[Oe List ...] PROCESS WITHIN THE VALUES FOR THE ARCHIVES

Mon May 25 10:08:52 EDT 2009

In the basement - A room was specifically constructed for archives in the
early  80s and all the files we could find were placed there.  The 90s
produced the golden pathways CD, created a list with a numbering system and
location of more than 11,000 documents, and organized "some" of the files in
the room by broad categories like Academy, etc. but focused primarily on
JWM's file cabinets ending in 77.  In the early 2000s the basement was
abandoned when JWM's file cabinets were moved to the first floor and then
moved again to another room. In the process many file folders were removed
that had not been in Joe's original files and returned in boxes to the
basement.  In the meantime other files were "found" in various parts of the
building including the basement and placed where Joe's files had been
removed, and many file folders were placed in empty drawers in no systematic
fashion.  Several boxes of files were mailed from Hong Kong, from here and
there. Then the files on the first floor labeled Joe's files were given to
the seminary after duplicate copies were removed, placed in boxes and
returned to the basement.  All of this adds up to what I call "chaos with
some organization" and great plans for the 1) category organization 2) or
culling out duplicates, 3) moving file cabinets to the 6th floor, and then
4) digitizing.  Some things have been added to the basement from the 80s 90s
and 2000s,   Grace and Peace,  Marge

