1. If I could turn back time: adventures in Internal Advocacy For Visual Materials
Hillary S. Kativa
Curator of Photographs and Moving Images
Chemical Heritage Foundation
Philadelphia, PA

2. About the Chemical Heritage Foundation
History of science organization based in Philadelphia.
Founded as Center for the History of Chemistry (1982).
Rebranded as Chemical Heritage Foundation (1992).
Exterior of CHF, located in Old City Philadelphia

3. Organizational Structure
Othmer Library of Chemical History
Eddleman Institute for Education and Interpretation
Center for Research
Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry
The Museum at CHF

4. Rare books on display in the Reading Room
What We Collect
Rare book and manuscripts
Modern books and journals
Oral histories
Archival materials
Photographs
Fine art
Objects and artifacts
Rare books on display in the Reading Room

5. Excerpt from the finding aid for the Walter Snelling Papers
Past (Not So) Perfect
Photographs treated as objects rather than archives.
Focus on item-level cataloging.
Context and connection to archival materials largely absent.
Inconsistent and haphazard description.
Excerpt from the finding aid for the Walter Snelling Papers

6. Past (Not So) Perfect

7. Past (Not So) Perfect

8. Turning Back Time
Archives relocated from Special Collections to Library in 2007.
Photo Archivist position downsized in 2008; reinstituted as full time position in 2013.
Lady Gaga speaks for all of us
(but especially for me)

9. Landing page for CHF photo collections (chemheritage.org)
Turning Back Time
Discontinued item-level cataloging in PastPerfect.
Created finding aids and online catalog records linking photos and archival collections.
Workshop series of educate staff and fellows about photo collections.
Landing page for CHF photo collections (chemheritage.org)

10. *No applied professionals were harmed in the making of this gif*
Lessons Learned
Allied professionals: They’re (Not) Just Like Us!
Different cultures = different approaches to collections management.
Advocacy begins at home.
*No applied professionals were harmed in the making of this gif*

11. Remember, Bob Mackie designs aren’t for everyone (Time Magazine, 1975)
Lessons Learned
Don’t Get Hung Up On Labels
Different collections have different needs.
Advocate for your collections and don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo.
Remember, Bob Mackie designs aren’t for everyone (Time Magazine, 1975)

12. Thank you!
Hillary S. Kativa