Finding Aid

Today I finished the physical arrangement of the Dorson collection and started on the finding aid. The collection now resides in seven organized boxes, down from the nine earlier. I'm only at the start of the finding aid, so I'm just documenting the inventory of the collection.




While documenting the inventory I came across a very interesting piece that Dr. Dorson wrote in the 1960s. He wrote a piece titled "Murder Ballads" and it documents murder ballads from the US. I have to admit that I did take a moment to read this piece and it made me want to investigate the topic further. The best thing about processing a collection is that you get to explore and learn about all sorts of topics. It feels like a school every day and I love that! If I could I would be a professional student!

The Plan

Today was the start of week two at my internship. I have surveyed the Dorson Collection thoroughly. I spent the afternoon working on a processing plan for the collection which I will present to Professor Bantin tomorrow. Hopefully, he will find my plan suitable and I can begin to physically arrange the collection. I also hope to get at least one article suggestion from Professor Bantin so I can start reading and reporting about the archival profession. I'm really looking forward to creating a finding aid for this collection too!

Also, Crystal created a great new display in the Archives Reading Room today. Stop by and see how Crest toothpaste plays into the history of Indiana University.