ar·chi·vist (är'kə-vĭst) @okiearchivist-blog - Tumblr Blog

New Thing

So this begins my time as SSA President. I want to write down the items I’ve completed as a log for my own recordkeeping and because my memory is not what it used to be.

Today I emailed the Board about the fall meeting. Heather Ferguson has a room reserved for us at the McNay Art Museum Friday Nov 3 from 1-4 pm. I would rather have it in Dallas, because that’s so much closer, but I would have to get Felica or Morgan to host.

I sent the Board links to all the SSA docs on the website.

I emailed Robert Weaver and James Williamson about the Membership Committee and emailed the Diversity Committee to see if any of them want to be Chair or Vice Chair.

I emailed Daniel Alanzo and asked him if he would chair the Internet Resources Ad hoc Committee.

I made the changes to the Procedures Manual and sent it to Katie and Melissa for the revisions re: annual meeting site selection and LAC chair that the board approved on Wednesday.

I emailed Jennifer Hecker and Amanda Norman about communication procedures update in the Annual Meeting guide for the SLOTTO and LAC crews.

I need to remember to contact Jerry Thompson about the ATALM table. What about the banner? Ugh. So many loose ends. I emailed him now, screw it. I don’t want to forget.

The appointments that needed to be made happened at the Saturday Board meeting.

Feeling good about it, day 1.

October 6, 2010

Moving update: the GF Coll. is safely in the corner and the OHEHS Coll. is now 1/3 in its' new location. *whew* Today I move yearbooks, hooray.

I did some subject heading clean up on Cuadra today and proceeded to play around with the print copy of Sears subject headings that was unearthed from a retiree's office. It was the 17th edition, only 3 editions away from the current 20th edition. While I naively assumed the "biggies" would not have changed that much over the 3 editions, I found the term for Native Americans to be- Native Americans- while the Library of Congress has moved on to -Indians of North America- for a few years now. So I trashed that old Sears. I thought it might work better for classifying manuscripts, since the subject headings will not be as broad as the LCSH entails, alas I must wade through the scientific headings and many things I'll never use because I can only trust the classification gods at LC.

I also procured a lovely copy of the new SAA glossary of Archival & Records Terminology yesterday from my friend down the way @ ODL. I enjoyed the inclusion of terms such as Disneyfication with references to how that applies to archival work. Yay team America! Glossing over uncomfortable historical situations for the mundane satisfaction of the few and maintaining the blissful ignorance of the many.

ok- off to lug around heavy volumes of college glory years. May their pages be dust free because my sinuses can't handle another day of warehouse dust.

#moving #subject headings #authority files #LCSH

October 4, 2010

From the SAA email list:

For those who would scorn the idea that archivists are at the cutting edge of fashion, British designer John Smedley has proved them wrong. According to his website, the men's Fall/Winter 2010 collection : *"draws inspiration from the personality of ‘The Archivist.’ Exploring the concept of a ‘collection’ in all its guises, the range blends well-loved pieces with future classics to create a textural and colourful anthology reminiscent of a passionately compiled archive. These will be timeless pieces to collect and to treasure."*

http://www.johnsmedley.com/contemporary-design

Here is the pdf catalogue, which, sigh, features the model "archivist" surrounded by books and...a figurine of Napoleon? At least there may also be the odd family travelogue or album!

http://www.johnsmedley.com/media/menswear_aw2010.pdf

ha!

October 1, 2010

ooo October 1!

Some progress this week, researching databases and subject headings. Processed a collection and remembered what it feels like to sit down and do some description. I received J's quarterly numbers and now feel like we are seriously more busy than I imagined. That must be why I am always on the run!

Now to finish data entry on box5 and resume box moving in the stack room. Next week will bring the big shift and hopefully JM will get started on the Indian Archives project. Progress, I say- it may exist yet.

September 24, 2010

Friday and this week has been crazy busy like most.

Having growing pains with our software people, I am nearing the end of my tenure as the liaison and I believe it is for the best. I have IT liaison fatigue. It is difficult to want everything while being told it is all possible then not getting it... hmmm. Not sure what the answer is, but I do feel like I have a month worth of data rearrangement and editing that could/should be done and when will I have the time to do that? I think I should make the time, and systematically clean up records and fix errors of the past. Oh it I only knew then what I know now...

