Library and Information Science Commons^™

Python For Archivists: Breaking Down Barriers Between Systems, Gregory Wiedeman

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Working with a multitude of digital tools is now a core part of an archivist’s skillset. We work with collection management systems, digital asset management systems, public access systems, ticketing or request systems, local databases, general web applications, and systems built on smaller systems linked through application programming interfaces (APIs). Over the past years, more and more of these applications have evolved to meet a variety of archival processes. We no longer expect a single tool to solve all our needs and embraced the “separation of concerns” design principle that smaller, problem-specific and modular systems are more effective than large …

Dh And The Digital Archive, Cal Murgu

FIMS Publications

No abstract provided.

Bohms Away! Lessons From A Collection Survey, Jessica E. Johnson, Margaret T. Kidd

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

VCU James Branch Cabell Library underwent a major renovation and expansion from 2014 to 2016, necessitating a move of all special collections and archives materials. After the move we surveyed our collections to help us regain intellectual and physical control. In addition, the survey allowed us to assess whether collections were in need of additional processing or reprocessing to make them more accessible physically and intellectually, identify special formats, and address conservation issues.

To conduct the survey, we created a form and used this in conjunction with the assessment tool in Archivists’ Toolkit. The form included checklists to note information …

Painless Portal Partnerships: Collaboration And Its Challenges For Small Organizations, Christine Mcevilly

Publications and Research

This article addresses challenges inherent in collaborative archival projects involving both large institutions and small historical societies. It identifies these unique problems and outlines potential solutions to overcome these issues. Examples are drawn from the Portal to American Jewish History project and contextualized within the professional literature on ethnic or community archives and archival collaboration. This project collected metadata from a wide range of Jewish history archives and aggregated the records in a single searchable website.

The Austin Archives Bazaar: A Collaborative Outreach Event, Daniel Alonzo, Amy Rushing, Kristy Sorensen

Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists

The Austin Archives Bazaar (AAB) is a biennial, multi-institutional, community outreach event organized by the Archivists of Central Texas (ACT), an all-volunteer group of archivists in Austin, Texas. It is designed to be free, fun, and appealing to the general public, including folks who may not even know exactly what an archives is. This paper looks at the planning and execution of the 2016 Bazaar and reflects back on how it built on lessons learned in 2014 with a focus on issues of governance, fundraising, publicity, logistics, and the participating repository perspective. This case study of a creative, multi-institutional outreach …

Hidden Figures Class Museum Project, Amanda Benigni, Anna Smith

Museum Assignments

In the secondary English/Language Arts classroom, inquiry-based learning is most often adopted as a method for teaching literary analysis. But teachers too often overlook the fact that literary analysis is not the only means of facilitating inquiry-based learning. Research, particularly archival research, can provide students with yet another opportunity for inquiry and reflective thinking.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly (both the mass-market paperback and the Young Reader's Edition), is a text that is especially well-suited to teaching archival research skills to young learners, as it is itself the product of a rigorous, thoughtful, and purposeful research project conducted by …

An Examination Of The Convergence Of Theory In Libraries And Archives, Eric Willey

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

While the convergence of libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) has received considerable attention, a literature review indicates that integration has primarily occurred around digitization projects, exhibits, and budgets, while professional identity serves as a barrier to integration of scholarly work. The present study examines to what extent scholarly theory between archives and libraries has converged by surveying citations from 2008-2016 for top-rated library journals in archival journals (and vice-versa), examining Library of Congress Subject Headings of cataloged books and dissertations in OCLC WorldCat from 2008-2016, and examining papers generated by special projects related to convergence in LAMs. Findings indicate that …

Utilizing Student Workers At The Digital Library Of Georgia, Mandy L. Mastrovita, Donnie Summerlin

Georgia Library Quarterly

Libraries and archives have become increasingly reliant on student employees to perform duties essential to the daily work of making cultural heritage materials accessible to patrons. This article details how students are recruited, trained, managed, and mentored from the perspective of supervisors at the Digital Library of Georgia. Topics discussed include hiring procedures, training techniques, work assigned to undergraduate and graduate students, the handling of archival materials, digital imaging, metadata, and social media. The article will also examine methods for creating a rewarding and educational work environment for students that promotes the library profession.

Purdue Data Orientation Checklist: An Archival Approach For Data Users, Carly Dearborn

Libraries Faculty and Staff Creative Materials

The Data Orientation Checklist is intended to help a data user navigate an unfamiliar dataset, research material or digital collection. Whether joining a new research lab or downloading data from a public repository, navigating new data can be confusing and frustrating. This checklist was developed from the perspective of an archivist working with research data and borrows best practices from archival processing and research.

Archivists at Purdue University Libraries have been working with data curation initiatives since the mid-2000s. Early in the Libraries’ work with managing research data, Dean of Libraries James Mullins saw the value of archivists’ knowledge in …

Purdue Data Reuse Checklist: An Archival Approach For Data Producers, Carly Dearborn

Libraries Faculty and Staff Creative Materials

The Data Reuse Checklist is intended to help a data producer verify their research data is well-described and read for reuse by a third party. It was developed from the perspective of an archivist working with research data and borrows best practices from archival processing and research.

