Context is everything, even when you’re digitizing

As of Thursday I have digitized 829 items since starting at my internship.  I like to think that this is a strong number and I cannot wait until I get to 1,000 objects digitized and their metadata perfectly filled out and ready for researchers!  Though the step after that- uploading it to the Digital Asset Management System- is what really makes it available.  While it may not be part of my job I will hopefully be learning the process of uploading the documents in the upcoming weeks. 

One of the things I have noticed during my internship is the importance of the context of the object.  The question that I was advised to ask myself was “What is important to the story?”  This is a lesson that I haven’t heard since high school and middle school.  During those years the lesson was drilled into me.  That, along with the idea of making every word count, were our mantras.  I never knew that they would come back to help me after I had left the Creative Writing program at Lavilla and Douglas Anderson. 

When I look at a document or a picture I have to consider it on a number of levels.  Most of the letters in the correspondence folders tell a story.  The obvious story might just be about royalties or making a new album, but the underlying story is one about the people involved in the letters.  The letters allow a window into these people that they might not know is there.  How you interact with someone speaks volumes about what kind of person you are.  I like to think that I am being introduced to a number of different people as I digitize and enter metadata.  Moses Asch is usually involved in at least a portion of each person’s letters so I feel like I am getting to know him especially way.  He is definitely a spitfire when it comes to his work!

In order to decide if a keyword should be attached to each document I have to consider if it is important to the story that the letter is telling.  It is easy to tag every subject or proper noun that you come across, but sometimes easier does not always provide the best information.  There is such a thing as “information overload.”  If a researcher is looking for information about music made in or about Paris they may get frustrated to find all the letters sent from or to Paris.  Metadata is a way to help archivists, librarians, information specialists AND researchers.  There are many facets to consider before typing in the first things you see.  You have to let yourself, at least on some level, become a part of the story.  Whether the story is one envisioning the researchers of the future or making the letter’s contents come alive is up to the archivist! 

I should add that, in some cases, there is a set way to enter metadata and that you can’t do it willy-nilly.  There are certain terms that are required or listed (the Library of Congress keywords have been very helpful!).  Even deciding of which of those to use is sometimes more of a challenge that you would originally think. 

Choosing my words very carefully and taking heed of context are things that I thought might never leave the pages of my short stories and poems.  Yet, I have found that quite a bit of my Creative Writing training has come in handy- not only in my college career but my professional one, as well!