OK, a few big things to report. Work continues smoothly - nothing new to report there. We went to an Intern Ice Cream Social yesterday (free ice cream - I am there). That was fun and plus, we got out of work early. It was in the National Portrait Gallery so after we were done, I started that museum. I got most of the Portrait Gallery done. I will have to go back and finish the American Art side of the museum. I really enjoyed the portrait gallery. I saw a great exhibit on Katherine Hepburn, saw the Presidents' portraits (which jived well with my White House tour this afternoon. I also enjoyed a poster portrait exhibit they have at the moment. Who knew a cutout of Captain Jack Sparrow could be considered good enough for the National Portrait Gallery?!
Today, I left work early to go to my White House Tour. I got a bit turned around and ended up running a block to be on time. They checked my name off the list and I went through security. A few things - one, it's a self-guided tour which was a bit disappointing. Two, you don't see that much these days. Three rooms on the map are no longer open for viewing, two are open door only and so you just peek in. The President gets jipped in the library department though. My first act as presidnet would be to convert the East Room ( the biggest room in the house) to my library. I was jealous of his garden and his views. From the Blue Room, he is lined up with the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument is just to the side. Those are some of the rooms you get to walk through - the East, Red, Blue, Green and the State Dining Room. There were guards in each room who, I was surprised to find, were very knowledgeable about the rooms. You walk out the cross halls and then you're done. However, you get to exit out the Front door of the White House so I felt important. I liked seeing all the portraits in the house after just going to the Portrait Gallery the night before. However, the White House has the best portrait of JFK (the one you think of, with his arms crossed and looking down). And it was interesting to note, the most prominent first lady portrait was of Hillary Clinton in the downstairs hallway. It was fun to see and I'm glad I did it but it isn't something you need to feel bad about missing if you visit.
Afterwards, I went to see Wall-E - who is my soulmate. FYI. ;-)
Friday, June 27, 2008
Visiting TJ's crib and my weekend last week
Last weekend, I ventured out of DC on a road trip of sorts with two of my fellow interns. We went down to Charlottesville to see Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's homestead and to see the campus of the University of Virginia, TJ's brainchild in his later years. First off, we took the scenic route to get there. We were so involved in looking out for southern fast food joints that we need to try, we missed our first exit. No big though, after a stop so Matt and I could try our first Chik-fil-A sandwiches (which was delicious but I am not a sweet tea fan), we went the long way to Charlottesville. It was a picture perfect day. After being complete tourists and stopping at a "scenic view" stop on the highway for our first good look at the Blue Ridge Mountains, we arrived at Monticello. We got our tickets for the house tour and then took the bus up to the house. First off, TJ knew how to pick a spot. He had a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and more land than he knew what to do with. We started out with the Plantation walking tour. Bob, our guide, was very knowledgeable about the daily life on the plantation in Jefferson's time. He mainly discussed the lives of the slaves on the plantation and focused a lot on the Hemings family. I did like that they were very upfront on the fact that Jefferson definitely fathered at least one, if not all of Sally Hemings' children. DNA cannot lie of course. But that wasn't the focus of the tour, it was a walk down Mulberry Row and where the nailery and joinery would have been located. I liked the storytelling aspect of the tour but Bob was a bit long winded.
After the tour, we headed down to the graveyard and saw Jefferson's grave. Very different from the tomb of the Washingtons. It was sort of a mini-Washington monument. After taking our pictures of the headstone, we walked back up the hill and wondered about for awhile. I love the look of the house. Jefferson was an amateur architect and designed Monticello himself. All his travel in Europe meant he tried a lot of things at Monticello that hadn't been seen in the States yet at the time. The all-weather tunnel running under the house, the design on vents from the cellar into the house as a sort of pre-electricity air conditioning system. We chilled in the garden for a bit and then went to get in line for our house tour.
This was the best part of the day for me. If I ever design a house, I want Monticello. First off, his library was an extension of his "study" which led into his bedroom with a very cool alcove bed that was a running theme in the house. Best use of space was Jefferson's goal for the entire house so he came up or brought back from Europe all these "space saving" elements. Like, in his bedroom, his bed is between his study and the room but his closet is above his bed, accessible only by a ladder. A lot of his doors folded into the walls so they didn't take up space in the room. He had a fabulous "tea room" that I would have gladly lived in and the guest bedroom had another alcove bed for best use of space. Overall, I loved the house tour. Our tour guide (who's name I have sadly forgotten) was amazing - telling all the great stories but not being over-tedious. After the tour, we walked back down to our car (all down hill) and headed back towards Charlottesville to find food.
