It was the best of archives, it was the worst of archives
The Special Collections room at UCLA's Charles Young Research Library is easily the worst archive I have visited in my short career. FYI. They don't allow photography. Photocopies are a dollar per page, and will take about two weeks. (By the way, how the hell is photocopying a document less damaging than taking a picture of it?!?) You can only look at one folder at a time. The box that houses the folder has to stay at the front of the room. They will allow only box to be at the front of the room at a time. For offsite collections (like the one I was using), you can only order five boxes per day. And you have to order those boxes at least two days before you arrive. And the room is staffed by undergraduates who rotate in and out every hour so nobody knows what the researchers are doing.
And, worst of all, I don't think I found much of use to my adviser's research, which is why I was there in the first place.
The Reagan Presidential Library, on the other hand, is easily the best archive I've visited. Sure, I mock it for its excesses (Air Force One in the museum?!? Is that really necessary?) and the pervasive message that Reagan was The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, but that's how Presidential Libraries roll (well, the ones with the caliber of donors listed on the wall of Reagan's lobby). If you can get past the Secret Service, you can order 15 boxes at a time (with no daily limit), photograph whatever you want (I was so trigger happy that I ended up with three shots of my laptop charger), photocopies only cost 75 cents (which is still way too much, but relative to what I had experienced the day before...), and the research room is staffed by professional librarians and archivists who know what every researcher is doing.
And, best of all, I plowed through everything I was looking for and had time left over to browse through other folders.
For those of you keeping track of my decision to come to LA vs. having the Reagan people photocopy and mail the docs I missed last time, the stuff I got on this trip would have cost over $800. So I guess the hectic trip was worth it...
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And, worst of all, I don't think I found much of use to my adviser's research, which is why I was there in the first place.
The Reagan Presidential Library, on the other hand, is easily the best archive I've visited. Sure, I mock it for its excesses (Air Force One in the museum?!? Is that really necessary?) and the pervasive message that Reagan was The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, but that's how Presidential Libraries roll (well, the ones with the caliber of donors listed on the wall of Reagan's lobby). If you can get past the Secret Service, you can order 15 boxes at a time (with no daily limit), photograph whatever you want (I was so trigger happy that I ended up with three shots of my laptop charger), photocopies only cost 75 cents (which is still way too much, but relative to what I had experienced the day before...), and the research room is staffed by professional librarians and archivists who know what every researcher is doing.
And, best of all, I plowed through everything I was looking for and had time left over to browse through other folders.
For those of you keeping track of my decision to come to LA vs. having the Reagan people photocopy and mail the docs I missed last time, the stuff I got on this trip would have cost over $800. So I guess the hectic trip was worth it...
----------------
Now playing: Pixies - Stormy Weather
via FoxyTunes