A new "job"

Over the years, I've had fun volunteering at all types of different non-profits, but it's always more rewarding to find a "job" that exactly matches my interests and work experience. So I'm really excited about a new project I've started at the Museum and History and Industry.

In January I wrote about our local archivist's group tour of MOHAI, and how impressed we were with the staff and collections. So-- I decided to send in a volunteer application, and as it turns out they're happy to have me work at the museum archive a few hours a week. Right now I'm working with memorabilia from the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. My job is to write a detailed description of a collection of records, called a "finding aid." The definition of finding aids from the Society of American Archivists sounds dry as dust (as most archival terms are) but if you love history and research, writing a new finding aid is one of the most interesting things archivists get to do.

Finding aids are important, because they give researchers background information on collections, and help them find exactly what they need. Here's a good example of a finding aid from the Northwest Digital Archives:

http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv64650

I'm also learning about the many sources of local history. Of course the other bonus to working in this museum is just being in the museum. Each time I amble my way past the exhibits down to the basement library, I see and learn something new. The location of the museum is nice too, right on Lake Washington. Not to mention a birding trail and free parking, a big deal in Seattle! So, I'm happy to go down to the cocoon of the library a few hours a week, and forget about horses that won't eat their hay, and gardens that need weeding.