I am putting together the publicity for a program in February - the author of a book of photographs on Asbury Park. I am going to combine this program and publicity with an exhibit using materials from the Local History Room. We have 5 or 6 books on Asbury Park, EP has some great Asbury Park pics and ephemera and we have a collection of old postcards of Asbury Park on loan from a patron. I will manage to pull something together which reflects the program,being sponsored in honor of African American History Month, and the great material in the Local History room.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Getting my bearings
Nobody ever seems to go into the Local History - and now that I am learning about it it seems like there are constant interruptions.
There are multiple things going on:
- weeding of old books. These books must be removed from the catalog* and then boxed according to their destination - general sale, special collectors sale, destruction.
*slight confusion for me about cataloging - libraries use classification system and archives use provenance and original order for grouping and classification. The Local History room has both types of materials so it appears that books are classified using Dewey and I will have to explore the other items. But if the title page of a publication goes against the local history room policies, I think we would override the published classification
I have a work space (see picture) which has a computer. I had a few issues with the computer starting out so will determine if configuration is correct or if I need technical help. I want to be able to access my journal and any web sites related to my topic while I'm in the room so this is a priority to me.
EPalmisano has already organized supplies for the project - filing materials such as folders, pendaflex files, postcard holders, binders, etc
I must catch up on my reading. I have a copy of the Policies and Procedures that were approved by the Board of Trustees in 2006 before the room opened to the public. (room was created in 2004 but not opened to the public until 2006). Important to get an understanding of this document before getting too far into any project. There is also a "guidebook" which I must review. Is this the same as the white binder that has the mission statement, guidelines for use of the room, registration form etc? Not sure.
There are multiple things going on:
- weeding of old books. These books must be removed from the catalog* and then boxed according to their destination - general sale, special collectors sale, destruction.
*slight confusion for me about cataloging - libraries use classification system and archives use provenance and original order for grouping and classification. The Local History room has both types of materials so it appears that books are classified using Dewey and I will have to explore the other items. But if the title page of a publication goes against the local history room policies, I think we would override the published classification
I have a work space (see picture) which has a computer. I had a few issues with the computer starting out so will determine if configuration is correct or if I need technical help. I want to be able to access my journal and any web sites related to my topic while I'm in the room so this is a priority to me.
EPalmisano has already organized supplies for the project - filing materials such as folders, pendaflex files, postcard holders, binders, etc
I must catch up on my reading. I have a copy of the Policies and Procedures that were approved by the Board of Trustees in 2006 before the room opened to the public. (room was created in 2004 but not opened to the public until 2006). Important to get an understanding of this document before getting too far into any project. There is also a "guidebook" which I must review. Is this the same as the white binder that has the mission statement, guidelines for use of the room, registration form etc? Not sure.
Orientation at LBPL
Even though I work in the LBPL my orientation started off with a tour of the library. Very few people may know everything about the library holdings but I have not had much exposure to the reference dept so it was very useful (and some what surprising) to see all the additional materials that would fall under the "local history" label.
There are 2 librarians and 2 additional staff members in Reference. They are responsible for clipping the Long Branch articles from newspapers, training and maintaining the Microfilm Collection, buying and weeding pertinent books (reference and lending material*) on the local, county and state topics in additional to their regular work (reference, computers, etc). Reference material that might be of interest to a researcher includes almanacs, legal and government related texts that are specific to New Jersey.
The reference librarians keep files on the answered reference questions, particularly I'm guessing, reference questions related to local history that might come up again. Not much reason to keep the answer to the date of the NJ primary, for example, after next month but I would have to confirm this theory. It may also be easier to keep everything as long as you can find the information when you need it. But this is slightly off topic. Unless of course the librarian used source material from the local history room in which case I would be very interested in knowing that information.
In addition to the file drawer of questions, there are file drawers for the library archives - board of trustee minutes, friends of the library and Elberon Branch. The Library Archives also include events, programs (actual publicity material etc) that occurred each year. Since none of the filing cabinets are labeled I will be making labels so it is easier to put my hands on the material if necessary.
I have worked with the staff already on different projects, including in particular an evening program publicizing the Microfilm Collection. I helped create the trifold brochure and cover sheet for the Microfilm directory as well as sent mailings to key people in area libraries and historical associations. The librarian in charge of the microfilm has worked for some time with Elsalyn Palmisano on the local history collection and so will be another good resource.
*The library often buys two or more copies of books because the copy in the Local History room does not circulate. One collection question I have is how to decide if you need more than one copy.
There are 2 librarians and 2 additional staff members in Reference. They are responsible for clipping the Long Branch articles from newspapers, training and maintaining the Microfilm Collection, buying and weeding pertinent books (reference and lending material*) on the local, county and state topics in additional to their regular work (reference, computers, etc). Reference material that might be of interest to a researcher includes almanacs, legal and government related texts that are specific to New Jersey.
The reference librarians keep files on the answered reference questions, particularly I'm guessing, reference questions related to local history that might come up again. Not much reason to keep the answer to the date of the NJ primary, for example, after next month but I would have to confirm this theory. It may also be easier to keep everything as long as you can find the information when you need it. But this is slightly off topic. Unless of course the librarian used source material from the local history room in which case I would be very interested in knowing that information.
In addition to the file drawer of questions, there are file drawers for the library archives - board of trustee minutes, friends of the library and Elberon Branch. The Library Archives also include events, programs (actual publicity material etc) that occurred each year. Since none of the filing cabinets are labeled I will be making labels so it is easier to put my hands on the material if necessary.
I have worked with the staff already on different projects, including in particular an evening program publicizing the Microfilm Collection. I helped create the trifold brochure and cover sheet for the Microfilm directory as well as sent mailings to key people in area libraries and historical associations. The librarian in charge of the microfilm has worked for some time with Elsalyn Palmisano on the local history collection and so will be another good resource.
*The library often buys two or more copies of books because the copy in the Local History room does not circulate. One collection question I have is how to decide if you need more than one copy.
Local History Collection background
This internship parallels my other class so very nicely. I am studying Manuscripts and Archives with Mimi Bowling and working with Elsalyn Palmisano in the LB Local History Room. This room houses not only recent publications covering the topics of Long Branch, Monmouth County and New Jersey but also unique books, directories, collections and documents that span the history of the local area and provide researchers a wealth of primary sources. The collection also includes items housed in the reference department of the library and includes newspapers recently transferred to microfilm, clipping files for the city of Long Branch, and library archives including Board of Trustee Minutes, Friends of the Library papers and Elberon Branch historical papers.This room is a local gem that is not widely publicized or used at the moment because staffing is an issue. My internship does not include staffing the room but will hopefully be the resourcing needed to review, categorize, describe, and file some of the many boxes of papers and records so the room and materials are more accessible. I have already written an article for the local genealogy newsletter - Monmouth Connection - on the contents of the room and the wonderful resources available for genealogists but the lack of regular hours may be off putting.
In addition to working with the collections, I will review the mission statement, policies and procedures, the library web site and other materials that already exist. This process will hopefully parallel the topics in my other class and perhaps I will be able to make suggestions or updates but will, at a minimum, see the actual implementation of a special collection
>> A further note about the Local History Room - it was created as a separate entity in 2004 during the renovation of the library. There have been a few volunteers over the years working with the existing collection but the concept took shape and the collection solidified with the help of EPalmisano. A database for collecting data was created by Dr. H. Drucker - I will find out more about this data base and what it is used for. <<
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Internship journal/blog
First entry - lots to add. Commencing internship.........................
State of the collections............................
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