{"id":9983,"date":"2022-02-23T14:08:32","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T19:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9983"},"modified":"2022-02-24T12:46:52","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T17:46:52","slug":"tales-from-an-archival-thru-hike-accessioning-the-appalachian-trail-conservancy-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9983","title":{"rendered":"Tales from an Archival Thru-Hike: Accessioning the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Records"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

The Appalachian Trail consists of over 2000 miles of continuous footpath from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine, and the many mountainous miles in between contain some of the most glorious scenery in the United States east of the Mississippi River. The trail runs through two national parks (Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee\/North Carolina and Shenandoah National Park in Virginia) as well as national forests and state parks. The hardy souls who complete the entire trail are known as thru-hikers, and according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, their journeys take somewhere between five and seven months.<\/a>

You may be asking yourself, \u201cWhat does thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail have to do with archives?\u201d When the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) acquired over 500 boxes of records documenting the history of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in January 2022, it became my task to figure out how we would go about accessioning the collection. Accessioning, as Director of SCRC Lynn Eaton noted in an earlier blog post<\/a>, is the process by which we gather preliminary information about a collection and record it in our collections management system (in our case, ArchivesSpace). For a collection as large and important as the Appalachian Trail Conservancy records, it also involves creating a preliminary box level inventory and reboxing the records in acid-free, stable archival quality records boxes.

Accessioning any collection that consists of more than a couple of boxes can take some time. In the case of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy records, it will take a few months to house and inventory the records properly so that the future processing archivist who works on the materials has all of the information that they need to efficiently arrange and describe them. When I began contemplating the magnitude of this process and the box-by-box nature of the work, I realized that thru-hiking the AT one mile at a time is an apt metaphor for accessioning several hundred boxes of records. And so my personal archival thru-hike began!

Any good thru-hiker needs a trail name, a nickname by which their fellow hikers will know them on the journey. To come up with my archival accessioning thru-hike trail name, I consulted my hiking buddies, who are not archivists but happen to be some of the punniest people I know. They dubbed me Ariadne\u2019s Tread, a nod to hiking boots and the character from Greek mythology who helped Theseus navigate the labyrinth with a thread. Not all AT thru-hikers have companions on the many miles of trail they travel, but I\u2019m fortunate that Processing Coordinator Amanda Brent* will be assisting me with accessioning and accompanying me on the journey. You\u2019ll be hearing from Ariadne\u2019s Tread again soon with updates on what I\u2019m finding as I make my way through decades of Appalachian Trail history!<\/p>\r\n

*Thru-hike name: Nogo Baggins (based on her love of The Lord of the Rings<\/em> books and her lack of love for hiking).<\/p>\r\n

Image credit.<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0accounts. \u00a0To 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 schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.<\/em><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Appalachian Trail consists of over 2000 miles of continuous footpath from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine, and the many mountainous miles in between contain some of the most glorious scenery in the United States east of the Mississippi River. The trail runs through two national parks (Great Smoky Mountains National […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10057,"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":[3,4,5,121],"tags":[899,898,900,422],"class_list":["post-9983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-recent-acquisitions","category-scrc-interest","category-scrc-picks","tag-accessions","tag-appalachian-trail","tag-appalachian-trail-conservancy-records","tag-processing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ariadne.jpg?fit=620%2C330&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-2B1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10030,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10030","url_meta":{"origin":9983,"position":0},"title":"New Year, New Collection!","author":"Lynn Eaton","date":"February 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Here at the Mason Libraries Special Collections Research Center (SCRC), our staff have been busy bringing in a few new collections, preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mason becoming a university, and working on other projects big and small to make our collections more accessible to students, faculty, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/lynnblog.jpg?fit=655%2C873&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/lynnblog.jpg?fit=655%2C873&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/lynnblog.jpg?fit=655%2C873&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11227,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=11227","url_meta":{"origin":9983,"position":1},"title":"Reflections from the Reading Room","author":"Mieko Palazzo","date":"December 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 As the Research Services Coordinator, I have the unique privilege of engaging with a diverse mix of archival collections and people who visit our Reading Room on the Fairfax campus. In my role, I\u2019m able to learn new things about history and how people continue to use these records.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"archives\"","block_context":{"text":"archives","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?tag=archives"},"img":{"alt_text":"Front page of a Federal Theatre Project script written by Samuel Jesse Warshawsky titled The Woman of Destiny","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/C0002_B227_F1_Page_003-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/C0002_B227_F1_Page_003-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/C0002_B227_F1_Page_003-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/C0002_B227_F1_Page_003-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/C0002_B227_F1_Page_003-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/C0002_B227_F1_Page_003-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10487,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10487","url_meta":{"origin":9983,"position":2},"title":"Happy Fall Semester from SCRC’s Director","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"September 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This blog post was written by Lynn Eaton, Director of the Special Collections Research Center. Another school year begins, and the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) team of archivists and records managers is excited to welcome students and faculty back to campus! A lot has happened over the past couple\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/blog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/blog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/blog.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/blog.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/blog.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9346,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9346","url_meta":{"origin":9983,"position":3},"title":"A Journey of Reparation Work","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"September 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Rachel Lavender, Metadata Specialist. Rachel has a Bachelors of Public History from the University of Wisconsin \u2013 Eau Claire, a Masters of Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin \u2013 Madison, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Applied History from George Mason\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\/09\/LUNA.jpg?fit=1200%2C959&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/LUNA.jpg?fit=1200%2C959&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/LUNA.jpg?fit=1200%2C959&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/LUNA.jpg?fit=1200%2C959&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/LUNA.jpg?fit=1200%2C959&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7559,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=7559","url_meta":{"origin":9983,"position":4},"title":"Student Reflections – Jimmy Luong","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"May 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Jimmy Luong, Processing Student Assistant. Hello, I am a freshman at George Mason University working on my degree as a government major with potentially a focus on international security. I first found out about the Special Collections Research Center when touring the Fenwick Library and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "George Mason University History"","block_context":{"text":"George Mason University History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=529"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/20180507_125706.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/20180507_125706.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/20180507_125706.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/20180507_125706.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/20180507_125706.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9226,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9226","url_meta":{"origin":9983,"position":5},"title":"One Final Appraisal","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"June 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Lana Mason, Processing Student Assistant. Lana has an Associate of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Piedmont Virginia Community College. She recently earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art History at George Mason University. Lana was the recipient of the University Libraries Student Assistant Scholarship\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/grad.png?fit=1015%2C459&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/grad.png?fit=1015%2C459&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/grad.png?fit=1015%2C459&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/grad.png?fit=1015%2C459&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\/9983","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9983"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10060,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9983\/revisions\/10060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}