Fundraising

The quest for fame drives most donations. But now, shame can work to your advantage as well. For going beyond the mundane "Friend of the Archives" designation, Archival Trash presents the following fundraising hierarchy. Insert your own dollar amounts.

$$$$$$....Archival Sugar Daddy
$$$$$.....Honorary Degree Recipient*
$$$$......Honorary Archivist (will receive personally scrimshawed Bone Folder)
$$$.......One Who Knows Where the Archives Is Located and Sometimes Uses Your Parking Space
$$........Person Who Drives Past the Archives on Their Way to Work
$.........Someone Who Can Spell 'Archives'
-$........Cost-Cutting Middle Manager/Committee Chair
-$$.......Cost-Cutting Congressman
-$$$......That Administrator With a Shredder Who Won't Return Your Calls
-$$$$.....Mr. Vice President

*or, for non-university archives: New Meeting Room Named After Himself/Herself/Favorite Pet

Trust Me, I'm An Archivist

Unless you're Daniel Lorello, an archivist for the state of New York, that is. Mr. Lorello has been charged with the theft of multiple items from the state archives, all to pay off his utility and credit card bills. Article link here.

I'm interested to see how New York approaches trying to retrieve any items Lorello already sold. Even though buyers most likely assumed they were getting items in good faith, will they be willing to return them? Will the state reimburse them? Or will we see multiple replevin cases once particular stolen items are identified?

And speaking of replevin, the state of Maine is working through the courts to attempt to retrieve a copy of the Declaration of Independence once owned by the town of Pownalborough (now Wiscasset). Somehow the copy ended up in the possession of a nineteenth century town clerk, and was sold at an estate auction in 1994. This case resembles one in 1999 where a copy once belonging to the town of North Yarmouth was sold in similar fashion. In that case, the parties resolved their differences in early 2001. (Go here.)

MacGuyver's Archival Glossary: The Bone Folder

Admit it, fellow archivistes: before joining the club, you had no earthly idea what a bone folder was. In fact, you probably thought it was one of the following:

a. the coolest move from an old Bruce Lee movie;
b. a professional wrestler;
c. that thing in Jack Sparrow's hair (thanks for that one, Christie);
d. some kind of Dungeons & Dragons magic thingy.

So what is it really? Only the second deadliest tool in the archivist's arsenal, behind the microspatula. Maybe not as subtle and deadly efficient as the metal blade, it's still perfect for eliminating paper creases, stirring drinks, and subduing recalcitrant patrons. Works equally well as a shim or a shiv.

With all these cool tools, can the archival utility belt be far behind?

I Meme Mine

(Title with apologies to the Beatles)

Thanks to Brave Astronaut, I've been tagged by an archives meme. More on that below; but first, some pictures I took Monday.

Yes, it snowed again on Monday, just a mere foot, nothing special. This first pic is just after I left for my walk to work, taken around 7:45 Monday morning. It had been snowing for about 30 minutes. You may be able to see the piles of snow along the road from all the previous storms. And yes, it was that dark. Although maybe not so blue.




Here it is, not ten minutes later. There was now about 2 inches on the ground. People were still driving like nothing was happening, speeding along cluelessly. The sidewalks were very slippery just then, so I'm sure the roads were a blast.




Now here it is around 1:00, during the walk home. The building is a local hospital. Only 6 or 7 inches had fallen at that point. Still snowing quite heavily. It was actually quite easy to walk through, as long as you remembered where the curbs were! I don't think this street had been plowed yet. And traffic was slower, but still surprisingly heavy. (On a side note, these "early winter" snows are quite dry and powdery, much more so than the snows I grew up with in the South. Shoveling and cleaning the car is waaayyy easier, almost like brushing sugar off the kitchen counter.)


Now on to BA's meme. The challenge was this: "Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you've written." Each one has specific instructions, listed below. So here goes...

