Archivist Rising

  The Women and Gender Studies Program is searching for a director for a three-year term beginning in August 2021.  Details can be found at jobs.cmich.edu.  The application due date is Friday, March 19.  Questions should be directed to Mary Senter, Elections Committee, at Mary.Senter@cmich.edu . This isn't archives related, but in an effort to support diversity, I'm posting this. Please share with your friends. 

Here are some interesting oddities-Giant Vegetables. Most of these appear drawn or clever mixes of photographs of different sizes. The images were probably used for advertising purposes, but we do not know for which company, maybe a seed or fertilizer company.  Someone took images of the photographs or drawing which were copied and became slides. Most of them are on railroad flatbed cars, but not all.  And because these are part of a more recent donation by Charles Conn, our Michigan railroad historian, collector and donor, here are train wreck negatives in the collection.

In the archives we see a lot of material damaged because it was not stored in even average conditions. Today I feature some Channel 9&10 News footage that was stored in a garbage bag, which makes a microclimate that is hot and mucky and did not allow the film to breathe or off gas. All of this speeds decomposition and color dye fading which means things that were originally a certain color have faded to another color over time. In addition, by not storing it flat and in a box, the film is bent. Whoever stored it, probably trying to keep the tape from unwinding, wrapped it inside and outside the bag in masking tape, further damaging the film. I had a fun time pealing that off. Oh, and there is also scotch tape (a big no no) holding some of the story sections together on the reel instead of them being more appropriately spliced together.  Please do NOT use tape on any audio visual material. Here are some photos.  This is film D-86-77 from 1977. The film was labeled in this series alp

I usually don't share out-of-MI job ads, but I spent a summer at UW-Madison and loved it! What a gorgeous place and welcoming community.   UW-Madison's Archives and Records Management   division is seeking a creative, well organized, and forward-thinking professional who is passionate about records management. The University's records management program provides the appropriate policies, structure, and directives to comply with applicable federal and state laws, ensures public accountability, and preserves the history of the UW System. As part of the University Archives, the   Assistant University Records Officer   must be service-oriented, have excellent communication skills, a keen attention to detail, and the ability to work independently. They will be part of a highly collaborative environment, which requires an ability to work with a range of departments, colleagues, and groups throughout the state. For more information and to apply for the position, pl

  These images are from Ethel Barber, African Americans in Saginaw (Mich.) scrapbook, 1913, 2002, 1 Ov. V.  The top image is of Ethel in her nursing uniform with a brief biography. The lower image is of African American soldiers in WWII and a Vmail from S. Sgt. Robert R. Ellis. Ethel M. Woodward (1899-1979) married Rev. Wm. Barber (1888-1977). She became a practical nurse in 1949 (photograph in the collection), attended history classes through CMU's extension course, 1941-1949, was known as an accomplished musician and teacher. One of Ethel's friends, Geraldine Dyson, was one of the first two black women in the American Red Cross who worked in North Africa during WWII. Her collection includes:  photographs; letters from her sons, James and Luvier, and friends who served in WWII, including V-mail, letters from her brother, Harold S. Woodward who served in WWI as a  Sgt in Co F, 8th Ill, 370th Infantry ; materials about racial justice and Black achievement; information about and

Here are some examples of items I find in collections while processing that make me want to eat cookies (not, of course, on top of the collections.). I'm impressed that Paul identified material to go to archives. This note was attached to unidentified and undated materials, but I still like his idea.   Do you know how to hula? This note was in between some committee meeting minutes. Was someone bored, flirting, or being inappropriate?  The label reads Old Miscellaneous Reports and Records. Most collections, regardless of format, are old/er by the time they come to the archives. These were football season reports from 1920-36. One piece of paper per year then summed up everything about football per year, which is definitely not the case now. The photographs I found in this folder were almost all undated and unidentified. Were they ever scanned? Who was in them? Why were they consider important enough to scan? Are they available in a database now? Why were they left in this folder an

If you are thinking, it's all Greek to me, you are correct. This is a completely Greek, as in published in Greece not as in frat newsletters, newspapers and clippings, the first in my archives career. They document news coverage in Greece about the 1968 Olympics which were held in Mexico. These were in a scrapbook. One of the covers was loose and fell out of the box and hit me in the head while I was getting the box off a top shelf,. Ouch. I thought I was going to get quite a headache. It was a hefty cover.  The scrapbook contents are of an interesting man and his sports activities while at CMU, Pete Miskov. Here is the cover that hit me in the head. See the gray duct tape. At some point someone duct-taped it, the tape dried up and it became loose, fell out of the box when I tipped it slightly and bammo..As I've said in prior posts, please don't tape or duct tape your historical materials. Pete Miskov was born in Europe and came to the CMU from Australia. To me he looks lik