We found the main downtown district which is chock full of used bookstores - great and bad at the same time. I escaped with only one book so I was impressed with myself. After a quick dinner, we hopped on the free trolley and rode over to UVA. It is a good thing I never came to look at this campus, I would have had to come to a school that is huge but has the most beautiful campus I have ever seen. Seriously, I would live on it now. We got caught in a storm however so we cut our tour of campus short and headed back toward the car. Once back, the rain had stopped so we took a driving tour of campus instead. We found the stadium to take pictures as well. Heading back to Washington, we were treated to a fabulous sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains. Breaking what I am sure was quite a few laws, we pulled over to take picture which I think are my best yet this summer. It was a great trip though, full of lots of fun. I really enjoyed seeing the house at Monticello and UVA.
That was Saturday. On Sunday, I did a mini-museum marathon. I started at the Freer Gallery (Asian art with Whistler thrown in for good measure), the Sackler Gallery (more Asian art) and the Hirshorn Museum (Modern art). All three are lesser knowns in the Smithsonian family. I really enjoyed the Hirshorn actually which surprised me - I am not much of a modern art fan but they have a fabulous exhibit right now, temporary, on cinema art which was very interesting to walk through and take all the different films in and what they are trying to convey. After the museums, I walked through the Castle (now a visitor's center) and paid my respects to Smithson's tomb before I headed over to the National Botanical Gardens. I had done the outside gardens earlier in the week but the Conservatory closed too early for me to go after work. I liked this a lot - the big greenhouses host different areas of the world - jungle, desert, forest, endangered species. In the jungle greenhouse, they have a canopy walk which was a lot of fun to go through with the mist going off every few minutes, making you think you're actually in the jungle (for about a second, but hey, atmosphere is everything). That was pretty much my Sunday. Next post, this week and my weekend plans...
After the tour, we headed down to the graveyard and saw Jefferson's grave. Very different from the tomb of the Washingtons. It was sort of a mini-Washington monument. After taking our pictures of the headstone, we walked back up the hill and wondered about for awhile. I love the look of the house. Jefferson was an amateur architect and designed Monticello himself. All his travel in Europe meant he tried a lot of things at Monticello that hadn't been seen in the States yet at the time. The all-weather tunnel running under the house, the design on vents from the cellar into the house as a sort of pre-electricity air conditioning system. We chilled in the garden for a bit and then went to get in line for our house tour.
This was the best part of the day for me. If I ever design a house, I want Monticello. First off, his library was an extension of his "study" which led into his bedroom with a very cool alcove bed that was a running theme in the house. Best use of space was Jefferson's goal for the entire house so he came up or brought back from Europe all these "space saving" elements. Like, in his bedroom, his bed is between his study and the room but his closet is above his bed, accessible only by a ladder. A lot of his doors folded into the walls so they didn't take up space in the room. He had a fabulous "tea room" that I would have gladly lived in and the guest bedroom had another alcove bed for best use of space. Overall, I loved the house tour. Our tour guide (who's name I have sadly forgotten) was amazing - telling all the great stories but not being over-tedious. After the tour, we walked back down to our car (all down hill) and headed back towards Charlottesville to find food.
We found the main downtown district which is chock full of used bookstores - great and bad at the same time. I escaped with only one book so I was impressed with myself. After a quick dinner, we hopped on the free trolley and rode over to UVA. It is a good thing I never came to look at this campus, I would have had to come to a school that is huge but has the most beautiful campus I have ever seen. Seriously, I would live on it now. We got caught in a storm however so we cut our tour of campus short and headed back toward the car. Once back, the rain had stopped so we took a driving tour of campus instead. We found the stadium to take pictures as well. Heading back to Washington, we were treated to a fabulous sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains. Breaking what I am sure was quite a few laws, we pulled over to take picture which I think are my best yet this summer. It was a great trip though, full of lots of fun. I really enjoyed seeing the house at Monticello and UVA.
That was Saturday. On Sunday, I did a mini-museum marathon. I started at the Freer Gallery (Asian art with Whistler thrown in for good measure), the Sackler Gallery (more Asian art) and the Hirshorn Museum (Modern art). All three are lesser knowns in the Smithsonian family. I really enjoyed the Hirshorn actually which surprised me - I am not much of a modern art fan but they have a fabulous exhibit right now, temporary, on cinema art which was very interesting to walk through and take all the different films in and what they are trying to convey. After the museums, I walked through the Castle (now a visitor's center) and paid my respects to Smithson's tomb before I headed over to the National Botanical Gardens. I had done the outside gardens earlier in the week but the Conservatory closed too early for me to go after work. I liked this a lot - the big greenhouses host different areas of the world - jungle, desert, forest, endangered species. In the jungle greenhouse, they have a canopy walk which was a lot of fun to go through with the mist going off every few minutes, making you think you're actually in the jungle (for about a second, but hey, atmosphere is everything). That was pretty much my Sunday. Next post, this week and my weekend plans...
