I'm working on processing university admin records for a UC school and I'm wondering if anyone has previously done this for any UC. The records retention schedule has not been updated since I think 2012/14 and a lot of the guidelines and help links are dead.

My question is what do y'all keep in terms of correspondence? And does anyone know if the Office of the President and Regents keep their UC-wide announcements and correspondence so that we don't have to if it does not relate to my specific University. And I have extensively looked at other schools- including other UCs and non-UCs; I'm looking for first-hand experiences if possible. I appreciate ANY tips or suggestions.

Hello! I'm volunteering at my local museum with rehousing, accessioning, etc and I found a pillbox from a pharmacist that's dated 1939. To my surprise, there are pills still in it! I'm a recent grad, and I remember it not being unusual to preserve something like this based on my readings from class, but I'm unsure if I should house them separately from the pillbox and if I were to house them separately, in what type of housing? Does anyone know of any resources to consult?

Any insight on why past searches for material stopped turning up hits for material you know exists, either from past searches or because it’s been accessed before? This keeps happening, and I feel like I’m doing something wrong or we’ve gone backwards. Online databases shouldn’t be like a slot machine.

The most frustrating offender is the OAC (online archive of California) that several libraries use. A special collections librarian at UC Berkeley confided they purposely don’t make all catalogs public out of fear they would be overrun with public requests. I laughed but they were serious. I don’t think that’s the case here, it’s a back end database situation, but I didn’t love hearing that claim from someone who had the position to make that happen. A smaller museum who switched to using their database no longer has their online collection accessible, including a photo I know recognize as relevant to my research. It’s gone into the ether as a result.

I noticed this at private archives, institutional, I can name a half dozen examples of them taking collections offline or the word search feature just not linking.

It’s bad enough that most archives are understaffed to sort and identify materials. I know I can reach out to the archivists but my topics are often a needle in a haystack.

Hello,

I am making a post here because I really dont know which kind of professional adresse these questions.

This is for a study project: it is a pure fictitious study on software for estimating the degradation of books and their values ​​for collection books.

For my study I need somes informations but dont know where to start, and i was wondering if you have somes knowleges or know where to find this informations:

• Informations if there are pre-established rules/classifications to estimate the deterioration of a book or even its loss of value.

• Are there way (online, classification, auction) to estimate the price of collection's book?

• What are the factors considered important to control the degradation of a book (cover and paper) : sun, humidity, air, storage position (mechanical stress applied to the book))?

• Does it exist database of composition of paper over the history?

• Informations about collection book market (number of sales, number of books lost through degradation).

Thanks.

I have some magazines that have been scanned into single page per image Tif files and saved sequentially. They are scanned at a resolution of 600 DPI and 24 Bit color. How can I convert them into a single PDF of a managable size?

I was planning on using financial aid information to help me choose which school to attend. However, financial aid information is super delayed this year and I probably won't know what or if I'll be getting anything until after the deadline to make decisions happens.

I was originally set on going to Indiana, but after being accepted into Illinois and Maryland, and also speaking to people from the two schools I'm deciding between, I'm not sure which decision to make anymore!

It is ultimately my decision, but if anyone has any input on specifically Illinois and Indiana, please share! I'm only not really considering Maryland because I feel as if the area is too expensive.

Was it hard? Do you feel like it’s worth doing? Would love to hear thoughts.

I'm in my undergrad and I'm wondering if I should minor in computer science. I'm majoring in history right now. From what I'm reading, the route is to get an MLIS no matter what your bachelor's degree is in (correct me if I'm wrong). But I want to know if computer science is relevant and worth taking as a minor for a career in digital archive.

Hello all! I’m looking for flatbed scanner recommendations. We need to process large posters/newspapers and film sizes up to 4x5. Does anyone know of a high res scanner than can do large formats and has software for scanning film of various sizes? We currently have a 12x17 scanner, but looking for something larger and/or a good film scanner that doesn’t require image stitching for large format 4x5 negatives. Thank you!

Hi all, I’ve spent the last ten years essentially been given custody of my parents photos and the hospital photos that goes back generations from them.

Digitising the photos and film aren’t too much of an issue and have used DigMyPics for this a few times. Bringing context to them on the other hand has been troubling.

But it’s the other stuff you inherit that I’ve been scratching my head about for years that I thought you guys might have some advice or could go both ways.

Cards Everyone loved a card and I felt awful chucking them all out. So I fed the ones addressed to me for my birthdays through my Epson Workforce scanner and uploaded it to a service called Hello There which is a great app and is made for this type of thing - the only issue is that it’s personal and doesn’t address the needs of multiple libraries but it’s a good start.

