Anthracite Heritage Museum 5/9/22-5/11/22

Kendall Williams

This was my final week at the Anthracite Heritage Museum for my spring semester internship. This week, I helped in working on the exhibit for the Lackawanna County Fair. John and I found graphics for each display panel and printed them, allowing them to dry before we mounted them onto foam core. We trimmed the graphics and adhered them to the foam core, so that they later could be attached to the display. This week was slower than other weeks, but I am happy to be returning again in June for a summer internship at the Anthracite Heritage Museum.

I have learned a lot from my experience so far, and I enjoy being able to do hands-on work that allows me to experience firsthand how a curator position is at a small museum. I enjoyed working with the collection and learning how to use Argus, and I also was able to use a lot of practical skills during my time there. I am excited to continue my internship, as it will allow me to build further on the foundation we have created throughout this spring semester. I am also excited to have the opportunity to work with other interns, as I feel collabrative work is something that I likely will experience often in my career in the future. This intership has solidified my interest in working in a museum, and I hope that I can continue to learn from my upcoming experience this summer.

Anthracite Heritage Museum 5/2/22-5/4/22

Kendall Williams

This week I began by working in Argus, using it to update web descriptions and titles for artifacts in the collection. I worked with the written accession sheets for about 100 fossil artifacts that are in the collection. I used the information on them to first check to see if the description was entered correctly, and then used the artifact’s decription to create a web description that would be accessible to the public. Later on in the next week, I went through and did some minor editing to the web titles and descriptions.

I also helped to catalog a group of journals that would be going into the museum’s library. I entered each journal into the library catalog, making sure that the edition, issue, and year were all correct. Later, I organized the journals chronologically and moved them to their location on a shelf in the archives.

I enjoyed doing this work because it makes later use much easier, and should someone need acces to the journals, we will know exactly where they are an what issues we have. Using Argus to make web descriptions makes artifacts more accessible and allows the public to use them, which is beneficial in allowing the local community to have access to information to become more educated about local history.

Anthracite Heritage Museum 4/25/22-5/1/22

Kendall Williams

This week my project was to help with research for a small exhibit that would be displayed at the Lackawanna County Fair this summer. I read about the beginnings of the Anthracite Mining Industry and worked to create a timeline of important events about the industry and its foundations.

I enjoyed having the opportunity to research information about the Anthracite Mining Industry, as it is something I have never learned about on my own before. While I do now know much more from my time interning, I still appreciated the opportunity to read about it myself and to note important events that shaped the industry.

I also had the opportunity to help on the weekend with a group of geneaologists who were looking for information about their ancestors who worked in mines in the Anthracite region. We assisted them by providing them with access to books detailing mine reports, and we helped to look for maps for specific requests any of the researchers had. I enjoyed being able to work with the public more, even if it was for a shorter time, as it gave me more insight to how a curator helps to fulfill their role in helping the public to find information.

Anthracite Heritage Museum 3/21/22-3/23/22

Kendall Williams

My project for this week was to accession a group of items donated to the museum from a local family. This collection of items was particularly interesting because it pertained to the COVID-19 Pandemic. There were items such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, masks, Clorox wipes, anti-microbial spray, and other items that would have been in demand in the early stages of the pandemic.

I was responsible for accessioning all the items, meaning I wrote descriptions, assessed the quality of the item and if there was any damage to it, its measurements, and its relevance to the collection. I enjoyed this process, as it was somewhat different from cataloging a stand alone item. I worked to create a digital description for the collection to explain the use of the items, the relevance, and how / when it was used. I also took photographs of the items to upload to the PHMC’s digital collection management system for others to be able to view and use.

I enjoyed working with these items, and it was interesting to catalog something with historical preservation in mind that to me only happened somewhat recently. I think collections like these will become very important in the near future, as more people will not have experienced living and working through the pandemic. I also enjoyed being able to accession a group of items on my own, as I had only done the somewhat simpler task of accessioning single items before. This was a wonderful hands on learning experience for me and made me more confident in assessing and describing artifacts.

Anthracite Heritage Museum 3/28/22-4/7/22

Kendall Williams

In these two weeks my project was to inventory a large collection of research files containing notes, photographs, and other paper materials from Robert Wolensky. He did research at the Anthracite Heritage Museum while writing a book about the coal mining industry in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Due to the sheer size of the collection, this took me quite a few days to complete. I cataloged each individual folder and its contents. The collection included photographs, notes, book pages, newspaper clippings, photograph negatives, film, and more. I detailed what each folder included and the subject matter in the inventory list so that later on, should someone request to see a specific part of Wolensky’s collection, it can be easily located.

Much of the information in the collection revolved around the Knox Mine Disaster and similar accidents that occured at other mines. It covered the incident itself, the legal proceedings after, and the memory of the disaster today.

I enjoyed seeing how what the collection at the Anthracite Heritage Museum had to offer and how it was used in Wolensky’s research. It reiterates the importance of collections and collections care, and also demonstrates how useful collections can be when doing research.

Anthracite Heritage Museum 3/14/22-3/16/22

This week I got the opportunity to visit Harrisburg with my supervisor to transfer deaccessioned items and to transfer an artifact to another museum.

We went together first to drop off deaccessioned items. They were tools that were deemed no longer necessary in the collection and were being taken back by the state. We got to see storage facilities of deaccessioned items, items that needed to be transferred, and items from no longer active historical sites.

