What a week it has been! It started off when I left my binder (that contains everything pertaining to my internship) at home on Tuesday. Which meant after my 9:15 am History and Historians class I had to drive all the way back to my place in Kissimmee, and then back to UCF for my meeting with Dr. Beiler and John at 1:30! I made it back to UCF with about an hour before the meeting. I worked on some stuff pertaining to our weekly activities. Basically answering questions like:
Q: How is the collection organized?
A: Umm... It was not organized. I organized it in a topical manner. Publications on one shelf, posters/banners on another shelf, special collections on the middle shelf, etc.
Q: What general topics do the collections cover?
A: The general topics the collection covers is Central Florida GLBT history. Covering local people, places, businesses, organizations, etc.
Q: What time period do the bulk of the collections cover?
A: The time period the bulk of the collections covers is that of the early/late 70s to the present.
Q: What types of items make up the majority of the collection?
A: The items that make up the majority of the collection are newspapers, magazines, newsletters, legal documents, correspondence, inventories, and photographs.
I answered these questions and went to the meeting with Dr. Beiler and John. The first topic that came up was our blogs. This is a new thing for all of us, and we are still learning from it. John felt that his blog was too dry (I need to get his blog so I can link to it, and read it!), whereas I felt that my blog may have come off as too humorous and not serious enough. Dr. Beiler on the other hand has assigned her Colonial History class to post a blog entry in response to one of the topics they are covering. Thus, she asked us, "what do you think makes a good blog?" My response is that a blog can be many things. It can be dry, humorous, instructional, formal, or even informal. It is a means for one to express their views and opinions to the world via a online platform. Personally, I want my blog to be reflective of my personality. I want people reading my blog, who have never met me, to be able to know what makes me tick. For instance, I love comedy. I practically live for comedy (that may be a bit dramatic). Because of this, I think what makes a good blog is one that can take the seriousness of life and balance it with humor. (I do not claim to have mastered this technique!) There are plenty of good blogs out there that are just straightforward academic, with no humor or anything. That is that particular author's style, and it works for them. Personally, I prefer a little bit of humor to keep me engaged.
So that was a long rant, and I'm sure you are thinking "Okay, get to the point Kyle! What did you do this week?! Did you get chased down by a rabid raccoon?!" The answer is, Yes... I got chased by a rabid raccoon!... Okay, okay, no I did not get chased by a rabid raccoon, though that would have been much more humorous than forgetting my binder at my house! (Yes, I am still bitter about that! I don't know if I can ever move on from it.)
Moving on. We finished our meeting with about 10 minutes to spare, so I could get a look at where I will be working when I get to the detailed inventory process. My work space will be in the RICHES office in Colbourn Hall. RICHES is the acronym for "Regional Initiative for Collecting the History, Experiences and Stories of Central Florida" They have a fun little website located here that you can look at if interested. I worked with RICHES last spring when I conducted an oral history interview with a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. I am very grateful that they will be allowing me to utilize their space for my collections processing!
I then headed up to the storage unit to complete the task of organizing everything. I spent about 3 hours moving things around to get it all situated to where I felt it all belonged. I can honestly say that when I open the storage unit now, I am very pleased with the way it looks, and how accessible everything in there is! It is worth mentioning that the entire time I have spent organizing the collection, I have also been taking an initial inventory. This involves me opening boxes (all Nancy Drew like) and going "Ok, 1 box filled with various documents: legal, correspondence, newspapers, newsletters, flyers, etc. This will be the John Smith Collection." That initial inventory ended up being about 7 pages handwritten. Once typed up it became like 3-4 pages long. By doing this I have become quite intimate with the collection. Granted, I couldn't tell you where correspondence between so and so is, I could probably make a general guess. However, I hope that through the process of creating a more detailed inventory I will be able to answer such questions!