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Appraisal in the Real World
(second report for summer class)
The suggestion for this week’s report was uncannily like a topic I had been playing around with writing on anyway. I did a little blog post on it for the blog as well but I wanted to use my reflective report to share my first actual appraisal experience and to compare it to SI 632, Appraisal of Archives, a class I just took this past semester. For the most part, I found that while we can be taught the theory in a classroom, there is no greater teacher than experience.
For my first appraisal, I accompanied my supervisor to the National Museum of Natural History. The paleobiology department had contacted Tammy about looking through several filing cabinets to see if it was anything the archives were interested in or if they should just get rid of everything. Loaded down with acid-free boxes, as we had no idea how much stuff could be in the filing cabinets, we drove over to the museum. We then proceeded through a maze of hallways into a massive basement room, full from top to bottom of specially made fossil cabinets with regular filing cabinets interspersed. After being shown the way through the maze to the filing cabinets we were concerned with, Tammy dove into the first cabinet. Immediately I saw that experience was the key factor here. She knew the types of forms in the drawer and where copies of them would be and how long they would be kept. She quickly recognized maps that were published, paper drafts that should be kept and any correspondence was an automatic keeper. However, she also had difficultly with the subject matter. The papers could have common paleobiology knowledge on them or some research that never got around to being published. It was a tricky balance that she was trying to find between keeping and tossing.
In the end, we took four and a half boxes full of papers back to the archives, the bulk of which was correspondence. The rest Tammy suggested the department at least glance through before tossing as they may catch important research she did not recognize. Compared to the amount of papers Tammy looked through we kept about 10-15% for the archives. Tammy talked me through what she was doing the whole time. She kept a list of everything she found and the reasons why she either did or did not take it to explain both to the department head as well as to put in the appraisal log back at the office. She stressed the archives was most interested in correspondence between the Institution and “everybody else.” Why however, she never said and I was too busy lugging boxes to ask. I will ask when she gets back from vacation though.
So, How did this compare to class? One thing I noticed, and just mentioned, was the reasoning behind what Tammy was taking. She wrote down the reasons why she was not taking things – mostly because it was either published or located elsewhere. In SI 632, we discussed collection policies and their importance in appraisal as it helps an archives say ‘no’ when it needs to. I have not seen SIA’s collection policy nor do I know if they have a formal policy in writing. I have noticed things at SIA tend to be very loose and laid back. An environment I enjoy but it does not jive always with the formal atmosphere I sense in class at times. Professor Hedstrom stressed the imperfectness of appraisal and how the best teacher would be experience. However, my first experience here had no rhyme or reason to it. There was no method Tammy used, no theory we discussed in class that seemed to guide her. It was pure “I have done this a million times before so I can do it this time too.” I was both impressed and terrified. I want to talk to Tammy more about this however she has been on vacation since so my weekly meeting has been pushed to early next week this time around. I am interested to hear her opinion on how she approaches appraisal in general and see if that links to a theory in a more subtle way.
In terms of class vs. reality, it comes back to what I discussed in my last report. The classroom can prepare us, give us the mental tools we need to approach a task in the archives but there is no substitute to the actual work itself. That observation seems to be my major take-home message of the summer so far. I need to soak up all the background work, all the theories and experiments and use that to approach the real-life tasks. I may have been overwhelmed by my first real appraisal experience but I feel, armed with the SIA collection policy, I could have done a good job just working from the basics I learned from SI 632. The class is a good jumping off point for the real-life work involved in appraisal and I was glad I had that under my belt for this first time out.
The suggestion for this week’s report was uncannily like a topic I had been playing around with writing on anyway. I did a little blog post on it for the blog as well but I wanted to use my reflective report to share my first actual appraisal experience and to compare it to SI 632, Appraisal of Archives, a class I just took this past semester. For the most part, I found that while we can be taught the theory in a classroom, there is no greater teacher than experience.
For my first appraisal, I accompanied my supervisor to the National Museum of Natural History. The paleobiology department had contacted Tammy about looking through several filing cabinets to see if it was anything the archives were interested in or if they should just get rid of everything. Loaded down with acid-free boxes, as we had no idea how much stuff could be in the filing cabinets, we drove over to the museum. We then proceeded through a maze of hallways into a massive basement room, full from top to bottom of specially made fossil cabinets with regular filing cabinets interspersed. After being shown the way through the maze to the filing cabinets we were concerned with, Tammy dove into the first cabinet. Immediately I saw that experience was the key factor here. She knew the types of forms in the drawer and where copies of them would be and how long they would be kept. She quickly recognized maps that were published, paper drafts that should be kept and any correspondence was an automatic keeper. However, she also had difficultly with the subject matter. The papers could have common paleobiology knowledge on them or some research that never got around to being published. It was a tricky balance that she was trying to find between keeping and tossing.
