An excellent resource of information on Archivist’s Toolkit is the many blogs out there by individual archivists who are actually working with the software. One such blog is Alone in the Archives: Thoughts from a “lone arranger” archivist at a small college http://lcb48.wordpress.com/ written by Linda Clark Benedict archivist at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Benedict has been a user of Archivist’s Toolkit since at least 2007 which makes her an early user of the program almost since its inception. Her most recent post-dating from May 2009 noted a recent completion of updating to version 1.5.9, or the last version before the current 2.0.
Benedict’s experience provides a nice perspective from someone who uses the program. As someone who is not a trained archivist (she notes that she started out working as an automation consultant for the Pioneer Library System and later became an archivist for the college) she admits, “The transition from library to archives took a while and I still learning every day.” This relates to the usability of Archivists Toolkit as a program designed not only for small institutions but one that can be used by individuals not necessarily trained as archivist. Benedict also points out that her student workers have little difficulty in entering in data into the program.
Benedict describes marking up finding aids and the learning process required to use the program. Initially she was taking a multi stepped approach using the program’s export EAD button, then taking the file to Notebook with the EAD Cookbook, then validating the document, and finally putting the file into HTML. After a while she discovered that Archivist’s Toolkit has a “Finding Aid Report” button which sidestepped most of this process.
Benedict also provides an example of an EAD finding aid online using the software - The Joseph J. Myler Collection of Half Dime Novels. The finding aid was originally put together using Microsoft Access but was later finished using Archivists Toolkit. The finished product can be viewed at: http://academic.hws.edu/library/archives/dime.asp.
Benedict’s blog also refers to the support one can expect in particular noting the reliance on other users of Archivist’s Toolkit. An early post related a story of how she and a fellow user tried to troubleshoot some problems with the program. In another post she makes mention of the supportive nature of others using the program, “It is so wonderful to send a question out into the void and actually get answers!”
Benedict’s blog is useful in that it provides insight into day to day work experience with Archivists Toolkit. Reading her blog one gets the picture of a program that is usable by a independent archivist but still has a few bugs that need to be worked out.
Benedict, L. C. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2009, from Alone in the Archives: Thoughts from a "lone arranger" archivist at a small college: http://lcb48.wordpress.com/
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