r/Archivists

Does anyone know where I can buy archival grade quality boxes in Dublin to store a photo album in?

Hello,

Quick question. I have a lot of artwork made on reflective gold “paper”. I have tried scanning with a normal scanner but have not gotten any usable results. I was thinking about possibly adding a filter in between, looking at alternative scanning methods, or “biting the bullet” and do a camera and lighting setup with a bunch of post processing for each. Any one have any experience with this?
Thanks a bunch!

I am in charge of my family's entire archive. The entirety of the prints are literally in the thousands. Some of them are just loose, some of them are in magnetic albums, and some are in non archival boxes.

Currently, I am struggling with figuring out the best way to file and make a labeling system. I will be using a copy stand and a DSLR camera to digitize every item that I have.

This is what I am trying to figure out: I would like to keep an entire album of photos together and not have them mixed up. However, some of the photos are as small as a quarter while some are as big as a piece of paper (American units of measure I know lol). Anyway, what is the best way of properly marking where every photo came from as well as a way to digitally label every file?

I will be using archival standard boxes for everything. I've only had very little experience with creating a labeling system. My end goal is to be able to see the print digitally and then be able to go to it exactly.

Thank you!

Hello! I am an undergraduate English major who will be moving into my senior year this upcoming semester. After I graduate I want to go into the archival field and so am trying to gather as much experience as possible in order to make myself a good candidate for graduate schools. As a requirement for the honors program I am a part of, I have to write a thesis.

I am currently working on a finding aid project (making an artificial collection) for my university's library and am going to put together an exhibit based on the research that I have done. Originally, I was going to do my thesis project about the creation of the exhibit, but after more thought, and seeing as that is more so curatorial than archival I want to adjust my project to focus more on the archival elements of the project.

The problem is, I have absolutely no idea where to start or how to approach this project. My advisor is an English professor and so she is used to helping with thesis' about literature analysis and the like. Could anyone who has done an archival based thesis give me some advice?

What would an archival thesis even look like? Are there any resources that can assist me? How should I focus my project to make it more archives focused instead of curatorial. Any advice is welcome, and I can make clarifications in more detail if that will help people be able to give more advice. Thanks so much!

Hi! Does anyone have experience or recommendations for a portable temperature and humidity meter that won’t break the bank? I see one on Gaylord for $175, but not sure if we’d be wasting our money. Thank you!

Looking for anyone who has experience in Records Management. I'm considering pursuing Records Management rather than the Archivist title because I hear it's easier to break into and pays a bit more. Looking for any and all advice or comments. Pros? Cons? Satisfaction? Regrets? Lay it on me!!

Are these archivist titles all interchangeable for the non-professional archivist?

'Film archivist, non-professional.'

'Amateur film archivist.'

'Film archivist.'

Should one use the title 'film archivist' and only if questioned then explain the amateur status? Or does the title of 'film archivist' imply one is a professional?

Thanks!

I have a bachelors and masters in digital media arts and completed and published a research thesis. I would like to go into archiving regarding a very niche form of digital work. I eventually want to do a PhD in information science or digital humanities after working in archives for a bit.

Pennwest has an archive concentration, is extremely affordable, based in the state I want to work in, but no thesis option. I’m worried about this option because of how it may look on future PhD applications.

UWM has a similar concentration but requires a thesis and is 28k in total and based in a state I wouldn’t move to. I’m having cold feet about this program mainly due to the cost but also because of how Wisconsin-based a lot of the alumni are and how many are just local librarians.

I’m wondering if it’s necessary for me to do a 2nd thesis and if I should pick UWM due to its research reputation.

The thesis I did recently was focused on the type of work I want to help preserve, but doesn’t involve anything with archiving. I also don’t have any other research papers published, just a few arts publications the thesis has been featured in. I plan to apply to lots of fellowships and grants regardless of which I pick.

Any advice is appreciated.

Edit: Thank you to all the detailed comments. This has helped a lot.

For context, I have Asperger's Syndrome (ASD Level 1 requiring support) and so I have a lot of issues with the environmental aspects of college. Four year undergraduate university completely drained me to the point where I was missing a lot of classes in the last three semesters, head full of brain fog and only doing a deep cleaning of my apartment once or twice a semester, skipping meals because I didn't have the energy to cook. It was a test of endurance, to say the least. I'm happy that I finally graduated this year with two Bachelor's, in German and French. I completed an honors thesis in German, as well, to see how I fare with research. I don't expect a high-paying job, but I would like a job that doesn't drain me so much. I could get by with $20,000 a year, since I live a minimalist/very modest lifestyle. My goal really is to not be homeless and to be able to live independently. I completed an internship as a library assistant a few years ago and I liked it a lot. Archives combine my interest in foreign languages with historical documents.

