November 20-November 21

I cannot believe it, but my internship has ended today. I have fulfilled the hour requirement and I have finished the coding for the finding aid. A few folders needed to reorganize, and some edits needed to be made, but these were minor tasks that were completed easily. It still needs to be proofread, and my supervisor informed me that it will most likely be uploaded later in next year’s spring semester. Also, the publications that were part of the collection still need to be added onto the finding aid before it is ready to be uploaded. I am very proud of myself and during my internship I have learned a lot about the inner workings of an archival institution. During my previous internship I learned about the digital aspect of archiving, but I was not working in a true archival environment. With this internship it was an entirely different case. I worked alongside professional archivists, learned the coding that went in behind finding aids, learned about series and subseries, and processed my own collection. While the finding aid is not ready for a digital release, I am proud of how it looks in it’s present state and I look forward to receiving the internet link when it is put on the website. That way I can put it on my resume, so others can see my archival experience. Overall, this internship made me feel more confident that archiving is what I want to establish a career in. I’d also like to archive a collection consisting of something besides documents in order to broaden my experience, such as artwork or memorabilia.

There were readings for this final week that I found to be interesting. One article was about another volunteer who volunteered at the Guardian News and Media archive. While reading this article I found myself comparing my experience with the volunteer’s. Like me, the volunteer Caceres oversaw the digitization of archival material. However, she digitized Guardian radio adverts while I digitized sermons for the Unitarian Church of Orlando. Another similarity is that she cataloged and identified old materials too. Also, she had to use her research skills the same way I had to use mine in order to learn more about Dr. Wendell Lawther and the teaching of Public Administration at UCF. The only difference was that she was cataloging cartoons by a New Zealand cartoonist while I was focusing on a broad variety of documents. The second article focused on an old-fashioned archive of the New York Times known simply as the ‘Morgue.’ This archive houses news clippings, photo prints, books, periodicals and many more. What amazed me the most about this diverse archive was the size. According to the article there are millions of photographic prints and clippings. This article made me very worried too, because it stated that complete digitization of the Morgue is impossible. The material is too fragile to be placed in scanners and are far too large in number. The fact that the Morgue only has one filer does not help matters. This article reminded me that, while the profession might not be very well known among the public, the role of archivist is still a very important and needed one.