Last week the three other collection processors and I completed a three-day intensive training for the Hidden Collections Project. The training was affectionately termed, “Archivist Bootcamp.” Luckily, we didn’t have to shave our heads and even though it was kind of warm in the off-site storage facility that we meet in on the third day, I never broke a sweat! That being said I learned so much and am extremely excited about the project.

During our training we received an orientation to the finer details of the project, clarified terms and concepts and discussed our concerns about minimal processing. We did a paleography and photography workshop, received hands-on training with the new release of Archivist Toolkit 2.0 and minimally processed a collection as a group. This gave us the opportunity to examine the process, problem solve and troubleshoot issues that may arise when we process the collections for the project.

Since the processing involves so many collections and many different institutions, consistency is extremely important to us. The Archivist Bootcamp ensured that we are all on the same page with the process being that we will be working in smaller teams at different facilities beginning Monday!