Link 1 must be about family. I have never posted about my family, and likely never will. Except the wife, and only then in glowing terms, because she's perfect. (Hey, I know what I'm doing.)
Link 2 must be about friends. Well, I've never really posted about my friends either. Must be something about posting about people... In lieu of a 'friends' post, here is my post about SAA, where I did get to see most of my friends. Does that count?
Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are... what you're all about. Here's my very first post. Yes, quite a doozy indeed.
Link 4 must be about something you love. Hm. Just to make BA jealous, read this.
Link 5 can be about anything you choose. Everyone's favorite archival tool. Don't leave home without it.

Wow, those are some powerhouse links. Looks like I either need to become more introspective on my blog, or start dishing the dirt. Maybe I can dish some introspective dirt.

MacGuyver's Archival Glossary: Exhibits

Definition -- A curious and rarely rewarding affair in which you are asked to do one of three things:

a) fill a large, inadequate space with few items, and to avoid too much text;

b) fill a tiny, inadequate space with many items, and to avoid not having enough text;

c) fill a hopeless space with a sad collection, where no amount of text will save you.

If your institution has none of these problems, you may continue to laugh derisively at the misfortunes of others. I know I do.

Things an Archivist Should Never Say (Work Version)

"I can do that project in ONE week!"

"Just set your coffee on these papers over here."

"You know all the rain we had this weekend? Well, I took some records home with me on Friday, and..."

"Our budget is big enough already, thank you."

"Oh yeah? Then keep your damn records!"

"You really are a strange person." (To prospective donor)

"I don't think this EAD thing will catch on."

"Autographs for sale! Autographs for sale!"

"Of course archivists don't throw anything away."

"Finding aids are way overrated."

MacGyver's Archival Glossary: Microspatula

A thin cylinder of metal, flattened at both ends, typically used for removing staples, paperclips, and other unwanted items during archival processing. Also useful for/as...

...testing doneness of cakes, muffins, etc
...emergency surgery
...earwax removal
...office drum circles
...a double-bladed lightsaber for your Star Wars playsets

Note: only attempt the above actions under the supervision of a professional. Expect mockery.

Nero had an Archivist?

Yep, according to this article. I can imagine that, even in today's world of tight budgets, staff cuts, and impending drafts, that working for a possibly unstable emperor would have been, say, less than fun.

Also, October is American Archives Month. So stop by your local archives and check them out! Even if you don't find anything fabulous, you'll bump up their monthly statistics, and the staff will love you for it.

This Week's Mailbag

Dear Archivalist:

I am a new archival student and will be getting an internship at Big-Mega-State University. Can you give a rookie a few pointers as I start my new career?
Signed, Newbie Arranger


Dear NA,

Never fear, Newb! Here is your quick guide to getting along with everyone in your new home, and wherever you may go in the future. Remember, collaboration is key, so follow these guidelines to the letter!

1. Food is acceptable everywhere in the archives except actually in boxes on the shelves. Unless that is where you store your candy supply, that is. It's also very important to remember to always give a cut of whatever food you bring into the archives to the archivist and any other staff that he/she deems necessary to placate. This applies to all foods except rice cakes.

2. Never never NEVER use the word 'miscellaneous' in your descriptive efforts: no 'miscellaneous' folders, series, or collections! This word is a constant and nearly indestructible bane of archives, along with silverfish, mold, and library budget cutting committees. If access and description are what we're all about, then why use a term that furthers the cause of neither? This is a lazy and disgusting term, and you should avoid it like you would light beer and unsalted peanuts.

3. Pencils only, please. Pens are for poking, throwing, and finding at the bottom of drawers and bookbags. However, don't let this stop you from getting your institution's name printed on a pen and handing them out by the thousands at that next local/regional/national meeting. Archivists, like most people, love free pens. We just ... can't use them on the job.

4. Hire student employees/interns. They provide a cheap (ideally, free) way to bring your repository up to snuff technologically. As long as you have an endless supply of student workers, you will never have to bother to learn just what the terms 'rss,' 'wiki,' or 'digitization' actually mean.

5. Attend professional conferences. These can be invaluable resources, places where you can learn new techniques, make new friends and visit with old ones, and obtain excellent pointers on resume- and career-building. Quick tip: those camera phone pix from a meeting's closing bash can make excellent job interview blackmail in a few years.