Practicum Entry 9 November 2010

*As sometimes happens, my computer died at the end 2010 and I have not been able to post my entries regarding my practicum for Trimester 3. I am now back online:D and will be posting my entries here.*

9 November 2010
Today was my first day at Wellington City Archives. There is one thing that seems to be universal: the in-processing/health and safety orientation when beginning a government job, even if you aren't technically an employee.

After a fairly comprehensive tour of the facility, I was assigned toe task of adding to the spreadsheet listing of correspondence to the city at the end of 1887. The correspondence has been described by someone more contemporary to the dates of the letters and are all listed in a register. This made it a bit easier to list the item and double check it against the existing record. It is quite a challenge to decipher some of the handwriting written with what sometimes resembles a quill but were probably fountain pens. The correspondence includes reports from city officials and citizens, requests for services and development, and complaints. One of the interesting and funny letters was from the captain of the fire brigade. He was sending in a monthly report detailing the fires and false alarms. Apparently, one member of the brigade brought his alarm clock to the Manners Street brigade house because he needed to wake up early for his day job. His alarm went off at 4:15 am and the Manners Street brigade house watchman thought it was the alarm bell from another brigade house. He set off the Manners Street alarm and sent a cable to the other house indicating that they had received their alarm. The other house thought that they were reporting an alarm and turned out as well. The captain summarized and expressed his approval for the men being diligent in their duty even when responding to a false alarm. I highlighted this letter in the spreadsheet as one of interest.

The Archive shares the information with other city staff on the intranet. These are part of the promotion of the archive. We have discussed the need in archives to help other parts of the organization to understand the purpose and uses of the Archive. It doesn't hurt when some of the stories are entertaining as well!