Internship Notes

Sorry about the confusing dates. I can't seem to get the timing down...

6/27/08

I put a lot of time this week studying oral history and writing out questions for Katie’s interview. Peter has worked with me on this and gave me some books on oral history to go through. I also spent a fair amount of time choosing and organizing photos for the exhibit, pulling quotes, and adding content. I’ve started using OneNote, which is a project management software. (Wish I had discovered it sooner—it’s easier to work with than Excel which is what I started with.) I hope to have all (or most) of the photos to Jess for printing by next week. There will be at least 100 in the cases and on the walls ranging in size from approximately 18” x 20” to 4” x 6”. Mixed in the cases will also be books, CDs, DVDs, and artifacts. I also introduced the idea of having an interactive map on the wall with before-dam and after-dam pictures. The idea has been well received but with cautions that “administration” is very persnickety about what can be put up.

6/23/08

I joined Sean, one of the reference librarians and a member of the Special Collections team, Susan, Library Specialist in Oral Histories, to conduct an oral history in Ash Fork, AZ. Sean is a Route 66 expert, especially where it crosses the Colorado Plateau. He was interviewing Edie DeSoto who owns a beauty/barber shop on 66 as part of a series of Route 66 interviews. Susan was operating the camera, and I was observing as preparation for my interview with Katie. Susan and I had practiced putting the camera together and taking it apart (at least a dozen connections and contraptions) in order to minimize glitches on interview day. There were, of course, some glitches but nothing major. A learning experience for both of us.

Have I mentioned that I really like the people I’m working with? Everyone here is so nice and so helpful.

6/20/08

This week I have continued to search out photographs from multiple collections for use in the display. I also feel that a map is needed to point to the different places where the photos have been taken. I found that this is easier said than done. Maps don’t always have good metadata or finding aids and once identified, there are half a dozen places that the map could reside. I felt much better when the librarian and the photo archivist had difficulty locating the maps that I did identify. It wasn’t just the rookie who was having a hard time!

Project management is a large part of this project. Photos have to be chosen and given to Jess, the digitization expert, with enough lead time so that it doesn’t interfere with his other work. Labels and text have to be given to Susan prior to her vacation in July or I will need to find another person to help me with those. Karen has told me that there is no expectation that the project be done by the end of my internship. In fact, if I complete it, I will be the first Reilly intern to do so. I told her that I fully intend to see it completed. (It’s my baby and I want to see it graduate.)

6/19/08

The department meeting today was attended by the Dean and the Associate Dean to discuss collection development policies and especially how to handle digitally-born donations. The primary issue is whether or not to accept donations that are in a format that we are not equipped to read. The basic consensus is that all donations should be reviewed by the SCA team prior to accepting the donation. The team will then need to decide not only whether the content fits the parameters of relating to the Colorado Plateau, but also if the content is valuable enough to justify the costs of staff, storage and format issues.

Also discussed was the issue of people wanting to donate items for digitization but not donating the item or not giving the copyright. All felt it best to avoid these situations unless there was good reason to accept the donation. Again, all donations should be reviewed by the team.

On a related note, it was brought up that digitization requests are up and we are almost to the point of not being able to keep up. Currently, the policy is to digitize resources upon request rather than digitizing everything that comes in. There will need to be further discussion as well as a review of work flows before a solution can be implemented.

The Journey Continues...

It hasn't been all work and no play. Flagstaff (pop. approx 60,000) has a lot going on. There are weekly outdoor concerts--this week there were two. I've been to the Arboretum (small but nice) and have tried out various restaurants. This past weekend my roomie and I went to Arizona Snow Bowl, the ski area about 7 miles from town. For the price of some canned goods, we were able to take the life up to 11,500 ft. and then back down. I'm not fond of ski lifts and find them easier to handle when there is several feet of soft snow below them rather than bare ground and rocks, large rocks. The view was truly awesome, however. But let me tell you, skier or no, going down a ski lift was almost more than I could handle. I sat so far back in the seat that I thought I was going to bend the metal! It was a very long half hour ride! But I'm glad I did it--it was definitely worth it. (but I don't really need to do it again...)

Article Review

Ritchie, D. A., (1995). "Conducting the Interview" in Doing Oral History (pp. 57-69). New York: MacMillan.

Three basic tasks of the interviewer when conducting an oral history is to help the interviewee relax, to listen carefully and respectfully to the person being interviewed and encourage the interviewee’s honest reflection of the past.

When preparing for an interview, the interviewer should learn as much background information as possible about the subject. Review of other oral histories is also helpful. For budgeting purposes, the interviewer should plan on ten hours of research for every hour of interview, at least for the subject’s first sitting. Questions should be prepared in advance but the interviewer should also be prepared to deviate from the plan. It is wise to have more questions prepared than the interviewer thinks is necessary.

The interviewer should be prepared for anything as interviewees can cover the gamut from those who answer in monosyllables to those who revel in having an audience and are hard to keep on track or do not want the interview to end.

