Personal Reflection

Have you ever taken a class that piques your interest so much that it completely shifts a path you were currently on? Well, since beginning INFO 256 Archives and Manuscripts I have found myself on a completely different track. Before taking the class, my career pathway was leaning toward Special Librarianship. I took archives and manuscripts because I was interested in the topic, and I figured it could be useful to know some archival practices for special librarianship. After Module 1: Introduction to Archives, Archival Theory, and the Archival Profession, I knew the Archives and Preservation was the librarian pathway for me. I am actually fortunate enough that my interest in the archival profession has lead me to an archival internship for Spring 2025 at a local library’s heritage room.  

Before taking this class, I had some experience as a user with archival repositories since I love to do family tree research. I frequently use digital archives to research my family’s history. Now that I’ve taken this course, my perception of digital repositories and the archival profession has given me a whole new level of respect. When I think about the process, labor, and funding that went into getting my great-grandfather’s various documents from 1914 digitized into a digital repository that I can access, it fills me with gratitude. All done by archivists! It makes me look at records differently now l know the general process of how that record got there(appraisal, processing, digitizing). It also makes me appreciative that those repositories are upholding what is the most important in the archives profession, which is safeguarding histories and making them accessible to users. 

An aspect of the class that surprised me was learning about archival appraisal and how much material never even makes it to the archives. Obviously it’s not possible to keep every record in existence, but the small percentage that makes it into an archival collection is very surprising! The importance of the selection process makes learning about the archival process that much more fascinating. I was also surprised about how much of the selection process relies on what is currently in the collection and the importance of the institutions current goals. Before this class, I was under the impression that archivists accepted almost everything they received.

My favorite assignment of the class was creating the finding aid for the Ted Carlson Collection. I loved getting to not only see the records, but going through many of them to reveal Ted Carlson’s story. As an archivist, it may not be possible to read through every little detail on every record, but to me it is very special to see the actual documents and records of someone’s life. It was easier to write the abstract and biography because I didn’t know anything about Ted Calson. The assignment did make me wonder if I was to write an abstract or biography about a collection from a well known person if it would be more difficult to write unbiasedly or writing strictly to what the documents contain. Even though some of the handwriting was difficult at times to decipher it was very interesting to learn about Ted Carlson through his own words and other records. 

INFO 256 was a fantastic overview of the what archivists do and what the archival profession encompasses. A few aspects of the class I would like to dive further into would be the digitization process of records, and archival exhibits/ public relations. When looking at job descriptions posted for archivists, knowing the digitization process and the schemas that go with it are a major plus. I also took a class this semester on Metadata and some of the potential schema that a repository might use, as well as the basics of XML. While I have more of a general understanding of XML, DublinCore, and a few other schemas, I am looking forward to getting to go through the process of using these programs to make records accessible online. I would also like to explore outreach in more detail as it is critical to engage and reach an audience, especially in this day and age where most people are constantly using technology. 

When I think about the future of archives and what I see as trending within the profession, I think of a major push of creating solutions for protecting the records in archival repositories, both physical and digital. In a Vice article that discusses climate change affecting history, a study showed that 98.8% of archives are likely to be affected by at least one climate risk factor such as sea level rise, storm surge, flooding, increased rain, warmer temperatures, or humidity. Florida, which actually has numerous repositories, has been hit with several record breaking hurricanes within the last decade and has lost many archives because of it. The archivist I interviewed for the “interview an archivist” assignment had many of the archives in the repository she works with at Florida State. She was explaining that they had to send many of the records to a special storage unit which allows temperature and humidity control. Records are being destroyed, and every time it happens we lose a little bit more of our histories. Not only are physical records at stake, but also digital records. There have been cyber hacks on archives that are non profit, rendering the online repository unaccessible for a week. In addition to hacking and cyber attacks, there is also the inevitability of digital records becoming lost due to technological discrepancies such a file types becoming inoperable in the future. I believe these themes will be reoccurring topics of discussion for years to come, with hopefully some creative solutions. 

Going forward in the MLIS program I am very eager to learn as much as I can about the archival profession before graduation. I’m also excited to get some hands on experience within the field through my internship next semester though the Corona Library Heritage Room. I will hopefully be helping with processing, digitizing, uploading to a repository, oral interviews, and creating finding aids.