Librarians & Archivists

Despite the similarities, I am more and more aware of the lack of understanding librarians have for archives. On Second Life, part of the goal of the Archivists of Second Life is to educate librarians about archives.

Working in an archives previously run by librarians, I am all the more aware of the differences between an archives and library and the lack of understanding by librarians. Most everyone with a college education knows what a library is and most archivists know a bit more about how they operate, but not as many librarians know about how an archives is operated and structured.

As time goes on, and I think of something, I add it to the PowerPoint presentation I'm envisioning giving to my library cohorts. We have lots of professional development classes and if called, I'll teach one. Heck, I'll probably do it anyway, when I'm confident I'll covered everything. Besides which, when I start asking for more materials, I'll need something to inform the rest of the college just what it is I'm doing and why I don't want all the junk they don't have room for in their offices.

So, here's the point. I think part of this blog ought to be a bridge between librarians and archivists. I'll try, as I think of them, to explain the differences between libraries and archives. Many archives are run by librarians without formal archival training. The good ones are run by librarians who read up on archives and even went to a few workshops. Hopefully this attempt will help make sense of all those books and manuals on archives. One skill I have is the ability to simplify technical jargon and boil it down to easy to understand words, or barring that, imperfect analogies.

I'll call on any readers to ask questions or join me in clarifying any points I'm trying to make. Oh, and give me a kick now and then to post. I tend to forget this blog is here.

Uh, right

I just found a box in the archives with the label's date range reading:

1992-current

Good thing it's a legal sized box.

SNCA

Just got back from a state archivist "meeting". More conference than meeting. I mostly went there for a workshop on exhibits. The first half was useful - a step-by-step of how to create an exhibit. But the second half was depressing in a "I wish I could do that" way.

NC State's DH Hill Library just finished renovating and other than the weird, and rather suggestive chairs, it's really cool. For an archivist, what's really cool is their display area. It's a hall between the Learning Commons and the Special Collections reading room. The display cases are custom built into the wall with humidity, temperature, and light control. As if that wasn't enough, they outsourced their banner and background photographs.

I'll be lucky if I can get display cases with UV filters -- which, I found out at the workshop, only last for about five years.

One other thing I noticed. SAA at Chicago had tons of food and SNCA fed us a simple breakfast and nice lunch, but when I went to the Computers in Libraries conference there was one "bar night" and I wouldn't be surprised if you had to pay for the booze.

Instructors

Last year, I had a request for a Library Instruction class from an instruction I had not yet met. No problem, I sent off an email negotiating the class subjects and after a bit of effort was informed of what the instructor wanted.

My first hint that the instructor was going to be, not difficult, but not a breeze, either, was when I spent more time telling him where we could meet (the library, which is on your way to your classroom) than finding out what he wanted me to teach his class.

The biggest hint that the instructor was going to be difficult was when the first 10 minutes of class was spent arguing with students over what was due when. You know how it is, the whole manipulating of the instructor to shorten the time given to acutal instruction. But then came my big mistake. Stupidly, I made the assumption that the instructor had informed the class of the assignment.

Nope.

I was 1/3 the way through my shpeal before someone piped up saying what was I talking about? That's when I used the technique of repetition. Since they didn't have a sheet of paper telling them what the assignment was, I repeated over and over again, "Two Books, Two Articles, Two Websites" etc.

I informed the class that I would email them a handout (which I do for all my LI classes) with the assignment and the relevant databases.

During last summer semester, that handout appeared in the hand of a student at the reference desk. Wait a minute, I recognize that! Who did an LI class for this instructor? Checked the calendar, no LI class.

The instructor was using my handout as the assignment and the equivalent of an LI class. He actually expected students to be able to research an essay from a handout that was meant to reinforce/remind what I taught, not explain how to do research.

This morning (Thursday) I received an email - could I please give this instructor the link to the online form to schedule an LI class for next Monday? Rolling my eyes, I sent it to him, knowing he probably wouldn't use it (he didn't) and dreading that I would have to take his class, even though it was at the main campus (that's my day to work main campus).

I was informed of his request for an LI class, and could I teach his 6-7pm class? Oh, sure. He'll send over the assignment, and when he does, forwarded to me.

Why bother, I wrote the thing.

This is almost as bad as knowing I'll be teaching an LI class the Wednesday night (6:30-8pm) before T-Giving.

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween. Not because of the candy, or because Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner.

No, I love Halloween because it's one of the few times I get to show off. Between the decorations in the library, the candy I give out, to the "Haunted Mansion" PowerPoint presentation I show in the library complete with sounds (for some reason, I have a drop-down screen in the library), but mostly because of the costume I get to wear (that I made, btw), I get to surprise folks (love the double-takes) and be someone weird and get away with it.

I think it's appreciated, too. Oh, I get the usual, "nice costume", but today, I actually had a student hug me for "getting in the spirit".

Enjoy the Holiday!

Am I wrong?

I figured anyone involved in computers, like those in an IT department, would know about CSS, aka Casscading Style Sheets. Even if they've never done CSS, I'd think they'd have heard of it. I've done it, but only for a professional profile site, and I haven't touched that since I got my current job.

And yet, both the part time IT lab facilitator and, as I just learned, the full time IT lab facilitator don't know much about CSS. In fact, the part timer had never heard of it.