Otherwise, the bar code project is now halted. I am going ahead with the room clean-up and arranging. That definitely needs to happen anyway. I sat in for a bit of a "Folded and Rolled Documents" workshop on Wednesday this week. I got to see a bit of the work of real conservators and got some tips on my humidification chamber. I am going to make some changes and hopefully get the chamber time down to what it's supposed to be and lower the risk of mold growing. yikes. I have been a bit too lax on that and it's time to tighten up ship, in many ways.

Last night Corey and I paraded around the museum in Wonder Woman and Spiderman costumes for the AASLH conference reception. It was fun but I began to feel silly when the free alcohol was setting in and folks thought it was really funny to see the archivist in a leotard and high heeled red boots. Nice.

Did I mention I am glad it's Friday? The autumn season has officially begun and this weekend calls for crisp mornings and highs in the 70's. I am thrilled to watch my little man crunch some kids on the football field this Sunday, following a football filled Saturday with boyfriend and copious amounts of chips and beer. yay weekend

I am sticking a photo in here that I found on another blog I really enjoy, btw & wtf, and I am doing so because it accurately portrays how I feel about my recent efforts to accomplish things.

September 16, 2010

Today I removed and re-applied some bar-codes to the shelf. The thing I wanted to avoid doing, I know! But this time I believe it will stick, ha ha, and I should be well on my way to inventory nightmare!! I have to move the League of Women Voters Coll. to the compact shelving so I can move the Farley to the stationary shelving so I can move the OHEHS to the end of the compact shelving on the other side. *whew* That's lots of moving but it needs to be done. Darn it.

I was just looking at another CS site, searching through their catalog. Some of the same issues that we have... if I only knew then what I know now...

Well, best be off and box moving.

September 9, 2010

oh my.

There have been many months that passed and my blog experiment has not been so successful. I am ready to resume and really get into some things.

Thing 1: SAA in DC was quite enjoyable and edifying. Someday when I have the courage to actually meet some people at one of these things I might feel a bit more connected to my fellow archivists. There is always a sense of longing that I come away from the conference with, a certain desire to do more and accomplish more and then I get back to the office and just catching up on requests takes all day!

Thing 2: I am still trying to pull the trigger on a location guide for the storage room. I had a long string of characters identifying each row, section & shelf; then I had this great revelation that it could be much simpler and still easy to find, ie. just a linear foot list. Hmmmmm.... going to do some math today and try to really get started on that.

Thing 3: I am organizing a reception for OU SLIS students to celebrate archives in October, American Archives Month. I have invited archivists from across the metro OKC area, and hope the event will be well attended. The purpose is for students to meet with us and learn about internship opportunities and career possibilities. I am trying to decide between a platter from Forward Foods or pizzas from NY Pizza & Pasta.

ok. enough for now.

#SAA #interns #location guide #food!

March 22

It's been a while since I've updated. On March 8, the intrepid Cartoonist exhibit team piled into the minivan and left for Chicago! Arriving that evening, we rambled about the neighborhood of our hotel in anticipation of the interviews ahead. All went well, the trip was a resounding success resulting in 3 hours of interviews, a small donation of newspapers, and most importantly, making contact with the Gould family and the current writer of Dick Tracy, Dick Locher. (Who was also a fighter pilot in WWII!)

Upon return we interviewed 4 members of the Literati Press, founded and located here in the metro. Author, illustrator, cartoonist POV of the small press enterprise and the influence of comics in popular culture. Also received a small donation of original artwork and publications from that crew. We plan to attend their book fair in May as a promotional event for the exhibit.

Then I took 3 days off to take my son camping in Sulphur, Ok. We had a ton of fun, despite the chilly mornings, and plan to go to Turner Falls in May.

Back at the office last Thursday, mostly spent reading and replying to emails and finishing up patron requests that had been left.

I still have patron requests to complete, today will be spent making loads of photocopies- (yay for new music in my ipod!) and scrolling through microfilm looking for newspaper articles. We did give Mr. B a rundown of the trip, and turned in a letter of thanks to the Friends for allowing us to make the trip.

