Farewell to Records Services Archivist, Lawrence Giffin

Today are hearts are heavy as we bid adieu to Records Services Archivist extraordinaire, the one-and-only, Lawrence Giffin.

Lawrence joined UARMS staff in 2011 and for the past two and a half years has led the records management services program at UNC. He has offered countless consultations and trainings to staff across campus, prepared updates for our general records retention and disposition schedule, and managed the records transfer process– not to mention all of the countless other projects in UARMS and the Wilson Special Collections Library that he has contributed to.

Thank you, Lawrence for all of your hard work here at UARMS. You’ll be a tough act to follow, and we’re really going to miss you.

Please continue to send records transfer forms, administrative reference requests, and general records management inquiries and questions to our UARMS email address– recman@unc.edu

You can also call us at (919) 962-6402 for immediate assistance.

We’re all sad to see Lawrence go but wish him all the best in his future endeavors!

gowf-lawrence

NARA’s Capstone Email Initiative: A Virtual Discussion

Last week, Electronic Records Archivist Meg Tuomala participated in a virtual discussion about the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) Capstone Email Initiative, which gives guidance on a new way for federal agencies to manage email records. The discussion was led by Arian Ravanbakhsh and Beth Cron, both records management policy analysts in the Office of the Chief Records Officer at NARA.

The discussion was hosted by the Society of American ArchivistsRecords Management Roundtable, and a video recording is available here. Arian and Beth give a great overview of the Initiative and weigh-in on several questions and considerations surrounding it for not just federal agencies, but state governments, universities, and private organizations too.

If you’re at all interested in the records management side of UARMS’ work, we hope that you can take some time to view the recording.

UARMS is very interested in applying the Capstone method of capturing and archiving email of enduring value generated at UNC. As discussed in the recording and addressed in the Initiative, it’s not a perfect solution, but it could be a practical and real way for us to make strides towards preserving email– a format that has become integral to our work over the past 20 years and thus serves to document the history of the University in the 21st century.

Class of 1988 Time Capsule will be Unearthed Tomorrow!

A plaque on a lawn that reads "time capsule dedicated by class of 1988/Buried May 1988 to be opened in the year 2013"
Photo of the Class of 1988’s time capsule burial site and marker courtesy of University Relations.

Join University Archives staff  tomorrow, Friday Nov. 8th,  as we watch the class of 1988’s time capsule be unearthed after 25 years underground.

Digging begins on Polk Place (near South Building) at 1 pm.

We wonder what will be inside… whatever it is, it’s coming to the Archives! The capsule’s contents will be on display all weekend in the lobby of Wilson Library.

 

More info on the time capsule and unearthing event can be found here. What would you bury in a time capsule today?

 

 

Cleaning House

Recently UNC Libraries launched a new, redesigned website. As any archivist should, we took this opportunity to look at some of the older, somewhat outdated content of the previous website and flag materials for archiving.

Amongst other items, we decided to save a bunch of photographs, some of which were taken by a library employee during the renovation of the Robert B. House Undergraduate Library (the UL).

Here you can see the evolution of a favorite UL study spot, the new books reading room.

interior8
Before the renovations…
011002_00
…during the renovations…
Feb14-02DSCN0013
…construction continues…
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…almost done…
...The grand re-opening...
…the grand re-opening…
6newbooksreadingroom
…after the renovations!

Special thanks to Kim Vassiliadis, head of User Experience, who alerted us to these cool photographs before they were deleted from our web servers. 

Construction photos taken by Fred Stipe, head of the Library’s Digital Production Center during the UL renovations (1999-2001).

Farewell Jay Gaidmore, University Archivist

 

This past week UARMS said farewell to University Archivist, Jay Gaidmore. Jay has accepted a position at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA as head of the Special Collections Research Center at the Earl Gregg Swem Library.

Jay Gaidmore UARMS 110
Jay Gaidmore

Though he was only at UNC for a few years, Jay worked successfully to diversify and broaden University Archives’ collections– bringing in faculty papers and records of student organizations. He also devoted countless hours building relationships with many campus and community groups, and we will continue the work he started.

Please continue to contact UARMS at recman@unc.edu or (919) 962-6402 with any questions you have during this transition, and join us in wishing Jay well in this new venture!

 

Summertime is Records Management Time

The summer months are a quiet time here at Carolina as most of the students have gone home (or elsewhere) for the summer.  The few that remain are immersed in intensive summer school courses, or working on campus or in town.

Campus can seem almost deserted this time of year.  The sidewalks are empty, there’s virtually no one hanging around the Pit, and there are minimal lines and wait times at the few food-and-drink stops that remain open.

Deserted campus walk by Flickr user docta puella.

But don’t be fooled, there’s still a large group of people hard at work from Graduation day until the first day of classes.  In fact, for many University staff this time of year is no less busy than August through April, it’s a time when we can catch up of administrative tasks, such as records management!

Piles of files... by Flickr user jspad

So if you are a staff member finding yourself sorting through “piles of files” this summer and need help give us a call at 962-6402 or email us at recman (at) unc (dot) edu to schedule a consultation.  We are more than happy to help you start making sense of the mess!

 

 

Cool New Collection: Professor Bob Goldstein’s Gig Posters for Science

 

This past spring University Archives acquired a wonderful collection of posters from UNC Professor Bob Goldstein.  Goldstein creates these posters to advertise guest lectures and the distinguished lecture series the within the Department of Biology.

The posters are “gig” style posters, similar to the ones you see plastered on telephone poles and kiosks around town advertising shows at local music venues.  In fact, this is where Goldstein found the inspiration to begin creating these unique posters.  They were screen printed locally at design and print shop The Merch.

Take a look at the posters in the Gig Posters for Science Flickr stream, and if you want to see the real thing, come visit us in Wilson Library!

(Image courtesy of Flickr user gigpsforscis)

Reaching Out to Students

This past spring, Jay and Meg worked with colleagues in the North Carolina Collection to curate an exhibit titled From Di-Phis to Loreleis: 150 Years of Student Organizations at UNC.

A photograph of a banquet held by the Order of the Ghimghoul featured in the exhibit.
A flier featured in the exhibit.

The exhibit provided us with a great opportunity to reach out to student organizations and groups interested in preserving their piece of Carolina history.  In April we held Students Make it Last Longer, an event to promote the exhibit and increase student interest in the Archives.

We are proud to say that the event was a success!  Many students came to look at the exhibit, have a snack, chat with us, and learn more about donating their student organization records to the Archives.  Here are some photos that Jay and Meg took at the event–

University Archivist, Jay Gaidmore, talking to a student about her organization's archives.
Students browsing the exhibit.

If you’re in a student organization or group and are interested in working with University Archives to preserve your Carolina legacy please contact us, we’d love to chat with you!

 

Welcome!

Welcome to “For the Record,” University Archives and Records Management Services’ (UARMS) blog.  We look forward to using this space to share content with you and make announcements regarding our services.

Expect posts from UARMS staff, students, and friends on diverse topics such as

  • University history,
  • records management,
  • interesting finds from the Archives, and
  • archives-related news and events.

Thanks for visiting!  If you have any tips, suggestions, or other comments for us please let us know!