In the end, we took four and a half boxes full of papers back to the archives, the bulk of which was correspondence. The rest Tammy suggested the department at least glance through before tossing as they may catch important research she did not recognize. Compared to the amount of papers Tammy looked through we kept about 10-15% for the archives. Tammy talked me through what she was doing the whole time. She kept a list of everything she found and the reasons why she either did or did not take it to explain both to the department head as well as to put in the appraisal log back at the office. She stressed the archives was most interested in correspondence between the Institution and “everybody else.” Why however, she never said and I was too busy lugging boxes to ask. I will ask when she gets back from vacation though.
So, How did this compare to class? One thing I noticed, and just mentioned, was the reasoning behind what Tammy was taking. She wrote down the reasons why she was not taking things – mostly because it was either published or located elsewhere. In SI 632, we discussed collection policies and their importance in appraisal as it helps an archives say ‘no’ when it needs to. I have not seen SIA’s collection policy nor do I know if they have a formal policy in writing. I have noticed things at SIA tend to be very loose and laid back. An environment I enjoy but it does not jive always with the formal atmosphere I sense in class at times. Professor Hedstrom stressed the imperfectness of appraisal and how the best teacher would be experience. However, my first experience here had no rhyme or reason to it. There was no method Tammy used, no theory we discussed in class that seemed to guide her. It was pure “I have done this a million times before so I can do it this time too.” I was both impressed and terrified. I want to talk to Tammy more about this however she has been on vacation since so my weekly meeting has been pushed to early next week this time around. I am interested to hear her opinion on how she approaches appraisal in general and see if that links to a theory in a more subtle way.
In terms of class vs. reality, it comes back to what I discussed in my last report. The classroom can prepare us, give us the mental tools we need to approach a task in the archives but there is no substitute to the actual work itself. That observation seems to be my major take-home message of the summer so far. I need to soak up all the background work, all the theories and experiments and use that to approach the real-life tasks. I may have been overwhelmed by my first real appraisal experience but I feel, armed with the SIA collection policy, I could have done a good job just working from the basics I learned from SI 632. The class is a good jumping off point for the real-life work involved in appraisal and I was glad I had that under my belt for this first time out.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Imaginary Invalid and I
I am super behind on posting to the blog - I know. So we need to rewind a bit to last Thursday and my first venture into DC's Theater scene. I had planned on seeing Julius Caesar with a fellow intern but the half price tickets that you can get an hour before the show only work if the show isn't sold out before hand. We were directed to the Company's other theater were Moliere's The Imaginary Invalid was playing that evening and tickets were still available. Sometimes being a student has more to it than lots of loans. With our student discount, we got box seats for 25 bucks. First time in a box for me - luckily, we ended up having the box to ourselves so we moved down a bit and lost the obstructed view we'd had in our original seats.
The play, of course, was genius. I do so love Moliere's wit in his writing and all his asides he gives to his characters. The casting was great for this particular play. Rene Auberjonois was Argan, the Imaginary Invalid. You might know him as Odo from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or from the original MASH movie as Father McCauley. However, the woman playing his maid Toinette was by far the funniest of them all. Her asides were brilliant - half in the action and half only to the audience which is what an aside should be (if I'm remembering B.Haze correctly). The whole production was so enjoyable and funny! Being in a box, and looking out over the audience, I felt every time I laughed, the whole auditorium could hear me! The play was making fun of doctors mostly and how they make money of gullible folks and those prone to hypochondria. I recommended it to my cousins when I got home. Both being doctors, I thought they'd get the joke more than me.
PS - I survived my first cab ride solo on my way home from the play. It was too late to walk from Union Station so I took a cab. It was six blocks...but hey, I survived it ;-)
The play, of course, was genius. I do so love Moliere's wit in his writing and all his asides he gives to his characters. The casting was great for this particular play. Rene Auberjonois was Argan, the Imaginary Invalid. You might know him as Odo from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or from the original MASH movie as Father McCauley. However, the woman playing his maid Toinette was by far the funniest of them all. Her asides were brilliant - half in the action and half only to the audience which is what an aside should be (if I'm remembering B.Haze correctly). The whole production was so enjoyable and funny! Being in a box, and looking out over the audience, I felt every time I laughed, the whole auditorium could hear me! The play was making fun of doctors mostly and how they make money of gullible folks and those prone to hypochondria. I recommended it to my cousins when I got home. Both being doctors, I thought they'd get the joke more than me.