We then were able to make a stop at the Harris House, a historical site of the former home of the Harris family. There, we dropped off an item that they would be moving into their collection. We also got a tour of the home and learned about the families that had lived there, along with the history of settlers in the area.

It was very helpful to see how other sites are managed and what the official process is for transferring items from one location to another.

I also enjoyed learning about the local history of Harrisburg through our visit to the Harris house, and it was reminiscent of what role the Anthracite Heritge Museum fills for people in our area.

Anthracite Heritage Museum 3/7/22-3/9/22

Kendall Williams

This was my first full week where I was able to use my state computer account, so I finally was able to catalog items in the museum’s online cataloging site. It was a very similar process, as it required all the same information as the physical copy that I had done before, but in some cases it did require more information. There were ways that it needed ot be adapted digitally, such as an online description and title that would be visible to the public to let them know more about the item. I cataloged a few items into the database before moving on to a different project.

I began to work on inventorying paper materials, photographs, and newspaper clippings that had been previously stored on non-acid free posters. I first inventoried all of the items, along with a short physical description of each. Then I cataloged the items as a group into the musuem’s database, along with a short description of the contents, including number of items, subject matter, and time period. Then, I took the items off of the board, labeled them each with a proper accession number, and moved them into acid free folders, which were also labeled and had a description of what was inside. They then were moved into a space in the archives.

I was happy to finally be able to work on the computer, as much of the process for accessioning and cataloging items takes place digitally now. It was helpful to do so manually at first, though, because it gave me a good idea of what to do when it came to the digital version.

Anthracite Heritage Musuem 2/28/22-3/2/22

Kendall Williams

This week, I learned about the process of deaccessioning an item. An item can be deaccessioned in multiple ways. it can be returned to the donor, donated to another musuem, or destroyed. In this case, I helped in the process of destroying these artifacts.

The reason for the artifact’s destruction was because of the poor state they were in. One was a worn canvas bag, another was a broken frame, and the last was an old print. The method for destroying something is not complicated. We cut the bag, broke apart the old frame, and ripped apart the old print and its frame. We documented the process to prove that it had been done, with picutures of the items being destroyed, going into garbage bags, and then being put into the dumpster.

The next project was to assess artifacts for damage. There were boxes of wooden handles from tools that had not previously been stored in a temperature controlled room, meaning that there could be potential damage to the items. The specific worry was about any bugs that may have eaten into the wood, and if they were still active. If they were, the handles would be frozen for a month, taken out for a short period of time, and then frozen again to ensure any pest would be dead and no longer would damage the item. What I looked for were any small holes, or any residue from the wood that would suggest something had burrowed in. The items that were suspect were put aside, while the ones that weren’t were left to be put in with the rest of the collection.

This week, I also gained computer access. However, in order to keep the computer access, there is state mandated training every person must do if they get an account. My first day was spent completing the training, which went over safety protocols and state regulations for computer use.

Anthracite Heritage Museum 2/23/22

Kendall Williams

This week, due to the holiday, the museum was closed on Monday, 2/21, so I was there only that Wednesday. I still had no access to the computer system, so I could not catalog any artifacts on the computer. Instead, John decided to have me do so manually to put into the computer system later.

The first object I worked with was a journal that cataloged mine output and materials from the mid 1900’s. I logged information such as the donor, their adress, the type of donation, the year the item was from / years of use, a physical description of the item, materials the item is made up of, measurements of the item, a description of any damages, and it’s Chenhall name and number. In the description, I not only noted the outward appearance, but also some of the content written in the journal, specifically the locations of the mines written down inside.

We also reaccessioned a “lost” item. The item was a piano, which was not truly lost, but at one point had lost it’s accession number and therefore was missing from the collection. John was sure that this was the piano, due to the fact that we only had one upright piano, and it matched the minimal description. The process of this was very similar to the first process of accessioning an item, only I was redoing the description. Because the previous description was very vague, I went into more detail; specifically in embellishments on the piano, such as company name and location. Then I created a label on the piano for the accession number.

The label is created from an archival polish and paint to make a white background for the accession number. I places it at the back right bottom of the piano, as small as I could make it, and then over it wrote the accession number. I sealed it in with the clear polish so that way it would not rub off.

It was interesting to see how an item can get “lost” in a collection, and how previous records can be unhelpful in describing an artifact. This proved to me that it is important to be as descriptive as possible in order to prevent future mix-ups or problems should something happen, or an artifact goes missing.

Anthracite Heritage Museum 2/14/22-2/16/22

Kendall Williams

For this week, I focused mainly on cleaning artifacts. Because there was a delay in getting an account for me to use the site’s computers, cleaning was the next most important task. When I had gotten through the remainder of the machines that needed to be cleaned, I helped in the process of accessioning a new item.

Photographs of mine locations, ruins, breakers, historical sistes, and furnaces had been donated to the museum and had to be assessed to be added into the collection. My task was to look through the photographs and count how many had been donated, and also note what the primary subject was for each set of photos. This was important because in order for them to become part of the collection, they had to meet the mission statement of the museum. Because they pretained to mines, mining areas, furnaces, and breakers, they apply to the museum’s mission of collecting, interpreting, and presenting the story of coal mining.

The photographs would then be submitted for approval to be accessioned into the collection. It was helpful to see the process of accessioning something like large collections of photographs as opposed to an individual item, as it is difficult to go as in depth for many photographs as opposed to just one or a few photographs.

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