{"id":6875,"date":"2017-09-19T13:37:59","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T17:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6875"},"modified":"2017-12-19T17:01:32","modified_gmt":"2017-12-19T21:01:32","slug":"the-c-span-chronicles-part-vi-lessons-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6875","title":{"rendered":"The C-SPAN Chronicles: Part VI – Lessons Learned"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello all!<\/span><\/p>\n

Amanda here with another – and sadly the last – of the C-SPAN Chronicles. I thought it would be fun (and informative!) to reflect on the lessons I\u2019ve learned undertaking and completing the processing portion of this project. It has been quite the journey, and since I began processing the C-SPAN records in March, I have learned many things about myself as an archivist, as well as how to be an even more efficient processor. I\u2019ve condensed what I have learned into five things:<\/span><\/p>\n

Take Your Time<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a processing archivist, this seems like a Catch-22. Though the majority of processing projects take a significant amount of time, archivists are often under a time and\/or money crunch when completing projects. However, with those kinds of parameters in mind, I have found that rushing gets you nowhere in archival processing. Take your time to get to know the collection as thoroughly as possible. It can be tempting to rush through more tedious parts of processing, but you\u2019ll only create headaches for yourself later if you don’t take your time in the moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seek Help and Ask Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

When processing any archival collection, your head is full of questions. How do you arrange this collection? What\/how many series should I create? What IS THIS THING?<\/em> Some questions are easy to answer, others to deduce, but sometimes you\u2019re just stuck. Don\u2019t be a hero. If you have a mentor or boss that can guide you, ask them to! Even though I have been working in various archives and special collections for over 5 years and have a Masters degree in the subject, sometimes my brain simply doesn\u2019t function, or I don\u2019t have as much experience as the next person. Learn from others\u2019 mistakes, absorb their wisdom, and apply that to your next step or project. I\u2019m lucky in that SCRC is full of experienced and friendly colleagues who also serve as mentors, and I have asked them many a question during this project. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Procrastinate<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you come across something unusual or a format you have little experience with, it can be easy to put it on the back burner. When it came to the audiovisual series of this collection, I was very tempted to do just that, and to an extent I did. However, I knew that I wanted\/needed more experience with analog audiovisual materials, and sought out a workshop to attend on just that. I am glad that I ultimately waited to process that series after the workshop, because I handled it totally differently than I would have before. However, in future projects I will be more motivated to tackle parts of collections I am unsure of more quickly, and find ways to gain more knowledge about them sooner, rather than later.<\/span><\/p>\n

Look for the Big Picture<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I’m in the nitty-gritty of processing, keeping my head down and just getting the work done is usually my modus operandi. However, you don\u2019t want to get bogged down by this and lose sight of the project as a whole. I had never processed a collection as large as the C-SPAN records (200 linear feet) before I was hired as the C-SPAN Project Archivist. Due to this, I made sure to prioritize keeping track of my progress, goals, and adjusting these when necessary. I also would verbalize these goals to my bosses and colleagues, keeping me accountable in a sense. Having processed archival collections before, I also had a good idea of how long one particular task or step would take me, which made planning ahead much simpler.<\/span><\/p>\n

Develop Your System and Get it Down Pat<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since I began processing archival collections, I have developed my own \u201csystem\u201d for processing (More on that available in this post.<\/a>) Every processing archivist has one, and though much of their system and its result fit into the larger framework of how their institution processes collections, it is important to know why you are doing something in a certain way. Working on one collection for so long has really helped me hone my system, and as a result I have firm and sensible answers when somebody questions my methods. Of course I am always open to constructive critique from my bosses and colleagues, but I find having a strong justification for the way you process something always helps – as do good results!<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, that\u2019s all guys! I hope you all have enjoyed taking this journey with me through the C-SPAN Chronicles. Thank you so much, and I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll see you around Vault 217 again!<\/span><\/p>\n

