Over the last several weeks, the Archives has welcomed Heather Weiss, an intern with Project SEARCH. Heather Weiss came to us from successful experiences at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Office of Fellowships and Internships, and the National Portrait Gallery, among others, and has been assisting the archivists and the conservators with a pair of different ongoing initiatives: a finding aid data entry project with the archivists and a rehousing project with the conservators. We wanted to highlight Heather's valuable contribution to our work at the Archives, and have invited her to share her thoughts about working with us.
Hi, my name is Heather Weiss. I am an intern at a program called Project SEARCH at the Smithsonian Institution. Project SEARCH, or PSSI, is a 10-month program designed for people with disabilities who are looking to find full-time jobs. As a part of the PSSI program, I have recently been gaining a positive experience in learning about the art of preservation. So far, I have discovered that preservation comes in many different forms, such as repairing an art sculpture, checking the lighting in an art gallery, dusting picture frames, and polishing the Plexiglas on artworks. But, my most recent positive experience to date is learning about preservation at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. Archiving is important, because when you preserve art and documents, then that means that you’re preserving a part of history. And while I am learning about archiving, I have also learned about data entry and rehousing folders into new boxes. When you’re rehousing folders, that means that you’re transferring older historical documents from older boxes and folders, and then putting those documents into new and more stable boxes and folders that will last longer. Data entry is when you take the data from a paper source and then digitize that source by putting it on the computer. Eventually, people will be able to look at the information once it is available. My favorite part of this experience is getting to see the history that’s been stored from different decades within the folders. I find it very amazing.
Heather's data entry for the archivists was a testament to her detail-oriented nature. It was meticulous work, and Heather's efforts will lead to improved finding aids of our collections. She moved quickly through that project, leading the archival team to work speedily to keep her busy! Heather also accomplished the conservators' first rehousing assignment in record time, changing out all the nearly one hundred acidic boxes of one collection (Record Unit 158: United States National Museum, Curators' Annual Reports, 1881-1964). After completing both of these tasks, Heather moved on to the next portion of the finding aid project, as well as a more complex rehousing assignment (Record Unit 137: Office of the Under Secretary, Records, 1958-1973) that involved replacing both boxes and folders, necessitating careful copying of folder information from old to new, as well as removing bulky and harmful clips and staples, safely rehousing photographs in photo-safe enclosures, checking the condition of documents and flagging them for later attention as needed.
We have appreciated Heather's willingness to learn new skills, attention to detail, and inquisitive mind. It has been a pleasure to watch her take on more difficult tasks as her time with us has progressed, and to play a part in her personal growth. We wish her all the best following her graduation from Project SEARCH, and know that she will be successful at whatever she puts her mind to. Good luck, Heather!
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