Physical artefacts Whether it furniture or an ashtray, if you feel there is a connection with something that you know is going to be chucked out or donated, consider taking a 3D model of it in an app like Polycam or Metascan. That way you can digitise the physical item and bring it back to life in AR for when we are all wearing Apple Vision Pros.

Handwritten letters This is where I am stuck on at the moment as it’s a delicate operation to scan double sided flimsy letter gram paper but there is some historical stuff in there about surviving genocides, war and just general travelling in the 20’s to 70’s. Because most of the writers and recipients have passed on, is a genealogy website such as Ancestry more suited for this in terms of organisation? I’ve also used ChatGPT4 to help transcribe the handwriting since I am so not used to reading old fashion calligraphy in our digital age!

What are other people’s thoughts?

Hello!

I currently work as a public service library assistant at a university library. I was wondering if anyone can point me to where I could purchase affordable small plastic bone folders and microspatula in bulk. We're trying to refresh our swag items so was hoping that I could get some at a reasonable price. Just trying to see and compare pricing at this point in time.

Gaylord, Hollinger, Uline and University Products don't seem to offer bulk pricing. Or at least not on the landing pages for each of these items. So I'm not sure if I'll have to contact them directly to get more information. If anyone could offer some guidance it would be extremely appreciated!

Thank you so much in advance!

I'm the first professional archivist working in a small local history museum. We have a large collection of blueprints from a now defunct area industry. We've discovered active mold growing on some of the blueprints.

I don't know what to do with them! I've removed them from the rest of the collection but they're huge rolls. They won't fit in any freezer that I have access to. The rolls are also combinations of paper and mylar. Can mylar go in a freezer?

I've never had to deal with an active mold situation before either. And then these are so out of the ordinary, I don't know where to start.

hi all my last post was auto-removed (i hate reddit)

https://www.reddit.com/r/Archivists/s/kWtYHyHYI7

anyone have insight into this?

how many people have private TV cassette tapes

or even DVR recordings that got saved somehow....

just loooking for people who have thought about this at all!!!

love and kisses🥰

Has anyone worked with a career coach to help their career in libraries or archives - and not in order to ultimately leave the field - and benefited from it?

Or a mentor within a professional organization?

I work in special collections/archives. 2 years out of MLIS and I can’t fathom how to get any further in this field (i.e. make a little more money) though I do feel like it's possible in theory.

I feel like I need help with interviewing, and learning how to develop professional expertise and direction, as well as goal setting, like identifying prof dev opportunities that actually seem beneficial.

I recently completed a career aptitude test. The job of an archivist is my strongest career fit based on my scores. But I am dismayed that archivists make so little money. I love history and research though. But I only like doing it for fun and at my leisure.

To all of you archivists out there, are you financially stable? Do you have to work a second job? If you are married with kids, what are the challenges that arise from making a meager amount of money?

Hi, all

I’ve started a new role in an archives that needs a lot of help. For 20+ years it has been operating with a single archivist and the collections have never been properly processed, or boxed. I would guess that maybe 50% of the holding are actually in a box. The rest is literally just in “organized” piles open on the stacks. I am very overwhelmed with where to begin.

I would be so grateful for any advice you can provide, re: where to start. I kind of feel that I can’t do a shelf read or even begin processing plans with the way things are. I don’t quite know how to corral everything to take stock. It’s a mess and I need guidance.

Cheers!

Hoping I can get some advice regarding framing a photograph.

I work in a small town library and we are looking to reframe a photograph from the 1910s of our benefactor.

I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on where to go to have the photograph reframed and the best materials to use for the frame/glass.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi guys! I got offered a summer internship at a city hall for archiving! It’s no experience required for anyone enrolled or entering an MLIS or related field so I expect they anticipate having to train me from bottom up.

But I am nervous about maybe coming up short and disappointing due to my limited knowledge in archiving. My program doesn’t let us specialize until second year so I’ve only taken foundational classes.

Do you guys have any advice! It’s my first job that is related to what I want my career to be in so I want to make the most out of it :)

Edit:

Any morale advice, or recommended reads would esp be appreciated

How much have you spent on conservation evaluations? Please share the approximate cost, description of conservation project, what state or region you are in, and when you did this.

I've heard it can vary greatly, but am mostly interested in seeing the real numbers.

Thanks a million!

I have been searching for an archive job for a year and have been struggling. I work part time at a public library, but I really need something full time and I want it to be in archives. I am halfway through my mlis program with a concentration on archives. I live in Nashville and there is just nothing here. I need experience in archives or a museum to get anywhere. I try to look for remote but I haven't found anything. Does anyone have any tips or job postings in mind?

