Reflection
My time in the archives of the Sioux City Public Museum helped me expand my museum knowledge, conservation background, and general life skills. I much feel better prepared and much more excited to start work in the museum field after this internship. Looking back, I would say it was a key turning point where I began to see myself as more than a student, but as an emerging museum professional and future conservator.
Education
Actually working in a museum setting helped me see how the "museum system" works in practice. I really enjoyed the casual work environment and the overall sense of hunger for knowledge and appreciation of the past, which all the employees and volunteers brought to the space. The work in the archives was never finished. Processing a collection gave me a deeper appreciation for well-organized collections. The work is tedious but the result is very rewarding. I will never again take for granted archives that are easily found and able to be used for research. Moving forward, I can apply my experience with collections to the museum courses I take in the following semesters, especially those in collection care and management. This internship solidified my decision to study museums. I truly enjoyed working in the museum and developed a thirst for more information about the field.
Career
Although I was not working specifically in conservation, dealing with collections always helps me think like a conservator. In processing the Leonard Andersen files, I saw how badly damaged some pieces were from years of improper storage. Many papers were badly folded or ripped. Paper clips rusted pages together. Newspapers had severely discolored neighboring pages. I got to handle these situations and implement simple conservation practices firsthand. For example, I separated newsprint from the normal documents to prevent further discoloring and acidification. I removed paperclips, many of which had already stained the paper with rust. I learned it was best to leave strongly folded papers as they were found until we could flatten them with a make-shift humidification chamber. Using water, a plastic tote, wire shelves, and fabric sheets, I was able to see how humidity loosened the fibers in papers, which allowed them to flatten. All of these observations peaked my interest in conservation and made me even more motivated to continue down this career path. I realized that in every collection there is always a need for conservation, whether big or small. Overall, my internship allowed me to work hands-on with historic documents and materials without the pressure that often accompanies conservation work. It was a great introduction to the world of collection care and repair.
Life
The bulk of my project was organization. Since I was able to process the collection in any way I saw fit, I exercised my critical sorting brain to find the method that would best work for this collection. It was a trial and error process but I got to work through it for myself and learn through the successes and failures. It was really rewarding to see the process through from 17 messy boxes to 10 boxes of neat folders. The experience taught me hard work, dedications, perseverance, and patience. The organizational skills I practiced through processing the large collection were a new level of detail for me. I like to be organized in my life, but organizing someone else's life helped me practice my categorizing and realize what a task it is.