Archivists at Purdue University Libraries have been working with data curation initiatives since the mid-2000s. Early in the Libraries’ work with managing research data, Dean of Libraries James Mullins saw the value of archivists’ knowledge in areas such as raw “data” collection, sensitive or personal information management, and defining user groups. Mullins brought …

Growing Up Fast: Using Vagrant To Prototype New Infrastructure, Joshua Neds-Fox, Cole Hudson, Graham S. Hukill

Library Scholarly Publications

The library established a task force with the university archive to preserve and provide access to the archive’s digital objects. The archive said: ‘here’s 60 terabytes.’ We (the librarians) thought: ‘our 2 terabyte, single server infrastructure won’t work.’ So, we sketched out one that met the archive’s requirements and aligned with trusted digital repository best practices. Given limited resources to build out this infrastructure, we turned to virtual machines.

Our presentation will outline how prototyping with Vagrant and virtual machines allowed us to put a theoretical infrastructure through the wringer, improving the design and leading to a confident deployment.

Advances In Research Using The C-Span Archives, Robert X. Browning

Purdue University Press Books

This book is a guide to the latest research using the C-SPAN Archives. In this book, nine authors present original work using the video archives to study presidential debates, public opinion and Congress, analysis of the Violence Against Women Act and the Great Lakes freshwater legislation, as well as President Clinton’s grand jury testimony. The C-SPAN Archives contain over 220,000 hours of first run digital video of the nation’s public affairs record. These and other essays serve as guides for scholars who want to explore the research potential of this robust public policy and communications resource.

How To Have A Successful Archives Crawl On A Shoestring Budget, Maurice R. Blackson, Carlos Pelley, Julia Stringfellow

Library Scholarship

Central Washington University Archives and Special Collections hosts an annual archives crawl. This article reports about evolution and promotion of the event, and describes the archives and museums that participated in 2016.

Sailing Into Metrics: Rethinking And Implementing Metrics And Assessment In Archives, Amy C. Schindler

Criss Library Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

In 2014, SAA and RBMS appointed joint task forces to address the challenges that archival repositories face related to metrics and assessment. The task forces are drafting proposed metrics and standards, but calls for how to implement data gathering continue. This session will share case studies on the implementation of data gathering from the ground up, metrics and assessment in instruction and reference, and identifying the best and most efficient ways to quantify resources for assessment and decision making. The session will also address the transition from manual data gathering to tools like Aeon and LibInsight and the administrative outcomes …

Bringing Special Collections To Life: Open-Source Tools For Digital Exhibit Creation, Andrew Welp

Scholarship and Professional Work

In 2014, Butler University Libraries received an institutional "Innovation Fund" grant to implement a large-scale digitization project to facilitate access and discovery of unique institutional holdings. Today, the Butler Digital History Initiative [digitalhistory.butlerlibraryservices.org] is comprised of several digital collections and interactive "digital exhibits" providing additional context and accessibility to archival materials to external and internal stakeholders. This program will highlight the open-source tools, procedures, and partnerships that enabled Butler University Libraries to bring their special collections to life.

2nd Annual Archives Crawl, Central Washington University

Brooks Library Events

The Ellensburg Archives and Museum Crawl is a tour of the archives and special collections in Ellensburg.

Simon Says (Fall 2016), David Owings, Jacqueline Radebaugh, Mark Flynn

Library Newsletters

In this issue:

• Managing Your University Records
• Digital Photography in the Archives
• Servant Leadership: Theory & Practice Joins the CSU ePress
• New Executive Director for GALILEO
• Logging into GALILEO Made Easier
• New to GALILEO: EBSCOHost’s eBook Academic Collection
• Library Spotlight: Departmental News and Highlights
• Departmental Changes
• Upcoming Library Forum Events
• Upcoming Library Exhibits
• CSU Libraries Connected

Image As Evidence: A Citation Analysis Of Visual Resources In American History Scholarship, 2010–2014, Jillian M. Ewalt

Marian Library Faculty Publications

The author examines the use of visual resources in American history scholarship over a five-year period. The article reports on a citation analysis of 554 images published in two top American history journals from 2010 through 2014. The data collected in this study documents the extent to which images were used in history research and the types of libraries and archival repositories from which historians accessed images. Based on the study data, the article explores characteristics of frequently cited libraries and archival repositories, the capacity in which images function as historical evidence, and implications for libraries based on the findings.

La Culpa La Tiene Derrida: La Praxis Deconstrucionista De Buitrago Y Sus Implicaciones En Mi Quehacer Archivístico, Marisol Ramos

UConn Library Presentations

En esta presentación discutiré como el antropólogo Carlos Buitrago, durante su periodo decontrucionista, influyó mi carrera académica en el campo de la archivística. En mi trabajo trazare el camino recorrido junto con Buitrago, primero como su ayudante de investigación en 1992 en un proyecto analizando los repartos vecinales del pueblo de Adjuntas (1824-1832), luego en 1993, trabajando juntos en el Archivo General de Puerto Rico donde me introdujo a los archivos de aguas de Guayama y el tema de los sistemas de riego en este pueblo durante el siglo XIX, y más tarde en 1999 cuando compartió conmigo sus transcripciones …

The John Stokes And Mary's Gardens Collection, Stephanie Shreffler, Jillian M. Ewalt

Roesch Library Faculty Publications

The John Stokes and Mary’s Gardens Collection documents the research of John S. Stokes Jr. and the history and activities of the Mary’s Gardens movement, a popular Catholic movement related to planting devotional gardens dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This article provides an overview of this collection and a discussion on archival management, preservation, and outreach.