Am I wrong in my assumption or do I live in the Twilight Zone?

Grammar question

When refering to the college's archive/s is the proper term "Archives" or "Archive"?

I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice this, but I haven't done the research yet.

*edit*

A similar issue came up at the SAA Conference, or rather, the Lone Arrangers' Roundtable dinner. We discovered that we all say "The Archives is", making "archives" singular. I likened it to "Archives" as place, versus, "archive" as thing. I guess I decided, depending on if you're talking about the place or any general archive, when I refere to my archives, I use the plural/singular. But if I'm talking about an archive of any ol' stuff, it's singular.

Clear as mud?

Organizational Structure

I'm almost done with an organizational structure for the archive - at least on paper. There are a few things I need to research or make a judgement call on to decide where to put them, but I can always change my mind later. The hard part is getting the basic structure in the first place.

Then, I can start rearranging the materials themselves. After that, I go in and see if the labels on the boxes truly match the contents inside.

When I did my practicum for my MA in Public History, I arranged and described the campaign papers of a state representative whose organization system was non-existant. I think there could not have been better training than that for what I have to do now.

My way of attack was to start with big piles and then separate them into smaller piles, then those into smaller piles, and so on. That's essentially what I'm doing now. Trying to find themes or related items, grouping them together, then finding a place for them in the structure I created.

Well, truth be told, I adapted my structure from another academic's archive. Wake Forest University, to be specific. It's not radical really, it's just a reflection of how the college is structured, which goes along with the original order idea. So that's the basic idea I used. The hard part, though, is that the college kept restructuring itself. The library, for instance, was under Instruction, went to IT, and now is back under Instruction (*edit* now calling itself "Learning") . Being that I am a librarian and in charge of the archive, I decided to put the Library Services under Student Services, rather than under Instruction or IT (which are under College Department).

As long as it makes sense (and I plan on releasing my structure for opinions from my cohorts) it should suffice.

Library Exhibit

Well, our exhibit was a bigger success than I thought. Our guestbook is full of names and our mid-day programming was well attended. Our evening programming, not so much. Not counting those already involved in the exhibit, there were three the first night and four the next. Too bad, too, because the talks were very informative.

I can't say I'm sorry to see it go (tomorrow), but I did learn a lot about the logistics of setting up an event. For instance, finding a venue, marketing, recruiting people to participate, learning that if you say "Lunch & Learn" either know to provide food, or specify light refreshments served, etc. Being the extreme introvert that I am, my partner did a better job getting folks to respond than I did. However, I think I liked the program I designed more than the ones we got from marketing. I need to work on my social skills, but I am improving, if slowly.

Registration, Part II

After further use, I've discovered the user account process is different than what I wrote before (or it was changed, yet again).

It actually goes:

• Personal Info
• User Agreement
• Password (apparently it does take)
• Security Questions
• Username
• Login

They are no longer requiring students to answer the security questions before setting up their password. However, in three months or so, when they have to reset their password, will they remember what they put for answers to their questions? Maybe, but they won't remember if they capitalized it, put a space there, or added "St." to the address.

It's better than it was, but still annoying.

Being a guinea pig is not fun.

My college is one of the beta testers for a new statewide database system for our records and registration. Today is the first day for new students to register for classes. I am helping them set up their student computer accounts and then, helping them register. So, basically, two systems.

While the latter works properly, it's not helpful, and the former is just not working right.

To register, students have to set up their computer accounts, or they can't log into the computers, much less log in to register. Our IT department came up with the system and during the first year, the steps rarely followed in the proper order, but at least it wouldn't give students a useless screen. It should go: Personal info --> User agreement --> get ID/username --> Set up security questions --> Click "Done" (don't get me started on that one) --> "I forgot my password" (how can I forget something I haven't set up yet) --> Answer two of three security questions & enter password at the bottom (which few see because they have to scroll down. They just go ahead and hit enter and never bother to read the red warning text telling them they didn't enter a new password).

However, the process today seems to be

• Personal info
• User agreement
• get ID/username (once, even this failed to appear)
• Set up password (which doesn't take)
• Login page

This process is the old system, but since the password doesn't take, and the security questions are set up, the process is screwed. Now that I know that, I know to have them start over from the beginning and miraculously, they can set up their questions and then their password.

The problem with registering is that most of the classes on this campus are full and who wants to go to another campus, and reportedly it takes 20 min. for the testing results to be recognized by the registration system. Wanna bet? The first few students couldn't register for classes they'd tested into but I have had a few that could, later in the morning.

There were a few other issues, too. One person started setting up their computer account and got through most of it, but when I said to start over again, it said account not found. Moving to another computer fixed that problem. Then there was a student who was in one system but not the other. She had already set up her computer account, but it wasn't working and the username didn't look right. So, I tried looking up her computer account, but she wasn't there. Eventually she could redo the process. Then there was a student who had just set up her questions and just as quickly, forgot her answers.

I'd go on, but I've got to enter these into Footprints before the next wave. On to the afternoon!

*edited to add* And now it is 79.6 degrees in the library, down from the high of 80.2.

Well, I'll be...

Despite the short notice and, I thought, vague and not terribly interesting topic, we had ~15 people at the first NOAA talk (I didn't include the librarians).

This exhibit may not be the dud I thought we'd made it.