PS - I survived my first cab ride solo on my way home from the play. It was too late to walk from Union Station so I took a cab. It was six blocks...but hey, I survived it ;-)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
DC Adventures
So, update on my life. I have been walking a lot around the Capitol Hill and Mall area since our weather finally broke and it's bearable to be outside and one doesn't feel like dying. I love the area I live in - it's so walkable and beautiful to explore. This past week/weekend I finished going through both the NMNH and NGA. I have decided I don't particularly like the NMNH - I like the gemstones and the dinosaur bones but all the stuffed animals were too eerie - give me a zoo any day. The NGA however, is my kind of museum. I love to look at artwork and really take my time to look at the brush strokes and the way an artist may have gone about the work. The areas I hadn't gotten to yet included the museum's Rembrandts as well as the only Leonardo da Vinci painting in the United States. It looked a lot like the Mona Lisa to be honest and it was even smaller. Yet another painting to go, "huh" and walk along.
After I finished the NGA, I walked home via the Capitol (after walking through the festival happening on Pennsylvania Avenue - very interesting group of people). I have decided I really love the Capitol Building. It is absolutely beautiful. I just wish the steps were open more so I could get a view of the city from the top. I imagine it's breath-taking. I then walked around the building to the actual front of the Capitol where inauguration takes place in January. It's a big mess right now as they are constructing a new underground visitors center. Walking around, I found the Library of Congress (which I'm visiting this weekend - so excited!!) and the Supreme Court building. Turning up towards home, I found the Sewall-Belmont House near Stanton Park which I was more excited about than anyone else probably would be. It was a house where Alice Paul lived so I now need to add that to my list of things to visit. I might try to get it in this coming weekend.
This week I haven't done too much. With the weather being so nice, I have walked home from work and watched the Representatives queue up for taxis at the end of the day at their office buildings. Yesterday, walking back from the Botanical Gardens where I ate lunch, I go caught up in a motorcade. It was unmarked but with the amount of firepower in the SUVs around it, I figured it was the president which it was, I found out later. The whole city gets put on hold, all the traffic stopped - cars pulled over etc. I didn't take pictures though. I thought reaching into my purse to dig out my camera might be misconstrued by the military contingent surrounding his car.
Work continues to go well. I was appraising in the NMNH today in the paleobiology department - it was like a dungeon in there and the office was everything you would expect - furniture that was ancient, piles of paper everywhere, more bones, shells and unidentified "dirt" then I think I've ever seen (including the Paris catacombs which is saying something). After we finished taking what we wanted, I worked on a collection of correspondence to and from Julia Anna Gardner, a geologist with the museum and the USGS from the 1920s until her death in 1961. It's amazing how many people spend their lives identifying fossilized mollusks - but some of the letters are fun. They were so formal - "thank you for the specimen you sent. It was beautifully packaged and arrived unharmed" and etc. Tomorrow it is back to scanning.
After I finished the NGA, I walked home via the Capitol (after walking through the festival happening on Pennsylvania Avenue - very interesting group of people). I have decided I really love the Capitol Building. It is absolutely beautiful. I just wish the steps were open more so I could get a view of the city from the top. I imagine it's breath-taking. I then walked around the building to the actual front of the Capitol where inauguration takes place in January. It's a big mess right now as they are constructing a new underground visitors center. Walking around, I found the Library of Congress (which I'm visiting this weekend - so excited!!) and the Supreme Court building. Turning up towards home, I found the Sewall-Belmont House near Stanton Park which I was more excited about than anyone else probably would be. It was a house where Alice Paul lived so I now need to add that to my list of things to visit. I might try to get it in this coming weekend.
This week I haven't done too much. With the weather being so nice, I have walked home from work and watched the Representatives queue up for taxis at the end of the day at their office buildings. Yesterday, walking back from the Botanical Gardens where I ate lunch, I go caught up in a motorcade. It was unmarked but with the amount of firepower in the SUVs around it, I figured it was the president which it was, I found out later. The whole city gets put on hold, all the traffic stopped - cars pulled over etc. I didn't take pictures though. I thought reaching into my purse to dig out my camera might be misconstrued by the military contingent surrounding his car.
