Ill

It seems a bit early in the semester for me to be ill, but that’s the current situation. Nasty head cold. Ick. I haven’t slept well for two nights. I talk like a honking goose. My head weighs 80 pounds. And I have a job interview today.

Great timing, eh?

I’ll be sure to perk up with plenty of herbal tea before I go in this afternoon. I did a menthol/eucalyptus steam thing earlier, and that helped tremendously. Maybe I’ll do that again before I head out. Though, then I run the risk of having steam face – you know, where you get all red and sweaty looking? Yeah, that’ll be really impressive: Hi, I’m full of mucus and I’m sweaty! I’ll take that job now.

Once I perk up and put on my interview clothes, I’ll feel much better. I’ll make sure to take my nice handkerchiefs, so even if I’m all gross, I can at least have pretty accessories.

ARRRR!

Here be pirates!

I nearly missed it last year, and if Flickr hadn’t reminded me, I’d have missed it this year, too. I think I may have also missed the celebration day of the patron saint of librarians and archivists, but having googled it, I think there are a few saints to choose from. I’ll have to actually do some research on that, just out of curiosity. My vote goes to St. Catherine of Alexandria (beheaded in BCE 305 in Alexandria, Egypt). I love celebration days, even if I’m not Catholic. (There’s a book, Making Saints, that I’ve been wanting to read for ages, but have never gotten around to. Eventually.)

ETA: jolly roger flag restoration (link via BitchPhD)

MLS soon, i can has job?

Been trying to find a couple of part time jobs to work around my course schedule this semester. I’ve spent some time the last couple of days trying to tart up my resume so it reflects my most recent archives experience. It’s looking pretty good, I must say. I have a few different versions, as one should, so they’re also rather flexible.

I’ve only applied to two jobs thus far: one where I might not be entirely qualified, and one where I’m overqualified. It’s a strange place to be. I am always keeping my eye out for other appropriate opportunities, though. My advice for job seeking in this environment? Keep scouring the job lists, and apply as soon as you see something interesting. In this field, in this town, jobs are snatched up quickly. Especially the para-professional ones.

I’d be willing to bet that nearly all para-professional library jobs in this area are filled with Simmons GSLIS students. There’s an understanding that we’re all competing for the same jobs. And we’re not all crazy and cutthroat, either, which is nice. I’ve heard that in schools for other professions, the grad students are much more bloodthirsty in their quest for employment. It’s nice to engage in friendly competition without fear of incuring the wrath of fellow librarians-to-be.

“The Wrath of Librarians” would make a great movie.

Beginnings and Endings

As the semester begins, the first phase of my work at the MSPCA is ending. I submitted my report to the appropriate parties, who will then present it to the CEO. I’ll still be in contact with the assistant to the CEO and the grant writer, but for now, I’m not actively working for them. Once more grant money is secured, then the next phases of the project can continue, and I’ll be involved further.

It was a great project, and it looks fabulous on my resume (which I’ve just updated for the most recent round of job applications). I am quite pleased with the work I was able to accomplish this summer, and am gratified to know that my work was appreciated. It helped me sort of work out what I might want to do “when I grow up.” It got me thinking more about what areas of archives I really am interested in. I love the way archives can be used to illustrate the history of an organization, and how the archives can be used as a marketing tool, in addition to the academic/research side of things. This marketing doesn’t have to be in a corporate environment, either. A library needs to market itself (to secure funding), a town needs to interest tourists, etc.

I think archives can play a huge role in this kind of marketing and public outreach. I am, of course, being interested in an academic archives environment, concerned with the educational role of an archives: linking the primary source materials with the work of instructors. Finding creative ways to use the materials in an archives (or special collection, manuscript collection, etc) to inform the public of our presence will be a step forward towards making archivists less like ‘passive guardians’ and more like educators themselves.

Feeling rather optimistic, and waxing poetical about the profession today. Don’t worry. It won’t last; it’s still the beginning of the semester!

