chrisjolliffeFeb 12, 2023
Help! I’m on a Masters placement at an archive. Nothing has been catalogued. I’ve been asked to make a start. Where do I start? No funds. Only Excel. Possibly Modes in the future. There’s a volunteer who has put some docs in date order & filled a filing cabinet. There are 3 more cabinets of stuff! #historians #archivist #historydons #archives #history
Show threadSome 41 Years Of Merry DeathFeb 12, 2023

@chrisjolliffe Start by doing a very cursory overview of what you've got (e.g. photos, photo negatives, correspondence, flyers, etc.)

Take notes about how things are organized (if there is any organization). Materials might be organized by events, or type of material, or something else. If there is an organization system in place, it might make sense to maintain and expand upon it.

If there is absolutely no discernible organization system, you'll want to create something.

Show threadSome 41 Years Of Merry DeathFeb 12, 2023

@chrisjolliffe

Excel (or Google Sheets) is fine to get started.

Let's say you've got a bunch of photo prints, and let's say that it makes the most sense to organize them by approx. date.

You might put all of the photos from, e.g. 1950–1959 in one folder (acid free manila folders are best). You would then label the folder something like "Photos 1950–1959" in pencil.

In your spreadsheet, you'd type "Folder: Photos 1950–1959" into column A and write the location of that folder in column B.

Show threadSome 41 Years Of Merry Death
@chrisjolliffe The acid free manila folders will help prevent damage to the folder contents and using pencil to label the folder helps you to change things later as you further develop your system / learn more about the collection.
Feb 12, 2023 at 7:39pmWeb
Show threadSome 41 Years Of Merry DeathFeb 12, 2023
@chrisjolliffe Further organization and description depends on having a base level of understanding of what you have. By starting here, you are laying a foundation from which you (or a future archival placement) can make more sense of the materials at hand.
Show threadchrisjolliffeFeb 12, 2023
@mlhalsey Thank you