Work continues to go well. I was appraising in the NMNH today in the paleobiology department - it was like a dungeon in there and the office was everything you would expect - furniture that was ancient, piles of paper everywhere, more bones, shells and unidentified "dirt" then I think I've ever seen (including the Paris catacombs which is saying something). After we finished taking what we wanted, I worked on a collection of correspondence to and from Julia Anna Gardner, a geologist with the museum and the USGS from the 1920s until her death in 1961. It's amazing how many people spend their lives identifying fossilized mollusks - but some of the letters are fun. They were so formal - "thank you for the specimen you sent. It was beautifully packaged and arrived unharmed" and etc. Tomorrow it is back to scanning.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Dirt and Discovery
(my first report for my class this summer)
My first impression of this work is that I cannot be afraid to get down and dirty, to put it bluntly. In the classroom, when we discussed appraisal or re-housing collections for preservation purposes, we never discussed the dirt. I have been at my internship at the Smithsonian Institute Archives (SIA) for two weeks now and I have ruined a pristine pair of white gloves, covered a t-shirt (not to mention my hands, face, and hair) in red rot and found some interesting newsprint stains on a pair of jeans. In theory, and in the classroom, this job did not seem quite so…undignified. However, I find the practice is much more to my liking than the theory. In class, it was always hard to picture “well, I would do this in this situation…” Now, being in the actual situation, I find I work better in the grime.
The pair of white gloves is my companion for my main project this summer – a digitization and re-housing of a collection of photos in the Science Service collection. These file folders contain photos, newspaper clippings, press releases and various other materials from the 1920s to about the end of the 1960s. The Science Service aimed at popularizing science – Think of it as the AP for science enthusiasts. These folders tend to be disorganized, grimy, and filled with bits of paper and rot. My gloves did not stand a chance. However, I love looking through these files. The actual project itself is very repetitive. I find a photo, place it under acid-free paper, add it to the database, scan it and move onto the next. If the folders themselves were not fascinating, I would be a robot by 10 AM. As it is, I have already scanned in over 450 photos in two weeks. Something has to keep me involved in the work and I found quickly with these files the element of dirt goes well with discovery. I am looking at files that have not been used much, if at all, since the 1960s. There are newspaper clippings about the dropping of the atomic bomb, pictures chronicling women in the lab before women were suppose to be there, and press releases about new discoveries I took for granted in high school chemistry class. It is the artifacts themselves that I have come to enjoy and because of that, I enjoy the work. I often wonder who will find these photos useful – what will them do with them? What I can add to the database entry that will help them?
Another aspect of my internship involves helping with a moving project at a warehouse in Virginia at Fullerton. SIA has to be out of this space by the end of the summer but they are using this opportunity to take stock of these collections and to do preservation and re-housing on most collections before removing them either to the Capital Gallery collections ( the building in DC where I work most days) or sending them out to Iron Mountain for storage. It is clear that this move needs to be made. I could see the list from introduction to Archives and Record Management about a good location for archives and Fullerton meets very few of them. It is also just plain dirty. A lot of the collections have not been touched in decades. I re-housed two collections out at Fullerton to date and both left me with dust and dirt everywhere. I especially enjoyed a collection of 19th century ledger books that left me with “red rot” all over my hands, face and t-shirt. Strangely though, that made me feel I accomplished something. I put that collection into a better environment so when a researcher needs to know how much the Smithsonian paid the zookeeper in 1888, that ledger will be preserved and ready for him/her.
So, my first impression of the work is that it is not easy – it is hot, dirty, tiring work some days. However, it is also very rewarding. I like the feeling that I am preserving that picture or that letter for someone down the road who will appreciate it more than I ever could. It was a feeling I knew I should get from my classes but practice is a much better way from me to understand what my professors were saying to me
My first impression of this work is that I cannot be afraid to get down and dirty, to put it bluntly. In the classroom, when we discussed appraisal or re-housing collections for preservation purposes, we never discussed the dirt. I have been at my internship at the Smithsonian Institute Archives (SIA) for two weeks now and I have ruined a pristine pair of white gloves, covered a t-shirt (not to mention my hands, face, and hair) in red rot and found some interesting newsprint stains on a pair of jeans. In theory, and in the classroom, this job did not seem quite so…undignified. However, I find the practice is much more to my liking than the theory. In class, it was always hard to picture “well, I would do this in this situation…” Now, being in the actual situation, I find I work better in the grime.
The pair of white gloves is my companion for my main project this summer – a digitization and re-housing of a collection of photos in the Science Service collection. These file folders contain photos, newspaper clippings, press releases and various other materials from the 1920s to about the end of the 1960s. The Science Service aimed at popularizing science – Think of it as the AP for science enthusiasts. These folders tend to be disorganized, grimy, and filled with bits of paper and rot. My gloves did not stand a chance. However, I love looking through these files. The actual project itself is very repetitive. I find a photo, place it under acid-free paper, add it to the database, scan it and move onto the next. If the folders themselves were not fascinating, I would be a robot by 10 AM. As it is, I have already scanned in over 450 photos in two weeks. Something has to keep me involved in the work and I found quickly with these files the element of dirt goes well with discovery. I am looking at files that have not been used much, if at all, since the 1960s. There are newspaper clippings about the dropping of the atomic bomb, pictures chronicling women in the lab before women were suppose to be there, and press releases about new discoveries I took for granted in high school chemistry class. It is the artifacts themselves that I have come to enjoy and because of that, I enjoy the work. I often wonder who will find these photos useful – what will them do with them? What I can add to the database entry that will help them?
