Weekly Practicum Log


:: Week 1

The Special Collections, University of California Riverside -- Tour of stacks and a printshop -- The Reading Room rules -- Monitoring of environmental conditions in the main stack room: documenting temperature variations -- A research project on temperature and humidity (TH) dataloggers and environmental monitoring equipment -- A visual diary of the practicum -- Buddha's Hand.

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:: Week 2

Research of TH dataloggers and literature about environment monitoring for libraries and archives: on-line resources -- A tour of the Special Collections for the students in SLIS program: initial inquiry -- Meeting with Chuck Wilson, the UCR archivist -- Archival assignment: the Anne McCaffrey Papers -- A tour of the Special Collections Archives -- Review of available collection acquisition documentation -- Previous processing information: typed box list of a part of the collection -- The report on dataloggers -- Technical preparation for the Authors Series: equipment testing.

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:: Week 3

A Chinese bamboo book and other Asian curiosities -- The McCaffrey collection: initial research about Anne McCaffrey and her literary opus -- The Authors Series lecture: Margaret Nash -- A printing class: introduction to typesetting -- Preservation: straightening of papers by humidification -- A celebrating of the donation of the Ralph C. Michelsen and Roger Owen Archive -- The Single Leaf Registry.

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:: Week 4

Development of fields and series structure for the McCaffrey collection -- Some assisting, but mostly photographing the printing class activities: advertising the Special Collections for the SLIS library tour -- Discussing possible dates for the library tour -- Preparation for processing of the McCaffrey collection.

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:: Week 5

Approval of fields and series for the McCaffrey collection -- Building of an Access database -- Discussion about processing procedures for the collection: handwritten folder labels and data entry by fields.

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:: Week 6

Lecture on book history -- Tibetan (?) movable type made of wood -- Donation of bookbinding tools to the Special Collections -- Beginning of processing of the McCaffrey collection.

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:: Week 7

Processing of the McCaffrey collection: building of the data input form and drop-down lists tables -- Taking pictures of the printing class and a typesetting process, for the Rivera Library exhibit in the lobby -- Posting library tour announcements on the SLIS listserv.

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:: Week 8

Processing of the McCaffrey collection: preservation issues -- Preservation and side effects of digitalization projects -- UC Southern Regional Library Storage Facility -- Inventory control of the collection: photographing Indian baskets from the Costo library room.

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:: Week 9

Photographing Indian baskets from the Special Collections vault -- Creating a web page with information about the library tour on the LISSTEN web site.

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:: Week 10

Processing of the McCaffrey collection: problem of preserving fading fax messages -- Cataloging diaries and journals.

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:: Week 11

Discovery of my pictures of Chinese bamboo book on Wikipedia and implications for the Special Collections -- Web resources for preservation -- Processing of the McCaffrey collection: who is Anne Inez Johnson?

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:: Week 12

Processing of McCaffrey collection: writing folder labels by hand -- The library tour for the SLIS students: books and printing.

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:: Week 13

Photographing selected items from the Eaton Collection for an article in the Association of Research Libraries publication: problem of specifications about background, file format, color reference and lighting.

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:: Week 14

Photographing items for B. Traven web site: problem of the poster in a frame -- Processing the McCaffrey collection: retention rules for duplicate documents and data entry detail for correspondence.

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:: Week 15

Processing McCaffrey Collection: tying up loose ends -- Scanning of the Fujimoto family diaries with overhead scanner: problem of speed and accuracy -- Writing of the McCaffrey Papers Finding Aid: "series of book series" problem.

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:: Week 16

Mini-practicum in the Preservation Services Department of the UCR Libraries -- Tour of the department -- A book spine repair: instructions vs. reality -- Sewing of pamphlet books -- Double-fan glue binding of university thesis -- Identifying books for the Special Collection -- What to do with a damaged book: decision making process.

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Encyclopedias

Week 1: 1779 Encyclopedia, Special Collection, UCR, main stack room.

Chuck Wilson and Eric Milenkiewicz

Week 2: Chuck Wilson and Eric Milenkiewicz testing equipment for video-taping the UCR Libraries' Author Series.

Chinese bamboo book

Week 3: Sun Tzu, The Art of War. Special Collections, UCR. A handwritten book on bamboo sticks, a modern version of an ancient Chinese book form.

Sara Stilley and Gwido Zlatkes

Week 4: Sara Stilley, preservation & printing assistant, and Gwido Zlatkes, processing librarian, in the Special Collections printing workshop.

Movable type, Tibet

Week 6: 19th century movable type from Tibet made of wood. Special Collections, UCR.

Printing class, UCR

Week 7: Photographing students in the Special Collection printing class, Winter quarter 2007.

Pomo Sun Basket

Week 8: Pomo Sun Basket, the Costo Collection, Special Collections, UCR.

Midshipman's Journal

Week 10: From Journal for the use of midshipmen kept by G.V.B. Faulkner aboard HMS Victorious and Neptune, from August 2, 1914 to May 14, 1915. Special Collections, UCR.

Processing the McCaffrey collection

Week 11: Tools of archivist in 21st century: laptop, MS Access and Melinex sleeves.

LISSTEN library tour

Week 12: The LISSTEN library tour of the Special Collections, UCR, March 23, 2007.

Thomas Moore, Utopia

Week 13: Thomas Moore, Utopia. The Eaton Collection, Special Collections, UCR.

Processed McCaffrey Papers

Week 15: Processed McCaffrey Papers collection. 503 folders in 66 boxes ... Special Collection Archives, UCR.

Repairing a spine

Week 16: A book spine repair. Gluing a book cloth to boards. Preservation Services Department, UCR Libraries.

Text, design, photographs and
digital imaging by Vlasta Radan.
Last update May 25, 2007.