You do not need to be a member of Society of American Archivists to attend this webinar.

*************************************************

The Society of American Archivists -American Archivists - Archivists of Religious Collections Section presents: Lunch and Learn: More Product, Less Process Apr 11, 2024 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)You may have heard of "more product, less process" as an approach to processing archival records. But what is it really? Join us for a presentation that will familiarize you with this approach, and help you in your processing workflow.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_41KQwwX2R5OS8dxom2rl6A

This webinar will be recorded.Presenter: Holly Mengel, University of PennsylvaniaHolly Mengel is the Head of Archives and Manuscripts Processing at the University of Pennsylvania Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, with an MLIS and a concentration in archives. She processed the Dick Thornburgh papers at the University of Pittsburgh Archives Service Center and worked at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives, before moving to Philadelphia to serve as project manager for a Council on Library & Information Resources (CLIR) hidden collections processing project for the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries. From there, Holly worked at Princeton's Firestone Library as a processing archives and then, in 2013, began her current position at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries.

Contact: mkosta(at)uwo.ca for any issues.

​

Hey! I started working in the museum/archives sector since June of 2020 and graduated with my MLIS degree this past August. I am currently an Archive Specialist on a grant-funded project and will be hitting my one year this May. I handle the entire archive, from record entry to policy creation, and I oversee a collection of student volunteers.

I feel as though I don't know enough/have enough certification? Maybe its because I've only been at this job for 10 months, or because I graduated with my MLIS degree in August, but I feel as though I don't have enough qualifications to be an Archivist.

The rest of my career history has been as a "Collections Assistant" at two different museums. And my "Four Year Anniversary" of being in the museum/archive field is this June.

My current job is contracted to keep me on until October of 2025, but then it's back to looking for another job. Do you all have any tips to make sure if I can continue my career path? Or am I just overthinking it?

I recently inherited an old family Bible which was published in 1840. It's been in use until at least the 1980s when the most recent births are recorded, so it's not in great condition (but decent, considering its age!). I've purchased a Gaylord archival box to store it in, but I'm wondering if you have any suggestions for what to use as a makeshift book cradle. I've taken pictures of the most relevant pages, but there's a lot of pressed flowers, pieces of ribbon, newspaper clippings, etc that I need to address, and I'd like to make sure the binding is as stable as possible when I do it.

I've been using stacks of thinner books as support when it's open, but I'm not sure that's the best solution. The leather of the spine is flaking badly but what remains of the rope binding seems fairly secure; even so, I'd like to give it as much support as possible within reason. I don't think I can/should use anything made of fabric because the leather will likely catch and flake off even more (picture of the spine below).

Slightly related: the pages smell very sweet, sort of like molasses. I haven't spotted any obvious mold (I checked the spine, binding, along the creases of the pages, etc) but I'm still a little wary. Does this sound like a normal old book smell, or is that a concern?

Thanks!

https://preview.redd.it/rds6uuq42dpc1.jpg?width=4608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ede877ad5d6f83ac840010539cfb7cf955ebd7dc

Exposed binding along the family history pages

My historian co-workers often visits archives to capture items for their work (photographs, documents, maps). I'm their in house videographer building their kits for their fieldwork.

They have hovercam solo 8Plus, which I hate the quality it provides, but makes their lives easier which is fine. The problem is that it doesn't capture large items like maps.

I'm looking for another device to capture larger items. Maybe a point and shoot camera that can tether to a computer? A tablet? I don't want them to use their phones, i want to provide a tool they can borrow, easy to use and portable is also key. They would be travelling to remote communities with this equipment. I have a decent budget for this.

Hello! Are banker's boxes alright to store a wedding dress (made mostly of crepe), instead of busting bucks on an archival textile box?

i had also posted this to the librarians subreddit but it was relevant to here too

am i doing the right thing?

hi! so, i don't know if this is exactly the right place but its related! i want to be an archivist, specifically one for the federal, possibly a state, government. i'm in my undergrad and i've got about two years of archival experience so far. i'm pursuing my bachelors in social science education so i have edu as a fallback career and my major touches on history, geography, political science and economics. i plan to go to wayne state university in michigan for their MLIS/MA dual masters program!

currently i work at the michigan house of representatives for political science and public policy experience, and i work at the library of michigan for library experience. once im finished my undergrad i plan to work at the state archives. my aforementioned experience in archives was through two different archives, one a local museum and the other was a jewish temple archives.

am i making the right progress? should i be doing more, and if so, what? please advise 💕 ps i'm in my junior year of undergrad, so i have a year and some change left until grad school!