Another aspect of my internship involves helping with a moving project at a warehouse in Virginia at Fullerton. SIA has to be out of this space by the end of the summer but they are using this opportunity to take stock of these collections and to do preservation and re-housing on most collections before removing them either to the Capital Gallery collections ( the building in DC where I work most days) or sending them out to Iron Mountain for storage. It is clear that this move needs to be made. I could see the list from introduction to Archives and Record Management about a good location for archives and Fullerton meets very few of them. It is also just plain dirty. A lot of the collections have not been touched in decades. I re-housed two collections out at Fullerton to date and both left me with dust and dirt everywhere. I especially enjoyed a collection of 19th century ledger books that left me with “red rot” all over my hands, face and t-shirt. Strangely though, that made me feel I accomplished something. I put that collection into a better environment so when a researcher needs to know how much the Smithsonian paid the zookeeper in 1888, that ledger will be preserved and ready for him/her.
So, my first impression of the work is that it is not easy – it is hot, dirty, tiring work some days. However, it is also very rewarding. I like the feeling that I am preserving that picture or that letter for someone down the road who will appreciate it more than I ever could. It was a feeling I knew I should get from my classes but practice is a much better way from me to understand what my professors were saying to me
Monday, June 9, 2008
Hello from DC!
OK - this is a bit late (only a week late but late none the less) but be happy you're getting it ;-) I arrived in DC last Sunday for my summer internship at the Smithsonian Institute Archives. I am lucky enough to be staying with family in the beautiful Capitol Hill neighborhood.
First off, I am loving this city. Minus the extreme heat that makes me feel like I am hitting a wall when I step outside the door, it is an absolutely beautiful place to live. One of my new loves is the Metro system. Seriously, why doesn't every city have one of these?? It is so easy and fast to get anywhere. It works great for me, car-less as ever, especially. Plus, I am in a city with a million museums - what is a girl like me not to love?
I've visited two of the Smithsonian Museums so far and I need to go back to both to finish them. I ran out of time at the Museum of Natural History (NMNH) as I went after work one night and couldn't get everything done before it closed. My main highlight there was the Gemstones and Minerals. I think I looked at rocks for a good hour and half. I didn't even drool at the Hope Diamond that long either. I did sigh longingly over some of the emeralds and sapphires though. Sadly, my gem of choice isn't even a gem according to the Smithsonian. I was quite put out to find my amethyst classified as quartz and stuck in with all the minerals. I guess I have cheap tastes then!
The other museum I've been to is the National Gallery of Art (NGA) which I was very excited to see. My only other foray at the Mall was in 8th grade, before I developed my love of art museums. This museum was fabulous and I'm looking forward to going back. I went with my fellow interns and we skipped a wing in favor of modern art. However, I dreamed my way through another collection of the Impressionists. I do so adore them. If only I could see the world like that. NGA's Van Gogh collection was slim but they had some fabulous Renoirs and Monets so I forgive them for now. It is a massive museum though - we spent all day there and skipped a wing so I definitely will take another morning or afternoon to finish my visit there. (FYI - I did buy two books at this museum but let's face it - the only other place I might by a book at is the National Archives so I feel entirely justified in my purchases). After we did the museum, we walked for a bit in the fabulous 100 degree heat. We found the Navy Memorial that way and made our way along East and Pennsylvania for a bit. However, I was seriously gross when I got back to the house. I am not accustomed to heat - I am from CNY people!
So, I suppose I should discuss my job a little? I have to keep a blog and write reports for my class on my internship so I'll probably post those on this blog as well for my family to read (it will be riveting, have no fear!). The Smithsonian Institute Archives (SIA) is in Capital Gallery, a block south from the National Air and Space Museum (NASM). The facility is superb and the staff so nice and friendly. My supervisor, Tammy, has been great. I have spent the majority of my time so far on my major summer project, digitizing photos from the Science Service morgue files. The files have been interesting to go through. The Science Services was like AP for scientists and the files I'm working with are from the 1920s to the late 1960s. Some of the cool things I've found deal with atomic energy and weaponry research so far as well as the occasional woman scientist who existed in the early years of the files. I have been surprised how long it takes me to entirely process a folder to be honest but I think I have found the best system for me so I just keep plugging away at them.
