.....additional weeks at MCLM as the Director of Research & Collections! The executive director just handed me the job description for the new position that was created at MCLM to keep me on board. After the contract is signed, this will be a 2 month position, with my official title being the Director of Research & Collections.
I am so grateful for this opportunity and look forward to the upcoming months. I will do everything I can to move MCLM's collection forward and maintain and build our our institutions mission:
"to collect, preserve; exhibit and celebrate the unique history and cultural heritage of Americans of African descent and thereby help to provide a more complete view of American history."
It looks like it's time for Archivist Alyss 3.0!
Week 36 at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
Last week the Otis College of Art & Design Layin it Low was a huge success! The students came to MCLM to view their works, which are currently on display. All of the items are to be donated to the collection. The donor forms will be sent to each student and returned to MCLM.
C. Jerome Woods is local collector whose LGBT collection is on deposit at MCLM. Last week he came into pull some items for a 23 panel exhibition that occurs this summer at the One Institute and Archives. The ONE is the National Gay & Lesbian Archives located in Southern California.
I completed my disaster preparedness workshop last week as well. The Disaster Preparedness workshop is funded through the National Endowment for the Humanities and is given by WESTPAS,The Western States Preservation Association.
C. Jerome Woods is local collector whose LGBT collection is on deposit at MCLM. Last week he came into pull some items for a 23 panel exhibition that occurs this summer at the One Institute and Archives. The ONE is the National Gay & Lesbian Archives located in Southern California.
I completed my disaster preparedness workshop last week as well. The Disaster Preparedness workshop is funded through the National Endowment for the Humanities and is given by WESTPAS,The Western States Preservation Association.
Week 35 at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
Otis College of Arts and Design in partnership with the Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum will be presenting the art show Layin' it Low: Car Club Culture. The Otis students created key chains, a magazine, a replica of a car hood featuring a image of Mayme A. Clayton, a banner, shadow box and panel painting of Mayme. The focus of the show is The Majestics, a Compton based car club.
The event, which is tonight from 7PM-9PM will feature the students pieces and appearances by The Majestics. The Majestics are bringing 5 cars to demonstrate the hydraulics and comment on their detailed art.
The California African American Genealogical Society (CAAGS) is currently visiting MCLM every Friday & Wednesday to organize their book collection. CAAGS would like to deposit this collection at MCLM but first the items that are for sale must be removed. This collection of books and periodicals is extensive with a plethora of genealogical information.
The event, which is tonight from 7PM-9PM will feature the students pieces and appearances by The Majestics. The Majestics are bringing 5 cars to demonstrate the hydraulics and comment on their detailed art.
The California African American Genealogical Society (CAAGS) is currently visiting MCLM every Friday & Wednesday to organize their book collection. CAAGS would like to deposit this collection at MCLM but first the items that are for sale must be removed. This collection of books and periodicals is extensive with a plethora of genealogical information.
Week 34 at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
Last week I submitted a grant in an effort to attain funding to preserve the scrapbook collection. The grant was through NEH, MCLM is asking for $6,000 to preserve 53 scrapbooks. The amount of money it takes to process scrapbooks is astonishing! For example, just to purchase enough paper to rehouse the items the cost is about $4,000. As apart of this grant we will be also purchasing temperature monitors.
Installing temperature monitors was a preservation effort that was suggested through the Museum Assessment Program (MAP). This MAP assessment is apart of the American Association of Museums and provides information about how an institution can fully preserve, conserve and provide access to its collection. This document is also very useful for writing grants because it includes demographic and visitation information.
Last Saturday we were also busy with events and programs. During the afternoon MCLM welcomed children and their parents for The Kids Jazz Appreciation Month Session or Kids JAM. During this event children made instruments and enjoyed a story time. All of the activities were Jazz themed in honor of April, Jazz Appreciation Month. After the Kids JAM Session the University of Chicago Alumni Association came for a tour of MCLM's facilities. The Head Archivist provided a tour and then the 18 members stayed for the monthly movie Around Midnight .
Installing temperature monitors was a preservation effort that was suggested through the Museum Assessment Program (MAP). This MAP assessment is apart of the American Association of Museums and provides information about how an institution can fully preserve, conserve and provide access to its collection. This document is also very useful for writing grants because it includes demographic and visitation information.