#Chicago #small press #cartoonists #camping #photocopies

March 4

No post yesterday. It was short, I left at 2:30. Got some requests going, worked up a scan request form for the library desk, did an interview with Eric Groves- very interesting fellow- had some super tasty crispycado taco and queso for lunch, visited with the electrician from Toucan about the 20th, chatted with Jan about my impending absence, and fled.

Today has been more of the same, requests etc. Pulled some boxes for a patron, made some calls about donations and requests... got a visit from Chester about plans out of his father's collection. Found the plans, put them in the humidifier and sent Jan an instructional email about getting them out and delivering them to photos for scanning. Now I just finished scanning the specifications log that goes with the plans, I need to eat some lunch and get ready for June to look over a genie collection.

yay thursday. The sun is shining today and I am stuck in this building. argh

March 2

Tuesday. Good grief. Cuadra issues, volunteer helping, more requests. I de-acidified and encapsulated the maybe donation, certificates etc. I flattened out the Thoburn stuff that was big and rolled. I delivered to Mr. B. I griped at LarBear. boo

Comic meeting went really well, we now have a layout with a number of panels and the things we need to buy and get and now all we have to do it make it happen. yikes. Set up another interview and it should be pretty sweet, the 13th - saturday but ok.

Pulled some boxes today, Alice Robertson stuff. Discovered a scanning issue wherein I clearly need to make up a scan order form. Don't we have one already? I will look into that.

#frustration #panels #scanning

oh stop

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): If you're bogged down in the trance of the humdrum routine, astrology can open your mind and illuminate fascinating patterns that have been invisible to you. It can reveal the big picture of your life story, sweeping away the narrow ideas and shrunken expectations you have about yourself. And it can purge your imagination of its endless tape loops, awakening you to the power you have to create your own destiny. But reliance on horoscopes can also have downsides. If you're superstitious, it might make you even more so. If you're prone to be passive, believing that life is something that happens to you, it might further diminish your willpower. That's why, as much as I love astrology, I'm wary of its potential to deceive and lead astray. Is there anything comparable in your world, Gemini? Something that feeds and inspires you, but only if you're discerning about it? This is a good time to ratchet up your discernment.

March 1

oh thank goodness we all survived February. With your name that does not spell as it sounds, your holiday of obligatory gift giving, and the traditional freezing cold wind and drizzle. yay.

Monday has been thwarted by requests and a dr. appt. I did return books at ODL and picked up some super dvd's to get me and the boy through the week.

So- still haven't heard back from the staging lady- considering calling the competition. ?? I have 5 reference requests that I will start this afternoon. Other developments: J is making great progress with the vertical file, I love having her around for that task! S reappeared after an absence of some months, I have set him up in the corner formerly held by C.

Now I am going to discuss the story line of this comic exhibit, hopefully resulting in some framework for the panel structure. ahhhhh structure!!!

#valentines day #february #volunteers

danmeth

okiearchivist-blog

danmeth:

It occurred to me that they froze Han Solo into one of those French chocolate kid biscuits. Dork out on that. -Dan

*commence dorking out*

glad to know I am not alone in this world of cool people

everyone should know how to do this...

Feb 25

It is now well into the afternoon and I have helped Al Turner look at some things, then we had a nice discussion about appraisal and the challenges facing archives today. Tough digital world out there!!

I am going to pull the first boxes of the Vance Coll. into my office so tomorrow I can get started on them, now I am going to make a list of the ideas and events that I would like to see in the cartoonists exhibit.

Feb 23

Tuesday consisted of little bits, requests, re-boxing the Women's Resource Center Collection, meeting about the March 20 deal, and chatting it up w/ Ang.

Feb 25

this morning has been awe awe awesome.

I came in and talked with Larry about things, got Troy started on data entry, then had to deal with Cuadra errors. Pulled a diary for Al Turner who is also here to look at the Clark Coll. ??

Judie and I then went to get our eyebrows threaded which was super, then stopped at Big Truck on the way back. One mexican coke later and I am ready to ROCK this afternoon.

I also checked in with Sam because we have some 10 tickets for the play already!! woot woot. Then chatted about the exhibit with Elizabeth, decided on a game plan to get the ball rolling on panels and text. Jeff has finalized the poster design with Tidwell and the final product should be delivered in the next 2 weeks. Rolling along! Now I am going to send Corey and update email and a monkey picture.

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ar·chi·vist (är'kə-vĭst)