Archives Fair Lecture Series is Online!

American Archives Month may have been in October, but we'd like to announce that the lectures presented on the day of our Archives Fair are now available for consumption!  To view all the lectures click here.

Lecture Series Schedule

10:00-10:30am - The Most Famous Man You’ve Never Heard Of: Dr. J. Horace McFarland
Publisher, rosarian, writer, preservationist, City Beautiful advocate—J. Horace McFarland (1859-1947) was a driving force behind the establishment of the National Park Service but is barely mentioned today. Find out what his collection at the Archives of American Gardens reveals about his prolific professional career.

Presented by Archives of American Gardens, Museum Specialists Joyce Connolly and Kelly Crawford

10:30-11:00am - The Russell E. Train Africana Collection: An Archival Safari through Photographs, Sketchbooks, Manuscripts and Other Materials from the Smithsonian Libraries
An overview of materials on African exploration, travel, big game hunting, and natural history acquired by the Smithsonian Institution Libraries in 2004 from the private collection of the Honorable Russell E. Train, a former judge and chairman of the World Wildlife Fund. The lecture will focus on various issues related to the archival management of the Collection, including finding aids, cataloging plans, grant projects, social media applications, and preservation needs.

Presented by Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Special Collections Cataloger Diane Shaw

11:00-11:30am - Out of the Box: The Archives of American Art’s Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery
With over 16 million items—from passionate love letters to liquor store receipts—the Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary source material on the history of American art. It presents three thematically centered exhibitions each year in the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery, located in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. Mary Savig will provide an overview of the Archives’ exhibition program, including how staff continue to address the challenge of engaging visitors with archival material.

Presented by Archives of American Art, Archives Specialist Mary Savig

11:30-12:30pm - Cultural Stewardship at the National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center
An overview of the history of the collections and highlights of current projects at the preeminent repository documenting the historical and contemporary lives of Native peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere, concerning Native art, culture, knowledge, politics, events, and social movements. The NMAI Archive Center takes an active role in fostering collaborative relationships with the tribal communities whose materials they hold and curate. The presentation will provide examples of how the repository has implemented culturally responsive care of indigenous archival material through respect, reciprocity, and consultation.

Presented by National Museum of American Indian Archives Center, Head Archivist Jennifer O’Neal

12:30-1:30pm - The Chief S.O. Alonge Photographic Collection: Royal Court of Benin photographer, Nigeria, 1926 – 1989
The Chief S.O. Alonge Photographic Collection at the National Museum of African Art spans six decades (1926 - 1989) and represents a dynamic, continuous record of the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria. As the Royal photographer to the Oba of Benin, Akenzua II (1933-1978), Chief Alonge documented the ritual, pageantry, and regalia of the Obas, their wives and retainers for over a half-century. In 2009, Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Funds (CCPF) enabled the Elisofon Archives to rehouse, preserve and duplicate over 2,000 images in the collection. This presentation will focus on highlights of the collection and the conservation of over 150 glass plate negatives and 1,800 large format film negatives for preservation and access. In 2010-2011, CCPF funding will allow the Archives to conserve Alonge’s photographic albums and photographs, including a number of original hand-colored prints. Some of these vintage prints will be showcased in a major photographic exhibition on Chief Alonge’s photography at the National Museum of African Art in 2012.

Presented by Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives NMAfA, Senior Archivist Amy J. Staples

1:30-2:00pm - Intermission

2:00-3:00pm - Documenting World Cultures at the National Anthropological Archives and Human Studies Film Archives
Archivists at the NAA and HSFA will present the history, collections, research, and current projects underway at one of the world’s most significant repositories of archives relating to indigenous cultures and the history of anthropology.

Presented by National Anthropological Archives and Human Studies Film Archives, Photo Archivist Gina Rappaport

3:00-4:00pm - The Scurlock Photographs Project: Challenges in Preservation, Cataloguing, and Access
Processing problems and solutions with a large collection of identified acetate film negatives, some of which are badly deteriorated, and mostly unidentified photographic prints—plus business records and memorabilia. The Scurlock Collection documents the prolific work of a Washington, D.C. photography studio that spans much of the twentieth century.

Presented by National Museum of American History Archives Center, Curator of Photography David Haberstich

4:00-4:30pm - Put Away… and Not Forgotten
IT Archivist Riccardo Ferrante will speak about the basic principles used to manage your digital records and digitized collections well.

Presented by Smithsonian Institution Archives, Director of Digital Services and IT Archivist Riccardo Ferrante

4:30-5:00pm - Preservation of Videotape
Collections Care Manager Sarah Stauderman will discuss the issues surrounding the preservation of videotape including format obsolescence and magnetic media deterioration, and provide strategies for preservation actions.

Presented by Smithsonian Institution Archives, Collections Care Manager Sarah Stauderman

Rachael Cristine Woody
Freer|Sackler Archives