October is National Archives Month. In addition to our Tools Tuesdays and Throwback Thursdays posts on Instagram (see bottom for first ones!), Viatorians Archivist Rebecca Skirvin joined Viatorian Voices to help us dive further into the archives.
Rebecca earned a bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD in history, and she discovered her passion for archives while researching her doctoral dissertation. “I went around to archives all over the country, and it was great to interact with archivists who really know their collections and what you’ll find and not find,” Rebecca said.
The daily work of receiving and organizing materials is the means toward the end of research and reporting. Sometimes, internal needs arise, but external researchers often come to our archivists, too. “We had someone who was writing a book on the material culture of priests on the battlefield – Mass kits, albs, stoles,” Rebecca said. “I helped her track down correspondence from Viatorian priests who talk about their wartime experience.”
While so much of the history is contained in old papers, used books, and other aged artifacts, a lot of modern archiving addresses preserving digital content. Coincidentally, Rebecca made some work for herself by appearing on the podcast. “I’m responsible for archiving digital materials such as memos, e-newsletters, oral histories, our website, and this podcast,” Rebecca said, jokingly classifying it as “archives inception.”
Hear more about Rebecca’s background, the routine work of an archivist, what all she manages in our archives, and the way archivist work can be a calling for those with certain skills and passions. Listen to Episode 97 on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts, and check out our online archives listings for more neat items!