Archives Without Tears

Margot NoteDirector of Archives and Information Management, World Monuments Fund

New York Preservation Archives Project Board PresentationSeptember 25, 2013

Background

• Joined WMF in 2006• History/LIS/Archives• Grant money accelerated progress

Challenges

• Text and image• Digital and analog• Onsite, off-site, and virtual• Abundance

Strategy

• Greene, Mark A. and Dennis Meissner. (2005). “More Product, Less Process: Pragmatically Revamping Traditional Processing Approaches to Deal with Late 20th-Century Collections.” American Archivist (68): 208-263.

Onsite and Off-site Archives

• Created box system• Cataloged files at folder level in database• Cataloged publications in database• Finding aids and lookup tools created

Slide and Print Collections

• Organized by country and site• Created finding aids • Digitized important images• Similar strategy with VHS and DVD

collections

Publications and Periodicals

• Created master publication list• Digitized with hi- and low-res• ISBN registered• Abstracts created for website and AATA

Image CD Collection

• Organized alphabetically by country• Created holding ID system (USA001)• Cataloged through database• Lookup tool created

Digital Image Collection

• Arranged in folders by country, site, project

• Consistent file name conventions• Tiffs and jpegs• Metadata (country, site, caption, date,

photographer, provenance, and origin)

Digitization

• Publications and periodicals• Images• Trip participant lists and itineraries• Board minutes• Audits

Staff Access

Results

• Intellectual control • Quick fulfillment of information requests• No backlog• Knowledge creator• Robust web content

Collaboration

“[Archives are] the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.”

mnote@wmf.org@margotnote