What is an Archivist?

            My favorite thing about blogging is this that I can trace how my ideas evolve over time. It’s a document of where I started and charts the time frame that led me to where I am now in my thinking. Continuing my public history blog for my Archives and Manuscripts class is a way for me to think about how I define the archivist’s profession after one class and see how I articulate its purpose a few months down the line in December.

            Margery, my professor, asked us at the end of this week’s class to think about how we would define in an “elevator” speech the purpose and value of an archivist and the archives profession. It got me thinking. How would I define it right now?

            Well, I would say, “An archivist processes, manages, and makes available a variety of media that serve audiences in their pursuit of knowledge.” This definition, though, comes from the perspective of a researcher who has used archives extensively in the past. I’ve looked at archives as a way to acquire the information that I need and seen archivists as the medium through which I could obtain this knowledge.

            However, I had been unaware of how archivists viewed themselves and their profession until I read Mark A. Greene’s “The Power of Archives: Archivists’ Values and Value in the Postmodern Age.” Explained Greene, many, including myself, view archivists as people who simply “do.” This is in large part due to a lack awareness of archivists’ own power. But that leaves out the larger mission that archivists work towards. It also leaves out from the larger conversation their power in shaping the historical record.

            Having read Greene’s piece has made me wrestle with my own definition that I came up with above. This is a challenge that I hope to further refine in my blog as the semester continues.  My biggest revision in my definition and in my general view of the archivists' profession is that archivists are active shapers of the historical process.

Share Your Story

            My story with the National Park Service (NPS) officially began with my participation in the George Wright Fellowship at Independence National Historical Park (INDE) in Philadelphia. At least, that was the official beginning. Even so, I suppose you could trace my trail to the Park Service much further.

            I’ve always loved history. Despite my quick stint with wanting to become a doctor in my high school years, my passion for understanding worlds so different than my own was a paramount interest in my life. I was an anomaly among my classmates; while others were lost in the ticking hands of the clock until history class was over, I thought forty minutes weren’t nearly enough.

            My house was a history classroom all on its own. My parents, Portuguese immigrants, introduced me to new narratives outside the ones I was being presented in school. Teenagers during the Revolution of 1974 in Portugal, they told stories of a socialist regime, censorship, and the democratic reforms that came in its aftermath. I had a personal connection to these stories. But while most of my classmates’ histories were mirrored in our assigned textbooks and displayed in local heritage sites, I struggled to see and identify myself in courses that truncated Portuguese history after Prince Henry the Navigator and Vasco Da Gama. If I couldn’t see myself in it, I was determined to contribute and make myself a part of it.

            My decision to major in history in college was my attempt to become an active participant in the historical process. I didn’t just want to write about history, but I wanted to encourage others to be as excited about history as I was. I volunteered at different museums wherever I could to work with audiences. My journey to personally connect with history has directly influenced my desire to help others develop relationships with their past and the cultural sites around them. In many ways, I see myself in the NPS mission.

            When I began graduate school to study Public History, I became immersed in the National Park Service. During my first semester, I read the 2014 “Imperiled Promise” report, which introduced me to a world I had previously left unexplored. After reading the Report, I wanted to come involved with the NPS. That opportunity came around when I applied and was accepted to the George Wright Fellowship at Independence. Myself, along with seven other graduate students, designed an exhibit for New Hall Military Museum, site of the first United States War Department. It was an incredible opportunity to witness how history “is done” within the NPS. I later combined my interest in international and NPS history when I wrote a paper that examined the NPS’s Division of International Affairs in the 1950s and 1960s and its various projects abroad.

            A few months following the George Wright Fellowship, I was invited back to Independence for a summer internship. In January 2015, a fire erupted in the historic Second Bank of the United States. While no damage occurred in the building, I was asked to participate in the conservation project cleaning and restoring over 10,000 objects in the Second Bank’s collection storage area.