I have a 3.91 GPA so the academics aren't holding me back, rather my condition is. I saw that UNC Greensboro is offering an ALA accredited MLIS program online for a good price. It would allow me to live with my parents while I complete the program and pair it up with an internship nearby. Completing an online program would allow me to avoid burn-out and undertake more in day to day life. Then there's UNC Chapel Hill, which offers a more prestigious program, however I'd have to relocate to their campus and take four classes a semester for two years to complete the program in time in order to avoid extensive costs. I took four classes at my undergraduate university for every semester except the last, but it was difficult for me to manage given my executive functioning issues on top of sensory issues.

Basically what I'm trying to figure out is whether going to a more highly-ranked or prestigious school for an MLIS is worth the extra stress. Because if going to UNC Chapel Hill doesn't make much of a difference in future job prospects, then the stress is not worth it. Right now, I don't know if I would have the endurance to be able to complete another two years of schooling.

Hello everyone, I am currently accepted to a LIS Program here in Canada starting in the fall through Ontario Learn (online & part-time education), but it seems that the bare minimum required to work in archives in the gallery/library/archives/museum world is a BFA. 

I unfortunately do not have the resources to pursue a BFA or an MFA, though I am an amateur photographer who has been exhibited in a local museum and won a grant for my photography, and my goal would be to work with photo archives. 

I am leary that a LIS diploma won’t be enough to get me the opportunities I would like to have access to down the road. 

Any advice on or about what is possible with a LIS diploma would be greatly appreiated. I don’t want to spend a lot of money over the next couple of years on a diploma that won’t serve my goals. 

Thank you. 

I apologize if this is not the right thread - curious if anyone has recommendations of companies that scan and transcribe handwritten journals.

My father has about 20 journals of anywhere from 20-100 pages that we’d like scanned into PDFs and transcribed into text. They are written in “slightly difficult to read” cursive. I’ve googled and found some companies that are all in one services but can’t find many reviews. Would appreciate any suggestions!

The place I am working is looking to build an archive from scratch, but wants to make sure that things are findable, in batches, without needing everything digitized. I have not yet had it confirmed how they want it searchable, but I know at the very least they are going to want it searchable by type of document, person(s)/party involved, profession(s) involved (if applicable), date, committee/event, and physical location of the object. From my current understanding, this is going to be used primarily internally to inform decisions, have a way people can look at how certain documents have changed over the years, and preserve the history of the organization. I have archives experience, (creating fonds, transcribing documents, cataloguing individual objects) but have never been the one to build it from the ground up, so any advice would be much appreciated.

Edit: I think build from scratch is the wrong terminology here. I am not being expected to build a brand new thing, just meant there is no current system. Rather I am looking for a software or app in which this sort of thing can be housed, and what may be the best for it. Just because a lot of the basic stuff I see online seems to expect there to be a PDF attachment or similar for people to view immediately from their computer. This is currently meant to act more like an online card catalog, where people can search for what they want, and then go find it in the appropriate cabinet/box/room. With the possibility of digitization later, it's just right now nothing is findable.

Hello, my team is having a discussion regarding whether it is appropriate to transfer paper records, held in a designated offsite records management facility, back to our organisational archive, after a period of 10 years. For context, the records have already been held for c.10-15 years in office storage spaces. My manager argues that after 10 years in offsite storage they will not be suitable for archival preservation, however it's often the case that records come in to an archive from worse storage conditions. Is there any specific reason why records held at a records management facility, if appraised and considered worthy of archival retention, should not be transferred to an archive? Thank you.

I am trying to investigate for a friend-- she has a handwritten note from a late loved one with the pen entirely bleached out. You can read the text if you tip it right in the light. I was wondering what options there might be for making it legible again?

I dont have a photo offhand but could get one if someone thinks its possible.

Most archivists I know are lone arrangers or work on small teams. Assuming that you do listen to something, music, podcasts, videos, what specifically is keeping you entertained? What’s your podcast of the moment?