This is an overview of my project processing 1700 linear feet of archival records from the American Federation of Teachers at the Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University. Poster presented at the Michigan Archival Association Annual Meeting, June 2015.

1. The
Task
-­‐
15
National
and
local
American
Federation
of
Teachers
records
-­‐
Some
collections
already
well
organized
with
box
inventories;
some
collections
unfoldered
with
no
inventories
The
Plan
Reuther
Processing
guidelines
use
MPLP
principles
in
3
levels
of
processing:
-­‐
Level
I
/
Folder
level:
Closest
to
traditional
processing
–
full
arrangement
and
description
-­‐
Level
II
/
Series
Level:
Arrange
into
series
only,
minimal
description
-­‐
Level
III
/
Collection
Level:
No
arrangement,
just
inventory
Levels
II
&
III
expected
to
take
1-­‐2
hrs/LF;
Level
I,
4hrs/LF
Greene
&
Meissner
suggest
4
hrs/LF
-­‐>
18
months/1700LF
=
about
1.7
hours/LF
Processing
levels
based
on
collection
and
researcher
needs.
The
Challenges
&
Adaptations
Time:
Easy
to
get
off
track
when
neck
deep
in
larger
collections.
Adaptation:
Frequent
review
of
project
status
and
adjusting
schedule.
Staying
focused
on
determined
level
of
processing
(i.e.
don’t
let
a
level
2
turn
itself
into
a
level
1).
Sensitive
Material:
Grievances
require
individual
review.
Adaptation:
Review
grievances
while
inventorying.
Use
institutional
resources.
Gets
easier
as
familiarity
with
collections
grow.
Look
for
patterns
in
Yiling
system
to
Yind
materials.
Storage
Space:
Pressure
to
downsize
collections
–
requires
item-­‐level
review.
Adaptation:
Easy
to
Yind
government
publications,
and
other
published
material,
which
reduces
a
lot
of
space.
Removing
binder
clips
is
quick.
The
Challenges
&
Adaptations
continued
Access:
Minimal
processing
and
description
can
limit
researcher
access.
Adaptation:
Increase
description
on
minimally
processed
collections.
Include
indications
of
original
order
and
explain
archivist
choices
where
appropriate.
Provide
as
much
context
as
possible.
Outcomes
(so
far)
-­‐
Processed
7
collections/500
LF
in
about
7
months.
-­‐>
7
months/500LF
=
about
2.14
hrs/LF
-­‐
Processing
was
slow
in
beginning,
moving
faster
now.
-­‐
Researchers
already
asking
for
recently
processed
collections,
some
even
before
they
are
Yinished.
AFT
Backlog
Project
1700
Linear
Feet
*
18
Months
American
Federation
of
Teachers
Records
*
Walter
P.
Reuther
Library
Archives
of
Labor
and
Urban
Affairs
Stefanie
Caloia
!