            The opportunity to assist in such a vital project has been a learning experience for me. Without these resources, we are endangering the public’s access to important artifacts that tell multiple and intersecting stories. Working with the NPS in the conservation effort has made me a contributor and participant in the park’s past. I’m so grateful to be a part of it, and I want to invite others to do the same in my future career as a public historian. The NPS makes strides to make the past learning grounds for audiences, and I’m excited to collaborate with an institution that takes learning about the past very seriously.

            This is my story. 

Week Nine at Independence: Data Entry and Art Conservators

            It’s the last week of July, which means I’ve been at INDE for almost two months! The coming month seems to be quite a few “lasts” – I’ll be starting my last first day of school in a few weeks, and my last day at INDE is fast approaching. Before I dive into a wave of nostalgia, let me take you into the final week of July here at INDE.

           

            I started off the week continuing with the data entry, which I presume will take me several weeks to complete seeing how there are a few hundred records that I need to modify. I’ve finished the records for the cabinets in one of the rooms, and I’ve moved on to the records pertaining to the flat-file cases.

           

            Perhaps the most interesting part of this week has been touring the Portrait Gallery in the Second Bank. Following the fire, tests were conducted by conservators to assess the damage of the various paintings in the Gallery. While none were charred or suffered water damage, heavy layers of soot rest on the canvases of individual paintings. This week, Karie toured around several conservators and bidders interested in working on the project to clean the individual paintings in most need of attention. Karie showed them the various work spaces where they would be conducting their work, as well as the actual artworks. A conservator will be chosen later this year, but it will be interesting to see how the process turns out.

            I always enjoy observing when outside conservators come to the Second Bank because it gives me a chance to not only learn about the conservation process, but it’s also also an opportunity for me to learn how contracts are drafted by the NPS and independent contractors, budgets, etc. The work that occurs in a cultural institution has value, and this process ensures that individuals are being compensated for the important work that they do.

            Next week, I’m set to meet with another conservator to take another look at the Sharples in the Portrait Gallery. When I helped to clean them during my first few weeks here, I noticed that three of them were not covered in conservator’s tape, so the conservator is coming to examine them. These mini field trips are wonderful! 

Week Eight at Independence: Cataloging and Data Entry

             This week was a catch-up game with data entry. Over the last two weeks, the IT team here at INDE was working on migrating the outdated server to Windows 7. Thus, the cataloging system ICMS has been down while IT works on moving all of the records to the new server. At the several museums and archives I’ve worked in throughout the years, I’ve learned the importance of having reliable technology to ensure that all data pertaining to the institution and the artifacts themselves kept safe. It’s important that the data and information pertaining to artifacts be maintained and preserved with the same care that that we give to physical artifacts. 

            While this was happening, I finished polishing the silver this week, which I asked my coworker to inspect. (I passed with flying colors!) Once ICMS was up and running, I spent most of my week doing data entry. As I worked in the Second Bank for the first few weeks, I didn’t have access to the catalog records, so I wasn’t always sure of the history behind the individual artifacts I was treating. In working with the online catalog, however, I’ve gotten to enter data for the objects in the Second Bank and learn more about the collections here. For example, I noticed in my first few weeks that there was a set of hinges in one of the storage rooms in the Second bank. When I searched the number later on, the description revealed that these were the original 1750s hinges from the guard room door in the Independence Hall Tower Stair Hall! Looking through the catalog is a nice chance to learn about the kinds of objects in INDE’s collection, as well as the particulars of when and how they were acquired.

            Many of the catalog records were cataloged anywhere between the early 1950s and the present, but most of the objects I’ve worked on were cataloged between the 1960s and 1980s. Some of the information in the catalog books wasn’t completely transferred to the computer database, so I’m working on entering information that labels the object’s description, origin, market value, measurements, condition report, location, etc., just to name a few. Karie explained to me that this is a project that has been in the works for quite some time, so having me here is a way to catch up with all of the work. Without an organized and standardized system, it would be impossible to manage INDE’s 2.5 million objects. 

Shelves of the paper catalogs for all historic objects at INDE.

On-line cataloging system.

