I am not bragging, but this was truly luck! #1

Blog Post #1

Hello everyone! My name is Abigail Gomez, and I am very thrilled to share my summer internship experience in this blog post. This past summer, I had the wonderful opportunity of being a Junior Fellow at the Library of Congress. You may be wondering what led me to this federal cultural institution. Well the answer is, my very first trip to the Library of Congress in Dr. Nolan’s History 201 class. During this trip, we visited the Prints and Photographs Division. I was fascinated by the architecture and research accessibility of the library. While I was there, I asked a staff member about internship opportunities there. The first thing they said is that the opportunities were usually unpaid. However, I did not allow that to discourage me. The following year I decided to apply to the Junior Fellows internship program. It was highly competitive as only 50 out of 1,000 individuals would get a position. Luckily, I was selected to be an intern at the United States Copyright Office which is located in the Madison Building of the Library of Congress. Initially, I knew very little of the importance of Copyright in the United States. Overtime, this changed as I began to learn more and more about it. As an individual interested in law, this was an invaluable experience as I was exposed to the field of intellectual property. 

Figure 1.1 A group picture of the Junior Fellows (I am on the left side) 

After interning at the Library of Congress, there is so much I could say about how wonderful it is, but I will stick to writing about my actual duties and experiences. The purpose of being selected for this internship at the Copyright Office was to aid them in their project of digitizing copyright bibliographic files from the early 1950s through the 1980s. The objective was to recommend a metadata scheme for the materials. During my first week, I spent hours looking at search reports that were mainly on carbon paper and obituaries. Later, I had to do research on them to figure out whether or not they were digitized.  While doing this, I also had to keep inventory of these items. It was very stressful as many of the items were fragile and lengthy. As time progressed, I started to enjoy my internship as I got to do oral briefs and presentations. The most exciting part of my experience was all of the adventures I went on, the things I discovered, the people I associated with, and Display Day which I will be talking about in my next post! 

             

Figure 1.2 An example of a 

Search Report                                 Figure 1.3 An Italian letter regarding Copyright Status of a work 

Lastly, I want to tell you a little bit about the adventures I went on. My supervisor at the Copyright Office is one of the most encouraging people I have ever met. During my time there, he allowed me to roam the different buildings of the Library of Congress. One of the most incredible things I saw in the preservation division when I went to visit was a hand drawn map. The map was an original hand drawn map the Japanese created during World War II which illustrates how they planned to attack Pearl Harbor. In conclusion, I would like to share two images of my trip to the Library of Congress Culpeper, Virginia facility. At this location, there are sound recordings and films stored. I was able to visit the vaults where nitrate oxide films are kept, and I was able to see how a music disc is preserved. As you can tell, it was an amazing experience. I will be sharing more about it in my next post!

Figure 1.4 Japanese hand drawn map of the attack on Pearl Harbor 

Figure 1.5 Image of the preservation of a broken record 

Figure 1.6 Rotting Nitrate Oxide Film (Gross)

Historical Society of Harford County Post# 2

My second month of interning at the Historical Society has been full of ups and downs (usually back to back.) I shall start with the good news! I have completed going through 553 different letters, I have organized them by date as they range from 1838 to 1999. I am currently entering them and their information (or metadata,) into a spreadsheet that will become a finding aid. I am breaking it down into: Box|Folder|Recipient| Author|Address|Keywords. The most difficult part of the process has been keeping the list of keywords under 10. Otherwise the completion of this is a milestone, I am very proud of it, this means that I am a quarter through the collection. My next step of action is to order some more supplies so that I may start on the diary section. I am more familiar with how to handle these books because of my training at UMBC’s Special Collections. But what I wasn’t familiar with was ordering supplies in bulk. As I had mentioned in my last post, Special Collections has a stockpiled communal closet of materials. So I have not had to order my own supplies. It was a learning experience and I’m sure they will appreciate the 10 extra envelopes of archival grade photo sheets.
Bad news came in two varieties, first is that these diaries at some point and time had gotten wet and now have molding. I am allergic to mold. One of two things will happen, I will be having very itchy sneezy wednesdays, or I will have to forfeit taking on the diaries and ultimately leave them to someone else. The secondary bad news is because of how busy the Fall semester is turning out to be I am having to cut down on some of my hours in order to work, (books and classes don’t buy themselves.) Instead of 10 hours a week I will be available only 1 day a week. I fear their reaction to this news, especially considering their history of halfway finished intern work.
And to wrap up this post and end on a more pleasant note, here are some interesting finds of the month: A newspaper article about flying cars dated 1926, a love letter with a dandelion flower inside, and experimental X-ray treatment of cancer.

