Accidental Archivist Carrie Christoffersen Intro myself and how I came to this spot Carrie Christoffersen Senior Manager of Collections and Registration Newseum

Intro …. About the Newseum About the collections About the Senior Manager of Collections and Registration Newseum – museum about news, journalism and the first amendment. Currently closed to the public as we prepare new and expanded exhibits for a new facility slate to open in 2007 on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capital. About 3-times the exhibit space of our previous facility and with some attention paid to a resource center. Collections - In terms of our collection, we have about 2,000 accessions in the permanent collection numbering well over 15,000 items for which I have chief responsibility. We also have 35-45,000 historic newspapers which, except for the bare bones of registration, are handled by our Curator of Print News. And we have about 20,000 catalogued images and an additional 50,000 images waiting in the wings which our Director of Visual Resources takes care of. Me – I have been in the museum field for about 7 years, but it took a while to actually work my way around to the position I trained for and currently hold. A registrar basically maintains records of accession, condition, and location of objects in museum collection, and oversees movement, packing, and shipping of objects to conform to insurance regulations. I also make decisions with the collection development team about what acquisitions are made/accepted and handle issues relating to loans.

Why Keep an Archive…or artifacts? Preservation of History Institutional General Exhibit and loan potential The main functions of museums are to acquire, preserve, research, communicate and exhibit their collections for the study, education and enjoyment of the general public.  (Noble, Joseph Veach.  1970.  Museum Manifesto.  Museum News, April.  Quoted in  Sonja Tanner-Kaplash,  Basic Museum Studies: Training resource package, 1/4-1/5. Victoria: British Columbia Museums Association, 1996.] Exhibit and loan potential – lobbies, press clubs, local museums and of course national and international museums and historical societies…depending on the importance of the stuff and events it relates to

What should you Keep? General Ideas Obvious Items Photographs Documents Artifacts Obvious Items Related to major historic events Related to major events in your organization Related to award-winning events Related to major personalities From Page 4 of Newseum Collection Management Policies and Procedures

What should you Keep? …continued… Less Obvious Items Related to technological advancements Related to a major personality…who isn’t yet Related to work environment Un-necessary From page 4 of Newseum Collection Management Policies and Procedures Unnecessary – Most promo stuff Overly repetative items

How do you Develop a Collection? Declarations Mission Statement Scope of Collections Statement Collecting Plans Declarations – from page 4&5 of Newseum Collection Management Policies and Procedures

How do you Develop a Collection? …continued… Committee vs. ‘Lone Wolf’ Approach Accession Policies Committee - page 5 & 6 of Newseum Collection Management Policies and Procedures provides you with back-up for people lobbying for items to be retained that are unnecessary encourages buy-in from other departments and respect for your job/mission/goals but it is more simplistic to operate alone Accessions - page 5 & 6 of Newseum Collection Management Policies and Procedures the way we get things is likely more varied than for an institutional archive you may spend more time trying to understand and hash out who owns what (personal vs. corp)

How do you record items? Accession procedures Deed of Gift Processing Checklist Number assigned, file started Condition Report Accession Memorandum Manually generated Database printout DOG – handout may not be of concern in most instances for you Checklist - handouts: checklist, condition report Memorandum - handouts: manual and DB copy Organization of an archive is very different from that of a museum collection. My artifacts are organized and identified almost purely by number. Whereas an archive evolves much more from the library cataloguing system and specifically the subject heading, name authority files, title files… There are a range of standards set for this by every conceivable related organization, but the key (IMHO) is to make sure that the system makes sense and works for your organization.

Where do you keep everything? Storage and controls Cabinets and boxes/folders/etc. Temperature and humidity Light levels Equipment Cabinets and boxes - better to have most items in cabinets as the environments are more stable (Delta, Viking, Archive Designs, inc., Montel, etc.) acid free is the key in any and all storage and labeling materials (boxes, folders, mylar) copies of University products, Hollinger and Light Impressions catalogues are available Temp and humidity - varies depending on the season and kinds of items you are keeping We should be shooting for 65-68° with 62-70° as the total extremes. We should be shooting for 40-50% in the winter months (Jan-April, Nov-Dec) and 45-55% in the warmer months (May-Oct). Paper needs more humidity, photographs need colder temps and less humidity. Archival and library material no higher than 70° and humidity between 30-50% (Preservation of Library and Archival Materials, by Northeast Document Conservation Center, c.1994) The most serious thing to watch out for is fluctuation…that’s worse than levels slightly outside these guidelines. Light Levels - Light damage is cumulative and irreversible.(Handout) UV is the most destructive, but since it is not seen it is not detrimental to eliminate. Visible light still causes damage and should be eliminated as much as possible. 5 footcandles or 50 lux has long been considered a desirable level for exhibition. With a max of 50,000 lux annually. Storage/research can offer some solutions and some issues. Equipment - hygrothermographs – measures temperature and humidity on daily, weekly, monthly basis. Manual Data Loggers – general term given to the devices that depend on electronic sensors to monitor and record data (such as temperature, relative humidity [RH], and light). Download ability. Silica Gel Psychrometer – instantly measures temperature and humidity Thermohygrometer – small for inside exhibit cases Light meters – visible and UV UV films and filters Blue Wool test cards

How do you find everything? Storage Areas – labeling Ledgers Paper files Database file Inventory Storage areas – labeling system is the key to ever being able to retrieve anything The rest of this relates to the Finding Aid concept that archives use … A finding aid is a printed or computer-based research tool indicating the scope and contents of a given acquisition. They can also be used to indicate special restrictions on access, instructions and details about how the material was acquired.    Finding aids are usually generated for larger acquisitions and those with the greatest archival value and research potential, to assist researchers by describing a specific acquisition and listing the contents of each box and file folder that comprises it.

Who has access? Security Issues Control Badge access to room List generated by me Locked cabinets Locked key box Emergency Preparedness Warning Contact Reaction

Recap Why Keep an Archive? What should you Keep? How do you Develop a Collection? How do you record items? Accession procedures Where do you keep everything? Storage/controls How do you find everything? Who has access to everything? Security Issues