The Working Archives

LIMBO

a. Limbo is where we assign a temporary reference number (LIMBO-year-00#) to an artifact after we receive it but before we can truly classify the context. All artifacts that enter the Moore archives MUST have some kind of visual associated with them. This can be as simple as a cell phone picture or a screenshot, and can be as complete as an archival scan.
b. When we make a LIMBO file, they need to go in the SHARED folder. This should include the media of the object (either scan, video, audio, etc etc) and the thumbnail image that we are going to use for that object. We should also include a txt file (you can make these quickly in the notepad app on computers) or a sticky note photograph or something similar that describes where it w

1. Naming system: (name the files this, inside the folder, for easy access and communication between people working in the archives)
   • LIMBO-year-00# THUMB (thumbnail)
   • LIMBO-year-00# MEDIA {you call also add MEDIA – A, etc} for multiple media sources
   • LIMBO-year-00# NOTES (context notes, including if it is a primary, secondary, tertiary source and the year it was found and recoded for the archives).
     • They should all go into this folder (C:\Users\HYSIntern1\Documents\LIMBO folder) in the shared drive
     • If you know a person involved for sure, you should also record their name and add it to the notes. You should also add their name, as well as the limbo number, to the spreadsheet for current people in the archive so that we keep names consistent.
2. Fear not for duplicates! There are instructions for how to remove duplicate names entered into that spreadsheet below. (in screenshots)
3. Also, if you are the person entering this object into the limbo folder or you are the person who found this object, you are welcome to add yourself to the people involved as well! Be sure to add a note about your role in the process of discovery in both the LIMBO-year-00# NOTES and in the ‘Notes’ column on the Running list of Named Individuals in the Archive
   • E.g.: Artifact scanned on June 11, 2025 by Jane Doe, volunteer at the Moore Archives (note for LIMBO-year-00# NOTES) || Jane Doe (enter full name, Firstname Lastname, into a new row on the spreadsheet, don’t feel that you need to fill out anything else OTHER than the notes column, where you add that note. Should be something like– ‘Artifact in LIMBO-year-00# scanned on June 11, 2025 by Jane Doe, volunteer at the Moore Archives’

Classifying Artifacts

For the sakes and purposes of the Moore archives, we define any object that is relevant to our collections as an ‘artifact’.

These can be classified into any of the following categories

• Archives
  • Primary source – Original, uninterpreted materials created at the time of an event by direct participants or witnesses (e.g., diaries, legal records, correspondence, meeting notes)
    • Manuscripts, Correspondence, Official records, Legal documents, Administrative files, Relevant News clippings, Postcards, Artwork* (*only if an etching or a scrapbook or something similar) Original maps, Architectural plans, Film recordings, Video recordings of an event occurring, Audio recordings, Oral histories, Interviews, Speeches
  • Secondary source – Works that analyze, interpret, or comment on primary sources or historical events, often created after the fact (e.g., speeches on historical topics, annotated books, scholarly articles).
    • Annotated books, Speeches or presentations about past events, Marketing materials, Advertising materials, Interviews about events not experienced firsthand, Edited or compiled media with interpretation, Documentaries
  • Tertiary source – Aggregated or summarized knowledge derived from primary and secondary sources, often published later for reference (e.g., herbals, encyclopedias, bibliographies, field guides).
    • Herbals (compiled after the original publication), Field guides, Bibliographies, Factbooks, Encyclopedias, Textbooks, “Research Materials”

What if I have an artifact that could fit into a variety of these classifications? Like an oral history recording made in 1970 of someone recording themselves reading from an herbal and doing a presentation and then adding their personal interpretation of it could be either a primary, secondary, or tertiary source. In this scenario, we should use our insight into the material to determine what it is MOSTLY. For the example above, I would consider that a secondary source, since it is a recording of that and that was the presenter’s intent at the time

Record Group Numbers

Archives Format for RG numbers: RGx.By.Fz
X being the RG it is part of
Y being the box it is in
F being the file number the object is located in

• Library– Any book, booklet, newspaper, biography, anthology, magazine, etc that was collected for the archives, but is either not original or has no relevant, archive-staff-produced annotations. (All lib books should be secondary or tertiary sources, but we should still make an effort to distinguish between them)
  • Library Format for RG numbers: RGx.Sy.Bz
  • (same logic as the archives, but whew S stands for Shelf and B stands for Book)
• Photos– photos, prints, scans of photos, postcards that have NOT been printed on
  • Photos Format for RG numbers: RGx.By.Fz (same logic as archives)
• Objects– physical object only
  • Paintings (original, on canvases), archeological artifacts, sculptures, etc
  • RG format: RGx.Iy (x is still research group, but I is now object number.)

How to Date Artifacts

Past perfect has a very helpful area called the ‘date’ where we can record a date for the object. The date is either the date that the object was entered into past perfect or the limbo folder for SECONDARY and TERTIARY sources, or the date that the object originated from for PRIMARY sources.