Hello and Welcome! First Week as the Fortenbaugh Intern

Hello and welcome to Blogging the Library! My name is Sierra Green and I am the Esther K. Fortenbaugh Intern this semester in Special Collections at Gettysburg College.

Just to give you a little background information about myself: I hail from a small town in Northwestern Pennsylvania called Adamsville. I am currently a senior here at Gettysburg College and I am double majoring in History and Italian Studies.

As the Fortenbaugh Intern for the semester, I will have the exciting opportunity of working alongside our library's archivists in Special Collections. I am really looking forward to gaining firsthand experience within the archival field throughout the semester!

My interest in the archival field was sparked through an internship experience this past summer. My primary responsibility as an intern was to process an oral history collection comprised of interviews with Italian American Pittsburgh residents. My passion for preserving the stories of these men and women really inspired me to think seriously about a career within the archival field.

Now, back to what I am currently engaged in as a library intern. I have spent my time thus far reading Frederic Miller's Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts. This manual has really helped me to conceptualize what it looks like to process a collection from start to finish. I feel almost as if I have been invited backstage to understand all the preparations that go into creating a processed collection that is accessible to the public! This "backstage pass" of sorts has made me all the more excited to begin processing a collection that will forever be available to Gburg students and patrons alike. All I can say is, how cool is that?! :)

-Sierra