Follow PACSCL's Hidden Collections Processing Project on website, Twitter

Follow the progress of project manager Holly Mengel, project archivist Courtney Smerz, and the processing teams at the project website: http://clir.pacscl.org/
Or follow the project on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pacscl_clir/
Become a Facebook fan: http://www.facebook.com/PACSCL

Project staff is in place, student processors have been to "boot camp," and processing is under way on PACSCL's $500,000 Hidden Collections processing iniative, headquartered at the University of Pennsylvania Library and funded by a grant from the Council of Library and Information Resources.

The 27 month project builds on the consortial survey initiative, processing 140 collections identified as having high research value from 24 member libraries. Employing recent trends in archival thinking and technologies, such as minimal processing, consortial efforts, and the Archivists’ Toolkit, the Hidden Collections in the Philadelphia Area Project has developed a model for reducing backlog and making collections accessible at both large and small institutions by creating common approaches, standards and training materials. This project will result in a centralized Encoded Archival Description (EAD) repository to be housed at the University of Pennsylvania (in process and up for viewing at http://findingaids.pacscl.org/ ) and will be a significant contribution toward achieving PACSCL’s goal of providing a single access point for all of the region’s research collections, which provide insights into the country’s political, economic, social, religious and cultural experiences and Philadelphia’s role in shaping America and its citizens.

The project employs graduate students, trained in "boot camps" developed by the project, to provide processing for many of these collections, exposing them to primary sources that may shape their future research projects and strengthen their archival skills.