I Found Georgia O'Keeffe in the Archives

The not so secret life of a research nerd

A few weeks ago, my daughter called saying she was coming home on a rare mid-week visit from college to go to the map room at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland for a research project. Did I want to go?

Did I want to go??? Of course.

Not the National Archives

One of the benefits of living near Washington, DC is having access to some of the world’s best sources of primary source research materials such as The National Archives and The Library of Congress.

Primary Research is Like Winning the Lottery (for me at least)

Primary research refers to original source material. Think photographs, letters, interviews, diaries, data sets, videos, audio recordings, maps, etc. Here is a good explanation with examples.

When you’re writing using primary research, your experiences and thoughts have authority. Now that being said, reading, learning, discovering information from books, movies, etc. also has tremendous value. And sometimes the only way we can learn about something.

For instance, I was talking with author Harlie Sponaugle the other day about her book, The Pharaoh’s Dark Garden and how she became interested in setting a story in ancient Egypt. Harlie and her husband had listened to a series of audio lectures about ancient Egypt (secondary source) and found it fascinating. She could have written her story just from that. However, the seed of her story world came after two visits to Egypt where she experienced the actual ruins, the archeology, and at a story-world level, the air, the temperature, the energy of the people and the surroundings. She became an eyewitness and any photos she took, notes she made, interviews she may have had become her primary resources.

Click the image for a link to the book

Sure, that’s all great and wonderful (it really is.) And I can think of a variety of story genres where this would never apply: hello speculative fiction. Harlie’s book falls into that slot as well but her experiences with traveling to Egypt set her story into motion.

Back to the Archives

National Treasure - making of the movie.

My first visit to the National Archives was in grad school. It was a field trip where my research class had a tour of the research area. If you’re not a researcher, the National Archives is where you can view the Constitution. I recommend that you take the time to do this if you’re ever in DC.

Archives for Everyone

If you want to conduct research in the Archives, it is best to make an appointment. Before you can begin, you must watch a video that details the dos and don’ts of working with archival material and then pass an online test. When you complete the test and provide your ID, you’re given a reseacher’s ID that allows you into the archives anywhere in the United States for a year - before you need to recertify.

I have a researcher’s card - BEST LIBRARY CARD EVER

Interior View from the Third Floor of the National Archives in College Park Maryland

Tip: The national archives allows visitors to access ancestry research sites such as ancestry.com for free from their computers.

The National Archives are located throughout the country.

Its network of presidential libraries, regional archives, and federal records centers has given the National Archives a deep reach into America, with 44 facilities in 18 states and the District of Columbia, from Atlanta to Anchorage and Boston to Los Angeles.

Subject Matter Archival Treasures

Many historical societies, cities, towns, and museums house archives. And archives can include more than documents. I recently toured the archives at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, a private museum in Washington DC. devote to women artists. (Likely a future newsletter.)

The museum is private but the excellent reading room and library are open to the public. Additionally, they have extensive artifacts and you can make an appointment with a librarian and conduct research.

Treasure was behind this door.

As the librarian showed us where the collection was stored, she casually flipped open a file cabinet and said, here is where we have an entire folder on Georgia O’Keeffe. Her work is also on display in the museum. The librarian explained that the folders contain items that people don’t often consider valuable such as pamphlets from art exhibits, promotional brochures, newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, etc. But when someone is piecing together someone’s history, these artifacts fill in the blanks. The library also has a folder on Frida Kahlo and the museum provided letters and information for a current series about the artist on Netflix.

Some of the many storage shelves in the temperature controlled archives, National Museum of Women in the Arts

Taking the Gloves Off

If you’re planning an archives research trip, expect a lot of waiting time. The National Archives is a busy place and like all service experiences, you must wait your turn. The archivists are incredibly knowledgeable but working on multiple requests. You wait to put in your request and then wait while someone locates and delivers your materials. My daughter and I were waiting for a series of Census maps from the 1902s. She is working with an economics professor who is studying Census data to determine how specific metro areas have changed. Ironically, she is taking images of the source material and digitizing them.

The maps were wheeled out on giant carts. I had no idea what they would look like. Each folder and map was over five feet - so bigger than me. These amazing mid-century maps were printed on canvas and linen, like works of art. My daughter impressed me with information about the boundaries and layout of the streets and how the Census lines were drawn.

Small Section 1910 Census Data Map of Milwaukee

We took a moment to consider how obscure this request was. Not everyone was coming to the archives looking for these specific maps. We may have been the first people to see these maps in decades since they arrived. We were handling history. And speaking of handling, I asked if we needed gloves. The maps are delicate. We were told no.

When I went to the archives at the National Museum of Women in the Arts we were allowed to touch several objects. Again I asked if we needed to wear gloves. Again, the answer was, no. I’ve watched the Antiques Road Show where the appraiser stops everything and slips on white cotton gloves to preserve the attic find now worth a fortune.

But I digress… The librarian at the museum told me that current archival standard is not to use gloves. Gloves can cause more issues for paper and certain materials. Also, wearing gloves removes an important tactile element from viewing the object. I had to know more and found this excellent paper from the International Preservation News. I also love that there is a publication dedicated to this.

I can see myself writing something with a character searching an archives for a clue. I know now that saying the character wore white gloves or disposable nitrite gloves would be wrong. Details matter, especially if those details were found in the archives.

I write mainly non-fiction and contemporary fiction and don’t have a pressing need to wander through the secrets of back rooms. But I do like to visit these resources and appreciate the care and detail that is taken to preserve items for the future.