Week 12: Storage and Research

After finishing my collection last week, my collection was now ready for storage. Archive collections are stored in a a separate humidity controlled room.This room is also protected by a locked cage so that only authorized personnel may enter. Once a collection is finished, the collection is placed on one of the shelves and organized by call number. That is the final step of archiving a collection.

So with my collection finished, I was given the task to do some research. A man had come in to the Archives department seeking any information about his father. His father had attended Loyola around 1953 and played for the basketball team. With this information, I searched through yearbooks and student newspapers to see if I could find any mention of this man's father. Eventually I was able to find some information in the school newspaper that included a picture of the basketball team he was on. This information was tagged and then provided to him. So while an archivist may be responsible for organizing and maintaining collections, they are also responsible for helping to assist others in research.

Week 11: Finishing the Finding Aid

In order to complete the finding aid, I had to label each individual folder with a folder and box number. For instance, the first folder of box one would be labelled 1-1. This would allow me to keep track of which folder was contained in each box. Once I did this, I had to add these numbers to the finding aid and give the title of the folders and what they contain. This is so that it is organized and easier to find when searching for a file. After completing this step, I went back and gave my collection a quick run-through to make sure that everything was recorded and that my collection was in order. With everything set, I finished creating my finding aid and finished my collection. Next week, I will put my collection in storage.

Week 10: Creating a Finding Aid

Since I completed organizing my collection last week, this week my task was to create a finding aid. A finding aid is a written guide that provides information about the collection, such as a description about the collection, a description about the institution, how the collection is organized, what subjects are found in the collection and provides a location for the items within the collection. All this information provides researchers and archivists with the necessary information to easily locate a particular piece of the collection. This is a very important step in the archives process.

Link to a list of finding guides for current Loyola University Archives material can be found here.

Week 9: Boxing my Collection

This week, I finished up organizing my files from the Extension Society. After putting each file in order and grouping them into folders, I labelled the folders with the appropriate description and date. Once this was completed, I was provided with three hollinger/archives boxes which were used to store the files. These boxes are designed for archive material and provide safe storage for an extended period of time. These boxes are acid-free which helps prevent paper from breaking down and have a metal-edge on their corners that provide protection. They also contain a loop which allows easy access to pulling the boxes off the shelves. For my collection, I labelled the boxes as the Catholic Church Extension Society and provided it with a number in the set. This will be helpful when creating a finding guide.

Week 8: Organizing My Collection

This week I continued to work on sorting through and organizing the Catholic Church Extension Society files. As I mentioned in the previous week, I organized the letters first alphabetically and then when possible, chronologically. After I organized the letters, I placed them into folders and labelled them with a brief, general description of what type of files they were and to what dates they pertain. This allows for others to have easier access to the files and provides important information that can help a researcher save time. 

Week 7

This week I returned back to my working on the Catholic Church Extension Society files. After having completed my survey of the material, I have begun to start sorting and organizing the files. This is an important step in maintaining a collection because it allows the archivist to access the material quickly and accurately by having it sorted into an organized collection. This is also an important step in order to help create finding guides, that assist in locating each individual item. Since most of these files are letters, I have decided to sort them alphabetically by the name of the person or group in which these files are sent to. There are some files that cover the same topic but are addressed to different individuals but since they are part of the same group, they will be categorized together by the name of the group. This way, files pertaining to the same topic will not be separated and harder to access. Next week, I will be continue to sort through and organize the collection.

Week 5 and 6: Surveying and Open House

For week 5 I continued to work on surveying the Catholic Church Extension Society's general correspondence files and I finished my survey. Most of these files contain letters of donations and their corresponding letters. There are also some pictures and applications that people have filed as an appeal for aid. These documents provide an insight into how the society worked and what their purpose was. The next step will be to sort these files in order to create a system in which they can be accessed.

For week 6 I was asked to assist in doing research and help organize for the Archives department's open house. The open house is meant to showcase the Archives department's material and to bring awareness to people about the departments purpose. As part of the research, I was responsible for searching through and selecting pictures that can be used in the showcase and used to highlight the department's collection. 

Below are examples of material I surveyed:

Photo From Native American Missionary

Checking Slips & Account Book

Blueprint Drawing

Newspaper Article