Week Seven at Independence: The Basics of Silver Polishing

             This week was a whirlwind of meeting an art conservator, building boxes, and learning how to polish silver. You may be thinking, “Polishing silver? That sounds easy enough.” But trust me when I say that it takes patience often only found on the resumes of elementary school teachers.

            On Monday morning, I met Karie and another coworker in one of the Second Bank storage rooms to meet with an art conservator. There are dozens of racks that hold various paintings owned by the city of Philadelphia before they were transferred to INDE’s care. One such painting was done by a local Philadelphia painter who copied characteristics from Charles Willson Peale. Upon a request from Mount Vernon, INDE is loaning out the painting. While the painting is in relatively good condition for its period, it needs to be reframed and its canvas needs to be conserved.

            Before the painting can be sent to Virginia or even to the art conservator, the painting needs to be appraised for its market value. The museum technician and I brought the painting out for the appraiser since the painting measured over six feet. He measured it and took several notes on its condition so he could make comparisons to local market value. When I asked Karie about it later, she told me that it would take about a month and a half for him to send her the final value. I wasn’t aware that it was such a long process to contextualize this painting among its contemporaries and current prices attached to it. I had met an art conservator my second week at INDE who handles the more technical, artistic side of the evaluation process, but it was an informative process to witness how the value of a painting is actually determined. I hope to attend more of these meetings in the future.

            The following day, I built several archival-material boxes to house some deteriorating books in one of the storage rooms. They are currently stored in a cabinet in one of the storage rooms, but their condition is so poor that they need to be stored with extra care. My coworker ordered the boxes, which I later folded. She’ll later build inserts to firmly hold the books within the boxes so that they don’t shift around when they’re shipped to be conserved or when they’re moved to be examined.

            Most of my week, however, revolved around polishing silver. I was tasked with polishing a reproduction silver inkstand in another building in the park. The inkstand is a reproduction of the original that was purportedly used to sign the Declaration of Independence. It was badly tarnished, but polishing it with a custom application of oils and minute amounts of water would do the trick. I had never polished silver before, so my coworkers gave me a crash course in how it’s done.

            Using these small raw cotton wipes with polishing oil removes the tarnish embedded in the silver that accumulates over time. The oils remove the tarnish, but the problem is that it brings up black debris that never really seems to go away no matter how fervently I wiped it away. That’s why the process takes so long, but my coworkers showed me a trick that helps to move it along. Once the brass-like tarnish is removed, using very small amounts of distilled water dipped in lint-free cloths can remove the black streaks. It worked! But what really took the longest was working on the tiny grooves in the detail work, particularly on the base of the inkstand. I used large cotton swab sticks to remove the tarnish, which took the bulk of my time.

Unpolished silver reproduction inkstand. Gloves, polishing wipes, cotton swabs, and lint-free wipes are used to polish the silver.

Top of unpolished inkstand base.

         

Tarnished bottom of silver inkstand base. 

 While it took me awhile to finish, it felt really empowering to care for something that goes on display for the public. Maybe you’ll see it and think of me! It’s a great skill to learn, and I’m happy that I got some practice in it. Here are the after photos:

Week Six at Independence: Tying Up Loose Ends

                This week marked the end of storage room cleanup! It took about three weeks to finish the various units and shelves filled with original and reproduction objects alike. Here’s a recap of what this past week looked like:

                At the start of the week, I began wrapping up one of the storage rooms. As I approached the opposite end of the room, I noticed that the back wall was badly deteriorated due to falling plaster. The wall looked as if it had been slowly declining for several years, particularly because there were crystals of limestone coming through the wall. Two architectural historians at INDE and a visiting professor spend this week examining the wall and the building’s overall structure to determine a best solution. It appears that the entire original wall had deteriorated over time, thus, there was very little opportunity to salvage it. Despite the setback, the staff at INDE is confident that the wall can be repaired.

                Once I approached the final stages of my work in the storage room, I noticed the falling plaster from the wall. The shelves nearest to the plaster were covered in heavy plastic tarp so as to protect the artifacts from plaster and other associated debris. Thus, the state of the wall poses not only a risk to the structural integrity of the building itself, but also to the artifacts to which it is closest.