Firsts of the Last

We’ve had the first sessions of both of my classes this semester. I had the privilege of being among those to raise their hand when asked, “Who is graduating at the end of this semester?” I am taking the following courses:

• Records Management – the last of my archives core classes. The instructor is all “Woo hoo records! Awesome!” And I’m all, “Yes, important, but not that woo-hoo.” Still, records make the world go round, especially in an archives, therefore, it must be learned. It’s a very structured course, which complements the looseness of the other course (see below), and should provide that needed balance. It’s an evening course (6 – 9pm), so I’m stretching my boundaries a bit. My brain usually clocks out around 4 pm, so this might be a struggle. Though I may do well and get a second wind, so we’ll see.
• Digital Libraries – this is where it’s at this semester. I failed to register early enough to get into this class originally, but the series of scary emails that the instructor sent out must have been sufficiently frightening so as to make the wait list people drop like flies. I was number twelve on the list in the beginning, and I was able to get in two days before the class began. We’ll be working as a committee to launch a website for the Notable Women of Simmons collection. I’ve already volunteered for the position of documentarian/historian/project archivist. There was a bit of competition for this position, but I had my camera at the ready and as soon as class was over, took photos of our brainstorming activities. I really wanted this position, and so (even though the instructor asked us to let her know our preferences after class) I just sort of stepped up. Not my usual classroom behavior, to say the least, but I’m excited about it. I’ll be managing that section of the class wiki, most likely. And I’ll be setting up a Flickr page for that aspect of the project.

I’m feeling pretty energized about the semester. It’s going to be a TON of work, but well worth it. In Digital Libraries, I will have been part of a collaborative effort, and will have something tangible to show at the end of the semester. And in Records Management I’ll be gaining skills appropriate for the academic archival environment, so that’s good, too (though not as exciting).

The Shiny New Job

Thursday, 31 May, was my first day at the shiny new job. I’ve decided that my title is Archives Consultant. It sounds better than the whole “temporary-part-time” thing. It was just a made-up title, anyway, so I might as well make up a new, improved one, right? The MSPCA has funds set aside to pay for a consultant to help them develop a plan to organize and preserve their archival materials, and to survey the contents of the collection. This information will then be used to seek further funding in order to develop an archives program for the institution. I am the first step in that process. Ten years ago, someone started to organize things, but not much of it is accessible at the moment.

It’s my job to help the grant writer convince the funding agencies that the materials in the collection are important and need to be saved. They document not only the history of the MSPCA, but also Boston and the U.S., especially the social movements of the late 19^th and early 20^th Centuries. Preservation isn’t cheap, but it doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive, either. I will come up with a plan that includes short-term and long-term actions for preservation, starting with stabilizing the environment. I mentioned that the first step is to get some air conditioning up here (top most floor, next to the elevator machine room), not just for my comfort, but for the collection’s sake. When I came in yesterday morning, they were being installed, though I still have to turn them off when I’m not there.

Despite being distracted by the whole car situation, I managed to have a wonderful first day on Thursday. This is the first job I’ve ever had where I wasn’t ill and anxious on the first day. I actually have confidence, am able to speak intelligently about things I know about. I may be green in this profession, but it’s amazing to finally be able to demonstrate some sort of expertise. I don’t know everything that I’ll need to know to make every decision, but I know who to talk to help me find out what I need to know.

All of those internships and experiences are paying off. I know just enough to start putting things into practice, and to start crafting a career. It’s a great feeling. I’ll stop there, because I’m sure to start gushing and to get all Rah-Rah Cheerleader about archives. As my career continues, I’m sure I’ll stumble through difficult spots, but right now, things are pretty great: the end of my formal education is within sight, and I’m taking the first steps into my chosen profession.

Speaking of school, the first of my last three courses begins this Saturday. It’s a very short course: 5 meetings to occur over a span of 15 days.

Offered, accepted

Guess who’s the new, part-time, temporary Archivist of the MSPCA?

I just sent off my acceptance note this morning.

I’m probably going to end up with a whole menagerie at home, since I’ll be allowed to pop down to the shelter at my leisure. Hooray for animals and archivists!

Semester wrap-up

(The I-actually-got-some-sleep edition.)

Right, so I took two courses this semester: Oral History and Preservation Management.

The fruits of my Oral History course were deposited in the instructor’s mailbox first thing this morning. (I finished the paperwork after the GSLIS office closed yesterday.) I think the project turned out well. I wanted to document an oral history of Webs: America’s Yarn Store, in Northampton, MA. I interviewed members of the Elkins family who own the business: Barbara (the founder), her husband Art, and Steve and Kathy who currently own Webs.

