lists of all matriculating for each year. The lists provided each student's name, hometown, academic program, and year. Thankfully, most editions included a table at the end of the list with a geographic breakdown of students' hometowns. Using these publications, I was able to find an answer for our patron.
As for the answer, according to our records, the first student from India to attend IU was Ranjit Roy from Calcutta, who was enrolled in the School of Dentistry from September 1925 to May of 1928 but did not earn a degree. The first Indian student to earn a degree from IU was Konigapogu Joseph Devadanam, who entered IU in October of 1928 and earned a BA in psychology in November of 1930. Records list his place of birth as Kavalo, Nellore, India and his hometown as Lucknow, India.
Answering this reference question further reinforced my understanding of the importance of preserving collections that have great informational value for a repository. According the the SAA Glossary, informational value is defined as "the usefulness or significance of materials based on their content, independent of any intrinsic or evidential value." So, a record or collection has high informational value if it can provide a lot of information about something other then the agency or person that created it. In this case, these catalogs had a very high degree of informational value because they provided a great deal of demographic information about IU's student body over the years. While records like these that provide critical information do not often generate the same "wow" factor as manuscript collections from respected scholars, artists, politicians, and other societal contributors, they are essential in documenting an institution's history and are often the most valuable records for answering reference questions.
The particular question that I was researching was a question about students from India at Indiana University in the first half of the 20th century. The patron was interested in any documentation of or records about Indian students during this time, and also wanted to know the name of the first Indian student to earn a degree from IU.
I started off by searching through our subject files related to international students. These subject files typically contain clippings, news releases, and basic information about specific topics, organizations, and events, and are generally used to answer reference questions or for patrons interested in basic-level research. While I was able to find some information about Indian students, I was unable to find any reference to the first Indian student. Similarly, I consulted the records of the Indiana University Cosmopolitan Club and found some interesting clippings, but again, no reference to the first Indian student.
Next, I consulted our collection of historical issues of the Indiana University Bulletin, which contained a lists of all matriculating for each year. The lists provided each student's name, hometown, academic program, and year. Thankfully, most editions included a table at the end of the list with a geographic breakdown of students' hometowns. Using these publications, I was able to find an answer for our patron.
As for the answer, according to our records, the first student from India to attend IU was Ranjit Roy from Calcutta, who was enrolled in the School of Dentistry from September 1925 to May of 1928 but did not earn a degree. The first Indian student to earn a degree from IU was Konigapogu Joseph Devadanam, who entered IU in October of 1928 and earned a BA in psychology in November of 1930. Records list his place of birth as Kavalo, Nellore, India and his hometown as Lucknow, India.
Answering this reference question further reinforced my understanding of the importance of preserving collections that have great informational value for a repository. According the the SAA Glossary, informational value is defined as "the usefulness or significance of materials based on their content, independent of any intrinsic or evidential value." So, a record or collection has high informational value if it can provide a lot of information about something other then the agency or person that created it. In this case, these catalogs had a very high degree of informational value because they provided a great deal of demographic information about IU's student body over the years. While records like these that provide critical information do not often generate the same "wow" factor as manuscript collections from respected scholars, artists, politicians, and other societal contributors, they are essential in documenting an institution's history and are often the most valuable records for answering reference questions.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Reading Response 1: Victor Gray on Archival Outreach
For my first reading response, I chose to discuss a piece that was published in the Journal of the Society of Archivists. The piece is the text of the presidential address delivered by Victor Gray at a conference of the Society of Archivists that took place on August 29th, 2007 in Belfast. The title of the piece is “’Who’s that Knocking on Our Door’: Archives, Outreach, and Community,” and it discusses the importance of outreach efforts and the nature of the relationship between an archives and the community it serves in the present day.
I find that many of the points and views that Gray expresses in this speech are very refreshing for any archivist who values the importance of outreach and improving connection and communication with a wider potential user base. Furthermore, these views suggest the need for changes in archival practices and education, as well as changes in the way archivists view themselves and their roles. I want to focus specifically on one passage that seemed particularly resonant to me.
