In class we discussed finding aids. I was amazed in how different they are across institutions. Two points I was fascinated by were the size of finding aids, and how accessible they are. Finding aids are helpful, and something I didn’t know about until graduate school, as they were something I never worked with before that I can remember. Perhaps I had, but it never registered to me what it was. I used to only use the search function on websites in collections nd follow the tabs on the side to find what I want.
Some of the finding aids we saw were incredibly wordy. I’m currently thinking about exhibit design, and the right amount of words for a label and how long you can hold someone’s attention. This is what came to mind seeing how long some of the finding aids were in class. I know I wouldn’t read all of that word for word, and would skim trying to find whatever was relevant for me. I liked how small the APS collection I looked at was, and how tight the finding aid was. Some of the finding aids made it seem like they were trying to tell too much, where the collection can speak for itself. It’s a hard balance though, because you want to showcase what you have, but sometimes it feels like less is more.
Finding aids and finding them on a website was something that I was interested in as we looked at different collections. My collection could be found through the object, so I’m happy it has that. I’d also like to commend HSP for including other collections they have and partnering organizations that have potentially relevant resources. I’d love to see more collaboration in the archival and special collection community. I wonder if there is a way to standardize finding aids in some way, such as how to find them. That cold be problematic for varying sizes of institutions and how certain findings aids may need to be retrofitted to meet any new standard introduced