Maitland A&H Project Blog Entry 5

            It has been a journey during my time at Maitland A&H. My overall experience has been fantastic. Starting, I thought sitting at a desk filling out a paper and scanning would be something I would not be interested in doing, but it turned out to be the opposite. Working on this project has allowed me to learn valuable skills that I will be continuing soon. These skills will be used in the summer as I will continue this project as an intern, and I will be working at an Osceola County welcome and history center as an archivist. If I could not work on the project, I would have never learned the difficulties and rewards of working on such a task.

Due to this being my final time at Maitland for this semester, I am making my last message to discuss the pro and cons of working as an archivist. The worst part of working is that new archivists may see the work as long and tedious work early on. To think that all the person is doing is filling out a form and scanning an object will be misguided. Scanning and filing forms were indeed part of my work, but there was a hidden gem that I only noticed only later when I was working. Being the one to first look and study these files meant I was the one to have firsthand knowledge. I was able to recite information and tell Maitland A&H employees stuff they were unaware of only because they had not seen it yet. As mentioned in my last post, there are problems such as electrical, equipment, and weather problems that can halt production. For learning to be an archivist, the best word of advice I can give them in dealing with these problems is to be Semper Gumby.   There will always be problems for archivists but being prepared is the best-case scenario. My last example of being flexible comes from my last week when I could not attend as there was a death and I had to cancel while working.

Overall being an archivist has been my new dream career as I know my job is valuable in academia. Those considering becoming an archivist should be prepared to be overwhelmed with new knowledge that they will be the first to learn. They should also be prepared to provide such knowledge to those who request it. As I have said in many of my posts knowing that people are learning because of my work is the ultimate joy I can get from working. Having such an opportunity is something all public historians should receive the chance to complete.


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