In this piece, there are two differing views of the archivist’s professional identity that Gray puts forward. “On the one hand,” he states “we can stretch the traditional notion of what an archivist should be doing. We can attempt to learn new skills and make ourselves supple and inventive in the way we use them. We can spend more time being advocates, or being conveyors of knowledge, whether it be about the content of our archives or the methods by which we care for them.”
He goes on to describe the second type of identity, explaining that, “we can, as has already happened in some places, stick to our last, defining ourselves or being defined as specialists in the core skills of identification, arrangement, custody and exploration of historical records while we build up around us, or have built up around us, a range of other people skilled in the art of outreach, education, interpretation, community development.” Weighing in on this dichotomy, Gray states, “I do, I must admit, have a concern that the reversion to the hard core of archival skills, whether chosen by us or enforced by others, will have the long-term effect of freezing the profession into a corner.”
I am interested in and refreshed by Gray’s support of the notion of the archivist as proactive conveyors of knowledge. Traditional archival literature often suggests that the archivist must be a completely unbiased custodian of records, and such a definition suggests passiveness and a focus on preservation tasks. However, in order to provide an accommodating and helpful reference service and engage in productive outreach activities, an archivist must become an institutional historian and spokesperson. Gray’s address encourages archivists to see themselves in these ways.
I also find Gray’s dichotomy regarding views of the profession to be useful when considering the archival repository in the digital age. In today’s information-seeking climate, it has become nearly a necessity for archivists to provide online components of their collection, online access, and online services. While today’s web provides archivists with a multitude of opportunities to be proactive and communicative, many archivists retreat into traditional models when creating a web presence. These models typically ignore the need to provide patrons with access in a proactive sense. A common example is the archivist whose catalog records exist in highly controlled, traditionally structured library databases that are, nonetheless, completely inaccessible to a potential user conducting a related Google search.
The assumption that the use traditional library resources and content platforms coupled with detailed cataloging is the best and only way to connect potential users with materials of interest is faulty. Archivists must step outside the shell of the library domain by making their content accessible through popular platforms; doing so is a critical aspect of outreach in the digital age.
Gray, Victor (2008). 'Who's that knocking on our door?': Archives, outreach and community. Journal of the Society of Archivists 29 (1), pp 1-8.
I find that many of the points and views that Gray expresses in this speech are very refreshing for any archivist who values the importance of outreach and improving connection and communication with a wider potential user base. Furthermore, these views suggest the need for changes in archival practices and education, as well as changes in the way archivists view themselves and their roles. I want to focus specifically on one passage that seemed particularly resonant to me.
In this piece, there are two differing views of the archivist’s professional identity that Gray puts forward. “On the one hand,” he states “we can stretch the traditional notion of what an archivist should be doing. We can attempt to learn new skills and make ourselves supple and inventive in the way we use them. We can spend more time being advocates, or being conveyors of knowledge, whether it be about the content of our archives or the methods by which we care for them.”
He goes on to describe the second type of identity, explaining that, “we can, as has already happened in some places, stick to our last, defining ourselves or being defined as specialists in the core skills of identification, arrangement, custody and exploration of historical records while we build up around us, or have built up around us, a range of other people skilled in the art of outreach, education, interpretation, community development.” Weighing in on this dichotomy, Gray states, “I do, I must admit, have a concern that the reversion to the hard core of archival skills, whether chosen by us or enforced by others, will have the long-term effect of freezing the profession into a corner.”
I am interested in and refreshed by Gray’s support of the notion of the archivist as proactive conveyors of knowledge. Traditional archival literature often suggests that the archivist must be a completely unbiased custodian of records, and such a definition suggests passiveness and a focus on preservation tasks. However, in order to provide an accommodating and helpful reference service and engage in productive outreach activities, an archivist must become an institutional historian and spokesperson. Gray’s address encourages archivists to see themselves in these ways.