2009/5/24 Rod Rippel <rodrippel at cox.net>

>  Marge:  Just where are the 172 file cabinets now?  RR
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Marge Philbrook <msphilbrook at gmail.com>
> *To:* Order Ecumenical Community <oe at wedgeblade.net>
> *Sent:* Sunday, May 24, 2009 5:21 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Oe List ...] PROCESS WITHIN THE VALUES FOR THE ARCHIVES
>
> I am so excitd that we are getting all this input before the ICA Board
> meets this next weekend.  Several people are joining them in making their
> strategic plans.  We plan to have a great time in the 3 days after the board
> meeting, making sure that we are making sense.  I don't feel like any of us
> are working alone any more.  With respect.  Marge Philbrook
>
>
> 2009/5/24 David Walters <walters at alaweb.com>
>
>>  I think before we get too deep in the practices of formulating a plan
>> for the Global Archives that we seek some advice from those who do this kind
>> of work every day, rather trying to reinvent wheel. There are two groups in
>> Chicago that can help us. One is the
>>
>> Chicago Area Archivists - http://www.chicagoarchivists.org/cara.html.
>> About a year ago they formed a subgroup called Chicago Area Religious
>> Archivists - http://www.chicagoarchivists.org/cara.html. What we need
>> from them is advice on how to do what we are trying to do using current
>> archival practices and how to do it using the latest technologies. Marshall
>> has already raised several issues in this regard. Bill Parker has suggest
>> some procedures that seem to me to be too cumbersome yet also point in the
>> right direction
>>
>>
>>
>> I also think that there several people that need to be involved that
>> worked with the archives in the past. Most important is their knowledge of
>> how the archives were set up and what values were held in doing so.
>>
>>
>> Also, the *National Historical Publications** *and Records *Commission*(NHPRC) is the grantmaking affiliate of the
>> *National** *Archives and Records Administration makes grants to enable a
>> n organization like the ICA to hire professional archivists to make an
>> assessment of archival collections- www.archives.gov/nhprc/. This would
>> be invaluable assistance on the front end of the process we are. I also
>> think that Marge’s part time employment and some other things that are
>> already going on could be used as in-kind matching for a grant.
>>
>> David Walters
>>
>>
>> *ARCHIVAL PROCESS WITHIN THE VALUES FOR THE GLOBAL ARCHIVES*
>>
>> *CREATING THE PERMANENT INDEX WHICH SHOWS THE PHYSICAL LOCATION OF EACH
>> ARCHIVE*
>>
>> 1.       FORMULATE THE REQUIRED INDICES FOR THE ARCHIVES AND DETERMINE
>> THE RATIONAL OF EACH. ONE OBVIOUS INDEX WOULD BE PHYSICAL LOCATION, ANOTHER
>> WOULD BE CHRONOLOGICAL IF THAT IS THE WAY THE ARCHIVES ARESTORED. THE
>> CERTAIN POINT OF BEGINNING WOULD BE THE PHYSICAL LOCATION OF ANY DOCUMENT
>> ANY WHERE IT IS.
>>
>> 2.       WITH OUT INVADING THE FILES, ATTEMPT TO ORDER THE FILE CABINETS,
>> NOT FILE FOLDERS, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
>>
>> 3.       ASSIGN A NUMBER TO EACH FILE CABINET (1-172)
>>
>> 4.       ASSIGN A LETTER TO EACH DRAWER WITHIN EACH FILE CABINET (A,  B,
>> C, OR D)
>>
>> 5.       ASSIGN A TITLE TO EVERY FILE FOLDER AND MAKE A LIST OF FILE
>> FOLDER TITLES IN EXCELL (RSI)
>>
>> 6.       SHOOT A DIGITAL PICTURE OF EACH PAGE CODED WITH THE NUMBER OF
>> THE FILE CABINET, THE LETTER OF THE DRAWER, THE TITLE OF EACH FILE FOLDER,
>> THE NUMBER OF EACH PAGE AND ALLOW THE CAMERA TO NUMBER EACH IMAGE [00210
>> (64B/RSI/23)]
>>
>> *GETTING THE ORGANIZATIONAL WORK DONE THROUGH SIMULTANEOUS EFFORTS*
>>
>> 1.       ASSIGN A TEAM OF FOUR TO EACH REVIEW DIGITALLY THROUGH THE
>> IMAGES TAKEN ONE OF THE FOUR DRAWERS  IN A FILE CABINET
>>
>> 7.       ORGANIZE THE CONTENTS OF THE DRAWERS BY PULLING THE TOGETHER THE
>> IMAGE NUMBERS ASSOCIATED FOR EACH PAGE. THIS WOULD BE A FILE SAVED AS THE
>> DIFFERENT FILE FOLDER TITLES. IT WOULD NOT CHANGE THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION
>> OF THE TOTAL GLOBAL ARCHIVES. BUT AT THE END OF THIS PROCESS THE GLOBAL
>> ARCHIVES COULD BE RECONFIGURED INTO ANOTHER STRUCTURE, BUT WITHOUT
>> DESTROYING THE ORIGINAL CONFIGURATION, THE FC/D/FT/P/I = FILE CABINET,
>> DRAWER, FOLDER TITLE, PAGE, AND IMAGE.
>>
>> 8.       THAT TEAM WOULD COLLABORATE TO PULL TOGETHER THE RESULTS OF THE
>> DRAWER WORK AND COMPLETE THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ENTIRE FILE CABINET.
>>
>> 9.       A REPRESENTATIVE  FROM EACH TEAM WOULD WORK WITH OTHER
>> REPRESENTATIVES FROM OTHER TEAMS TO PULL TOGETHER THE SUBJECT CATEGORIES FOR
>> THE ENTIRE ARCHIVE
>>
>> 10.    A COMMISSION FOR THE GLOBAL ARCHIVES OF THE ORDER
>> ECUMENICAL/EI/ICA WOULD ALL SIGN OFF ON THE ORGANIZATION OF ALL OF THE FILE
>> CABINETS INTO OVERARCHING CATEGORIES.
>>
>> *SUPPORTING THE ENGAGEMENT OF THESE ARCHIVES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY*
>>
>> 1.       AT THIS POINT ANYONE COULD HAVE ON-LINE ACCESS TO CONDUCT
>> RESEARCH ON ANY SUBJECT THAT MIGHT BE ON THEIR MIND.
>>
>> 2.       GET THIS ARCHIVES INTO THE HANDS OF UNIVERSITIES TO PROVIDE A
>> “LIVING ARCHIVE” THAT CAN, FOR EXAMPLE, TEACH A CS1 COURSE SO THE RESEARCH
>> BECOMES DYNAMIC AND ALIVE WITH PEOPLE WHO DID THIS IN THE 20TH CENTURY AS
>> A WAY THEY RESPONDED IN THEIR TIME. FOLLOWING THE COURSE AN INTENSIVE
>> WORKSHOP WOULD BE CONDUCTED WITH THOSE WHO TOOK THE COURSE TO DETERMINE WHAT
>> WAS THE IMPACT OF THE COURSE, HOW THIS COURSE IS ADDRESSING TODAY’S ISSUES,
>> AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE RESPONSIBLE HUMAN BEING TODAY.
>>
>>
>>
>> BY BILL PARKER
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> OE at wedgeblade.net
>> http://wedgeblade.net/mailman/listinfo/oe_wedgeblade.net
>>
>>
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