Fondly, Pennsylvania
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Fondly, Pennsylvania
Fondly, Pennsylvania is HSP's main blog. Here you will find posts on our latest projects and newest discoveries, as well articles on interesting bits of local history reflected in our collection. Whether you are doing research or just curious to know more about the behind-the-scenes work that goes on at HSP, please read, explore, and join the conversation!
Early on in the Digital Center project, I worked on a description for the Robert Knox Sneden collection of "Sketches of Confederate Prisons." I discovered that not only did this collection have an obsolete call number, but it was not listed in either our OPAC or our graphics card catalog. The only way to find this collection was by searching our Access database. This still remains true, and will until we import our database into Archivists' Toolkit sometime toward the end of the DCA project. It pains me to know that little gems like the Sneden drawings are unknown to researchers, so I t
The Grand Army of the Republic was formed as a patriotic fraternal organization for veterans of the Union forces of the Civil War. The GAR advocated for veterans' rights and offered aid to men who were honorably discharged and had never taken up arms against the nation. Many men were disqualified from membership from the GAR, but were interested in the camaraderie and opportunities for service that the GAR provided. To meet this desire, the Grand Army of the Republic decided to allow the creation of associations called the Citizens' Corps. In its 36th national encampment pamphlet (1902
In terms of processing, the HSP archives department had a good 2009 and is off to a good start in 2010. In this time, staff processed and improved access to almost 50 collections. Following up on Cathleen’s previous post, here are just a few highlights. Others can be found on our website.
HSP collection of Benjamin Franklin papers, 1628-1951 (Collection 215)
When you visit the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s webpage and read the description of what we do, you’ll find a reference to additions to our collection of documents acquired in 2002 from The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies. Although HSP has excelled in keeping and providing access to valuable documents about American colonial history, we do hold collections pertaining to Latino (or Hispanics) groups that have settled in Pennsylvania.
We have written a lot about process here on Fondly, Pennsylvania to let you know what projects we have in the works, but I realized that we have not kept up with telling everyone what we've completed. There are 51 collections included in the Digital Center for Americana project, and at this point, 22 collections have been processed, conserved and digitized (in part). I thought I'd share a list of those collections as a way to celebrate our accomplishments, and to give interested readers the opportunity to peruse our new finding aids and descriptions.
My role in the Digital Center for Americana Project is to scan items and enter metadata for these scans. This includes information on where the item is located in the building, who created it, what it is, and descriptive notes. In addition I enter the technical particulars of the scan itself, such as dpi and pixel dimensions. Early on in the project a decision was made to create metadata records on the box level.
February 23 marks an interesting anniversary – the arrival of Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. His mission was to make amateur and unprepared American troops ready for battle in 1778.
Last Thursday evening marked the well anticipated opening of Duke Riley's exhibition about Petty's Island. For a long time this exhibition has created a buzz here at Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP). This is no doubt due, in part, to the multi-faceted nature of Riley's work which combines, historical research, creative interpretation, multi-media installations as well as trespassing and defacing of property.
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