How questions are ordered depends on the goals of the interview. If the topic is biographical in nature, questions are usually chronological, but if a particular event is the focus, questions will be more topical. Regardless of the purpose of the interview, the interviewer should begin with simple, warm-up questions. Questions should be a combination of specific and open ended. Open ended questions give the interviewee more freedom to choose the direction of the interview, whereas specific questions elicit factual information.

It is important that questions be framed in a neutral manner so as to not “lead” the interviewee. If answers are short, it could be that the question was not open ended enough or that the interviewer was too quick to ask the next question. The interviewer may need to practice silence in order to let the interviewee fully answer.

Comments:

Katie Lee has been interviewed at least three times, plus has written books with stories of her life and her time on the river. I think the primary challenge of interviewing Katie will be to find questions that are unique. Because she is a trained actress, feels comfortable in front of a camera, and has been interviewed numerous times, I’m confident she will not be nervous. I plan to focus on her childhood in Tucson, her Hollywood years and, time permitting, her folk singing.

Internship Notes

Ai yi yi!! Allergies and altitude are not a good combination! Whatever is blowing in the wind (which at this point is just about everything since it's been so windy) has my head swimming. And being lightheaded and driving the twisty roads, that the engineers in this country seem to love, is also not a good combo. But I needed to go visit Katie again and I needed to go solo this time. So, with a death grip on the steering wheel and trying not to move my head, which made me even dizzier, I toodled down to Jerome.

I took some copies of her Hollywood pictures so that she could identify some of the people. She got to talking about them and had some great stories of those years. I also got some details to add to the metadata of the images. I asked her about her family and she talked about her son a little bit. That was a sore subject so I won't be including him in the display. I told her how I thought I wanted the cases laid out and she said that would be fine.

I brought back a couple more photo albums, her college yearbook, and some copies of correspondence and clippings from her files. One of the files was labeled "Rez Fowell," her name for Lake (Reservoir) Powell. Another file is labeled "Hot Letters to Stupid Twits" which contains letters she has written to various politicians advocating demolishing the dam. It seems so strange to go through someone else's files but it sure is interesting! One of the things I copied was a list of "Things to take on a River Trip (The Woman’s Side).” It listed things like what size toiletry bag to take and what to take in it, a bar of Ivory soap for laundry, and if you're in the Chicago area to pick up two bars of Dove because it works really well and that's the only place she has seen it available (remember, this is in the early 1950's!). She also lists what kind of make-up to take--no cake or powder kind as it will wash or sweat off when on the river. She also mentions that women need not be glamorous on the river. But on the other hand, they might want to look their best as there will be lots of photographs taken. I found this so interesting because Katie is tough as nails but at the same time she makes sure she looks good even while camping and running the river. And at 88 she is still a beautiful woman.

Monday and Tuesday, I worked on pulling some more images. Bee, who is curator of images, reviewed what I have so far and helped pull some slides that will work well for the 19 wall shots. We came up with about 13 that I gave to Jess, our digital expert, to look at. He seemed very pleased to be getting the images this soon. I also met with Peter this week to update him on what I had so far and go over the timeline.

Internship Notes

June 6, 2008

I've made it through the first week! I really like the people I work with and think that the work will be challenging and fun. At first it didn't seem like a big deal--how hard can it be to put pick out some photographs and text for 8 display cases and 19 or so larger wall photographs! Boy, was I naive! Not only do I have Katie's collection to go through, there are other extensive collections of manuscripts, correspondence and photographs to peruse.

Karen, the department head, feels I've made good progress (more than they expected for the first week!) I have decided to break the cases out to cover the following aspects of Katie's life: Early Years, Hollywood, Folk Singing, River Running, Glen Canyon before the dam, Glen Canyon after the dam, Advocacy, and Katie Today. I've gone through many of Katie's photo collection and chosen images of the first three areas. I have printed them out and taped them to the walls around my desk. I have also created a rough time line of tasks and an Excel spreadsheet of my display ideas. These are both on the shared drive and everyone on the team has been encouraged to add their thoughts.

Not bad for the first week.

Internship Notes

June 4, 2008

Richard, the librarian of SCA (Special Collections and Archives), and I drove to Jerome, AZ, to meet Katie. Jerome is a small town holding on by its fingernails and digging its toes into the side of a hillside. Many of the homes are skinny three-story homes that look like they are about give up and take a wild slide down the hill. They often have third floor front doors on one street and first floor back doors (or vice versa) on the street below. The first thing people notice when they come to Katie's house is the fence with red, white and blue bras (substantially sized) hanging below a sign that says "Support Hillary."

Katie's second floor office feels more like a basement and houses a Mac, scanner and copier along with file cabinets, and walls covered with photographs and newspaper clippings, mostly of her advocacy for restoring Glen Canyon. She and Richard visit and I mainly listen and absorb. She then takes us downstairs to show us her bathtub--a former opium cask made out of teak--along with pictures of her and her various friends sitting/soaking cozily in it (very cozily--it's barely big enough for one let alone two). We follow her up a floating spiral staircase--she much more nimbly then either of us--to see various photographs and artifacts.

