1. What’s Going On In This Picture
What’s Going On In This Picture? : Processing Slides at Governor’s House Library
Claire Barnewolt and Laura Marion, University of Florida
Society of Florida Archivists Annual Meeting, 2019

2. Introduce myself (assistant of Laura Marion, who could not be here today).

3. Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board
Created in 1959 as a state commission
Acquire, restore, and reconstruct built environment of St. Augustine
Completed over 30 projects
Managed interpretive museum village
Abolished in 1997 by the Sundown Act
City of St. Augustine took over properties and library in 1997
George A. Smathers Libraries became steward of library in 2010
UFHSA became steward of properties in 2010
Dates of San Agustín Antiguo? Operated in the 1970s-1980s. Legacy is in the Spanish Quarter Museum on St. George.
City of St. Augustine Department of Historic Preservation and Heritage Tourism ( )
UF Historic St. Augustine is a direct-support organization of the University of Florida.

4. Opening St. Augustine
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHRPC) Access to Historical Records grant
Two year period, May June 2019
Processing maps, design records, and photograph collection
Approximately 7,000 print photographs, 5,000 negatives, and 16,000 slides
Opening St. Augustine: Preserving and Providing Access to 450 Years of American History
Started in May 2017
Name of grant, much done before I was hired (my background and what I faced coming into this project).

5. Governor’s House Slides
Popular photo format, all 35mm
Documents entire building projects from start to finish
But also includes:
Official board trips and board members’ leisure travels
Purchased slideshows
Artifacts and land surveys
St. Augustine landmarks
Special events and celebrations
Archaeology (distinguish block and lot)! Spain! Disney! Interpretive sites! Live-in history project by Flagler students!

6. Challenges Identification
Many of the slides were not labeled, described, or dated other than with the manufacturer’s processing stamp
Discovery
We found slides in several places: interfiled with other formats, still in slide carousels, and some in mislabeled sleeves
Original Order?
May have been an original order present at one time, but it was long since disturbed and indeterminable
Date stamp issue. Only orders kept intact were slideshow orders

7. “Back Yards, 1982”
Common question: “what is this.” We placed this in the St. Augustine Misc category since we were unable to discover which yard this was. Some we could discern and placed in correct block and lot folder.

8. Arrangement Strategies
Used other library resources for context to help make decisions
Arrangement: People, Places, Things
Broken down into further subseries
Preservation Solutions
Rehousing material
Carousel -> sleeves
old sleeves -> new sleeves
Acid free folders and boxes
Resources: downtown St. Augustine structured by block and lot numbers so we used our block and lot files on hand in the library. Used a slide Master List (created pre-1997) when applicable (which was rarely). Me as novice in archives, simple breakdown.
With grant money, ordered new sleeves and folders.

9. Next Steps: will follow the same format with negatives and print photographs. An online finding aid for these collections will be available at the end of June of this year. To meet grant objectives, we have also been making use of these images online, to promote our managed properties.

10. Photo credits Map tracing : UF Digital Collections. 1961.
HSAPB Logo : Laura Marion’s own photo
Matt Armstrong and Laura Marion : The St. Augustine Record (taken by Sheldon Gardner)
Blacksmith : Governor’s House Library Photograph Collection, Box 4, Folder 1. Undated.
Back Yard : Governor’s House Library Photograph Collection, Box 2, Folder
Photo of Slides : Instagram
St. George Street : UF Digital Collections. Undated.
NHPRC Logo : Facebook

11. Thanks! Questions? Email us at: lauramarion@ufl.edu
Find us at:
@govhouselibrary
Governor’s House Library
Was not able to show many pictures today, but we make use of plenty of our slides on social media so please do follow us on Instagram if you are interested and contact us with any questions. Tara will speak on a similarly grant-funded project to process and then digitize her collections, making them more accessible to the public.