User-Centered Focus
- Melissa Bergoffen
- Dec 11, 2018
- 2 min read
Project Title: Finding Aid Project: Newspaper Clippings.
Project: Click the following to access the project: Newspaper Clippings, 1941-2016 | The Green-Wood Cemetery.
Learning Outcome Achieved: User-Centered Focus
My Role: This was a group project in which I worked with Meagan and Genevieve. We all equally contributed in all decisions made, whether it be the contemplation of which items should be kept or removed from the collection, as well as how to organize the different folders and boxes.
Project Description: For this project, our group was required to process a collection of archival materials that was given to us. Specifically, we had to sort through the items, create an arrangement for them, and provide proper housing. Additionally, we were to create a word document detailing our arrangement that would be used to create an online finding aid for the collection.
Methods: Once we were given our archival collection, we first assessed which newspaper clippings were relevant to Greenwood Cemetery, removing any that were irrelevant. After going through our collection a couple of times, discussing together what we thought was and was not pertinent to keep, we then started categorizing our kept items. To do this, together we tried to envision how users would want to access the information in the items, and organized them accordingly. Then, when a physical organization was implemented using manila archival folders, we created a document detailing an overall description of the collection and provided a descriptive finding aid for our arrangement system.
Rationale: This project required us to determine how we thought users would want to access the information we were sorting through and therefore create an accessible and easily navigable finding aid. We did so by grouping like information items together and creating a hierarchical arrangement. Through our finding aid, users would be able to quickly access the information they were looking for within the collection, and, therefore, easily use the information for their research.
This project was taken from INFO:625-01 Management of Archives/Special Collections which I was enrolled during the Fall 2018 semester.