Follow SCRC on Social Media at our\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0accounts. To search the collections\u00a0held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail\u00a0us at\u00a0speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a>\u00a0or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to\u00a0schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions. Appointments are not necessary to request and view collections.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello all! Amanda here with another – and sadly the last – of the C-SPAN Chronicles. I thought it would be fun (and informative!) to reflect on the lessons I\u2019ve learned undertaking and completing the processing portion of this project. It has been quite the journey, and since I began processing the C-SPAN records in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101014,"featured_media":6880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[461],"tags":[348,422,527],"class_list":["post-6875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-c-span-chronicles","tag-c-span","tag-processing","tag-reflections"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/C-SPAN-ME1.jpg?fit=3264%2C1732&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-1MT","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6809,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6809","url_meta":{"origin":6875,"position":0},"title":"The C-SPAN Chronicles: Part V – Cassette Tapes, and DATS, and U-matics, Oh My! or Processing Audiovisual Materials in the C-SPAN Papers Project","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"August 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello all! Amanda here with another edition of the C-SPAN Chronicles. This week I will be discussing the challenges of processing audiovisual materials in archival collections, and the specific challenges I have encountered when processing them in the C-SPAN papers. Let\u2019s go! Imagine you open a box. Inside are various\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The C-SPAN Chronicles"","block_context":{"text":"The C-SPAN Chronicles","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=461"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0054.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0054.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0054.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0054.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0054.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6316,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6316","url_meta":{"origin":6875,"position":1},"title":"The C-SPAN Chronicles: Part I – A Processing Primer","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"April 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello one and all! My name is Amanda Brent, and I am the C-SPAN Papers Project Archivist here at GMU\u2019s Special Collections Research Center (SCRC). I began my journey at SCRC as a volunteer, then intern, then Processing Assistant, and now I have been given the opportunity to work as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The C-SPAN Chronicles"","block_context":{"text":"The C-SPAN Chronicles","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=461"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMG_0632crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6429,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6429","url_meta":{"origin":6875,"position":2},"title":"The C-SPAN Chronicles: Part II – Unique Finds – Processing is Like A Box of Chocolates: You Never Know What You’re Gonna Get","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"May 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello there! Amanda here again with another edition of the C-SPAN Chronicles. This week I will be exploring\u00a0unique items found in the C-SPAN records - some straightforward, some, well...not so much. As a processor, I have spent many an hour surveying collections, and usually this task is fairly clear-cut. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The C-SPAN Chronicles"","block_context":{"text":"The C-SPAN Chronicles","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=461"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8697.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8697.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8697.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8697.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8697.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8697.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6652,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6652","url_meta":{"origin":6875,"position":3},"title":"The C-SPAN Chronicles: Part IV – Viewer Mail","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"June 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello all! Amanda here with another edition of the C-SPAN Chronicles. As this project has progressed, I have had ample time\u00a0to re-examine this collection, as well as the unique records it holds. Despite some of the more serious portions of the collection, there are those that are more entertaining (see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The C-SPAN Chronicles"","block_context":{"text":"The C-SPAN Chronicles","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=461"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_9228.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_9228.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_9228.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_9228.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_9228.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_9228.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6499,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6499","url_meta":{"origin":6875,"position":4},"title":"The C-SPAN Chronicles: Part III – To Rebox or Not to Rebox?","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"May 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello again! Amanda here with another edition of the C-SPAN Chronicles. As processing has progressed, I now find myself with the task of reboxing and finalizing the official inventory of the C-SPAN records. Though a somewhat straightforward task, reboxing and inventorying isn\u2019t without its challenges. But first of all, let\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The C-SPAN Chronicles"","block_context":{"text":"The C-SPAN Chronicles","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=461"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8957.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8957.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8957.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8957.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8957.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/IMG_8957.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9393,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9393","url_meta":{"origin":6875,"position":5},"title":"The C-SPAN Chronicles: Season 2, Part V","author":"Kelsey Kim","date":"November 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, I hit a milestone. I photographed the last document for our C-SPAN digitization project. Here\u2019s how it feels to be done: To be honest, it was hard to imagine ever getting to this point. You plan a whole project with a two-year timeline and that two years feels very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Digital Collections"","block_context":{"text":"Digital Collections","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=557"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Babies.png?fit=931%2C276&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Babies.png?fit=931%2C276&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Babies.png?fit=931%2C276&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Babies.png?fit=931%2C276&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/101014"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6875"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7077,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6875\/revisions\/7077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}