Week thirteen came and went. Despite my claim for what has probably been two weeks now that I am "almost finished" with initial arrangement of Mystery Writers of America mss., I still have a little ways to go before I can call this step complete. I continue to avoid the financial series, as I wanted to solidify the rest of the arrangement before delving into it. This past week, I remembered that I had neglected to address a few more boxes which were not included in the inventory with which the collection was accessioned. I initially put off arranging the materials in these boxes, as their processing would be pretty straightforward.
The boxes contained publications (The Third Degree newsletter and Mystery Writers Annual), manuscripts for several MWA anthologies published within the last five years, and some random loose papers--also created within the most recent few years. I just had to basically sort everything, type up the inventory, and physically arrange materials to match the assigned intellectual order. The publications were a breeze; despite not having a complete run of these materials, it was all chronological order. None of these items were foldered as of yet, so I'll have to see what Craig prefers--one folder per issue, or several issues per folder. It's really just a question of time, resources, and whether or not item level foldering will be ideal for collection navigation and access in the future.
The manuscripts were a bit trickier. This is my first experience with this realm of materials. I got a bit turned around on the terminology (proof vs. copy edit vs. shelf copy) and couldn't always tell in what order the revisions took place, though in the end, it shouldn't be a big issue. So long as my descriptions adhere to the characteristics and identification provided on the documents themselves, it will be up to the researcher to determine the progression of edits.
The loose papers proved a bit more of a challenge, as did the infamous "question" pile where I designated all folders I wasn't so sure about. The loose papers were largely unrelated to one another, so it didn't seem to make sense to lump them all together. However, there was a group related to Edgar awards from recent years which I lumped together. Other loose papers obviously fit in with other topics covered in the collection, and I was quickly able to configure their appropriate placement within the existing series. The "question" pile proved a bit more of a problem. It turned out that all the folders I set aside were labeled "Miscellaneous," "Untitled," or "Loose Papers"--not exactly informative for researchers! Most contained a myriad of documents through which I could not detect any overarching theme. However, my own inability to understand the material groupings should not supersede. In the interests of retaining original order for any intellectual value the documents may have specifically in relation to one another as presently grouped, Craig advised me to assign generalized titles, while noting major portions of the contents [i.e. Correspondence, general, 1973-1984 (includes related clippings, administrative memos, and financial documents)]. Surely such a description still leaves much of the folder contents "hidden" while browsing the finding aid, but it's a legitimate compromise in the interests of melding professional ethics with the realities of time and resources.
Aside from setting a few folders aside to send to preservation (some tragically brittle pulp mystery magazines from the 1890s), now my next step is to physically arrange the series in the proper integrated order. Right now I have boxes for each series, but they are independent from one another. I'll also finally come to terms with the (dare I say dreaded?) financial materials. It's an exciting time to be a processor nearing the end of the arrangement tunnel!
In other news, a shameless plug: to anyone on the Indiana University campus who has a little extra time in his/her schedule during the next two weeks, consider stopping by the Lilly Library's Lincoln Room to view my exhibit entitled "Paul Weatherwax and Zea mays: IU Professor and Pioneer in Holistic Study of the Corn Plant"! Curated as a project for my SLIS Manuscripts course, the exhibit features highlights from Weatherwax mss, the papers of a celebrated Indiana University botanist who researched and published prolifically during the mid-twentieth century on the topic of corn origins, both morphological and anthropological. I will take some photos following the exhibit installation tomorrow afternoon!
That's all for now. My article abstract on RDA and its influence on Archives will be posted in the next couple week, but I plan to abstract on Robert Cox's article entitled "Maximal Processing; or, Archivist on a Pale Horse" in the next few days. It's an interesting reactionary piece to Greene and Meissner's much heralded "more produce less process" approach to archives work.
Equally important, I hope you're enjoying the onset of spring! Bloomington is certainly beautiful this time of year--that is when one does not find him or herself confined to a windowless processing space. I'm convinced that just makes me appreciate sunshine more when I can get it!
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