NHPRC intern and staff screening a map.
The Museum of Ventura County, with funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, has begun to scan and preserve an extensive set of Ventura County engineering records. This month marks the halfway point in making a collection of the county’s longest-serving civil engineering firm available to the public.
In addition to the federal funding, the Museum is utilizing grant funds from TOLD Foundation to offer paid internships, which provide valuable work experience to students who would not otherwise be able to afford unpaid internship work. So far, the funding has supported four interns to help with the archiving project, including students from California State University, Channel Islands.
“Paying students for their time during internships is a critical step in training the next generation of archivists and librarians and helps to create equitable access to hands on work experience,” says Research Library and Archives Director Deya Terrafranca. “TOLD Foundation’s funding is a game changer for the Museum and for these students. Through our federal, local, and foundation partnerships, we’re making our collections available online and teaching critical skills to students that will give them an edge in the job market once they graduate college.”
One of the most important steps in the process is digitizing the oversized drawings, maps, and plans. With direction from the cataloger, interns learn to handle the items while they are scanned. Interns are then responsible for handling the digital files, uploading them to the Museum’s online database and properly cataloging files to be found efficiently.
“The students are completing the cataloging process from start to finish,” says Cataloger Hannah Rogers. “These kinds of prints were made over decades and different kinds of drawings were made using different chemical processes. Some of the drawings contain chemicals that can be hazardous to others in the collection and are stored separately. The students are learning to identify the drawings and how to separate and preserve them to protect every item.”
The project will continue through August of this year and the Museum expects to hire at least two additional interns for the summer months. An online exhibit featuring the collection will be available to the public starting in June and will be featured on the Museum’s website. The public can view items that have been digitized on the Museum’s online archive at: https://photographs.venturamuseum.org/collections/show/35
