Then join Hand in Hand brave [Archivists] all,
By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall --John Dickinson
Holly MengelPhiladelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries
Hidden Collections in the Philadelphia Area: A Consortial Processing and Cataloging Initiative
Society of American Archivists
Chicago, IllinoisAugust 27, 2011
Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries:
Collaborators since 1985• Established in 1985• Recently: projects that can only be
achieved by working together– PACSCL Survey Grant– PACSCL “Hidden Collections”
Grant• Now: not just projects, but
collaborative approaches in day-to-day work flows
PACSCL/CLIR Hidden Collections Grant
The Goals• Process 114 archival
collections (consisting of nearly 4000 linear feet) at 23 repositories
• Upgrade 82 legacy finding aids to EAD
• Establish a shared EAD repository
Methodology and Tools• Consortial collaboration• MPLP (2 Hours)• The Archivists’ Toolkit• Student Processors • University of
Pennsylvania technology (human and machine)
Today: 123 collections, 3897 linear feet, 83 legacy finding aids updated, and a shared EAD repository
Project Collaboration
• Standards• Methodology• Training• Student processors• Sharing lessons learned
with the archival community
Challenges
• Technology• Space• Unequal
resources• Different
standards and goals at 23 repositories
Shared EAD site (findingaids.pacscl.org)
Good for repositories Good for users
Unexpected successes: Team processing
Unexpected Successes: Centralized Training and
Project Team
How you can make collaborative projects work for you
(with or without a grant, with or without a consortium)
Know your region
• Colleagues• Resources• Shared
challenges• Shared skills• Non-shared skills
Assign:A Collaboration ENFORCER
Develop a system of standards and training
Make your work an experiment
Things will probably not always go as you plan …
Celebrate Milestones and Successes
Learn from others’ successes and failures
PACSCL/CLIR “Hidden Collections” Projectclir.pacscl.org
PACSCL Finding Aids sitefindingaids.pacscl.org
Contact [email protected]
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