{"id":8671,"date":"2019-07-31T11:48:45","date_gmt":"2019-07-31T15:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8671"},"modified":"2019-08-26T13:01:06","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T17:01:06","slug":"student-reflections-brandan-culbert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8671","title":{"rendered":"A Journey Through C-SPAN’s Viewer Mail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post was written by Brandan Culbert.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Image Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Being an archivist is fun\u2026 if you like to read other people\u2019s mail.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an archival assistant, my role consists of reading letters and inputting corresponding information– it sounds mundane but is rather exciting. The current letters I am working on is C-SPAN\u2019s viewer fan mail. If you haven\u2019t heard of C-SPAN, it is a broadcasting network that stands for \u201cCable-Satellite Public Affairs Network.\u201d Essentially, C-SPAN\u2019s primary focus is broadcasting congressional proceedings and other government related affairs without having a lot of \u201cspin.\u201d Usually this explanation is followed by \u201cbut what does C-SPAN have to do with George Mason University?\u201d The reason for this is the SCRC does not collect only things related to Mason, but things which include the history of the larger region and government. I say that Mason is lucky to have the collection because the letters are an especial treasure-trove of niche entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s an old proverb about opinions -everyone has one- and viewer mail is no exception. The letters range from \u201cI love your network! Here\u2019s a photo of my pet!\u201d to Holocaust conspiracies and whatever flows into the viewer\u2019s stream of consciousness. Today, I think it would be a fun journey to have a look at a few of the various types of letters indexed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is one of many love letters I\u2019ve encountered from this\nviewer and a welcome addition to my permanent memory. Once in a blue moon, I\u2019ll\ncome across a letter that makes me wonder \u201cwhy?\u201d Often her letters will consist\nof harmless information such as \u201cI\u2019m 5\u20192\u201d and \u201cI have great social security,\u201d\nyou know, usual courtship queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the delicate prose and spectacular declarations of love,\nyou can feel the personal disappointment she experiences that she cannot be\nwith the man she loves. A tale as old as time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading letters from star-struck individuals is good fun;\nhowever, love letters are the needles in the haystacks that are hate-mail. It\u2019s\nmore likely to encounter mail denouncing Brian Lamb as politically biased,\nranting about journalists, or complaining that Congress is incompetent (though\nthey often propose solutions on how to fix the issue, even if those solutions\nare questionable.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes I encounter a wholesome letter such as this one! It\u2019s\nrare \u2013but always appreciated- when I find a photo of a pet. This is just an\nexample of a straight-forward \u201cthank you\u201d with a photo of their terrier\nwatching C-SPAN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Most of the letters I encounter are similar to this in length.\nAt times the difficulty with collecting metadata is having to read through and\nsummarize the given information. Sometimes the information is incoherent,\nillegible, or there\u2019s simply too much discussed; nevertheless, it\u2019s my job as an\narchival assistant to condense as much as possible for ease of public\naccessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At times it is difficult because this letter is five pages worth\nof content addressing fascism, capitalism, racism, (and even more \u2013isms). It\u2019s\nimpossible to always understand the context surrounding the discussion but that\ncan be remedied through research. For example, did you know who Ross Perot was?\nI had to learn a lot about his independent run as President in 1992. Not only\nare archivists inputting data, they are doing the research necessary to\naccurately summarize the content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an arduous process that requires intense attention to\ndetail and a lot of time; that\u2019s why digitization projects can span several\nmonths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the archives there is always something new awaiting discovery. It can be a fun process and you can find a lot of interesting material, but to my surprise when I first started, it requires a substantial amount of diligence and focus. But what\u2019s the purpose of having a collection of primary sources with no means of locating specific content? The job of an archivist is not only to store and digitize information, but to make information easily accessible for the public. Processing files, indexing names and dates, digitizing, and creating finding aids helps do just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I appreciate the C-SPAN collection because it provides an excellent insight into the psyche and experiences of people throughout the country during tumultuous periods in history: The Clarence Thomas hearings, the War on Drugs, Iraq\u2019s invasion of Kuwait, and the Gulf War. Although I spend most time reading letters with enough information on a page to fill an encyclopedia entry, its nonetheless still important information. Working in the archival field can be rewarding and exciting\u2014 provided that you love to read other people\u2019s mail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Special Collections Research Center on Social Media <\/em>at our Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, and Twitter<\/a> accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a> or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule 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":"

This post was written by Brandan Culbert. Being an archivist is fun\u2026 if you like to read other people\u2019s mail. As an archival assistant, my role consists of reading letters and inputting corresponding information– it sounds mundane but is rather exciting. The current letters I am working on is C-SPAN\u2019s viewer fan mail. If you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101014,"featured_media":8677,"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":[558,5,121,784],"tags":[348,626,795],"class_list":["post-8671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digitization","category-scrc-interest","category-scrc-picks","category-studentreflections","tag-c-span","tag-student-reflections","tag-viewer-mail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/img002-2.jpg?fit=6640%2C5158&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-2fR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6652,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6652","url_meta":{"origin":8671,"position":0},"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":9271,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9271","url_meta":{"origin":8671,"position":1},"title":"The C-SPAN Chronicles: Season 2, Part IV","author":"Kelsey Kim","date":"June 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Kelsey here, coming to you from my kitchen table, a.k.a. my home office.\u00a0 I have good news and bad news for you\u2014I\u2019ll start with the bad news, because it\u2019s always better to rip off the Band-Aid.\u00a0 Sadly, while we\u2019re out of office, our actual \u201cdigitizing\u201d (meaning our document photography) has\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\/06\/letter.jpg?fit=914%2C1166&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/letter.jpg?fit=914%2C1166&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/letter.jpg?fit=914%2C1166&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/letter.jpg?fit=914%2C1166&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9240,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9240","url_meta":{"origin":8671,"position":2},"title":"Watching from the C-SPANopticon","author":"Kelsey Kim","date":"June 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Teo Rogers, Digitization Student Assistant for the C-SPAN records Digitization Project. From time to time, this job makes me feel like the Marvel Comics character, Uatu the Watcher. If you\u2019re unfamiliar with Uatu, congratulations; you\u2019re a far cooler person than I\u2019ll ever be. Let me\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\/06\/floydprotestjune6.04.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/floydprotestjune6.04.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/floydprotestjune6.04.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/floydprotestjune6.04.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9406,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9406","url_meta":{"origin":8671,"position":3},"title":"As in Egypt, As at the SCRC: C-SPAN Viewer Mail and Egyptian Mortuary Religion\u00a0","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"November 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Teo Rogers, Digitization Student Assistant for the C-SPAN records Digitization Project. You are a priest in ancient Egypt. Picture yourself in a dark workshop, lit only by a few flickering torches affixed to walls of ancient stone. The Anubis mask you wear is heavy, but\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\/thumbnail_image.png?fit=700%2C392&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/thumbnail_image.png?fit=700%2C392&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/thumbnail_image.png?fit=700%2C392&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/thumbnail_image.png?fit=700%2C392&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6429,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6429","url_meta":{"origin":8671,"position":4},"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. 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