Week 3 Blog

This week, I joined my fellow interns in participating in the scanning field trip at CHDR. At first, we were given a tour of the area, then went into the larger room where we had met previously. We learned how to use the big scanner for artifacts, as well as the smaller side with the portable scanners. While focusing on a cookbook from the 1950s, we were given the challenge to search for a particular author within the book. We were unable to find them so we needed a bit of help, we each found our own pages that we found interesting to scan. I had a great time learning how to use the big scanner. I am a fan of working in my love for history with my knowledge of technology, and I believe it will be beneficial for me in the future. Although towards the end there were technical difficulties, I believe that’s just part of working with the complicated technology. In terms of the smaller scanner, I was familiar with the technology since at my old job, I would use the copier to scan newspaper articles, and it would automatically scan into the connected computer. Therefore, I used my past knowledge to remind myself of how the scanner operates. We picked out old postcards via Mrs. Boyes from her families personal collection. Afterward, we created physical metadata sheets, scanned them, and inputted them into a folder on the computer. It would be neat to have one of my own. Next week, we will be taking a field trip to the UCF special collections archive.

In terms of the bicentennial exhibit, we have yet to start our project. However, in the next week or so, we will have more information on the artifacts to analyze. Hopefully we are able to start soon so I will have more to discuss by next week. In the mean time, we were given articles to read on preservation and exhibits. I learned the guidelines on the Smithsonian's guide to curation, and the history of the UCF “junk exhibit” for the bicentennial from 1976. These documents mainly focused on what archivists should strive to achieve, such as their core values and their code of ethics. This semester, I am taking a historical preservation class, on top of those assignments and these articles I have read, I am excited for my future in preservation!