Herrera Metadata Project - Elaine Patton, 9/26/2013

Today I worked on folders MSS160-b04-f07 and -f08 from the John J. Herrera Collection. I completed all of folder 07 and some of folder 08. No real trouble, except that filled-out forms are still tricky with regards to creator/contributor attribution. There were also a few instances of duplicate documents-- I'm surprised the UNT editor doesn't an option for labeling something as a "duplicate of" in the relations field; the closest thing is "version of" or maybe "replaced by." For these, whichever I encountered second is the one that got labeled copy or duplicate with all other metadata remaining the same.

Herrera Metadata Project, Michelle Godfrey - Sept. 26, 2013

Today I continued with MSS160-b4-f02. There were more duplicate copies of documents and I was unsure how to create a unique title for them because there is no indicator as to which one was created first. All the signatures on the pages look original because they are in blue ink. It would be nice to know if  they were signed at the same time or on different dates. All the items from this folder are now complete, but a few of the titles will most likely need to be revised.

Shab, sheet music collection project

Due to the fact that most of the cards today were very straightforward to catalog, I managed to input the data for 50 cards of drawer 3 of the sheet music collection project today.  There weren't any particularly new problems, just more obvious typos I overlooked as well as name spelling discrepancies which will need to be checked against the actual sheet music upstairs.  Otherwise, everything was routine.  I am still working on correcting any subject heading errors. 

Herrera Metadata Project, Michelle Godfrey - Sept. 19, 2013

Today I continued working with MSS160-b4-f02.

It turned out to be a day of duplicates because I have worked on some of these documents before. A couple of the legal forms appeared to be draft copies containing revisions and then some of the other documents may have been original copies without signatures. The only problem I found was when there did not seem to be any noticeable differences between two items and figuring out if they were simply copies of each other or if they actually had some slight variations. It also did not help matters that the dates were missing on the pages.

Shab, sheet music collection project

Today, after I did some minor administrative correction work on the sheet music spreadsheet, I inputted the data on 35 more cards for drawer 3 of the sheet music collection project.  Most of it was routine and straightforward, except for one set of cards which will need to be checked against the actual music upstairs due to there being some discrepancies in the spelling of the names.  Otherwise, I didn't really face any major problems.  I am still trying to figure out the difference between the note and content note fields and correcting any previous subject heading errors. 

John J. Herrera Collection Metadata - Elaine Patton, 9/12/2013

Today I entered metadata for MSS160-b4-f05 & -f06 from the John J. Herrera Collection. Both folders were mostly letters and went smoothly.

I did hit a brief snag in f05 with a couple of pages torn from a calendar with regards to who counted as the creator and/or contributors to it. One page was completely blank on the calendar grid (i.e. no notes written on it), and I suspect it was only included because the image printed on it would have accompanied the next month, which did have some notes. The other folder had the somewhat thick "Abstract of Title to Part of Block 4 of "Westview Addition"..." which was a little perplexing to document. It took me back to some of the Old Vault Letters with the ongoing listings of Block X Lot Y, Block Z Lots ABC...

Shab, sheet music collection project

Today I first went back and corrected some mistakes made on the publication date and date fields.  Additionally, I corrected some other general typos and errors I noticed, including some subject/instrumentation/note field errors (per my earlier confusion about what information goes in what fields, and also some mistakes Cecilia pointed out).  All the date and publication date fields should now be correct; however, correcting the subject, note, and instrumentation fields will take longer to review and will be a work in progress for at least another week or two.  I also completed inputting the metadata on 23 more cards, most of which were fairly straightforward except for a few odd anomalies here and there which I've highlighted for Cecilia to review later. 

Herrera Metadata, Michelle Godfrey - Sept. 11, 2013

Today I worked on MSS160 and completed more items from box 4, folder 2. The only new problem was how to title a multi-page document that was split into four parts and contained more than one contributor on each section. I was also able to go back and edit some of the titles for the letters I created earlier and add the dates to them. There are about 15 more items left to do before this folder is completed.

Laney Dwyer-Herrera Metadata Project and Proofing Finding Aids- 9/9/2013

Today I worked on box 1, folder 8 of Herrera.  I haven't had any problems so far.  Also, I was trained on proofing finding aids in Archivist Toolkit.  I worked on four different finding aids- MSS0108 Felix Tijerina, Sr. Family Papers, MSS 0150 Dr. Charles Bellinger Stewart Family Papers, MSS 053 Horace Dickinson Taylor Family Collection, and MSS 0137 Stuart-Allen Collection.  MSS 53 and MSS 137 required considerable revisions, so I had to pull the boxes for both to examine the collections. 

Parts of MSS 53 need to be re-written, bringing up an interesting dilemma: how do we cite sources in a finding aid?  I am working with Emily Scott, Liz Sargent, and Jeanette Sewell to decide how we want to handle this.  We are still undecided as of yet. 

I have one item from MSS 137 that I need to examine before I can finalize the proofing of this finding aid.  Otherwise, the edits for MSS 150 and MSS 108 are complete. 

Collections & Themes - Elaine Patton, 9/5/2013

Today I perused the Houston Area Digital Archives looking for items that could be showcased for the themes of football, weather (flooding, hurricanes), and the Houston Livestock Show. Football ended up with the most items, though the latter two each have about 15. I tried to search for specific names or places associated with either (e.g. the founder of the HLSR, J. W. Sartwelle), sadly without much luck. I did turn up a bunch of my old KHOU news footage reels, near and dear to my heart since last summer. I also tried searching through Google using the modifier site:digital.houstonlibrary.org, which helped me find a few more things.

Unrelated to anything above, I also noticed this ad in the scan of a 1940s newspaper (the Southwestern Times, I think-- I neglected to bookmark the exact file): This Thanksgiving, EAT OUT.

Herrera metadata - Laney Dwyer, 9/4/13

I finished up box 1, folder 6 and began folder 7.  I struggled a bit to decifer some signatures on a Senate legislative document, but I think I found what I needed online.  I also came across the acronym "H.E.E.P" and could not figure out what it stood for.  I don't think it's a critical element, but I thought I would see if anyone else has come across this.