Just before the new year, I was working with some additions to our collection of records from the Alaska Pacific Consolidated Mining Company, the company that ran Independence Mine at Hatcher Pass. Tucked into an oversize folder at the end of the collection, I found this gem: This photo is…
One of the things about having students in to do research is that we often don’t get to see what becomes of the research they do. That’s not really a complaint, by the way, it’s just the way things go. Back when I was a university student, by the time…
Alaska Defense Command, Alaska District shoulder patch, circa 1942. Anchorage Fur Rendezvous parade, 1958. Fred Fickett, Signal Corps. 1882, Virginia. Helicopter landing at US Army Arctic Test Board, 1962. Private Billy B. Johnson, US First Infantry Division, Company E, 18th Infantry, Honor Guard, checkpoint post, Frankfurt,…
We’ve had students in an anthropology class working in the Archives this semester on a variety of projects having to do with the Independence Mine (Alaska Pacific Consolidated Mining Company records, to be more precise.) They’ve been a really fun crew to have around. We had a request from one…
The Loupe, by Megan Friedel The loupe is a thing of simple, beautiful functionality. Want to see what the street sign says in that photo of the 1964 Alaska earthquake in Anchorage? Use a loupe. Need to see the detail in a 35mm color slide? Use a loupe. Can’t decipher…
The Microspatula, by Jason Sylvestre There are a number of things that I find cringe-worthy as an archivist: legal sized documents, scotch tape, paperclips, rusty staples, and unruly masses of paper. Although my favorite archival tool can’t address all of these, it does handle my most hated enemy, rusty staples,…
The Pencil, by Mariecris Gatlabayan When I was in elementary school, my friend and I would sit by the long jump sandpit and write and draw. We would write letters, notes, our thoughts, doodle, come up with secret codes for our diary, and, most importantly, write with pens of different…
Inspired by a posting from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art earlier this month, we decided to share some of our favorite archives tools with you! First up, Arlene. My Flip HD videocam, by Arlene Arlene’s personalized Flip HD videocam I know this may be surprising to include in a…
In celebration of Archives Month in October, you are invited to an Open House and Film Screening hosted by UAA Archives & Special Collections and the Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association (AMIPA). WHEN & WHERE: Thursday, October 13th, 2011 Third floor of the UAA/APU Consortium Library (click here to see…
Every so often we’ll find something in a collection that really resonates with us and the work we do. For me (Arlene), this week, that was a letter. The letter was pasted into an album of photographs kept by A. G. Maddren. A. G. Maddren was a geologist with the…
