Arranging and Describing Archival and Manuscript Materials at Yellowstone National Park
Project ID: J8W07110026
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Partner Institution: Western Washington University
Fiscal Year: 2011
Initial Funding: $164,914
Total Funding: $532,384
Project Type: Technical Assistance
Project Disciplines: Cultural
National Park: Yellowstone National Park
Principal Investigator: Jimerson, Randall
Agreement Technical Representative: Roop, Tobin
Abstract: This collaborative project between Western Washington University (WWU) and the National Park Service (NPS) will assist Yellowstone National Park (YELL) with processing backlog archival and manuscript records from YELL. Activities include preparing processing plans and implementing those plans by arranging collections, cataloging into the Interior Collections Management System (ICMS), and preparing a finding aid. Arranged and described collections will be more available to the public, researchers, and YELL staff tasked with planning and management of park resources. Increased intellectual and physical control wil also improve security and preservation of the materials, an integral part of the park’s strategic goals. Students will be trained and, in collaboration with the Principal Investigator from WWU, guided in their work by the YELL archivist. They will gain hands-on experience processing, performing reference services related to the materials, and storing archival collections. NPS involvement is necessary to
ensure that the collections are properly identified for cataloging and that work proceeds in accordance with the processing plan and to coordinate the review and approval of draft processing plans. The joint efforts in implementing the processing plan ensure that issues related to access are fully identified and addressed during cataloging. The public benefits from this project are many. Public interest in natural and cultural resources is growing, largely due to current issues like global warming, climate change, biodiversity, and endangered species protection. Non-NPS researchers, which make up nearly half of our annual research visits, include undergraduate, graduate, and faculty from universities nationwide, independent and news media, and many members of the general public. The finding aids resulting from this project will made publicly available on our website.
Deliverables: