Last Week

This was my final week at the Loyola University Archives. I finished setting up my files into a series. I then created a series on Aviators. This involved putting the files into alphabetical order, labeling each folder with the contents, the date range, and its place in each box. In order to make a finding aid for the series I entered the information into the computer. The Dorr E. Felt Collection is an ongoing project so there was already a biographical sketch. I then created a scope and content, the series description, and named important subjects in the collection. It felt great to see a bit of the finished product!

Here is Series 1 - Aviators that I completed this week

 

Here is a close up of the boxes. You can see that each one is labeled with the collection - Dorr E. Felt Collection Aviation and the date range of the series - 1924-1930. At the bottom it tells you which box it is so that the collection remains in the correct order. This enables the archivist to find the information for researchers in a quick and efficient manner (it also makes their lives easier!).

 

 

Here is the finding aid for the collection I was working on - it feels great to see all my work put on paper for researchers to utilize.

 

 

This has been a great experience. Not only was I able to learn about archiving, but more importantly - I got great advice about the field, school choices, and career options. 

 

Week Fourteen

     This week I finished creating files for the series. I have begun to divide all of the folders into series. To do this I get  to spread the folders into piles across the gigantic table and use post it notes to label each pile as I go. I am almost finished creating the series. Once this is finished I will continue on with the process and create finding aids. Some of the series will be gigantic, such as aviators. There were two boxes of files just on this topic - not including the women aviators.


     I am amazed at how quickly time has gone by while working at the Loyola University Archives! Each day that I am there I learn new skills and aspects of an archivist's job. I find that the longer I am at the Archives the more I wish I could spend my entire week there. The best part of my experience has been finding out that my goal to work in the archives field is exactly what I want to do in the future.

Week Thirteen

     This has been a very rewarding week - I finally finished the very last container. Now that I have finished putting everything into files I have six boxes of files! In order to make it easier to organize the Dorr Felt Collection into series I have begun to take the files and narrow the subjects into even more files. This process is going quickly and I am able to have a good idea of how the series will be set up. I should be able to work on those soon. Once I have the series set up I will begin to work on finding aids for the collection.

     Working at the Loyola University Archives has taught me many things. The most important being that I love it! I am able to learn about the responsibilities and attributes in the archival field, as well as discuss the field and the available opportunities with experienced archivists. The amount of information, insights, and advice that I have received is invaluable.

Week Twelve

This week I continued the process of sorting the sources into the proper folders. I completed twenty-six of the containers, leaving just one box to finish! I am sharing my space with another worker and between the two of us the space is getting very crowded!

The five filing boxes are mine while the rest is not. I have one more box on the other side. I was so excited to be down to the last box that I took a picture of that as well.

 

 

   As always, there are many interesting things to be found in the boxes. This week its a poem by Rudyard Kipling that was published in the newspaper.

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                

                     I love the planes flying around the poem! Here is a close-up of the beginning of the poem -

 

 

As you see from the introduction to the poem plane races were a big deal in the 1920's. Along with the races the collection includes several flyers, both male and female. Not only were the flyers important, but the planes they were flying as well. During the period covered by the collection there were many types of planes created. My favorite is the dirigible.

 

 

I copied this picture from online images. The Graf Zeppelin traveled all over the world, transported people, delivered airmail, and created many records. It is amazing to see how massive these were. The dirigibles were also used for scientific purposes in places such as the Arctic.

 

This has been another great week at the Loyola University Archives. I am not only learning about the career and responsibilities that go with it, but also an appreciation for the 1920's and the incredible growth of aviation that occurred.

Week Eleven

      This week I continued to sort through all of the information in the boxes. I have finished twenty-two boxes so far. That leaves me just five boxes - and I am half way through with one of those. I have had to add another box for my files, now I am up to five of those.
     
      In the Dorr Felt Collection there is one picture so I was able to learn about the differences in  the folders that the pictures are stored in. These folders are even more protective than the normal archiving folder, which is acidic to protect the documents.
    
     Once I am finished separating the boxes I will begin to create finding aids for researchers looking for information. There are so many topics covered in this collection - it will be a challenge....
                                                         and nothing is better than a challenge!

       I find myself amazed every week how much I look forward to going in to the Loyola University Archives. I am getting ready to begin week twelve and I wish it could be week two! Doing this internship at the Loyola University Archives has helped me to realize that my goal of becoming an archivist is perfect for me!

Week Ten

This week I continue to sort the Dorr Felt collection. I emptied a couple more boxes - these ones packed to the point they don't close! As I was sorting into the various folders I couldn't get over the creativity on one hand and the similarity to our own time on the other. Here are a  couple examples...

"The First Airplane Model That Had Feathered Wings, Shown In England"! There are several examples of inventors trying to create more birdlike planes. Here is a close-up of the plane picture

 

 

Another favorite for the future of flying is ships - Literally!

 

 

 

 

Not all of their ideas were so outlandish though. One article is could be a headline in todays news - in fact, I'm pretty sure I recently heard about this on the news!

 

 

Who doesn't want to have a party on a plane with a bunch of electronics? I don't think many people realize that television on airplanes was thought of in the 1920's - that's one of the reasons I love being in the Loyola University Archives. Never again will I look at contemporary and historical times in the same way!

 

Another area I find to be interesting is the pilots themselves. Lindbergh was compared to everyone!

Even Amelia Earhart....

 

 

And another interesting thing about Amelia - she came from Chicago. You would think the city would advertise the fact more - possibly even have an Amelia Earhart day...we could all have a day off to fly airplanes???

 

 

 

I am still enjoying every moment in the Loyola University Archives. Not only do I find out interesting historical facts (and science fiction), but I am gaining real world experience - and loving it! There is nothing better than looking forward to going to work!

Week Nine

 

 

 

 

This has been another great week at the Loyola University Archives! I find myself looking forward to coming in, but hating to leave! I have been continuing to go through the original boxes and sort the information into the appropriate files. I have grown from one box to four boxes! I have finished two-thirds of boxes (I just completed box eighteen out of twenty-seven). It amazes me how far I have progressed on this collection - especially when I look back at some of my old pictures. Here are a couple of images of my changing work desk --
        

 

 

This was my work area in the beginning stages of processing the Dorr Felt Collection. These were the original containers, stuffed to the brim with information to sort through. - The white towel on the table is to clean your hands periodically as they become black from the newspaper ink.


 

 

                                             

This is my work area now - you can see the original box on the left and the new files being created to the right. The three little boxes are plastic paper clips. There are many papers that are held together by metal pins or metal paper clips - an archivist's enemy! (Metal can rust) As I separate I remove the offending objects and replace them with plastic paper clips. This way the papers Dorr Felt intended to stay together do - yet with no chance of causing any damage to the sources. You can also see that there are two sizes of folders (acid free) which I use to sort the sources. The long white and yellow strips on the side of the box are used as dividers while filing to create a more efficient system.

                                                

 

 Here is a close up of the filing boxes. You can see that the dividers can be close together or far apart. The ones that are far apart have multiple files of sources. The box on the left contains folders such as parachuting, accidents and deaths, personal correspondence, advertising.... The middle container is some of the flyers - such as Lindbergh, Brock,Schlee, Acoste, Coste, Le Brix, Maitland, and many, many more. Most of the flyers flew in groups. The cox on the right contains more of the flyers, Chicago, and military and pre-war.