Archives Upgrade Project

In 2019 Ms. Delengova completed a basic inventory and assessment of HSM Archives. This inventory revealed 1) past processing and storage issues that threaten the accessibility and longevity of this resource, and 2)  that the museums’ collections management software, PastPerfect, is not able to meet official U.S. archive standards set by DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard). Her discovery is the driving force for pursuing the Archives Upgrade Project. 75-80% of existing ‘legacy’ archives were processed as individual objects and separated into flat, colorcoded boxes by topic. This is counter to current archives processing standards, which strive to keep collections together. Bringing these collections up to a higher level of processing will increase their longevity and make it easier and physically safer for researchers to find information and use the collections. Per Ms. Delengova’s recommendations, this project will re-process the 14 topic/color groups as 14 artificial collections to improve their long-term preservation and make them more accessible to researchers.

In Ms. Delengova’s 2019 Archival Collections Survey and Plan Proposal she also pointed out difficulties with our current database: “The Haines Sheldon Museum’s (HSM) database management software, PastPerfect, is not designed for managing changing, growing, or artificial archival collections. The main issue with the software is its inability to link multiple accession records to a collection record. This inability is acceptable for single donations that will be contained collections, but unexpected additions are a common occurrence in any archives. Should a collection’s donor find additional materials to include with their previous donation, these materials would need to be accessioned separately, with a different number reflecting the year and order it was received by the museum, and then added to the collection, resulting in a collection with two associated accessions. PastPerfect does not allow for this distinction, as a collection’s top-level record is allowed only one “accession number.” This leads to the creation of what is essentially a new “collection” for each item in a donation, resulting in scattered materials.” Putting adequate descriptors into PastPerfect is also an issue with archives, when following DACS protocols. For example, the Eric Von Stauffenberg Collection is listed as “15 Boxes of Documents” in PastPerfect. There is significantly more information in the published finding aid. The PDF finding aid information is not captured in a search of the current database, making it difficult to find topical material in that collection without searching each finding aid individually. By switching to ArchivesSpace for our archival holdings, these issues will be resolved.

This project was made possible by a grant from the Collections Management Fund of Museums Alaska, with generous support from Rasmuson Foundation.

As part of our dedication to our mission, one of our major long-term objectives is to make our archives easily accessible to everyone and to foster an appreciation for the value of history to our community. This objective is captured in the Museum’s Long Range Institutional Plan (updated in 2020) as a major part of the Institutional Collection and Research Goal. This goal includes: (1) properly and accurately documenting collections; (2) preserving collections through proper conservation practices, security and environmental control; (3) as well as providing accessibility to everyone. All three of these directions are supported by the proposed project.
In Ms. Delengova’s 2019 Archival Collections Survey and Plan Proposal, she recommended that the museum differentiate between the archival holdings and other museum collection holdings through distinct identifier systems and accessioning practices. Per this professional assessment, all archival record keeping will migrate from PastPerfect to ArchivesSpace with this project. 

Specific Project Goals:

1. To properly and accurately document collections – More thoroughly process the 75-80% of the legacy archives, creating searchable finding aids that reflect the true contents of boxes.

– Complete a minimum of 7 finding aids of the legacy archives.

– Transfer 8 current finding aids from static PDF to ArchivesSpace.

– Teach collections staff how to process archives and write finding aids. (Our staff needs more training than they have received on this important skill.)

– Train staff on ArchivesSpace, with one, Zack James, being comfortable and proficient in the software by the end of the grant.

2. To advance the care of the museum’s archival collections – Rehouse legacy archives using acid-free folders, vertical boxes, interleaving and photo sleeves. Minimum of 50% of the legacy archives rehoused (86.62 linear feet). Ideally, 75-100% rehoused.

– Train permanent staff in current archives processing standards. (Our staff are still having trouble understanding how much material to put in a file, how to deal with oversized materials, how and when to interleave, and how to properly label boxes and files with acid-free materials. They have not been trained in how to remove metal fasteners.) Have staff confident in their skills by the end of the project.

3. To improve access to the museum archival collections and foster their use.

– Differentiate between the archival and museum sides of the museum’s holdings through distinct identifier systems and accessioning practices.

– Migrate archival record keeping from PastPerfect to ArchivesSpace. With ArchivesSpace, researchers should be able to do subject research that searches across the uploaded finding aids, providing a complete picture of holdings on that subject.

– Create and publish finding aids for legacy archival material to increase the entire collection’s accessibility and make it relevant outside the physical walls of the museum.

– Increase research activity by 10%.

– Provide public training in use of ArchivesSpace to encourage historical society members, students, and others to do scholarly research and subsequent publications, another goal in our Long Range Institutional Plan.

This project was made possible by a grant from the Collections Management Fund of Museums Alaska, with generous support from Rasmuson Foundation.

July 2020: The first collection addressed was the Haines Administrative History Collection. This collection covers the history of the city’s government and committees, as well as the history of tourism and land management. Highlights include the papers of the Haines Centennial Commission, early 20^th century land survey books, and decades of trail logs from across the Haines Borough. Of these, the log for Ketchumstuck cabin is of particular interest. Pictured here below, this log contains notes from the various trappers, hunters, and other visitors to the cabin.

This project was made possible by a grant from the Collections Management Fund of Museums Alaska, with generous support from Rasmuson Foundation.

Survey Books from the Haines Administrative History Collection. 

This project was made possible by a grant from the Collections Management Fund of Museums Alaska, with generous support from Rasmuson Foundation.