Archives

From: Lindsey Meyer <lmeyer123@gmail.com>

Date: Mon, Dec 4, 2017 at 1:20 PM

Subject: Annual Archives Committee Report for 2017

To: FP Board <fullboard@folkproject.org>

Dear Board Members,

The Archives Committee began functioning in January 2017 with the goal of collecting physical items relating to Folk Project history, then to process and describe the collection. Ultimately, we plan to donate the collection to an appropriate institution, preferably in or near Morris County, where it will be available to members, researchers, and the public.

In the beginning of the year, we explored ways to construct an archive, consulting with professional archivists from libraries and small institutions about best practices. Starting a collection from scratch is very different from processing an existing collection, so there’s been a bit of a learning curve.

We created a member survey, targeted for November distribution on Constant Contact plus direct outreach to former members, including announcements in the newsletter, website, and social media. However, distribution has been postponed to Jan. 2018 so as not to conflict with the mass email to members regarding revisions to the FP governing documents. I’d like to thank Lori Falco for her invaluable help tailoring the survey into Constant Contact format.

As we begin analyzing the survey responses, our next big step is to locate a secure location to collect, sort, and store donations for processing. We look forward to a busy year in 2018 as we analyze responses to the survey and begin the collection process.

Lindsey Meyer

Chair, Archives Committee