Processing the Abele Transportation History Collection: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour

The Manuscripts and Special Collections Unit of the New York State Library invites you to take a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of the processing of a collection, the Fred B. Abele Transportation History Collection, which the Library received in December 2001.

This is a chance to see how State Library staff process a collection of 38 cubic feet of photographs, prints, postcards and other ephemera so that researchers can use it.

Some of the processing steps detailed in this exhibit include:

• Arrival of the collection and initial rehousing and cataloging work.
• Getting ready for the appraisers.
• Creating a preliminary catalog record.
• Conducting the appraisal.
• Looking at the scrapbooks more carefully and taking notes and more notes.
• Sorting and rehousing boxes containing a mixture of photographs, slides, postcards, timetables, etc.
• Relabeling and taking even more notes.

Follow the links in the navigation list at left to learn more about both the process and the Abele collection.