Taking Stuff Out of Smaller Cardboard Boxes and Putting Them In Bigger Glass Boxes

Today I continued going through the Chief Justice material for the glass cases that were originally on the top floor of the library, now on the 3rd floor in the archive. The cases were being moved as I was arriving, so now I can play with putting items in them to see how they look in there. I finished looking through most of the items that were available and decide the best way to display them would be via his life before he was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court in case #1, and everything from his campaign for the Supreme Court and on in glass case #2. I had to make decisions about what items that were imporant but fgor whatever reason would not go in a glass case (because they were too similiar to something else that was already on display, took up too much room which could have been better served with smaller and more interestin objects etc).  

Kheir and I also deliberated on which 3 items to enlarge. We went up to the scanner on the 4th floor in the LIS department and emailed ourselves the 3 images. I told Kheir that could prepare those files graphically for enlarging (especially seeing as how each of them required some amount of tinkering to do things like place headlines to accompany a newpaper article or require an overlay of a short biographical overview of Justice Freeman etc.) We spent some time crafting the bio as well, using structure of the text attached to another enlarged image hanging in the archive (R. Eugene Pincham) as a template of sorts.

I also found some good Justice Freeman quotes, being on the look out for them as potential things to add to either the blow ups or the brochure that I am to design. He was a very quotable judge, so this was a fun task. Of note are words he said about how justice and conscience are linked (too long to go into here) from  a 2004 speech given at a Bar Association annual dinner keynote (featured in a print version of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin) or what he said when asked about the significance of being the first African American Chief Justice: “I’m an African American who now has become chief judge; I’m not an African American chief justice. I have no different perception on what course I would take because of my heritage," which I found online here. Justice Freeman was active long before the internet, so that makes me apprecaite the archive so much more; it elaborates a story of which only vague main points are outlined online.

Kheir had to reschedule next week so we decided to meet Tuesday instead of Thursday. I've only been n the archive a few times at this point but it is fun to see how this is coming together. I'm enjoying getting to actually handle the things in the collection. When I told Kheir that I had to make decisions about what I could and couldn't make work in the glass case, he told me that I was gaining an understanding of the type of things an archivist struggles with. It was an interesting moment!

Of note but only mildly related:

From what I think was Justice Freeman's senior year of high school yearbook:

A store that delivers both beauty supplies and records!
Are they hiring?

Today's standards fulfilled as per the Society of American Archivists Curriculum:

Society of American Archivists Curriculum: A. CORE ARCHIVAL KNOWLEDGE, 1. Knowledge of Archival Material and Functions, b) Appraisal for Selection and Acquisition, g. Management and Administration (p. 5)

A. CORE ARCHIVAL KNOWLEDGE, 2. Knowledge of the Profession, c) Professional Ethics and Values (p. 7)

A. CORE ARCHIVAL KNOWLEDGE, 3. Contextual knowledge, a) Social and Cultural Context, d) Underserved & Underrepresented Communities (pp. 7-8) 

B. COMPLEMENTARY KNOWLEDGE, B. Structure of the Learning Process (pp 8-9)