Historical Society of Harford County Post# 1

In honor of my first month at the Historical Society of Harford County (HSHC) coming to an end I am making my first blog post. While this is not the first archive I have worked in, as I am a GA in UMBCs Special Collections, this one has brought many new challenges. I have worked for Special Collections for a year and a half at the time of posting this, and as such I have been trained to deal with an academic archival setting. There were three things mentioned to me by the director of HSHC herself: territorialism, the lack of funding, and that past interns had a habit of not completing projects, thus the frequent half finished accessioning. While I did not understand the extent of the first two issues I was determined to not be an addition to that last one. The project I have been assigned at HSHC was a donation given to them two years ago that had not been touched since then. The collection belonged to Nancy Webster Barnes a local landscaper and hobby genealogist. It contained letters dating back to 1838, diaries, and miscellaneous personal papers. While I have had more experience dealing with books and photography I was excited to learn to handle these new materials.

I have found that working for the Historical Society has been a different beast entirely. The two issues the director had warned me about made their presence known from day one. I had been used to a more supportive setting, and communal use of materials purchased for the archives. At HSHC I was promptly informed that I could not use materials already purchased and present in the cabinets, and that I would have to order my own for the project I was assigned to. Everything from gloves, to boxes, to folders nothing was spared. They also had unofficially assigned seating. I had arrived at 9 am and had been working at a table for two hours, (thoroughly spread out by then.) When I was asked to move by a volunteer, even though there were other unoccupied tables available. But, in fear of causing friction on my first day I packed up and moved.

After three days I was finally invited to join their lunch hour, and during it information came to light that clarified the hierarchy and why this archive was so far behind technologically. These volunteers were the main source of donation income, much of these donations were used for purchasing the materials, thus the feeling of ownership. And I learned that until 2012 HSHC had only used the catalogue card system of tagging and accessioning. There had been no computerized organizational system until then.

However, after working there for four weeks people have started to get used to my presence, and my supplies have come in allowing me to get through a decent portion of the 553 letters. I have successfully gotten through all letters dated 1838 to 1909, and sadly encountered one filled with hair (with an ungloved hand.)

Reflecting on the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum Internship

Reflecting on the internship, I know that the work I completed had truly made a difference. While the internship wasn’t paid like other’s I had heard about, I made major steps towards networking in the field. I believe the experience that I had gained from it was more than even to satisfy my needs. On the final day, my supervisor, Mike, had invited me to the meeting room and displayed were binders full of the docent guide I had created. He informed me that they were going to use the guides as a primary basis for all of the new and current docents. Not only this, but they were holding a meeting the next day to introduce the guide to them and new expectations for each member. Additionally, Shawn had offered a higher position of an “Interpreter” to me next summer. I would be one of two interpreters on the floor of the museum leading more tours around the museum and the building itself. An interpreter is also allowed to give presentations to groups of members of the committee and public, so I could potentially be given those responsibilities as well. Furthermore, it is the highest ranking a docent can hold at the museum. Although I may be young, I promise I can hold my ground when asked even the most intricate questions about Babe Ruth and the time period itself. One gentleman, who had worked at Cooperstown museum, asked me multiple questions about Babe Ruth and clarifications on his life events. By the end of the conversation, he said he was very impressed with my knowledge and encouraged me to apply for Cooperstown’s internship next summer. Equally significant, I mentioned to my superiors about wanting to apply for more internships next summer specially Smithsonian and National Geographic. Both Shawn and Mike mentioned that they would be more than happy to give in a very exceptional letter of recommendation towards the applicants if needed. I am absolutely humbled and blessed to have been given this opportunity in the field. I look forward to what the future may hold in the field!

