Mining Online Catalogs!

The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania,!September 10, 2011!

Holly Mengel PACSCL/CLIR Hidden Collections

Processing Project

PACSCL Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries

•  Cooperative group of special collections libraries with shared goals for their collections

•  Founded in 1985 with 16 member libraries •  Today, PACSCL is composed of 35 member libraries

–  4,000,000 rare books –  260,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archival material –  9,000,000 photographs, maps, architectural drawings, and works of art on

paper –  But, PACSCL itself, does not own collections

www.pacscl.org

Backlog: Everyone has it.

This is not a PACSCL problem or a Philadelphia

problem. This is a national

problem.

Backlog exists because: •  Processing

archival material is a time-intensive skill.

•  Archival repositories are, generally speaking, underfunded and understaffed.

•  Collections are acquired faster than they are processed.

Hidden Collections are … •  Materials in a repository’s holdings that are – Un-arranged – Un-described – Under-described

•  Not physically or intellectually accessible to researchers or repository staff

•  Not advertised to researchers

So …If no one knows it exists !or can use it, why keep it?

Efforts to Eliminate Backlog

• Minimal processing: – Introduced as “More Product, Less

Process” in 2005 by Greene & Meissner – Recommends 4 hours per linear foot

(versus 8 to 15) – Less intensive processing: processors do

not alphabetize material in folders, sometimes do not re-house material and describe collections only to the collection, series or folder level (NEVER item level).

Pros & Cons !of Minimal Processing

•  Arguments against minimal processing: –  The collection is not “finished” –  It is not as easy for researchers to find material –  It is not as easy for reference staff to find materials

•  Arguments for minimal processing: –  The collection is available to researchers in

significantly less time than if traditionally processed. –  Staff is able to identify the most “valuable” segments of

the collections and further process them – Documented use of collections may result in grant

funding for traditional processing

Efforts to Reveal !Hidden Collections

Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR)

Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives Initiative

www.clir.org/hiddencollections/

PACSCL/CLIR Hidden Collections Processing Project

•  Follow up to the PACSCL Consortial Survey Initiative Project (www.pacsclsurvey.org)

•  27 month project •  Process and make accessible to

researchers approximately 120 currently “hidden collections” in PACSCL repositories (nearly 4,000 linear feet)

25 Participating Repositories •  Academy of Natural Sciences •  Bryn Mawr College •  Chester County Historical Society •  City of Philadelphia Department of Records •  College of Physicians of Philadelphia •  Drexel University Archives and Special Collections •  Drexel University College of Medicine •  Free Library of Philadelphia, Rare Books •  German Society of Pennsylvania •  Haverford College •  Historical Society of Pennsylvania •  Independence Seaport Museum •  Library Company of Philadelphia •  Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia •  National Archives and Records Administration,

Mid Atlantic Region •  Pennsylvania Horticultural Society •  Philadelphia Museum of Art •  Presbyterian Historical Society •  Rosenbach Museum and Library •  Temple University Special Collections •  Temple University Urban Archives •  Union League of Philadelphia •  University of Delaware •  University of Pennsylvania •  Wagner Free Institute of Science

Methodology

• Minimal Processing (at 2 hours per linear foot)

•  Team processing by archival studies graduate students (trained via project “Bootcamp”)

•  The Archivists’ Toolkit computer program for creation of

standardized finding aids.

The Finding Aid

• Guide to a collection •  Includes – Administrative information about the

repository and donor – Biographical/historical note – Scope and content note – Related collections – Name & subject headings (authorized

terms) – Inventory of contents

Example of an electronic finding aid …

Making Collections Available Project website:

http://clir.pacscl.org

•  Blog •  Collections by Topic

Family Histories and Genealogy

PACSCL Finding Aids Site !http://findingaids.pacscl.org

•  Provide a single access point for all of the region’s research collections, and therefore, present insight into the country’s political, economic, social, religious and cultural experiences, as well as Philadelphia’s role in shaping America and its citizens

•  Developed by the University of Pennsylvania Libraries

•  Finding aids from all 25 repositories in one place

•  We are NOT digitizing collections

PACSCL Finding Aids findingaids.pacscl.org

The Searches

•  Cross-repository searching – Useful for finding related material in multiple

repositories • Keyword searching – Useful for finding every instance of a name

or topic •  Faceted searching – Useful in finding collections with

concentrated focus in a certain name or topic

The Searches

The Searches

The Searches

Impact on Genealogists

•  We are not sure … – Are minimally processed collections

sufficient for detail-oriented genealogical research?

– Do finding aids created at this speed provide the necessary description for research?

•  Your help … – If you use one of our collections, LET US

KNOW! – Participate in a user study to be conducted in

future!

Now available … – 125 collections (just over 4000 linear feet) – Part time student processors worked for 1

year and 11 months – At 8 hours per linear foot (traditional

processing), this same linear footage would take a full-time archivist 15 years to complete.

Historical Genealogists

Albert Cook Myers !(aka William Penn’s stalker)

Albert Cook Myers collection of William Penn material, Chester County Historical Society

Biographies …

Bradford collection of biographies of homeopathic physicians, Drexel University College of Medicine

In their mother’s words,

Nicholson and Taylor family papers, Haverford College

Logan family papers, Library Company of Philadelphia

in their own words,

Diaries and letters, Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College

Through photographs and sketches

Alma A. Clarke papers, Bryn Mawr College

Ministerium of Pennsylvania, Lutheran Theological Seminary

at Philadelphia

Rush family papers, Library Company of

Philadelphia

via the military,

John Dickinson papers, Library Company of Philadelphia

and by the land

Logan family papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania

In sickness …

Alma A. Clark papers, Bryn Mawr College

Rush family papers, Library Company of Philadelphia

Rush family papers, Library Company of Philadelphia

… in death …

Elizabeth Graham Fergusson papers, Library Company of Philadelphia

Philadelphia Memorial Park records, Chester County

Historical Society

Philadelphia Memorial Park records, Chester County Historical Society

… and in the heavens!

Read family papers, Library Company of Philadelphia

Check us out! •  Project website and blog:

http://clir.pacscl.org

•  PACSCL Finding Aid Site: http://findingaids.pacscl.org

•  PACSCL website: http://pacscl.org

•  Contact us with input, suggestions, complaints, etc.!