My first week at the library began with light snows and very cold winds. The grounds surrounding the library and museum look lovely blanketed in white, and the stillness of the air is calming. The view from the reading room window is peaceful.
My first project was handed to me in a green folder, full of smaller white folders and smelling of musty paper and ink. I sat down at the small desk and began pouring through the pile of photographs, flipping through scenes of black and white and sepia. Faces leapt out at me; of smiling men and women, of President Wilson, his wife.
My favorite photo so far has been of a woman standing alone in a grassy field, wearing a long skirt that was lost in the grasses and flowers . Wildflowers reached up to her waist, and the puffed white sleeves of her blouse seem to be being gently tugged by a summer breeze.
I went through the photos one by one, entering their data into the spreadsheet and adding tags and subjects using the Library of Congress Subject Heading Guide. I cross referenced with the records of the photos that had been scanned from the thick, blue binders on the shelf adjacent to me. I spent much of this week thumbing through the file to find as much information as I could on each photo and enter all the metadata into the spreadsheet, and finding each photo’s online location.
I continued this task for two days, until I had gotten through all the contents of the green folder. After I had finally put the last photograph back into its white sleeve and replaced it in the larger file, I discussed what I wanted to do with Mark.
I really want to work on exhibits, whether online or physical. I’ve always loved designing and creating things, and have also enjoyed researching various topics. I would love to be able to take research that I’ve done and see it become something fun and interactive, yet still educational. Mark mentioned that I could work on a LibGuide, which would essentially be a collection of sources for a possible future exhibit.
