Originally posted on Archivist Apprenticeship on February 5, 2020.

This semester, as a part of my internship for the MLIS program, I am processing the George Chambers Papers. The illustrious Chambers (1901-1978) was an amateur historian and civic leader. He was the business manager for Tucson Newspapers, Inc., which comprised of the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson Citizen back then. He owned the publishing company Arizona Silhouettes and also served on the Tucson City Council and Arizona Board of Regents. While he was originally born in Kansas, he attended the University of Arizona and spent his career in Arizona. He was known for historic preservation projects, such as the removal of the original San Agustin Cathedral façade before it was razed (the façade is now located at the Arizona History Museum). He also led the microfilming of El Archivo de Hidalgo del Parral, a collection of colonial era documents in Mexico. Given my interest in regional history, particularly mid-20th century Tucson, this collection is of great interest.

According to the accession record in ArchivesSpace, this collection measures 11.75 linear feet and contains news clippings, scrapbooks, photographs, books, court records, correspondence, and interviews on audiotape. It was donated by Harry Chambers and accessioned in 1981. So far, as a part of the collection survey which precedes any arrangement and description, I have encountered discolored newspapers, business letters, photos, manuscripts, and other publications. Once my survey is completed, I will create a processing proposal. Both of these steps are new to me, even though I’ve taken archives classes (they were more theory-based). So in anticipation of writing the proposal, I am trying to discern the kinds of series into which the collection will be arranged. Preliminary research on Chambers and familiarity with local history and geography certainly helps. However, attempting to take high-level notes about the contents of the collection and imaging how it will be organized is my first challenge.