The Archival Bit

At long last, now that I'm ABD, it's finally that time, when I get to focus on doing original research and have major excuses to travel to other places. Of course, I love traveling, but when you're traveling for the point of research, it really is a business trip like any other. Certainly, I have more control over my own time, rather than having to be at a certain office for certain meetings or things, but the principle's the same: the key difference is that I have to manage my own time effectively.

This isn't the first time I've conducted research, but it is my first "big" trip. Last summer, I visited a small archives in Virginia for a week; since it was only open Tuesday through Friday, 9 to 3, it wasn't like I spent hours and hours pouring over documents. It was a good introductory trip, though: just enough to get my feet wet. In January, I made one-day visits to three different archives - also a good experience. In March, I spent three days at two facilities over spring break.

Now, I'm doing a two-week stint at Archives II, the College Park (Maryland) National Archives location, which is a behemoth modern white building not terribly far from DC. I came here for a day in January, which taught me that there's a lot of bureaucracy with this place, and a lot of confusion. Most of all, confusion.

The singular problem - or concern, at least - that I've had about archival work the past three years is that no one seems to be very good at giving any direction on how to do it. It was just....there, this concept of "doing archival work" to further your dissertation.

I understand now the challenges of explaining to someone how archival research works. First of all, every archives has its own procedures, its own cataloging system, its own oddities. Secondly, every researcher has his or her own procedures, cataloging system, and oddities. Once you realize that, what it comes down to for me is that yes, there are certainly a few things you can say to generalize about archival work, bu in the end, every one of us has to figure out what process will work best. No one can really tell you how to best capture and manage material from archives. Some people write on notecards; others use their laptops. Some researchers bring digital cameras (and often, tripods); others drag along a scanner - or both. And others, well, they just rely on the copy machines, or figure it out as they go.

In August, January, and March, I simply brought a laptop and photocopied some items (while transcribing others). This time, I've come armed with scanner and digital camera, both recent techy acquisitions for me: the scanner was a graduation/birthday present from my parents, and the camera a birthday present from the spouse (although I was just going to by one anyway, but we'll stay away from that subject, because I truly, truly adore my camera).

First, my generalities about archival research, before I talk more specifically about my experiences this past week.

1. Experiment with your methodology. Try scanning, photographing, transcribing, and photocopying to see what works best for you. Some means are more effective, depending on your available time and the materials you're working with. Don't get stuck on one means of saving information: play around with your document capture tactics. Each collection is different and may require its own approach.

2. For heaven's sakes, turn off the sound on your digital camera. Otherwise, you'll drive the other researchers nuts.

3. Learn as much as you can about how things are organized and the procedures you'll have to abide by at the facility. In other words, do your homework. Find out in advance what the rules are on scanners, laptops, cameras, and notes. Will there be a place for you to stash your own belongings?

4. Make friends with the archivist(s), if possible. If there are a lot of staff members, be friendly, polite, and nice. In some facilities, the archivists may be dealing with a lot of people and trying to accommodate many requests at once.

5. Have patience. I'm still working on this one.

I'm sure there's more, but I'll start there. (If anyone has other ideas, please share!)

And now, my experiences this last week, when I spent a full 60 hours at Archives II:

Although a nice archivist helped me in January, I've had two brief encounters with archivists this past week, and they haven't left me too hopeful. The archives publishes an entire book as a guide to the types of items I'm searching for, but I was told in January that it's out of sync with their catalog system. Fortunately, on the first morning I was there, I lucked out: I knew of a collection and was able to find it in my first ten minutes in the assistance room - on my own. I had someone help me figure out how to do the requisition, and that collection honestly kept me busy ALL of last week.

Later in the week, as I reached the end of that collection, I tried to talk to an archivist again for more help finding additional sources. I explained what I'd been told about the book, but added that according to the book, there were record groups and series titles - if you have that information, I was told this past week, you can use the online system to find the info you need that will (eventually) get you to the info you need for a requisition. Sadly, I learned on Saturday that there's still a glitch: the series names don't always line up. On the upside, I have some things I can ask about Monday - and all I'll need is a bit of guidance on how to requisition those things. But I still have to get through this bloody book and prioritize what I want to look at so I can be productive this week - because that, by the way, is the name of the game when it comes to archival visits, I think.

I've been photographing and scanning like mad. I discovered my camera would capture images a lot faster than my scanner, so after the first day I switched to the camera. Consequently, I have probably several thousand (or more) photographs of documents, all of which I'll need to organize better once I get home.

And although that sounds daunting, I really feel like I hit a goldmine with the collection I found...so my other quandary right now is: honestly, how much more will I get out of this archives beyond the diverse material I chanced upon?

I'm apprehensive about this second week, frankly. Given my experiences in the search assistance room, I'm worried about tomorrow morning, but I'm determined to get some materials going. If I look at less material this week than last, if I spend fewer hours in the facility, in the end, I have to be okay with that. Because apparently, flexibility can also be key to this archival research thing...