Collecting things can be fun, but collections–whether it’s knick-knacks in your attic or the local history documents at the library–can get out of hand quickly! The unfortunate reality of any collection is that space is limiting. There are only so many square feet in a storage room and only so many shelves for the library’s books and archival materials. Our Treasure Room–where we keep the library’s archival materials–is only about 9 1/2 feet by 6 1/2 feet (Amanda’s wingspan is about 5 feet for reference)!
In our quest to organize the Treasure Room, we began by updating our Archival Collection Development Policy to pin down the scope of the library’s collection of archival materials. This process can be done informally for your personal collection as well, to help set parameters on what to keep and what not to keep. In libraries, the collection development policy helps to determine what we will collect and keep in the future.
Next, we evaluated all existing archival materials, identifying where everything is and the conditions of the items. While most archival items have been stored in the Treasure Room, there are some materials stored elsewhere around the library. For example, all of our large format items (like maps and blueprints) are stored in large format cabinets too big to fit in the Treasure Room.
The library’s archival materials consist of two collections, based on subject matter: the Lucius Beebe Memorial Library Collection and the Town of Wakefield Collection. The Library Collection contains items like old photographs, catalogs, correspondence, event flyers, and reports. The Town of Wakefield collection has a wider scope, including old directories, street listings, town reports, committee reports, yearbooks, and photographs.
With some of the money we received from the grant, we purchased new archival boxes and folders. These acid-free containers will help preserve the materials inside, while also providing a layer of protection in case of any possible disasters (e.g. rogue water leak, fire, major environmental catastrophe).
Check out this short video that gives a peek into what Amanda has been up to in the Treasure Room: [Facebook] [Instagram].
Stay tuned for updates on the completed project! Learn more about the grant project from our previous blog post.
Upcoming programs:
Hidden Treasures in Town Records Lecture and Q&A with Dr. McCoy, [Saturday, September 14 at 11am on Zoom]
Memory-Keeping: Preserving and Sharing Wakefield’s History [Saturday, September 28 at 11:00am in the Lecture Hall].