Last week, on Friday, they did let me out of my windowless scanning room. I worked on accessioning and arranging the papers of Donald Lopaz, the former deputy director of NASM. He seemed like a very cool guy - he was a fighter pilot with the Flying Tigers in China during WWII and worked with NASA on the Saturn rocket design. His papers weren't bad to go through at all which is always a good thing. Organization was not his strong point however - I pulled a stack of papers from a box inside another box...ugh. I don't know when I'll get a chance to finish his papers. I had a bunch of electronic records to get through yet. However, I have scanning tomorrow, I'm out at the Fullerton warehouse on Wednesday, more scanning on Thursday (I'm assuming, we have a calendar but it changes frequently so one never knows...) and then Friday I'm at the NMNH with Tammy to look through four filing cabinets in Paleobiology. Fun times ahead for me :-)
I am enjoying it though, a lot. I was wary of coming to be honest. I'm not much of a city person but I have found if I can find my cute little neighborhood, residential pocket in a city, I seem to do just fine. Good thing to know for down the road.
First off, I am loving this city. Minus the extreme heat that makes me feel like I am hitting a wall when I step outside the door, it is an absolutely beautiful place to live. One of my new loves is the Metro system. Seriously, why doesn't every city have one of these?? It is so easy and fast to get anywhere. It works great for me, car-less as ever, especially. Plus, I am in a city with a million museums - what is a girl like me not to love?
I've visited two of the Smithsonian Museums so far and I need to go back to both to finish them. I ran out of time at the Museum of Natural History (NMNH) as I went after work one night and couldn't get everything done before it closed. My main highlight there was the Gemstones and Minerals. I think I looked at rocks for a good hour and half. I didn't even drool at the Hope Diamond that long either. I did sigh longingly over some of the emeralds and sapphires though. Sadly, my gem of choice isn't even a gem according to the Smithsonian. I was quite put out to find my amethyst classified as quartz and stuck in with all the minerals. I guess I have cheap tastes then!
The other museum I've been to is the National Gallery of Art (NGA) which I was very excited to see. My only other foray at the Mall was in 8th grade, before I developed my love of art museums. This museum was fabulous and I'm looking forward to going back. I went with my fellow interns and we skipped a wing in favor of modern art. However, I dreamed my way through another collection of the Impressionists. I do so adore them. If only I could see the world like that. NGA's Van Gogh collection was slim but they had some fabulous Renoirs and Monets so I forgive them for now. It is a massive museum though - we spent all day there and skipped a wing so I definitely will take another morning or afternoon to finish my visit there. (FYI - I did buy two books at this museum but let's face it - the only other place I might by a book at is the National Archives so I feel entirely justified in my purchases). After we did the museum, we walked for a bit in the fabulous 100 degree heat. We found the Navy Memorial that way and made our way along East and Pennsylvania for a bit. However, I was seriously gross when I got back to the house. I am not accustomed to heat - I am from CNY people!
So, I suppose I should discuss my job a little? I have to keep a blog and write reports for my class on my internship so I'll probably post those on this blog as well for my family to read (it will be riveting, have no fear!). The Smithsonian Institute Archives (SIA) is in Capital Gallery, a block south from the National Air and Space Museum (NASM). The facility is superb and the staff so nice and friendly. My supervisor, Tammy, has been great. I have spent the majority of my time so far on my major summer project, digitizing photos from the Science Service morgue files. The files have been interesting to go through. The Science Services was like AP for scientists and the files I'm working with are from the 1920s to the late 1960s. Some of the cool things I've found deal with atomic energy and weaponry research so far as well as the occasional woman scientist who existed in the early years of the files. I have been surprised how long it takes me to entirely process a folder to be honest but I think I have found the best system for me so I just keep plugging away at them.
Last week, on Friday, they did let me out of my windowless scanning room. I worked on accessioning and arranging the papers of Donald Lopaz, the former deputy director of NASM. He seemed like a very cool guy - he was a fighter pilot with the Flying Tigers in China during WWII and worked with NASA on the Saturn rocket design. His papers weren't bad to go through at all which is always a good thing. Organization was not his strong point however - I pulled a stack of papers from a box inside another box...ugh. I don't know when I'll get a chance to finish his papers. I had a bunch of electronic records to get through yet. However, I have scanning tomorrow, I'm out at the Fullerton warehouse on Wednesday, more scanning on Thursday (I'm assuming, we have a calendar but it changes frequently so one never knows...) and then Friday I'm at the NMNH with Tammy to look through four filing cabinets in Paleobiology. Fun times ahead for me :-)
I am enjoying it though, a lot. I was wary of coming to be honest. I'm not much of a city person but I have found if I can find my cute little neighborhood, residential pocket in a city, I seem to do just fine. Good thing to know for down the road.
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