tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6938733031206860369.post4479146291319818558..comments2009-11-06T22:30:13.027-05:00Comments on PACSCL Consortial Survey Initiative: Sweating the small stuffChristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415372259962099553noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6938733031206860369.post-90887735869154848532007-12-10T10:48:00.000-05:002007-12-10T10:48:00.000-05:00I'm posting this on behalf of Andrew, who was our ...<I>I'm posting this on behalf of Andrew, who was our invaluable host and guide during our time at the Chemical Heritage Foundation last year:</I><BR/><BR/>Small collections have the same advantage over larger collections that a short story has over a novel. They tend to be tightly focused and "about" a single thing. Often the collection can be an afterthought—someone's notes on bird-watching—or a gaudy survivor—payroll books from the 1890s from a company that died in 1929.<BR/><BR/>Of course larger collections can contain pleasant surprises as well. I'm currently processing the papers of Walter Slavin, an American expert on Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, and I've discovered that they contain a solid cubic foot of material by and about the more famous Russian expert Boris L'vov. The material isn't just business either. The two men were friends as well as colleagues, so you come away with a nice feel for each man's personality. Such are the joys of archival processing!<BR/><BR/>Andrew Mangravite<BR/>Chemical Heritage FoundationChristinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10415372259962099553noreply@blogger.com