– by Sabrina Bocanegra, Archives intern
Having had some hands-on experience in archives before I started the Library and Information Science (LIS) program at Drexel University, I waited until towards the end of the program to search for some more professional experience. Of course I had visited the Mütter Museum several times in the past. However, not until I started the program had I visited the Historical Medical Library on two separate occasions for class assignments. After those assignments, I became pretty familiar with the Library and knew that I wanted to be an intern at some point before I reached the end of the program. I was pleased to hear that Chrissie had an archives intern position available during my 2nd to last quarter at Drexel.
On my first day, I jumped right into the collection I decided to tackle, which at the time was described as the Committee on Museum papers. My experience as a volunteer in the archives department of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and my coursework in a few archives courses made me feel a little bit more confident about processing this collection.
At first it was difficult to figure out why all of these papers and folders were put together, especially since (like most collections) they were scattered among three large cardboard boxes. After some digging and inventorying, it quickly became clear that this collection contained papers from two major organizations, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (CPP) and the Museum Council of Philadelphia (MCP). More specifically, the collection consisted of materials from the various committees associated with both CPP and MCP from the 1960s to the early 2000s. It was then that I understood why this collection was described as Committee on Museum papers!
While materials on committees took up a large portion of collection, I also found various administrative, financial, and project materials from both CPP and MCP. CPP materials relate mostly to the Committee on the Mütter Museum and College Collections, which worked closely together since 1939. The committees shared letterhead and held their meetings on the same day, but officially remained separate, with each preparing its own minutes and reports. From my understanding, both committees had “general supervision over and care for such objects in the ownership or custody of the College” or Museum and was responsible for their “preservation, exhibition, and use.”
It was not until I started to arrange MCP materials that I noticed the connection between the two organizations. Gretchen Worden spent her career at the Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia and was an avid supporter of local, national, and international professional organizations. Worden was a member of the MCP, where she served as president from 1989 to 1991 and served on the Board of Directors since 1991. Being that MCP is the oldest and one of the largest regional associations of museums in the United States and active in promoting local institutions and their collections through public relations and outreach, it became evident that Worden’s association with both MCP and CPP was one of the primary reasons this collection contained materials from both organizations! (Eureka!)
The collection itself was not the most interesting to process, yet, the research and small discoveries within the collection made my time processing more enjoyable and put my brain to work. It was certainly interesting to find materials that were not textual, like a floppy disk (yes, they still exist) containing a Museum Council calendar. Because the materials in this collection were mostly contained in folders, it made the arranging and rehousing process much simpler (only one eraser was harmed during this process).
In the end, the collection was divided into two series: Series 1, College of Physicians of Philadelphia and Series 2, Museum Council of Philadelphia. The series were further separated into subseries, with Series 1 containing two subseries: Administrative and Committees, and Series 2 consisting of three subseries: Administrative, Committees, and Projects and Affiliations. I would like to note that Series 2, Subseries 2.1: Projects and Affiliations contains ample materials on the Collection Care Training Program (1988-1991), which was a major project started by the Council. I would not be surprised if Gretchen Worden had a significant role in its creation.
Finally, after two months of hard work, I was able to arrange the collection intellectually and physically, rehouse the materials, and ingest the finding aid into ArchivesSpace. Working with ArchivesSpace ended up being one of my favorite parts of the process as it was my first time really working with it (I had experience with Archivists’ Toolkit in the past). This past quarter in the LIS program, metadata became my best friend and I was glad I got to put my new knowledge to work! Overall, interning at the Library was an incredible experience and I can’t wait to show off my work to my family and friends (who still don’t know what it is I actually study… oh well).
The Records of the Committee on the Mütter Museum and the Museum Council of Philadelphia is now ready to be used and you can find the finding aid here!