Our Spring Intern Ry recently completed her internship at MAB. Today, Ry reflects on her project digitizing many (many!) accession records spanning nearly 100 years and the methods of creating meaningful, nuanced access to these important, structural records. Thank you Ry for all your hard work!

As my internship comes to a close, I sincerely cannot thank the Moravian Archives enough for allowing me to be here. It has definitely been an insightful experience into the job, and I can only hope the work I’ve done will assist future archivists and researchers greatly.

My project with the Archives involved digitizing accession records and inputting them into a system known as Augais. For each record, I would scan, label, OCR, and sort it into the proper folder for future use. Every year with at least one accession record had a folder, meaning I was sorting and scanning documents from as early as 1902 to as recent as 2023 into their proper place. From there, individual documents were copied into larger files by decade so that they could be contextualized by other accessions from that year. They were also copied into Augais, which allows both the original record and a simplified digital record to be viewed. This simplified version is a sum-up of information found in the original document, such as the object itself, when the artifact originated from, the donor, and any appraisals it may have.

All of these tiny details come together to make research easier and more accessible for archivists and any outside researchers who may need these records. Prior to my work, each of these records were located in physical binders, which took precious time to leaf through and find the proper documents. With over two and a half thousand records to look at, this could become a time-sapping process. Now, it is as simple as three button clicks– one into files, one into the folder, and one to open the document itself. This saves archivists much-needed time when searching for specific accession records. While it is a small change, it is a beneficial one.

I learned a tremendous amount about the archiving process during my time at the Archives, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see the completion of this project and my internship. While I personally was not involved in the collection process, I got to see other aspects of it in the same room. Each volunteer and archivist plays some sort of different role in sorting, managing, and identifying records that opened my eyes to the methods behind the job I one day hope to fill. Admittedly, this is my first foray into archival studies, and I am delighted and intrigued by what I’ve seen and done. My project taught me that all work done to preserve and process history is essential, even if there are repetitive or miniscule tasks. Nothing is too small to accomplish and to aid in the progression of research.

Ultimately, my internship has served to affirm my interest in archival work. Seeing the field work firsthand gave me hope that historical preservation is still alive and well, despite current and prevailing perpetuation of misinformation. Because of this, I plan to continue my work in this field well beyond Moravian Archives and beyond my education at Moravian University. I once again thank my supervisor, Kaitlin Trainor, as well as the whole of the Moravian Archives
for such a wonderful and welcoming first look into my future.