First Task

 Today was my first official day as an intern. The director gave me a brief overview of the history of archival science which was actually really interesting. Admittedly, I had always imagine archives as dark basement rooms where people hide out and do research. While that might be true in some cases, according to the director, the WLA has been moving towards being more access oriented so that its more inviting for people to come in and out.

Archiving in the US began formally in 1934 with the creation of the National Archives and Records Administration; a New Deal program. At first, most archives were kept for government related histories. At the height of the Civil Rights Movement and the creation of political identities, people began to question how their own histories, ethnic, racial, or sexual, were being documented and preserved. This led to the formation of special interest archives like tribal archives in many American Indian nations and like the WLA.

She also told me about the issues of privacy and restricted access that go along with archival science. I'm actually a little anxious to be handling some of this material knowing how sensitive it is. However, she assured me that its not easy to miss restricted materials because they're usually labeled extensively.

My first task was to answer a reference question sent in to the WLA. The inquiry was about the process of creating a women's center like Loyola's Gannon Center for Women and Leadership at another school. I began by looking into collections about Carolyn Farrell, BVM, who was founded the center in 1991.

Carolyn Farrell, BVM

Her collection is massive; over 26 boxes divided into folders by subject. I learned how the archives and boxes are organized and then began my research. There is a wealth of information in this collection and it was a little daunting because I'm wasn't quite sure what to look for or how to find it. Still, its really interesting to look into this history with tangible material, like letters and brochures, rather than just reading about it in a book or online.

I didn't even get through one box today... but I'll be working on this project again next Tuesday!