I also find Gray’s dichotomy regarding views of the profession to be useful when considering the archival repository in the digital age. In today’s information-seeking climate, it has become nearly a necessity for archivists to provide online components of their collection, online access, and online services. While today’s web provides archivists with a multitude of opportunities to be proactive and communicative, many archivists retreat into traditional models when creating a web presence. These models typically ignore the need to provide patrons with access in a proactive sense. A common example is the archivist whose catalog records exist in highly controlled, traditionally structured library databases that are, nonetheless, completely inaccessible to a potential user conducting a related Google search.
The assumption that the use traditional library resources and content platforms coupled with detailed cataloging is the best and only way to connect potential users with materials of interest is faulty. Archivists must step outside the shell of the library domain by making their content accessible through popular platforms; doing so is a critical aspect of outreach in the digital age.
Gray, Victor (2008). 'Who's that knocking on our door?': Archives, outreach and community. Journal of the Society of Archivists 29 (1), pp 1-8.
Monday, September 6, 2010
IU Archives Co-Interns and Friends:
Hello Readers,
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce my two fellow co-interns and friends, Amanda Hunt and Neal Harmeyer, who are also blogging about their internship experiences at the IU Archives this Fall. Both Amanda and Neal are 2nd year School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) students here at Indiana University.
Check out Amanda's blog, Life in the Archives, and Neal's blog, Archiving Times Like These, to follow what should be an exciting and interesting semester at the archives for the both of them!
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce my two fellow co-interns and friends, Amanda Hunt and Neal Harmeyer, who are also blogging about their internship experiences at the IU Archives this Fall. Both Amanda and Neal are 2nd year School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) students here at Indiana University.
Check out Amanda's blog, Life in the Archives, and Neal's blog, Archiving Times Like These, to follow what should be an exciting and interesting semester at the archives for the both of them!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
IU Facts and Trivia (Answers):
A few days ago, I posted a few IU trivia questions that IU Associate Archivist Dina Kellams came up with for a Jeopardy-style contest at the Wells Library freshman orientation game night. Now, for the answers, and some further information…
1. Jordan Field used to be at this campus location…What is the IMU Parking lot?
Check out this article by Ken Bikoff of Inside Indiana which provides an in-depth and interesting history of Jordan Field, former home of IU’s football and baseball teams.
2. Her father paid her $5 to apply to IU and in 1867, she became our first coed…Who is Sarah Parke Morrison?
Here is the IU Archives’ finding aid to the Sarah Parke Morrison papers. This aid provides biographical information about Morrison, contextual information about the papers, and a container list of the collection.
3. Now a functioning house museum, this was the home of IU’s first first family…What is the Wylie House?
Built in 1835 by Andrew Wylie, IU’s first president, the house is located at 307 E. 2nd Street here in Bloomington. Visit the Wylie House Museum’s home page for more information. This site includes information about the history of the house, the Wylie family, and the museum’s exhibits and collections.
1. Jordan Field used to be at this campus location…What is the IMU Parking lot?
Check out this article by Ken Bikoff of Inside Indiana which provides an in-depth and interesting history of Jordan Field, former home of IU’s football and baseball teams.
2. Her father paid her $5 to apply to IU and in 1867, she became our first coed…Who is Sarah Parke Morrison?
Here is the IU Archives’ finding aid to the Sarah Parke Morrison papers. This aid provides biographical information about Morrison, contextual information about the papers, and a container list of the collection.
3. Now a functioning house museum, this was the home of IU’s first first family…What is the Wylie House?
Built in 1835 by Andrew Wylie, IU’s first president, the house is located at 307 E. 2nd Street here in Bloomington. Visit the Wylie House Museum’s home page for more information. This site includes information about the history of the house, the Wylie family, and the museum’s exhibits and collections.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Week 2 – Beginning Stages of Processing
After the 2nd full week of my archives internship, I have gotten a chance to make some solid progress on processing the Ruth C. Engs collection. For those of you less familiar with archives terminology, the Society of American Archivists Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology defines processing as “The arrangement, description, and housing of archival materials for storage and use by patrons.” In simple terms, this is when an archivist organizes a collection of records that an archives has received and then creates a written document to communicate important information about the collection to the patron.
