Behind the Scenes: Touring the Archives
One of the primary settings in my book is the archives of the local historical library at which the protagonists are interning. Library jobs intrigue me because, for a long time, I had no idea that there was extensive higher education that often goes into acquiring such specialized positions, and said positions encapsulate far more than just the Dewey decimal system. All I knew when choosing the archives for the primary setting was that I loved the atmosphere and aesthetic it evoked; I’ve come to love the “dark academia” aesthetic and have always appreciated the smell of old books and paper that permeates libraries. I really wanted to expand on that world of dark stained wood and leather chairs. But outside of the style of the library, I really knew nothing–at least, not in detail–about how the archival process worked.
Once my publishing/creative team came into my life–the lovely and endlessly talented Amberle Phillips and Hannah Escobedo–they helped me with brainstorming for countless aspects of the writing, marketing, and overall creative process of my book. Once I had their support, I realized that there might be some things that we may need to look into in order to “get things right.” A big reason that I’ve never completed any other big projects before this book is that I am a perfectionist, and that perfectionism has often crippled me in the past; if I wasn’t 100% certain that I could execute what I was trying to do perfectly, then I resolved just to never start. I’ve become far less afraid of imperfection, and the newfound confidence was only bolstered when Amberle and Hannah joined me on this journey. Because of these things, I admitted to myself that I was going to need to do more than a little research in order to tell this story how I wanted to. I did a bit of googling to learn the basics, but I wanted to understand archiving a little more than the average bear. Enter: Linda Barnickle, my savior.
It started with simply reaching out to the main public library branch here in Nashville to see if it would be possible just to speak with someone about the archives; it turned into a full-blown tour. My team and I could not have been more thrilled with the peek behind the scenes. It was entirely unexpected, too, which I think made it that much more special. At the start of the interview, we sat with Linda and just let her tell us anything she could so that we could better understand the archival process. We each interjected with questions here and there, and Hannah and I took as many notes as we could. She provided so much valuable information that has really helped to inform the way I write about archiving throughout the process of drafting this book. She also explained everything in a way that was incredibly accessible and understandable, but which still demonstrated her expertise in the area. After we were able to squeeze every last bit of information out of her that we were able to, she offered to show us the archives. She told us in a conspiratorial tone that she usually doesn’t allow people back into the archives, but that she would be happy to show us the behind-the-scenes.
I think that, even if you’re not somebody with an existing love of old things, the archives would still be a fascinating place to explore. Amberle and Hannah were geeking out on old photographs and film negatives, and we were all amazed at the newspapers they had preserved from the early 20th century. There were rows and rows of shelves that held all manner of media from all different times. She explained to us what special collections are–things that all relate in subject even if they weren’t submitted or published together, and these things can sometimes include items from an individual’s private collection too, things like diaries and scrapbooks. All in all, it was a captivating experience, and I could not be more grateful for the clarity and insight that the tour and interview gave me.
I would recommend that everybody reach out to their local library and speak to a librarian! There is such a wealth of knowledge and information that they would more than likely be happy to share with you. Even just doing a standard tour of a library can probably reveal to you little known things about the library itself or even about your community. Shout out to Nashville Public Libraries and Linda Barnickle for all of the help!