Week Two: Still Strugglin'

View of Oviedo
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Welcome back! As you can see from the title, my second week of interning was the epitome of #thestruggle. While I'm not doing as bad as I had predicted, I'm still learning and making mistakes along the way when it comes to writing the metadata data sheets for the Oviedo History Harvest collection. I won't say that writing metadata is rocket science, or even the hardest thing I've ever had to do (that was geometry, algebra, trigonometry...etc.), but it's very nuanced and specific in word choice and format, and learning those things is all a part of the process--at least that's what I'm telling myself.

Another difficulty is the amount of items that were scanned during the Harvest, which came to about 7,000. I. Am. Terrified.

Though I, along with my other classmates were extremely happy about the success of the History Harvest, which we were able to plan, organize, and execute in a matter of three months (with a few of in first semester of grad school, so uh, go us!).

So, you're probably asking yourself, what's a "history harvest". Google may have failed me last week, but not today! Here's a link to the University of Nebraska-Licoln's site which discusses what a history harvest is and how to put one on! You're welcome.

"This collaborative, team-oriented, student-centered and community-based project seeks to create a popular movement to democratize and open American history by utilizing digital technologies to share the experiences and artifacts of everyday people and local historical institutions. At each “harvest,” community-members are invited to bring and share their letters, photographs, objects and stories, and participate in a conversation about the significance and meaning of their materials."

Also, here's a link to an article about our harvest on UCF Today. When I think of myself as an historian, I think about it in the context of working with the public to bring about an interest in history, creating lasting communal ties that will foster an environment where history can better help people to understand themselves and the world in which we leave.

The History Harvest was the closet I got to that experience, and it was so much fun! Thinking about the happiness on the faces of community members is what's helping me to work hard on creating the metadata for their items, which is at times incredibly tedious and detailed. I give my undying respect to archivists and those digital historians who do this for a living.

Now back to metadata. My site advisor gave me some critiques on how to make the data sheets more effective, so I will be incorporating that into the next set of data. My goal is to be the Queen of Metadata by the time this is all over, so hopefully my entry next week will show me being well on my way to becoming the Beyonce I know that I can be.

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Porsha

Week 1: So...What's Metadata?

Main Street, Oviedo, FL. (1900)
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Welcome to my blog! While I'm not completely new to blogging this experience should be interesting. Up until recently I never thought of historians as bloggers. But as with most professions in the 21st century, having a digital presence is necessary. Historians are increasingly using social media and blogging platforms to connect with each other and the public, which can result in incredibly valuable discourse. Will my blog offer that sort of thing....eh, probably not, but I'm working towards making this a space that exemplifies my growth as not only a graduate student, but burgeoning-- hopefully-- public historian.

Now, you may be asking yourself dear reader, what the %#&*! is metadata. I too, asked the very same question only a few months ago in my Public History course, and looked on with great horror that soon turned into soul crippling dismay as I tried to grapple with a lot of big words and esoteric terminology that even with that cute Bachelor's Degree I got last year, still had to ask my good friend Google to explain.

As of today, I still struggle to give a definitive answer to inquisitive (and slightly concerned) family members and friends who want to know exactly what it is that I am doing for my internship with RICHES, the Regional Initiative for Collecting the History, Experiences, and Stories of Central Florida. Seeing as I am still struggling, let's ask Google in her infinite knowledge about metadata and why it's kinda important-- is it important?---yeah, it is.

While that answer may seem simple and not at all problematic, don't be lulled into a false sense of understanding. That definition does not even begin to describe the amount of detail that goes into the process of mining data and using said data in a way that researchers and other interested parties are able to find the things they are looking for in anything from search engines to digital archives. As the internship progresses and I learn more about metadata through readings and hands on experience, I will kindly share those findings with whoever ends up reading this blog (Hi Mom! Hi Dr. French! Hi random tumblr user!). I know you're all dying to know.

For my first week on the job I mostly stumbled around Microsoft Excel, asked a bunch of what I'm sure were very silly questions, and made headway on two of the data sheets I was working on. I'm writing metadata for the Oviedo History Harvest Collection which will be housed on the RICHES Mosaic Interface once it's complete. For my next post I'll go into greater detail about the History Harvest and some of the awesome items people brought in to be scanned and archived for the collection.

I'll be posting every Friday, so check back and see what I've been up to!

Porsha