Last Thursday during class in the archives, it was interesting to observe the vast amount of resources that are available to us and the legitimacy of these resources. By legitimacy I mean that these books, letters, essays, and notes are originals that date back centuries. I was surprised by how much the Emory Archives receives and has collected over the years as well as the intricate process by which the articles are preserved. Most obviously I learned how to use these files and gain access because it is something I was not fully aware of. But additionally I learned how useful these archives could be and how difficult it can be to decode historical articles and pieces as seen by the photograph exercise. Lastly, I learned about the balcony.
AMST/IDS 385: From Archives to iPads
Investigating the Discourse on Sexuality at Emory University – Donna Troka, Ph.D.
Sorry, if this isn’t the right place to post my blog entry. It isn’t letting me post “a new blog entry” and thus, I’m writing my blog entry as a “reply” until I am able to fix the problem tomorrow in class.
Time in the Archives
-Talks with S
I have often heard about the Manuscript, Archives and Rear Book Library to have existed on the 10th floor of the Woodruff Library, however, Thursday was the first time I ever visited this remarkable location. I found the MARBL brewing with years and years of informative knowledge, data and worldly experience. The entire experience of viewing the oldest Southern Bible of the 13th century, handwritten in Latin, holding Alice Walkers Papers that contained her penned down thoughts and scribbled words, and several other such papers written by great minds, was in itself a great treat to the eyes. I was surprised to see that Emory’s MARBL houses the working and published papers of so many distinguished legends, and how it collectively functions as a world in itself that provides data that one may not necessarily find elsewhere. Thursday’s class taught me the basic techniques of archival research, how and why these books, papers and the like are maintained and stored by the employees of the MARBL so that they can be available and usable for others for years to come. It was a visual treat to visit the MARBL and I am excited to go back there again this week!