This week, I worked on preserving the 295 library floor plans I uncovered earlier in my practicum. The Mississippi Library Commission does not currently have any open flat file drawers to house the floor plans, but Miranda found an archival quality box that was the perfect size for them to lay flat in. Hopefully, this will be a safe, temporary home for them. Many of the floor plans are originals, their dimension draw in pencil, and we were concerned that the sketches would rub against other floor plans, smudging and ruining the work. Miranda located some Mylar film for me to create little pockets for the plans.
First, I created pockets for each library’s penciled, original floor plan separately. Some libraries, like Biloxi and Vicksburg, had to have multiple pockets for the originals as some libraries have a floor plan for each of their multiple floors.
Then, I created another pocket for the original’s pocket to sit securely in with photocopied duplicate floor plans. So, not only were the originals safe, but each library now has its own pocket of floor plans and can be added to for any updates and additions.
After finishing preserving the floor plans, the rest of the week was mainly focused on wrapping things up: fine tuning the finding aid, assisting Miranda with other archives projects, and writing a blog post for MLC, which can be found here.
I learned a lot during my time at MLC, but I think my greatest takeaways were to always be resourceful with what you’ve got on hand and to make everyday tasks fun and creative. I got to see how a library functions from the inside and this will definitely help me to be prepared after I graduate.
I took many more photos while at MLC and have added the best of them to the gallery found on the sidebar of this blog. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.