Sc Library Spotlight - Lander University Archives, April Akins

South Carolina Libraries

April Akins shares information about Lander University Archives, and the new research space that has been established.

Top Ten Questions And Answers About Digital Preservation For Special Collections And Archives, Jaime Schumacher, Lynne M. Thomas

Faculty Books & Book Chapters

Chapter 14 from New Directions For Special Collections: An Anthology of Practice. The authors take a pragmatic approach to common digital preservation challenges faced by caretakers of unique digital materials in libraries and archives.

What Is Possible: Setting The Stage For Co-Exploration In Archives And Special Collections, Patrick Williams

Librarian Publications

Chapter Tweleve in Pagowsky, N. & McElroy, K. (2016) Critical Library Pedagogy Handbook, Volume 1: Essays and Workbook Activities. ACRL Press.

University Library-Community Partnership: The Basic Archives Workshop As A Joint Community Support And Collection Development Initiative, Ruth E. Bryan, Sarah Dorpinghaus, Yvonne Giles

Library Presentations

In Fall 2015, local historian Yvonne Giles approached staff in the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) at the University of Kentucky Libraries about holding a basic archives workshop for clerks and secretaries of Lexington African American Baptist churches. Staff were excited to partner with Yvonne and held the first workshop for four participants in November 2015. The second workshop, given in early March 2016, attracted 15 participants from a wide variety of local organizations. A third workshop was held in June 2016. Giles and two SCRC staff (Ruth Bryan and Sarah Dorpinghaus) will discuss their individual and library-level reasons for …

Online Access To American Diocesan Archives: Current State And Lessons For Other Repositories, Colleen Hoelscher

Marian Library Faculty Presentations

A 1997 circular letter from the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church said that “In the mind of the Church, archives are places of memory of the Christian community and storehouses of culture for the new evangelization.” As a tool for the evangelizing mission of the Church, it is vital that diocesan archives, as the official repositories of the American Catholic Church, are accessible to scholarly researchers and other patrons. A survey of diocesan archives examined how this category of archival repository is making information about their collections available on the internet. Diocesan websites were surveyed to …

The Queer Omaha Archives, Amy Schindler

Criss Library Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

The Queer Omaha Archives, in Criss Library Archives & Special Collections at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, preserves and provides access to the history of LGBTQIA+ life in the region. The archives collects, preserves, and makes available to the public material documenting the diverse people and organizations of the greater Omaha region and their experiences and work. In this session, we’ll share how this new community collecting initiative was begun and how the library is extending existing and establishing new relationships with campus and community members to preserve the region’s LGBTQIA+ history and make it available for use.

2016 Annual Report Of The Work In Imsa’S Archives, Marti Guarin, Christian D. Nokkentved

Archives' Annual Report

This year the focus of the Archives has been on further developing several collections and making them available on Digital Commons [DC], work that has been made possible by the expertise and creativity of Jean Bigger and her work on DC. In addition work has continued to strengthen collections in general, to build new collections, and to make the Archives more accessible to administration, students, faculty, staff, students, and alumni, as well as to others in Illinois, USA and the world. To that end the volunteer staff set four sets of goals for the year, which are set out below …

Say Yes To Digital Surrogates: Strengthening The Archival Record In The Postcustodial Era, Cyndi Shein, Emily Lapworth

Journal of Western Archives

Shein and Lapworth demonstrate how employing “scan-and-return” practices to strengthen and diversify archival collections is a creative and responsible way to provide researchers with equitable and ongoing access to a more inclusive and democratic historical record. The authors review some of the main archival theories and practices of the postcustodial era to show how their position is built on professional values and widely-accepted premises. They explain how and why UNLV Special Collections has joined a community of practice that validates stewardship of digital surrogates in support of the preeminent mandate of archives to preserve and provide broad access to cultural …

Archival Processing Science, Stefanie A. Caloia

Reuther Library Scholarly Publications

Archival collections come in all sizes, formats, and subjects, and it is impossible for any archival education program to cover all situations that professional archivists encounter. Proper planning is essential to processing and paramount when a collection comprises hundreds of linear feet, yet it is often difficult to develop and implement processing plans when drawing on your experience alone. This presentation details a method of conducting a pre-archival processing survey that can be useful through all processing stages, as well as some additional tips on handling archival materials.

From There To Here: Building An Archives Program At The Dr. Joann Rayfield Archives, April K. Anderson-Zorn

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

This conference panel discussed the development of new archives programs across multiple disciplines. The portion delivered by Anderson focused on the creation of the program at the Rayfield Archives at Illinois State University, exploring issues that included staff and intern training, collection management, administration, and advocacy.