Still Plugging away......

My third week of archival work has been a struggle for various reasons. First of all, the weather in Columbus, Ohio has been nothing short of horrendous. There is approximately 1 to 2 feet of snow on the ground depending upon where you look. I'm not happy about this......I tell my wife we were supposed to be in Florida by now. She just smiles at me and tells me to be patient. In addition to the weather, I have been sick.....and my mentor has been sick. This does not make for an optimal learning environment. However, I continued sorting through the "Tzagournis" collection as best I could.

When Kevlin and I finally had a chance to assess my progress, she seemed pleased. I was concerned that I was creating too many files per container (and subsequently too many sub-categories). She assured me that I was doing just fine, and that in all likelihood, I wouldn't make it through the entire collection within the imposed time constraints of my practicum. I was relieved to hear this. Since this experience (weeding, organizing, storing, etc...) was to be only 1 part of my practicum, I was concerned I would not get to the "Jesse Owens" portion. Having grown up in Ohio, and knowing of Jesse Owens' Olympic exploits, I am particularly eager to engage in the OSU Archives "History Day" project. Kevlin instructed me to begin thinking of ways we could increase online accessibility to this special collection...particularly for teens working on reports and projects. This will include the digitization of items, research and web development.