Archives and Special Collections Department University Libraries Northeastern University 92 Snell Library 360 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115-5000 NHPRC Project # 2005-055 Processing and Providing Access to Boston African American and Latino History Interim Narrative Report January 2006 Contents: ¾ Project Summary ¾ Project Objectives ¾ Schedule of Activities ¾ Record of Accomplishments ¾ Appendices Project Status The project is currently on schedule. The first collection, Roxbury Multi-Service Center (RMSC) records, has been processed and significant progress has been made on the second collection, Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA) records. All the products specified in the project objectives and scheduled for completion as of January 30, 2006 have been delivered. Project Summary The purpose of the project is to make six historically important manuscript collections accessible for research. Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department (UASCD) will arrange, describe, and make accessible 436 cubic feet of mainly 20th century historical records from six private, non-profit organizations relating to social justice in the African American and Latino communities in Boston: Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA), United South End Settlements (USES), Roxbury Multi-Service Center (RMSC), Sociedad Latina, Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts (ULEM), and The Citywide Educational Coalition. Project Objectives 1. Timely submission of complete reports and three copies of grant products as specified in the NHPRC guidelines and the grant notification letter. 2. Conduct a national search for the position of Processing Archivist. 3. Research the backgrounds of each of the six organizations targeted in this grant. Develop appraisal, descriptive, and preservation strategies for each. 4. Produce six finding aids and documentation plans for each organization. 5. Write descriptive inventories, each consisting of the following elements: historical note, scope and content note, series list, series descriptions, and folder lists. (See Objective #4) 6. Employ Encoded Archival Description (EAD) for all inventories, having them available in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) via the University Archives and Special Collections Department website. 7. Collection level records will have links to the six finding aids and will be entered into the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), Proquest’s Archives USA, and the Northeastern University Libraries online catalog (NUCAT). Finding aids will also be accessible through the Research Libraries Group’s (RLG) Archival Resources. 8. Produce a documentation plan to identify historically significant records that should be preserved in the University Archives and Special Collections Department for all six organizations. (See Objective #4) Schedule of Activities Due to uncertainty over future funding, we modified the order in which we will process the collections to ensure that two of the larger collections will be processed within the first year of the grant. The revised plan of work is attached as Appendix A. Please note that the project started August 1, 2005 instead of July 1, 2005 because there was a glitch in hiring the Processing Archivist. The project is on schedule, according to the revised schedule. Record of Accomplishments ¾ A national search was conducted for the position of Processing Archivist. Kimberly Reynolds was hired and started work on August 1, 2005. Her resume can be found in Appendix B. By August 5th, she was oriented to the university, library, and department and trained in the department’s processing manuals, databases, and descriptive procedures. The original proposal included two processing assistants working 20 hours each for a total of 40 hours. Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science students Zachary Enright and Susan Martin were hired to assist with processing. They started work on August 15, 2005. Because their combined hours did not total 40 hours per week, a third project assistant, Meghann Walk, was hired. ¾ Processing of the 79 cubic ft. of Roxbury Multi-Service Center (RMSC) records is complete. Project Archivist Kimberly Reynolds conducted background research on the organization using a variety of sources, including historical documents from the collection, in particular board of directors meeting minutes and RMSC publications, and RMSC’s current website. A survey and analysis of the collection revealed that it was in good physical condition, but it was not well organized. So, an appropriate organizational scheme had to be devised to make the collection useful to researchers. The records also included a significant amount of duplicate and non- archival material. The processing strategy, therefore, emphasized appraisal as well as arrangement and description of the material. About 40 cubic ft. of material was separated from the collection, some of which was cataloged into the UASCD book collection. The collection was then organized into 7 series: 1. Administration; 2. Board of Directors; 3. Executive Directors; 4. Programs; 5. Grants and Contracts; 6. Outside Organizations; 7. Audio-visual and Memorabilia. The material was refoldered in acid-neutral file folders, labeled, and housed in acid-neutral record cartons. Highly acidic and fragile materials were evaluated for their importance and photocopied onto acid-neutral bond paper if warranted. Rusted metal fasteners and rubber bands were removed. ¾ The finding aid for the RMSC records has been created, encoded in EAD, and made available in HTML on the Northeastern University Libraries Archives and Special Collections website at http://www.lib.neu.edu/archives/collect/findaids/m109find.htm. A copy of the print version of the finding aid can be found in Appendix C. The URL was also sent to Proquest’s ArchivesUSA and will appear in their next release. It will also be harvested and indexed as a part of Research Libraries Group’s Archival Resources service. A catalog record was created in our local OPAC, NUCAT, and submitted to OCLC. A copy of the MARC record can be found in Appendix D. ¾ Project Assistant Meghann Walk developed a documentation plan intended to help the RMSC effectively manage its records and transfer selected records to the Northeastern’s Archives and Special Collections Department (NASCD) in the future. The plan identifies groups of records to be preserved based on a functional analysis of RMSC. The plan was sent to RMSC along with a copy of the finding aid. A copy of the documentation plan is attached as Appendix E. ¾ Press releases for the awarding of the grant and the availability of the Roxbury Multi- Service Center records were distributed to Northeastern University publications, community newspapers, and Boston area ethnic newspapers. Both press releases were also posted on the University Libraries website at http://www.lib.neu.edu/libraries_and_collections/collections/university_archives/ and the Archives and Special Collections Department website at http://www.lib.neu.edu/archives/. Copies of press releases and resulting publicity can be found in Appendices F and G. ¾ Collection processing of the 146.5 cubic ft. of Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA) records has begun. Project Archivist Kimberly Reynolds conducted background research on the organization using a variety of sources, including historical documents from the collection (in particular board of directors meeting minutes and RMSC publications) and RMSC’s current website. A survey and analysis of the contents, existing organization and arrangement, and physical condition of the records revealed a collection that is relatively well organized, accurately labeled, and in good physical condition, but which includes a considerable amount of duplicate and non-archival material. The processing strategy, therefore, emphasizes appraisal and description, with less time required for arranging and preserving the materials. The grant project staff is currently implementing the processing plan, including appraising, arranging, rehousing, and labeling the materials. APPENDIX A REVISED PLAN OF WORK August 1-14, 2005 Orientation • Orient Project Archivist to university, library, and department. • Train Project Archivist in the department’s processing manuals, databases, and descriptive procedures. • Hire project assistants. August 15-November 30, 2005 Roxbury Multi-Service Center, 79 cubic ft. (approximately 14 hrs/cubic ft.) • Conduct background research on the organization. • Survey and analyze the contents, existing organization and arrangement, and physical condition of the records. • Develop processing strategy for appraising, arranging, describing, and preserving the materials. • Implement the processing plan. Arrange, rehouse, and label the materials. • Create a finding aid. Make the finding aid available in HTML on the web. Encode the finding aid in EAD and submit to RLG. • Create catalog record in local OPAC. Submit to OCLC and Archives USA. • Develop documentation plan for the organization. • Publicize the availability of the collection. December 1, 2005-July 31, 2006 Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA), 146.5 cubic ft. (approximately 14 hrs /cubic ft.) • Conduct background research on the organization. • Survey and analyze the contents, existing organization and arrangement, and physical condition of the records. • Develop processing strategy for appraising, arranging, describing, and preserving the materials. • Implement the processing plan. Arrange, rehouse, and label the materials. • Create