I then headed up to the storage unit to complete the task of organizing everything. I spent about 3 hours moving things around to get it all situated to where I felt it all belonged. I can honestly say that when I open the storage unit now, I am very pleased with the way it looks, and how accessible everything in there is! It is worth mentioning that the entire time I have spent organizing the collection, I have also been taking an initial inventory. This involves me opening boxes (all Nancy Drew like) and going "Ok, 1 box filled with various documents: legal, correspondence, newspapers, newsletters, flyers, etc. This will be the John Smith Collection." That initial inventory ended up being about 7 pages handwritten. Once typed up it became like 3-4 pages long. By doing this I have become quite intimate with the collection. Granted, I couldn't tell you where correspondence between so and so is, I could probably make a general guess. However, I hope that through the process of creating a more detailed inventory I will be able to answer such questions!
THURSDAY
Create a detailed inventory is just what I started on Thursday afternoon! I started inventorying publications, more specifically the 2 plastic bins and one box containing Central Florida's very own Watermark newspaper. This is the beginning of the more tedious work. I started jotting down the volume and issue number, as well as the date and the front page headline. I would have loved to use my lap top, but there is no power source at the storage unit. (I don't start bringing things to the university until I get the clear from Dr. Beiler) This is a long process, but the end result will be worth it. I did this for about 3 hours and then headed over to my acting supervisor, Alan's house. We had a 2 hour meeting over dinner where we went over my syllabus and what all was expected from me and when certain deadlines were to be met.
FRIDAY
Friday I met with the vice president of the museum, Dawn, at the storage unit to get certain questions about specific boxes answered. (Like, "Is this box considered a special collection?) I also obtained a little more background information of some of the collection. For instance I learned more about the collection containing various things from Out and About Books, which was one of the first gay owned businesses in the ViMi district (the area of Mills and 50). Having these questions answered marks the completion of the organization and the initial inventory. From now on I will be doing the more detailed inventory.
REFLECTION
While continuing on this massive endeavor this week I have had multiple conversations with different people about the current generation. More specifically the current generation's lack of interest in not only the preservation of their own history, but their overall lack of interest in learning their history. I feel that the majority of the current generation has become complacent in their role in society. They understand that they are more socially accepted, but there are still things they have to keep behind closed doors. They don't fully realize the sacrifice that many people before them had to endure in order to get to where we are now. It truly makes me fearful for the future of our community. In the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s we had people active and fighting. We still do today, but you don't really see much of the younger generation, and that's a shame. What happens when there is no one left to keep the fight going? Will the young generation pick up the pieces of the older generation and keep it going? Or will our history remain locked away in a storage unit and become the thing of myth? (I will admit, this observation is severely limited to my life and my observations. I have been working at Disney for nearly 7 years now, and it has been the bulk of my life observations. I am also fully aware that this is a very broad and generalized statement. I do know that there are younger people who are active, and will keep the fight strong. I hope so at least.)
I know I'm being a bit dramatic and critical of my generation, but I've never really felt like I belong in my own generation. However, I won't lie, being on the other end of the scope I can see how easy it is to be complacent. Why do something when others will do it for you? I can only hope that the work I'm doing, and the blog I write will keep people in our community active and fighting for equal rights across the board. It is one thing to say you will do something, but it is another thing to do! Tough I may not be out there protesting, I am doing something! There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that you are DOING something.
I know I'm being a bit dramatic and critical of my generation, but I've never really felt like I belong in my own generation. However, I won't lie, being on the other end of the scope I can see how easy it is to be complacent. Why do something when others will do it for you? I can only hope that the work I'm doing, and the blog I write will keep people in our community active and fighting for equal rights across the board. It is one thing to say you will do something, but it is another thing to do! Tough I may not be out there protesting, I am doing something! There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that you are DOING something.
Alas, I fear I may have been long winded again, but what do you expect when trying to sum up a week's worth of work? I do hope you all enjoy my blog!
Until next time,
Kyle the intern
Until next time,
Kyle the intern
**Next week**
This Sunday I will be attending the Museum's board meeting, so look forward to that! (I'm going to try to publish that as a separate blog).
Next Friday I will be going out of town to celebrate my significant other's birthday. I will try to have my blog posted Thursday night for all you beautiful readers! :)
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