Last Saturday we were also busy with events and programs. During the afternoon MCLM welcomed children and their parents for The Kids Jazz Appreciation Month Session or Kids JAM. During this event children made instruments and enjoyed a story time. All of the activities were Jazz themed in honor of April, Jazz Appreciation Month. After the Kids JAM Session the University of Chicago Alumni Association came for a tour of MCLM's facilities. The Head Archivist provided a tour and then the 18 members stayed for the monthly movie Around Midnight .
Week 33 at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
Last week was busy,busy, busy! The UCLA service students are helping the collection move along rapidly. I have two students processing a particularly large collection, The Marilyn White Collection. To successfully have two students process one collection they must; confirm that they will come in on different dates, adhere to the same processing standards, and complete the box they started that day. So far, 10 boxes have been processed in 18 hours, an excellent rate!
The processing procedure I developed for this collection is based on the fact that MCLM is a library. Because MCLM is a library we must know exactly what type and quantity of book is in each collection that is donated. In order to determine this the procedure is to create an excel sheet only for the books, pamphlets, brochures and other printed matter (excluding correspondence) that details the title, quantity and year of each item. This excel sheet can then be compared to our current holdings and then a weeding process can then occur.
An interesting item that I found in the collection yesterday was some of Mayme's water color paintings. She made these drawings in a class that Avery taught, MCLM currently has the paints and the works she created. A fun little piece of institutional history!
The processing procedure I developed for this collection is based on the fact that MCLM is a library. Because MCLM is a library we must know exactly what type and quantity of book is in each collection that is donated. In order to determine this the procedure is to create an excel sheet only for the books, pamphlets, brochures and other printed matter (excluding correspondence) that details the title, quantity and year of each item. This excel sheet can then be compared to our current holdings and then a weeding process can then occur.
An interesting item that I found in the collection yesterday was some of Mayme's water color paintings. She made these drawings in a class that Avery taught, MCLM currently has the paints and the works she created. A fun little piece of institutional history!
Week 32 at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
The launch of MCLM new online database is tomorrow! I am very excited for this event as I will be giving demo on how to use the database. The database launch coincides with an event MCLM is hosting entitled Africa Speaks, American Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times. This free event is a celebration of Jazz Appreciation month featuring a discussion with Dr. Robin Kelly, the Gary B. Nash Professor of American history in the UCLA department of history, who will be discussing his book Africa Speaks America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times.
Last week volunteers completed to detailed inventory of the James Jefferies collection. Inventories are an important part of any processing procedure. I find that a basic inventory allows me to look at the entire collection quickly, and then decide how to move on to processing at a folder level or cataloging at the item level.
Last week volunteers completed to detailed inventory of the James Jefferies collection. Inventories are an important part of any processing procedure. I find that a basic inventory allows me to look at the entire collection quickly, and then decide how to move on to processing at a folder level or cataloging at the item level.
Week 31 at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
Last week, I processed a portion of The Marilyn E. White Collection. Years ago, Marilyn White was a volunteer at MCLM that donated a collection that consists of books, dolls, plaques, pamphlets, stamps, photographs and brochures. Judging from the items within the collection Ms. White was an Olympic participant and singer. The portion of the collection I processed consisted mostly of stamps that portray African American leaders.
The pushing of inventories into the database continues. As apart of this process I am given the opportunity to handle collections. One interesting collection was the Anne N. and William L. Smith Collection. circa 1900-2008. Anne Nichols Smith, a teacher, and her husband William L. Smith, a physician in private practice, were active in Los Angeles community service organizations. The collection primarily consists of books, magazines, and pamphlets by and about African Americans. The collection also contains medical equipment. Some of the medical equipment included in fascinating! Like the clamps and speculum, need I mention the vials of sulfate and syringes.
The pushing of inventories into the database continues. As apart of this process I am given the opportunity to handle collections. One interesting collection was the Anne N. and William L. Smith Collection. circa 1900-2008. Anne Nichols Smith, a teacher, and her husband William L. Smith, a physician in private practice, were active in Los Angeles community service organizations. The collection primarily consists of books, magazines, and pamphlets by and about African Americans. The collection also contains medical equipment. Some of the medical equipment included in fascinating! Like the clamps and speculum, need I mention the vials of sulfate and syringes.
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