I have not updated recently because I was out of the office, in Vegas! Anyway...
All of the cataloging goals that were set have been met or exceeded. All the inventories are complete and I have volunteers working on the inventorying of ethnic ads and other recent accessions. The ethnic ads we have are interesting, ranging from can labels to post cards. Most of the ads date from the early 1900’s to the 1940’s. The inventorying process is necessary so all the materials within our collection are accessible.
The access to MCLM's collection will be improving with the launch of our new database. I have become the acting database manager and I'm very excited to see the new database launch successfully. I believe that this online, searchable database will greatly increase MCLM's presence as an African American library and museum.
Week Eighteen at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
Happy belated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day! All of the events that were planned at MCLM went well.
I continue to process a collection of songbooks with the help of two volunteers. There are certain duties that are easily assigned to volunteers such as the initial inventorying process and updating the name and subject authorities in the catalog. Some of the duties I take control of are pulling subjects from the library of congress, verifying the appropriate library of congress number for the book and what collection to attach the item to in the database. An item I came across that was interesting was a book entitled Negro Melodies No.1 Happy Contraband . The songs lyrics provide information about what slaves ate how the masters dressed and other details about slave life. Song lyrics are a primary source that I believe may be under utilized by historians.
I continue to process a collection of songbooks with the help of two volunteers. There are certain duties that are easily assigned to volunteers such as the initial inventorying process and updating the name and subject authorities in the catalog. Some of the duties I take control of are pulling subjects from the library of congress, verifying the appropriate library of congress number for the book and what collection to attach the item to in the database. An item I came across that was interesting was a book entitled Negro Melodies No.1 Happy Contraband . The songs lyrics provide information about what slaves ate how the masters dressed and other details about slave life. Song lyrics are a primary source that I believe may be under utilized by historians.
Week Seventeen at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
This week was very busy at MCLM. We are running in high gear preparing for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. MCLM will be installing an exhibit at the Culver City Senior Center, the theme for the event is Have We Achieved the Dream? The exhibit space will consist of cases, tables, easels and a monitor.
Other than exhibition design I have been processing a collection of songbooks, sheet music, church bulletins, and clippings. I am truly in the beginning staging of processing; simply separating the items into their respective groupings. After the collection has been lightly processed volunteers can inventory the collection and then the inventory can be pushed into our catalog.
Other than exhibition design I have been processing a collection of songbooks, sheet music, church bulletins, and clippings. I am truly in the beginning staging of processing; simply separating the items into their respective groupings. After the collection has been lightly processed volunteers can inventory the collection and then the inventory can be pushed into our catalog.
Week Sixteen at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
Seasons greetings! The week before the holiday break MCLM was proud to host the closing event for L.A. Rebellion Creating a New Black Cinema in conjunction with U.C.L.A. The event was spectacular! MCLM rolled out the red carpet (literally) for its guests, some notable attendees were John Singleton, Julie Dash and Roger Guenveur Smith. There was also a special presentation by Ben Caldwell, an independent film maker.
I continued to process scrapbooks and posters. Now that we have physical control of the collection MCLM collections is moving onto cataloging the items. The cataloging process for each item is different; some items will have LOC numbers while others will not or require numbers to be built. I put together workflows for the volunteers to begin the cataloging of the posters and sheet music.
I continued to process scrapbooks and posters. Now that we have physical control of the collection MCLM collections is moving onto cataloging the items. The cataloging process for each item is different; some items will have LOC numbers while others will not or require numbers to be built. I put together workflows for the volunteers to begin the cataloging of the posters and sheet music.
Week Fifteen at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
This week I had the opportunity to process a scrapbook. The scrapbook featured letters and notes from Samuel Brown. Mr. Brown was an African American musician from the Los Angeles region. The most interesting item I found was a rejection letter from a Baltimore university that bluntly stated “this [teaching] position will have to go to a white person.”
This week I also cataloged visual art materials. Everything from movie posters to art prints. I find the most important part of cataloging in a database is to remember to add subjects to the items. The subjects are pulled from the LOC authorities and the Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus. The AAT comes into use often when dealing with obscure art materials that the LOC has not encountered.
This week I also cataloged visual art materials. Everything from movie posters to art prints. I find the most important part of cataloging in a database is to remember to add subjects to the items. The subjects are pulled from the LOC authorities and the Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus. The AAT comes into use often when dealing with obscure art materials that the LOC has not encountered.
Week Fouteen at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
This week, the processing staff at MCLM had a meeting with Murtha Baca, the Head of Digital Art History Access at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, California. During this meeting we discussed what five broad categories to choose to catalog MCLM’s photograph collection. We settled on sports, entertainment, events, California and politics. The Getty AAT was used to decipher which headings would be most relevant.
This week I also attended a webinar, Digital Preservation: Fundamentals. I believe that keeping current with the newest standards and technology in the archiving field is paramount to functioning as an effective archivist. Attending webinars and seminars is an convenient way to stay abreast of current standards in the archival profession.
This week I also attended a webinar, Digital Preservation: Fundamentals. I believe that keeping current with the newest standards and technology in the archiving field is paramount to functioning as an effective archivist. Attending webinars and seminars is an convenient way to stay abreast of current standards in the archival profession.
Week Thirteen at The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum
This week I enjoyed a site visit to California State University Northridge Oviatt Library. The facility is impressive housing the archives, special collections and stacks in one building. Our tour of the facility was lead by Mr. Steve Kutay the digital specialist librarian at the Oviatt Library. The most interesting aspect of the tour was the storage unit at the center of the library. The storage unit spans two stories, is completely automated and houses infrequently used records and books. After the tour we went to the CSUN art gallery to view Identity and Affirmation, Post War African American Photography. Being that MCLM is a museum it is important to stay abreast of current exhibits in the region.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)