Post on 16-Aug-2015
Balancing Access + Preservation in an Emerging Archive
Alexandra Farrugia’s Practicum Project: Green-Wood Cemetery Archive
Project Identification
Project: Balancing Access + Preservation in an Emerging Archive
Student: Alexandra Farrugia
Course: LIS698 Practicum Summer 2014
Site Supervisor: Archivist Anthony Cucchiara
Project Site: Green-Wood Cemetery Archive
Instructor: Dr. Tula Giannini
Balancing Access + Preservation in an Emerging Archive
Abstract: To process collections and create finding aids for input of information into Archon. My duties in digital archiving and scanning/photographing of historical records encompass both access and preservation.
Balancing Access + Preservation in an Emerging ArchiveNature of Work
Founded in 1838 and now a National Historic Landmark, Green-Wood was one of the first rural cemeteries in America. By the early 1860s, it had earned an international reputation for its magnificent beauty and became the prestigious place to be buried, attracting 500,000 visitors a year, second only to Niagara Falls as the nation’s greatest tourist attraction. Crowds flocked there to enjoy family outings, carriage rides, and sculpture viewing in the finest of first generation American landscapes. Green-Wood’s popularity helped inspire the creation of public parks, including New York City’s Central and Prospect Parks. My work at the Green-Wood Cemetery Archive encompassed both Access + Preservation. Processing collections, creating finding aids, and inputting data into Archon is a vital step towards the access of information. Digitizing historical records has contributed to both preservation and access. The digital records are copies of their original and are much easier to access and obtain across departments.
Preservation requires access but access isn’t enough to ensure preservation.
Journaling my Experience at the Green-Wood Cemetery Archive
Collections Processed: !
Grave Selection Receipts (1849-1857), Land Conveyances (1825-1937),
Real Estate Investments (1894-1944), Legal Correspondence (1848-1903),
Ida Mellen Green-Wood Cemetery Scrapbook (1927-1954), Land Title Abstracts (1891-1908),
Tax Records (1922-1955)
Sample Series: Grave Selection Receipts (1849-1857)
Scope: This collection contains handwritten receipts confirming the selection of specific cemetery lots by lot owners or their estates. Grave receipts verify the purchase of cemetery lots &/or single graves, identifying individual or group to be buried. Each receipt contains the name of lot owner(s), address, and location of lot. In some instances, receipts can also indicate lots or single graves issued in the name of a particular individual or group of individuals bequeathed by a purchaser or executor as part of an estate. Additional information may include profession, lot diagrams, refusals, and payment information. When individuals were unable to purchase the lot themselves, their heir or estate is named in lieu of the intended lot owner. [These documents can be especially significant to individuals conducting genealogical research.]
Abstract: This collection of Grave Selection Receipts identifies lot owners &/or their estates and can be useful to individuals conducting genealogical research relating to Green-Wood Cemetery from the years 1849 to 1857.
Arrangement: Boxes arranged by year. Folders are arranged chronologically by month. Materials within the folders are arranged alphabetically by last name. [Extent: 6 Archival Boxes]
Journaling my Experience at the Green-Wood Cemetery Archive
Challenges: Processing archival collections requires a certain degree of
familiarity. At Green-Wood Cemetery Archive this comes with certain challenges. There are two obstacles I was faced with
throughout my work at Green-Wood.
#1. Distinguishing Handwritten Documents #2. Understanding Formal/Legal Documents
Digital Perspectives
Access to data tomorrow requires decisions
concerning preservation today.
The archival system used by Green-Wood Cemetery is Archon. Perhaps the biggest issue is Archons recent merge with ArchivesSpace. Integration to the new system has not started due to the infancy of the archive at Green-Wood and the question of whether or not conversion will disrupt the system already in place.
Archon is just another example of digital obsolescence and makes it easier to
understand why archives still practice microfilming original documents.