They were lovely to talk to, and quite generous with their time. I’ll be sending them a copy of the interviews once I make a nice cover for the CD case. The one I turned in to the archives is quite plain. The instructor mentioned to me that there has been considerable interest in these interviews among his friends and colleagues. I’m so glad they came out well enough that I won’t be too embarrassed to hear that other people are going to listen to them. I do sound quite nervous on the first one, though. When I get nervous I get all chirpy and unnaturally perky. Rather annoying, really. Otherwise I think I did OK.
The Preservation Management paper was submitted via email Sunday evening, but I have to resubmit it, due to technical difficulties. I don’t have MS Word on my laptop, and use Open Office, instead. I converted it to a Word file, but didn’t realilze that it was in XML and not a DOC format. And, of course, I don’t have the file on my geek stick, and have to wait until I get home this evening to convert it on JeT’s computer, and email it to my instructor.

I chose “Textile Preservation” as my topic. You can find my presentation outline, as well as a list of sources and links here. It was an interesting topic to look in to. So far during this program, I’ve managed to make most of my assignments relevant to both archives and textiles. I obviously don’t want to do any project that isn’t professionally or academically irrelevant, so I’ve managed to make even my library classes focus on archives. But I’m surprised at the number of textile projects I’ve been able to do.

In other school related news: we now have access to the entire library! It’s been under construction since Summer/Fall 2005. When I first started in Fall 2005 the library had a super secret spy entrance. It was quite shady: you had to go around this corner, under some scaffolding, follow the work lights, to get to the door. It was hot, stuffy, with poor ventilation, leaky, gross. We’ve been in half of the new building since Fall 2006, but it’s been a bit too cozy in there. If you need to be in the library between 10 am and 4 pm, you may not get a spot to sit.

But yesterday, I entered the library in my 7:30 am stupor only to find that the space is now doubled. It’s huge. It’s wonderful. GSLIS even has its own section back, and it’s not on sequestered in some stuffy corner. As soon as you walk through the doors, if you look directly to your left, you’ll see it: “Library and Information Science.” It’s a big sign, right next to the (currently empty) stacks. Of course, the whole library is filled with undergraduates, who insist on chatting in the quiet sections, but at least we have our space back. I’ll be really glad in the Fall when I don’t have to request books from storage all semester long. Hooray for being able to use the library before I graduate!

I have an appointment this afternoon at 1 pm, but it feels great to not have anything to do. I am taking a Summer class out at Mt. Holyoke, but I think having a couple of weeks for my brain to rest will be sufficient. That will give me plenty of time to work on my project for the art show out at SEA’s on the 26th. I’m bummed that I won’t get to go to the Pirate Party chez Pedersen, but I’ll just have to hang out with those folks some other time. Man, I love the end of the semester!

DONE!

The pages are still warm from having just been printed, but that, my friends, is that for the semester. Technically, I still have two more class meetings to go, but I have no more work to do for either of them.

I submitted my paper (using the extension kindly granted to our class by the preservation instructor) last night. It took me all day, though, to finish my Oral History paperwork. I seriously thought I’d be done by 11:00 and could go print stuff out on our break. Alas, this was not so. But, whatever, it’s a cool project and it’s done. So there. (That’s not to say I wasn’t beating myself up for not having it done when the instructor wanted.)

For my textile preservation paper, I annotated a handful of sources and included that along with my summary of textile preservation needs, because the paper wasn’t quite long enough, and I had run out of things to say. By “not quite long engough” I mean that I was done at five pages. The other five consist of my comments about some of my sources, furiously checking the word count every paragraph or so. Luckily, though, the annotations fit right in with what I was trying to accomplish with that assignment: orienting archivists to the potential needs of textiles and introducing them to excellent sources online. So, yeah, it worked.

I’ll write more about the Oral History project when I’ve had a day or so to decompress. It was a great experience, but the clerical work at the end has worn me out. Oh, I still want to make a super fun cover for the CD, too. I’m also planning on putting together a little thank you package for the Elkins family, who have been so generous and kind. It would be great if I could deliver the package in person, but the next time I’ll see them will be for the Yarn Harlot event on the 30th, and they’ll be totally consumed by Her Canadian Awesomeness that I wouldn’t want to bombard them with my project results.

Textile Preservation

Check out my presentation website for Preservation Management.

Textile Preservation: “Constant Vigilance!”