Kirk Mudle, NYU Libraries, Spring 2021, NEH
My Spring 2021 internship was with the NYU Libraries Barbara Goldsmith Preservation & Conservation Department, where I have assisted in the stewardship of two collections. The first was the Indigenous Media Collections—which consists of a large donation of Indigenous films from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian Film and Video Center—and the second is the Research Institute of the Study of Man (RISM) collection. Working with these collections, I gained experience inventorying and conducting preservation analysis on a variety of obsolete media formats, handled and repaired motion picture film, and gathered metadata to support subsequent activities, including rehousing and digitization prioritization and permissions outreach. By the end of the semester, I inventoried approximately 400 items in the IMC Inventory.
In addition to my on-site responsibilities, I also worked remotely with the IMC inventory to conduct permissions research and experiment using data management tools like OpenRefine. This led to my creation of a new permissions tracking system designed to 1.) consolidate data from all previous permissions work and 2.) record any future permissions efforts. For me, a major takeaway from this experience was learning from the IMC team about both the troubled colonial history underling archival practices, as well as the possibilities for upending and reversing those structures through ethical and responsible stewardship.
Kirk Mudle interned at NYU Libraries in Spring 2021.
