What tools/apps do you use for archival research?

[goldielocks]

Hey gang.

I have done quite a bit of archival research, but nothing on the scale of the trip I'm about to take. Normally, I just photograph documents with my iPhone to cut down on costs (it is much cheaper than photocopying everything) and time (it is much more efficient). I always obtain permission from the archivist/curator first, of course. Then I just load them onto my laptop and organize them.

But for the trip I'm about to embark on, I've been toying around with an app that converts images to PDF files. This made me wonder: what do you guys use? Since this is pretty much the most intensive research trip I've ever taken, I'd like to be as efficient as possible. I work with a lot of primary source documents that I need to photograph/reproduce so that I can take them with me (photographs, correspondence, etc.)

Any tips, tricks, or suggestions? I figured this discussion would be helpful for pretty much all of us.

[TMP]

I had funding for my research but one of my major archives didn't allow for any photography or photocopying so I had to type up everything onto my laptop (my WPM really improved!). That saved me a lot of money- meaning that I had more money to copy as much as I wanted to in my other archives and I still came within my budget limit.

I printed everything out and just organized them in my binders. Binders with dividers are your friends. So what if I killed trees? I'm pretty environmental in other aspects of my life.

[StrangeLight]

a notebook and a pencil.

if i was allowed to take pictures, i'd still write the file/box # into my notebook with the date and a note that i had photographed it. then i'd take a picture of the outside of the box/package/folder with the # on it so i could tell easily where one file begins and the other ends. i would always make small notes about the content of the photos in my notebook so that i wouldn't always have to open the jpg files to remember what this or that document actually had in it.

i use iphoto to organize all of the pictures. it's not perfect, but it works well enough for me.

anything that i couldn't photocopy or take pictures of, i wrote out by hand. this sucked, i probably should have typed it, but i was working under some odd conditions. i didn't feel safe carrying around my laptop in the city i was working in and i also couldn't afford to pay the half-hourly fee for using electricity at the archive. but those are particulars to the circumstances of my own research.

[cliopatra]

I also try to photograph everything (with permission). Saves time, money, and my hands from getting cramps.

Dropbox is amazing.

http://www.dropbox.com/

I organize all my archival research into folders with the original classification system of the respective archive. So I know what I have and what I might need to go back for in the future. Of course, if their system makes no sense and defies all logic (or if there is no system) I will create my own. I can then access my research from any computer! You can also access your dropbox folder through an app. for any smartphone or tablet.

Really helpful when you don't have your laptop with you and are doing work/research at the library. I also organize all my articles, pdf files, essays, and any other pertinent documents into Dropbox.

Zotero is great http://www.zotero.org/ But I found that after implementing Dropbox I don't really use this.

Hope this helps.

Edited August 21, 2011 by cliophile

[goldielocks]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm a big fan of Zotero and iPhoto as well; I guess many of us photograph documents and then just file them away for ourselves. Good to hear what works for other people.

I'm finally splurging on a Kindle DX. Mostly, I'm just planning to use it for all of my documents; I am so sick of carring around binder upon binder of articles and drafts, or having them lay around my apartment. Plus, I figure that any book available in that format is just an added bonus for me. For my upcoming trip, I think I'll stick with my tried and true method of photographing. Then I'll convert it all to PDF form and add it to my Kindle. Now to just figure out how to compress files so they don't take up too much space... I am not so great with technology.

[TMP]

I should also add the value of typing/writing the documents by hand is fantastic for anyone who has incredible memory like myself and finds such technique a great way to learn. I could recite what I found in the archives to my adviser without even needing my notes and answer any questions that she had for me on the spot. She was quite impressed by my memory but later found out (and became even more impressed) that I had to write everything down that contribute to why I remembered so many details.

But clearly if you're short on time in the archives, just do what you have to do.

[Sigaba]

GL--

I think staying with your tried and true methods is wise. When you get back, you can use Adobe Acrobat to convert your images to individual PDF files or to combine them all in digital binders. Your school's computer store may have offer a discount for Adobe products or you can go to academicsuperstore[dot]com. In any case, make sure you get a version of Acrobat that has this conversion functionality. (I'm still using Acrobat Professional version 7 and Adobe has since diversified the product line.)

Er, I'll say it just because. Please remember to make multiple back ups of everything (both digitally and print outs) and to store some of the back ups in entirely different locations.