Our trip home takes us through Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon, a beautiful drive. Oak Creek is a small, but clear, stream lined with green trees below the red rock walls--a welcome sight for my thirsty eyes.

The Internship Begins...

June 2, 2008

My first day on the job started with a staff meeting so that I could meet the Special Collections Team. The focus of NAU's Special Collections and Archives is the Colorado Plateau which includes the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon, Native American history and culture of the Four Corners area, and environmental and economical issues.

My internship this summer is to create a physical and digital display of the life of Katie Lee. Katie was a Hollywood starlet and river runner, and still is a folk singer and activist. She has donated her files and collections, as well as her home, to NAU. Not everyone has the foresight to donate their collections while they are still alive and active. From what I've read and heard so far, Katie Lee is definitely not everyone. I'm looking forward to meeting her on Wednesday. My plan this week is to just learn the lay of the land (literally and figuratively) and soak in as much information as I can.

By the end of the day, my brain feels like it is going to explode and my body just wants to curl up in a corner somewhere and sleep for a week--I'm sure it's just the altitude. Despite my physical and mental fatigue, it's been a good day.

The Journey Begins...

For those who may be navigating this blog, I plan to divide it into three parts: The Internship, which will contain information directly related to my work in the Special Collections and Archives department of the Cline Library, NAU, Flagstaff, AZ; Readings, which will be abstracts of the various articles and books relating to the internship; and the Journey, which will cover everything else.

May 27, 2008

Although my internship doesn’t begin until June 2, the journey begins today. I routed my trip from Billings (MT) through Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks. This certainly was not the quickest route to Flagstaff, AZ, but was definitely the most scenic. After a week of rain, the landscape was a vivid green and skies turned blue, mostly, by the time I reached Bozeman.

In the park the elk and buffalo were bountiful. Elk have a way of looking majestic even in their early spring shaggy-scraggly coats. Alongside the dark, imposing buffalo moms trotted small, buff colored babies. One insistent baby stopped mom in her tracks right on the highway so it could nurse.

I had forgotten how awesome, in the true sense of the word, the Grand Tetons are. But evening was closing in and I wanted to be in Jackson Hole before dark. What a great way to start the journey!

May 28, 2008

I traveled the backroads of Wyoming and marveled at the spring green next to the occasional red rocks. I took an unplanned route (missed a turn!) but it was scenic and, as long as I headed southwest, I didn’t much care what road I was on. This was new territory and I was enjoying the drive.

Utah was more beautiful than I expected with wide-ranging landscapes. There were mountains on the west and plains on the east. I stopped at an herb farm to see their lavender-lined labyrinth. Unfortunately the sprinklers were on so I was unable to walk it. But a stroll through the herb garden was just as good.

May 29, 2008

I drove into Zolub National Park (part of Zion) and as I rounded a forested hill, I was totally blown away by the vista of red rock canyons. To look at it from the highway, you’d never know such beauty was hidden there. I hiked in along a small creek for a couple miles and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery, not to mention the opportunity to stretch my legs.

From there it was on to and through Zion, which was more red rock beauty. It was also very nerve-wracking as the road is extremely narrow and twisty-turny, with no guardrails, so it was hard to drive and see the scenery. (There was also a very long, very narrow and very dark tunnel—my mother would be proud of me as neither of us like tunnels.) I made it to Page, AZ, this evening.

May 30, 2008

I feel like Page is the quasi-official start of my internship as the Glen Canyon Dam is a key aspect of the work I will be doing with Katie Lee. Lake Powell is still a controversial project and one that Katie, at 88 years old, still actively opposes. I took a side trip to Lees Ferry with the intention of doing some more hiking. Instead, I stopped at the Navajo Bridge. The original bridge, which is now a pedestrian bridge, is the only bridge over the Colorado in 600 miles. Both the dam and the bridge are engineering marvels. I’m so close to the Grand Canyon and anxious to see it but The Grand will have to wait for another time. Right now I’m ready to be off the road and settled into my new summer surroundings.

I arrived in Flagstaff at lunchtime and my new roommate, Kristen, was able to meet me and show me around the condo. It will be interesting as I have not had a roommate in 30+ years. But she seems very nice, my private bedroom/bathroom is more than adequate, and the two kitties are friendly and mellow.

Unfortunately, the condo is on the second level and my bedroom is on second floor. So, after six or seven trips up two flights of stairs, and as many promises-to-self to learn to travel lighter, I was at least moved-in.

May 31, 2008 – June 1, 2008

The weekend was spent getting to know my roommate and surroundings, unpacking, arranging my room and just general “nesting” activities. And resting. Flagstaff is at 7,000 feet and the oxygen, like water, is not in abundance. Despite warnings, I thought I was a tough Montanan and was determined that the high altitude would not affect me. Unfortunately, my body has had other ideas. I’m told that my general fatigue, light headedness, and fuzzy thinking are all products of the altitude and that I should be acclimated within about three months. Great—my internship is only 10 weeks! However, by Sunday evening, I am feeling better and think that perhaps I am becoming acclimated.