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Re: Awkward encounter



I had a good one not long ago. A researcher wanted to find photos of some
rather unusual machines. He went through probably a half-dozen "shoe boxes"
of recently received 3x5 photos in search of that he wanted. The photos were
filed by year and subject, they had been only partially inventoried, and
they were identified by file card dividers for year and subject inserted
among them, a carryover from the donor that I haven't had time to remedy.

He found what he wanted, all right, and he made arrangements to use the
photos in a book he's writing. But things went wrong as soon as he left for
home in Virginia. When he submitted his request for scans of the images
several months later, two of them were nowhere to be found. I asked what box
he found them in, and he said they were both in the same box but he didn't
remember the number, nor did he write it down. He did remember what year
they were taken, so after a fair amount of searching I found one of them. He
had apparently lifted the divider out from amongst the photos and refiled it
with the desired picture behind the much larger divider for the year so it
would be easy to find. However, the divider identifying the subject was so
flimsy that it slipped out of sight behind the larger divider.

Next problem was the other photo. "It's in the same box," he said. More
searching turned up nothing. It was only after more than an hour of looking
that I finally found it - five boxes further into the collection, beyond the
range that had already been inventoried!

Moral - NEVER, NEVER allow use of unprocessed collections. But that's a moot
point here, as most of what was here when I got here is still uncataloged.

Best wishes,

Thomas Berry, Archivist
Historical Construction Equipment Association
16623 Liberty Hi Road
Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
Phone 419-352-5616
Fax 419-352-6086
tberry@hcea.net
http://www.hcea.net


----- Original Message -----
From: "Skreslet, Paula" <PSkreslet@UNION-PSCE.EDU>
To: <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2001 12:09 PM
Subject: Awkward encounter


> Well, I don't think I handled that reference encounter very well.  A
young
> guy (not one of our students) with a big bottle of water appeared today in
> the Archives.  (There are signs all over the Library saying "No food or
> drink allowed".)
>
> He wanted to see a rare and fragile 1749 edition of the life of David
> Brainerd.  I asked him to fill in a patron card, and under "Purpose in
using
> the Archives" he wrote "just looking!"  First, I asked him to take his
water
> bottle outside.  Then I gave him some cotton gloves and the unwrapped
book,
> but I must have seemed upset, because he asked me what he'd done wrong.
He
> did not fit our normal criteria for use of our controlled-access
collection,
> and didn't display what I considered to be sufficient respect for the
> materials.  That water bottle really ticked me off!  I felt torn between
the
> "gatekeeper" role and the "service to patrons" role.
>
> What should I have said?  Was I being unfair to him?  I tried to be
pleasant
> and polite, and I let him use the book, but according to our rules, I
should
> have said no.  I couldn't do it.  (sigh)
>
> Paula Skreslet
> Reference/Archives
> William Smith Morton Library
> Union-PSCE
> Richmond, VA
>
> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
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>
>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>