Conclusion of Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum Internship

For the conclusion of my internship, I had written a twelve page guide on instructions and information a docent at the museum is expected to know. While a docent should be well informed about the main subject, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, they should be able to tell a story along the way. My supervisors and I had agreed that it was too old fashioned to simply state facts about the subject himself. The public can’t relate and retain the information as easily making their experience less than exceptional. If the public can relate to the subject in any way, such as disliking school or sharing a passion in a sport, then they are much more likely to retain the information and have a much better experience. In addition to this, I had completed multiple side projects. One of them being a pamphlet for the self guided portion of the museum. This highlighted the main artifacts and exhibits the museum offers while still informing the public in a quick, enjoyable way. I had also helped my superior, Katie, create wristbands and baseball shaped stress balls to be given out afterwards for large school groups. We had both agreed that the large, young groups responded incredibly well when receiving a reward for answering trivia during the tour. These types of interactions with the public is crucial for museums! Without this type of interactive environment, museums will continue to get boring and unsatisfying reviews from not only the public but professionals as well. Museums should not be taken for granted and be pushed aside. They are crucial to all of society not just historians or history majors. They are how we reflect on our past actions as a community and learn from them whether it be a forgotten or iconic period.

Beginning of Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum Internship

During the first week of my internship, I began reading the required research materials which included, Great Tours! Thematic Tours and Guide Training for Historic Sites, The Good Guide: A Sourcebook for Interpreters, Docents, and Tour Guides, and Babe: The Legend Comes To Life. I had also established my main responsibilities from my supervisor, Shawn, which were: shadow current docent tours, conduct tours for scheduled groups, tour guide for busy days, research other museums’ and historic houses tour practices, and develop a public tour outline for docents and the public. One of the main docents' I was able to shadow during the first few weeks was Charles Day. He had been giving tours at the museum for a long while and had been an English teacher beforehand, so he was very insightful about reaching the younger public in a positive manner. He gave very beneficial advice for future references about tours especially when it came to recognizing the audience. While most of our tours were middle school groups, we had a few instances where they were adults instead. We then changed our approach and allowed them more freedom around the museum and more of a look inside of Babe Ruth’s life beyond baseball. The first few weeks of the internship mainly revolved around research both in and out of the field.

When rheas speak and I finally listen #3

The information for the Rhea studbook has been sent.  Hopefully parts of it will be used, but either way I am satisfied.  I had said in the previous blog that Rheas would be very silent on the nature of their history with humans.  As I reflect back on the three years I have been at Bird House, I realize that this is not necessarily true. 

Three Rheas I worked with, Margot, Pearl and C.J, normally did not make their opinions known to me through vocalizations.  They are not like Macaws and parrots after all.  They chose to be quiet and the definition of stealth when I raked the sand of their enclosure.  With dual natures of curiosity and discretion, every morning they would investigate my shoe or the contents of my pockets, which I knew not to put anything in, rather than demand my attention.  Sometimes a sound far off would put them in retreat.  They would run away with wings outstretched, titling from side to side -- the same retreat that Portuguese sailors mocked, the Guarani peoples of Northern Argentina and Paraguay said resembled the legs of a spider and Darwin had described as a sail. Yet, exemplifying humans’ long tradition of not fully understanding Rheas, I remember a day a year into my internship, when I heard C.J vocalize. 

The Rhea yard is separated from the main zoo by a visitor path, a large stretch of woods and then a string of apartments on Connecticut Avenue.  For a year, whenever I was cleaning the enclosure I had heard a loud deep booming sound like the sound of bass guitar.  I had attributed it to a car radio.  Or possibly it was some other mechanized human nuisance, which was disturbing my idea of peace amongst the titan birds.  I would look to the apartments, mumble a complaint and then go back to drawing calligraphy with the leaves, rocks, sand and my rake.  

One day, after repeating this ritual, instead of returning to my work, I happened to look to my right side.  Standing next to me was C.J, his neck stretched to his fullest height of five feet and still as a statue, not startled by my gaze.  Without opening his beak and through the use of his nares (nostrils), he let out the sonic boom in question.  The undulating of his neck was the only sign to my easily tricked mind that the sound came from within.  When asked for the meaning of his soliloquy he turned his back to me and said no more .  Experiences like this added with the academic study of the history of rheas and humans have made this internship an experience that is so valuable that words are inadequate to describe it. 

9,000 year old cave painting of rhea feet mixed with human hands at Cueva de las Manos (cave of hands) in Santa Cruz, Aregentina

“Photo D256_30_907, from Dissolve.” Dissolve. Accessed May 29, 2019. https://dissolve.com/stock-photo/Argentina-Patagonia-Santa-Cruz-province-000-old-hand-royalty-free-image/101-D256-30-907.

---