Nicole H. Garrett

A few weeks ago, I visited the Ann Arbor Civil War Round Table (AACWRT).  My coworker, Bob Garrett (no relation) was giving a talk on Civil War resources at the Archives of Michigan and I tagged along to field questions about the projects I’ve been working on.

It’s always fun to hang out with other people passionate about history, and the AACWRT definitely fits that description!  One member sports an Abe Lincoln beard and dresses up as the former President for educational programs around the state.

After my coworker’s presentation, there were a lot of questions.  It was great to see such interest in the Seeking Michigan projects I’ve been working on (by 2011, all of the Archives’ civil war material will be online).

I have to give a “shout out” to my colleague and friend, Tom Nanzig for arranging our field trip to Ann Arbor.  It was a lot of fun!

Oh, and I ended up drawing myself in the raffle and got a book on a POW from Michigan.  Can’t wait to start reading it!

Tom and I hanging out after the show

2 Comments » Posted by Nicole / Blog Post

Because my work at the Archives of Michigan consists of Civil War material, I decided to watch Ken Burn’s THE CIVIL WAR.  I had never watched the documentary and as it is the industry standard for documentaries, I thought I should.  Also, I have very basic knowledge of the battles fought during the war, so I was hoping to learn some context for the first hand accounts I read every day.

I have to say, it’s easy to see why this film has become the industry standard.  The primary sourcing really brings the struggles of the war to life.  Also, Burns includes accounts from common soldiers, women, and minorities that give a  fuller history of the war than others that focus only on generals.

I consider myself very fortunate to have a job where I am able to learn new things on a daily basis.  I have learned so much about the Civil War–from battles and strategy to common food eaten by soldiers.  Each letter or diary I read gives me a different perspective on the battles and story of the war. I now see why this conflict has always had a pull on the American imagination.   It ripped families apart and killed so many in four drawn out years.  It marked the end of an era in American History and the beginning of a new one.

I’ve also enrolled in a class on the Civil War through the MSU Alumni Association.  It starts in a few weeks and I’m really looking forward to it!

No Comments » Posted by Nicole / Blog Post

This week’s Look blog on Seeking Michigan takes a peak at the Civil War Letters of Mack and Nan Ewing.  After nearly two months of  uploading, the collection is now available online in its entirety.  This collection consists of 291 Civil War letters, mostly between Mack Ewing and his wife, Nan.

Now that this collection is finished, I’m able to move on to our other Civil War collections.  I’m excited to expand the Civil War Manuscripts available on Seeking Michigan!

Read my full blog article here.

No Comments » Posted by Nicole / Blog Post

This year, the Michigan Archival Association met in Marshall, Mich.  The conference was held at Schuler’s Restaurant June 24-25.   I spoke again, with this year’s focus on the upcoming Civil War Sesquicentennial.

All of the sessions I went to were very informative.  I attended sessions on DSpace, The Archivist Toolkit vs. Achron, and Documenting the Undocumented.

I had never heard of DSpace prior to the conference and was amazed to learn how many institutions use it.  It’s great to have an open source digital asset manager, but I hope they improve the public interface.  Currently, everything looks muddled and is difficult to search through.  It made me thankful that the Archives of Michigan uses CONTENTdm and has been able to customize it so heavily.

As an archivist, I’ve heard The Archivists Toolkit and Achron around on listservs and such, but never had a clear idea of what they do and how they differ.  The presenters at MAA did a great job breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of each and showing how both make an archivists job much easier.  It was very cool to see software developed specifically for archives and I hope to use either of these programs (or something new!) in the future.

Documenting the Undocumented was a very fun session about how archivists are collecting materials on populations that are left out of most histories.  The presenters discussed (1) Circus and Carnival Performers,  (2) Minority Student Groups at Michigan State University (my alma mater!), and (3) Minority groups in Boston.  The talk on circus performers was very interesting and I learned new things about a fascinating topic.   The “professional” lesson I took away from this session was (1) visuals are very important and (2) don’t talk too fast!

Giving my presentation

The session I spoke in was, of course, first in the program.  I discussed the various Civil War collections that the Archives of Michigan is uploading onto Seeking Michigan.  These collections include Civil War service records, manuscripts, and photographs.  The service records and photographs are already uploaded and I am currently working on the manuscripts.  Stay tuned for my progress!

I also took a few tours while at the conference.  The Local Arrangements were a little disorganized, but I was able to see everything I signed up for.  The tour included visits to the Magic Museum, GAR Hall, and the Postal Museum.  Of the three, the Postal Museum was my favorite.  I went in thinking it would be really boring, but it turned out to be really interesting.  I think part of that is we all use the mail and thus, have a personal connection to draw us in.  Plus, the curator there is VERY enthusiastic and his enthusiasm spreads quickly.  I should also note it was the only museum with air conditioning, so that may have played a factor as well. 

Group outside of the GAR Museum

All in all, the conference was another great experience.  I am feeling much more comfortable with public speaking and it’s really fun to reconnect with archivists from across the state.  I met new people, saw old friends, and had a blast.

Next up–NAGARA in 2 weeks!

No Comments » Posted by Nicole / Blog Post