Sharing images

I learned a few months ago that Alumni House is scanning all of the yearbooks.  I only found out when they needed to borrow one they were missing.  Now Jared, Hobart Alumni Dir, is getting us together to see how we can support each other in these scanning projects.  How great is that?

Also, last week Sara and I went to a OCLC/RRLC workshop on CONTENTdm.  I think the meeting this morning will give us a opportunity to suggest the group lobby for buying CONTENTdm because Alumni House, Communications and the Library can all use it.  We’ll see what happens.

Authority files

I don’t know if any of you have run into the same situation with authorities that I have…

The  archives was originally setup  with item cataloging.  All  folders  are items in the card catalog.   I estimate  at best  20% of the  card catalog has  be converted to  MARC  and in our Voyager catalog. Since I came I’ve been item cataloging the digitized photographs.

Once Archivist’s Toolkit showed up on the scene, I’ve been trying to do incoming materials as collections.  Also, pulling some of the existing “items” together into subject collections for ease of use.

Now the names and subjects headings that are in the Voyager catalog are not in the AT names and subjects and visa versa.  I want to be as precise with our local names and subjects as p0ssible.  Here is my plan:

• I have Pauline, a super precise cataloger in our Tech Services, working with me.
• Pauline is checking the names and subjects I have already put in AT for correctness. (I’m not a cataloger by training.)
• She is then going through Voyager and checking that the headings conform to AT.
• I’m using AT as THE authority file.  As I’m cataloging more photos or adding collections, I check the AT headings.  If a heading isn’t there, I add one.
• I’m keeping track of my additions to send to Pauline, so she can check for correctness.  I’m hoping this way new things won’t slip through the cracks, as she moves alphabetically down the list.

I hope I’m not making both Pauline’s and my life too complicated. It just seems there are so many possibilities for forms of all those faculty and alum names that without an authority file we might loose someone.

Using rare books to find rare books

I’ve gotten so I like to spend my Friday mornings seeing if I can find books in our special collections that might be particularly valuable.

Today I came upon “An Introduction to the Knowledge of Rare and Valuable Editions of the Greek and Latin Classics” by Thomas Frognall Dibdin.  1804 in our Special Closed Collection.  If it was only the 1st edition instead of the 2nd, it would be valuable on it’s own.

Into our Voyager catalog I went.  I set the limits to “special collections” and pub. date less than 1804, then started doing keyword searches on titles or authors from this book.  Since I don’t know Greek and Latin I was working somewhat blind.  I did find a 1552 Caesar and a 1607 Boethius that are potentially of value.

I think this book is going to keep me busy for a few more Friday mornings.

Meebo on the Archives Page

I just noticed that someone has been looking at my previous post on this, so here is an update.

The webpage was redesigned and the Meebo widget was moved from the middle left to the lower right.  I haven’t had a Meebo question since. Coincidence?

Twelfthic

I thought you would like to know that William Pitt Durfee, Hobart Dean, Acting President and Math Professor (1884-1929) is cited in the OED.  He was the first to use the word “twelfthic” in 1882.  He used it in an article of the American Journal of Mathematics.

Twelfthic: A quantic of the twelfth degree.

Words of wisdom from 1878

I’ve been looking at our shelves of donated books to determine if any are worthy of adding to our rare book collection.  I found one I just can’t resist.

Tuke, Damiel Hack M.D, Insanity in ancient and modern life, with chapters on its prevention. London: Macmillan, 1878.

Of course I went directly to the chapters on prevention.

• Importance of cheerfulness, sufficient mental rest, etc.
• Importance of diet [moderation of diet  and temperance is recommended.

There you have it. Go forth and be sane!

Deed of gift

Our director is working a a deed of gift for the library as a whole.  The one line that relates to Archives directly is:

“On a limited basis, the College Archives will accept select materials that pertain to the history of the Colleges, significant members of the Colleges’ community, or materials with particular relevance to the institution.”

It covers all the regular bases on our right to keep it, trade it, sell it or dump it, (in pretty language of course) and that we will not appraise it.

It also includes a form where the donor has to fill in the list of what is being donated, and of course sign.

The piece is still in draft form.  I’m curious if making the donor fill in the list will discourage some gifts, (though this is for 10 items or less) or if just having such a form will discourage gifts.

We are actually trying to cut down on the number of items we get that are of no use to us, and we end up having to dispose of.  Of course most of those come to Archives from within the Colleges.

Do you have any suggestions?

Presentation to faculty

It’s been a busy week.  I signed up to be the speaker at the faculty luncheon for this week.  I haven’t done much public speaking, um,  in the past few years, um, but, um, I think it went,um, alright.

My objective was to make sure they know their is an archives, and to interest some in integrating our materials into their classes.  I did the powerpoint with no “bullet points”, I just used photos.  That took a lot longer that I would have expected.  I was pulling use of the rare books collection, too.  I got a few people interested, so I feel it was worthwhile.  I hope to use some of it at Reunion and elsewhere, so it was worth the time I put into it.

With 20 plus years as a public librarian, I believe in selling the importance of our services, so we don’t disappear.

Finding Aids from Archivist’s Toolkit.

OK, I know a lot of you are quicker on the uptake than I am, but I’ve fused over doing finding aids with the data from Archivist’s Toolkit for months. I would try, get the data with no formating, try something else, no joy, wait a few weeks than start all over again.

“It’s all happened before, and it will all happen again.” BSG

I was:

• using the AT export EAD button
• taking the file to Notebook with the EAD Cookbook
• doing parse and validate
• doing make HTML

Makes sense, that was how I had done finding aids by hand.

Guess what! Finding Aid is a report under Resources in AT! Talk about making things harder than they need to be.

I did need some help with one change. The title of the finding aid was showing up as the ID number. I posted my question on atug-L yesterday and found it answered this morning. Thank you, Winona Salesky of UVM!!

If this helps anyone see the light sooner than I did…HUZZAH.

[Points for me, I remembered to update my Procedures Wiki with the new information. ]

Answers to “what should archive accept?”

Thank you all for your comments on this questions.  When I get this kind of support I feel a lot less “alone in the archives”. 

I don’t really have the time with a staff of one part-time person [me] to put the unidentified photos up on the web.  They are just not that high a priority.  I like the idea of putting them in a file and asking someone with institutional knowledge to stop by once a year to see if they can identify any.  I’m also thinking of setting up a display at Reunion asking for input.

Thanks, again!!