The first step in processing the collection, which I completed this week, is surveying the collection as a whole. The goal of doing this surveying is to achieve a basic understanding of the collection, its contents, and its organizational structure by opening up each box and taking some notes about these aspects of the collection.
Fortunately for me, Professor Engs included a list which explained the context of each box (there were 24 boxes in total to begin with, but we will be able to condense the collection a bit by re-packing the boxes and removing duplicates.) However, it is still a good idea to survey each box to achieve a better understanding of order and content.
After completing the surveying of the collection, it is then time to identify the series into which the archivist will separate the collection. The SAA Glossary defines a series as “a group of similar records that are arranged according to a filing system and that are related as the result of being created, received, or used in the same activity.” So, if one were to consider an archival collection as an outline, a series would be represented by the most prominent bullet point. Series are usually influenced by both the original order of the collection as well as the intellectual organization that the archivist decides would be most helpful for the creation of a collection so that it serves as a useful resource for patrons in the future. Since the collection was already divided up many clearly defined small categories, the task at hand was to organize these small groups into a handful of series in order to create an overarching organizational structure.
After completing the surveying of the Engs collection, I decided to create a series dedicated to the records of her writings, research, and professional activities, a series that contains her correspondence, another that contains her teaching files, another that contains administrative and tenure-related material, another that contains some early-life material, and one for non-paper media. Having spent a fair amount of time around archives, I have observed patterns in how academics’ archival collections tend to be organized in terms of the creation of series, so having that familiarity made things a bit easier.
After having spent a few weeks with the collection, it is clear that it will be a very useful collection once processed for several reasons. First, the collection is very complete, as it contains materials on almost all of Professor Engs’ journal publications and books, including drafts and correspondence related to the publication of each work. This point leads to another reason why I think the collection is strong; Prof Engs’ papers will provide the researcher with a clear understanding of her research process, from the development of research plans to the publication stage.
The first step in processing the collection, which I completed this week, is surveying the collection as a whole. The goal of doing this surveying is to achieve a basic understanding of the collection, its contents, and its organizational structure by opening up each box and taking some notes about these aspects of the collection.
Fortunately for me, Professor Engs included a list which explained the context of each box (there were 24 boxes in total to begin with, but we will be able to condense the collection a bit by re-packing the boxes and removing duplicates.) However, it is still a good idea to survey each box to achieve a better understanding of order and content.
After completing the surveying of the collection, it is then time to identify the series into which the archivist will separate the collection. The SAA Glossary defines a series as “a group of similar records that are arranged according to a filing system and that are related as the result of being created, received, or used in the same activity.” So, if one were to consider an archival collection as an outline, a series would be represented by the most prominent bullet point. Series are usually influenced by both the original order of the collection as well as the intellectual organization that the archivist decides would be most helpful for the creation of a collection so that it serves as a useful resource for patrons in the future. Since the collection was already divided up many clearly defined small categories, the task at hand was to organize these small groups into a handful of series in order to create an overarching organizational structure.
After completing the surveying of the Engs collection, I decided to create a series dedicated to the records of her writings, research, and professional activities, a series that contains her correspondence, another that contains her teaching files, another that contains administrative and tenure-related material, another that contains some early-life material, and one for non-paper media. Having spent a fair amount of time around archives, I have observed patterns in how academics’ archival collections tend to be organized in terms of the creation of series, so having that familiarity made things a bit easier.
After having spent a few weeks with the collection, it is clear that it will be a very useful collection once processed for several reasons. First, the collection is very complete, as it contains materials on almost all of Professor Engs’ journal publications and books, including drafts and correspondence related to the publication of each work. This point leads to another reason why I think the collection is strong; Prof Engs’ papers will provide the researcher with a clear understanding of her research process, from the development of research plans to the publication stage.
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