Gilman, T. (2010). A Gentle Reminder to Special-Collections Curators. Chronicle of Higher Education, 56(33), A54-A55. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier.
"Why librarians shouldn't act like dragons guarding the hoard" indeed. Many curators of special collections view the collection as being "theirs" and are extremely protective of them. Although these collections are often open to the public, this makes no difference to the curator. This unfriendly atmosphere and attitude sours the potential users and visitors of such collections, and also sours people on librarians and curators in general. These such librarians and curators feel justified in their behavior, thinking that people should not be able to just show up and want to see the collection.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Killing Time
Today would normally be one of my shifts using the scanner and working on my off-desk project. However, that project isn't ready to be started yet, so I spent the shift playing with the various genealogy databases the library has. I have wanted to look into my family's genealogy for years, but have not had the resources (such as ancestry.com) to start. Thankfully, MCPL has three different genealogy databases that I can use. I found some interesting things on my father's side of the family, but could not come up with anything at all on my mother's side. Very interesting, not to mention frustrating!
I also spent some time looking through different indexes and collections that have been put together by the Indiana Room and the Monroe History Center. One thing that I spend some time morbidly looking through was the Coroner's Reports from the 1896 to 1935. I went up to the letter C, and discovered that a major cause of death at the time was people getting hit by trains. It seemed as if at least 2 out of every 5 reports involved a train. There were also a high number of suicides. I can only guess that there were so many suicides because of the economic times.
It is amazing how many different collections and indexes have been put together regarding Monroe County information. The hours it must have taken, especially when dealing with quite old reports such as the coroner's reports from early the 1900's. These documents were generally all handwritten, with the occasional typewriter being used, and must have been difficult to transcribe. I have to commend the people who put together these amazing collections and indexes, all of which were created on the possibility that someone might be interested in the information.
I also spent some time looking through different indexes and collections that have been put together by the Indiana Room and the Monroe History Center. One thing that I spend some time morbidly looking through was the Coroner's Reports from the 1896 to 1935. I went up to the letter C, and discovered that a major cause of death at the time was people getting hit by trains. It seemed as if at least 2 out of every 5 reports involved a train. There were also a high number of suicides. I can only guess that there were so many suicides because of the economic times.
It is amazing how many different collections and indexes have been put together regarding Monroe County information. The hours it must have taken, especially when dealing with quite old reports such as the coroner's reports from early the 1900's. These documents were generally all handwritten, with the occasional typewriter being used, and must have been difficult to transcribe. I have to commend the people who put together these amazing collections and indexes, all of which were created on the possibility that someone might be interested in the information.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Adventures in the Indiana Room
Today was my third shift so far working in the Indiana Room. And let me tell you, it is a very different world than the main reference desk. It is such a specialized collection that has been shifted and morphed into (almost) exactly what they want it to be. They have sectioned out genealogy, grants, county histories, family histories, yearbooks, city directories, small business information, and zoning information; while still maintaining a general collection. There are so many areas to look that it is a little overwhelming!
Today was an interesting day. It was very slow at the desk, so my boss, Christine, had me looking for the original document from 1883 on microfilm that had the newspaper list of deceased from those who were from Monroe County and were in the Civil War. The 1971 newspaper ran a reprint of the list, and that is the one that was being used to create a comprehensive list. Christine mainly wanted me to find the original document for me to get more practice with the microfilm machine, and to have that original copy for posterity's sake. We were extremely glad that I looked for this original list. Not only was there an accompanying article and speech, there was also a continuation of the list on a separate page that was not included in 1971. Huge oversight on the 1971 paper! The article was on the front page and stated that it continued on page two, but on the microfilm reel that I was using it actually was on page four (the pages were not numbered). Our guess is that the person who copied this list looked on the page after the front page and after not immediately seeing the continuation, they gave up. In actuality, the rest of the list was fairly easy to see, it just was slightly farther down on the reel. It's sad that the list was not reprinted in its entirety, especially considering that it was the same newspaper that printed the list both times. I have a feeling that this kind of thing is part and parcel with such a special collection, especially dealing with old newspapers.
Today was an interesting day. It was very slow at the desk, so my boss, Christine, had me looking for the original document from 1883 on microfilm that had the newspaper list of deceased from those who were from Monroe County and were in the Civil War. The 1971 newspaper ran a reprint of the list, and that is the one that was being used to create a comprehensive list. Christine mainly wanted me to find the original document for me to get more practice with the microfilm machine, and to have that original copy for posterity's sake. We were extremely glad that I looked for this original list. Not only was there an accompanying article and speech, there was also a continuation of the list on a separate page that was not included in 1971. Huge oversight on the 1971 paper! The article was on the front page and stated that it continued on page two, but on the microfilm reel that I was using it actually was on page four (the pages were not numbered). Our guess is that the person who copied this list looked on the page after the front page and after not immediately seeing the continuation, they gave up. In actuality, the rest of the list was fairly easy to see, it just was slightly farther down on the reel. It's sad that the list was not reprinted in its entirety, especially considering that it was the same newspaper that printed the list both times. I have a feeling that this kind of thing is part and parcel with such a special collection, especially dealing with old newspapers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)