We’ve photographed objects, scanned journals, and gathered materials- what now? This is where the real archival practice starts to take form, where we make sense of what we have. I remember describing my method to Belén as “gathering all the nest of information, and taking a comb to straighten it out.” What I mean by this is that our information is not accessible in its current state. Sure, Belén and I might know where her files are, as we have first-hand experience working with them, but can that knowledge be replicated by an outside party? For an archive to work as it is intended, the information must be made accessible in clear and concise paths of knowledge- so having labels, categories, and organization that promotes the ease of access to materials.
To do so, we must first make sense of the collected information. As much as I’m working to digitize the material, I’m also researching it in a way, as having first hand knowledge of the material helps with categorizing it. With the input of Belén, we have started to make categories and proper labels on the material. To properly comb out the information, we created clear pathways of access by organizing materials into these labeled categories. This ensures that the information can be easily navigated and understood by both ourselves and others who may access the archive. The goal is to streamline the archival process and make valuable resources readily available. In the most basic of terms, combining information is to organize.
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