Into the Stacks - Amanda's Month in Review

June 2, 2017

Amanda Nelson, Archivist

So long and farewell to May! I hope you've enjoyed getting to see a few tidbits of what my days in the archives are like. They are varied and always a surprise, which makes work fun as I never get bored! Your next INTO THE STACKS guide will introduce herself on Monday, but in case you missed anything here are my posts from this month.

It has been a very busy May here at the archives! I started out showing you some of the cassette tapes for oral histories that I've been working on. I've been finding duplicates in our collection, updating database records, and making sure we understand all the audio we have.

Next up, was a picture showing how I spend a good part of my time, updating records in our various databases at my computer. Not the most glamorous way to spend a day, but definitely necessary otherwise researchers wouldn't know if the person they're looking for in our catalogs is the correct one.

 

One of the neat aspects of my job is working with the other staff to come up with and install new exhibits. So I wanted to show a video of Audrey and I installing our latest exhibit from February.

 

We also got a new Archives Assistant that I supervise that started this month. Emily has been doing a great job learning the ropes and working on her projects. You'll likely hear more from her as the year goes on.

 

I truly love our overhead scanner that we get to use to digitize some archival collections and books! It makes our lives so much easier and allows us to get digital surrogates out to researchers quickly and efficiently.

 

Something the whole staff have been looking forward to is the reading room getting new glass doors. Work started this month and you will get to see the final product soon!

 

I was so pleased to give you a sneak peek of a project I've been working on with various people for the last 2 years. The Physics History Network will be going live this summer and we look forward to sharing some PHN "fun" lesser known facts (#phnFacts) that we've learned about the physicists through the process. The resource itself is going to improve the way people can browse our collections and view connections between people, institutions, and their resources.

 

Finally, we have two new Society of Physics Students interns working with us this summer! Lexxi and Tori will be creating a new exhibit for us both in the library and with a digital portion. They'll be sharing highlights of their time here throughout the summer.

 

Thanks for tagging along with me this month and if you have any questions don't hesitate to get in touch with our staff at nbl at aip.org!