THE WORK OF THE ARCHIVES BASEMENT RESETTLEMENT PROJECT

Over the years many cabinets of files have been transferred from the basement archive storage to the 6th floor Global Archives work rooms. The Global Archives team is in the midst of the Archive Basement Resettlement, an initiative to make sure all of the most valuable information will be preserved. Over 18,000 documents have been logged into the archive database, and volunteers are working to make documents available online. ​

The original 177 file cabinets in the basement have had all files and notebooks accessioned (meaning their basic contents are recorded along with location). In January, a new process for selecting and bringing up the files was tested. It was a great success, where over the course of a week a total of 28 boxes of documents and manuals were systematically brought up from the basement. Five file cabinets worth of material were added to room 653 and condensed to three filing cabinets.

Toward the end of the January Sojourn, the Archive team hosted the ICA staff, community residents, & maintenance team for lunch and an archive updates. Archive team members shared the details of the Basement Resettlement Plan as well as the technical aspects of FileMaker Pro and the accession prototype. The room was full of energy and guests were eager to investigate ways to access and dialogue with Archival materials. 

There is deep interest by current staff in understanding and making relevant the archived research and documents in order to inform ICA’s community development methods, skills in event management, and ToP training around the globe. Moving forward, the staff is interested in coordinating with the Archives team for training in how to navigate archival materials, with training formats both in person and accessible remotely to include ICA global partners.