                Since I finished in the final storage room, I began working on smaller projects that needed to be addressed. While the two storage rooms I’ve worked in for the last few weeks hold original artifacts, another is occupied with reproductions of artifacts to be used in buildings such as Independence Hall. I dusted the materials in this room and vacuumed the surrounding areas. The location of this room was not near air vents or other openings; thus, It was virtually unaffected by the fire. My time was to perform routine care maintenance rather than to mediate the effects of the soot.

                Additionally, I measured muslin to cover upholstered chairs held in some of the storage areas. Muslin is unprocessed cotton, and it’s a perfect material to protect objects. It keeps pests away, absorbs moisture, and has a long life span. A routine washing is necessary, but muslin is a necessary museum tool. I measured the dimensions of approximately forty chairs to be fitted for a muslin covering. Then, Karie and I cut the strips according to my individual measurements. Because muslin is often stiff on its roll, Karie will wash the muslin in a standard home washing machine to make the muslin more pliable. Once this is done, I’ll start placing the material over the chairs to cover the upholstering and protect it from accumulated debris.

                Until next week!

                

Week Five at Independence: Reflections and Independence Day at Independence!

            Happy Belated Fourth!

            Working at Independence this week was exciting for obvious historical reasons. The park was buzzing with visitors and classic Philadelphia events such as Free Hoagie Day as INDE staff set up for the weekend festivities at Independence Hall. While INDE prepared for the holiday, I continued to work behind the scenes.

           

            I’m about halfway done with the inventory and cleaning in the latest storage area. The process remains about the same, though there are some concerns regarding the environmental controls within the Second Bank, particularly in this storage room. Historic buildings such as the Second Bank are particularly difficult to outfit with modern heating and cooling systems due to their structural components, so historic building managers do the best they can with that concern. For those of you who live in Philadelphia, you know that the humidity can be pretty high. These high humidity rates are being felt in the storage areas, so it has been a concern.

            In rooms that contain artifact collections, it’s essential to a museum’s function to monitor environmental factors such as humidity and temperature. If the humidity and/or temperature are too high or too low for extended periods of time, it can cause significant damage to objects. This is especially a risk in the storage room because the objects are not sealed in air-tight cabinets as in the previous room. Thus, they are more susceptible to the fluctuations in humidity.

            Devices terms “HOBOs” monitor temperature and humidity rates over extended periods of time. They look something like this: 

http://www.onsetcomp.com/products/data-loggers/ux100-003
Photo courtesy of Onset.

            A USB cord is used to connect a computer to the HOBO, and the HOBO registers the data it recorded over a period of time. This helps the museum technicians at INDE to keep track of the temperature in storage areas. It’s a chronic concern in the summer, so it's certainly something to be aware of.

            By far, the most exciting part of my week was climbing the clock tower in Independence Hall. I’ll admit that this had no relation to my work in the Second Bank, but when Karie invited me to come along, I simply could not refuse. How could anyone turn that down?

            Every Fourth of July, speeches are given outside of Independence Hall throughout the day. The clock tower is shut off on July 3^rd to prevent it from ringing and disrupting the speeches and events during the Fourth. I tagged along with Karie, two museum technicians, and a clock tower expert whose father had also done work on the clock tower in Independence Hall. He would be the one to shut the bell off.

            Getting up to the tower was no easy task, however. There is no air conditioning as you head towards the tower, not to mention that there are several flights of rickety stairs that require extra caution while climbing. While the walk up was slightly precarious, the view was incredible: 

            The chance to see this view was something I will never forget. It’s a reminder of all of the incredible things I’m learning here, but it was also an opportunity to reflect on the passion that I have for history and how it brought me here in the first place. I like to believe that history has emotion. Historians need to be critical, unassuming, and cautious of their research and writing. I say that with no doubt. But I do not think we should isolate ourselves from the emotions of the past. It closes us all off from our ability to understand and empathize with those of different landscapes and time. For me, that’s my favorite part of studying and feeling the past. I want others to feel that same passion and interest.

Until next time!