👂Have you heard? We’re recruiting Sourcery Ambassadors to help us expand to new cities across the United States! Are you a current or recently graduated MLIS/MS/MA/PhD student who is passionate about archival research and digital research tools? Learn more & apply via Google Form: https://forms.gle/e74hv5D4V9oKgkQt6

And now, our featured blog post: learn about Sourcerer tips & tricks, written by current Sourcery Research Ambassador Brandon Harrington!

Tips for Sourcerers

I spent this summer visiting special collections repositories in New York City to fulfill researcher requests through the Sourcery App. In this post I’ll share what being a Sourcerer entails, who might enjoy “sourcering,” and some tips on sourcering successfully.

The promise of Sourcery is a streamlined remote research experience, where researchers can “request scans of not-yet digitized documents from any archive through a single login interface, accessible from any device” (Sourcery Home). The process of fulfilling those requests relies on human beings, Sourcerers, to physically go to the archive, consult requested materials, and produce scans. Sourcerers do digitization labor!

As a library professional, I frequently fulfill requests for undigitized materials. While this work is not actually magic, it can come close for a far-flung researcher or anyone without physical access to collections. Remote research is nothing new, but Sourcery presents a world of possibilities by simplifying the process of connecting researchers to proxies – the Sourcerers – who consult collections on their behalf.

As a Sourcerer, you open the door for researchers to access records that might otherwise involve travel, lodging, and other expenses or investments of time and energy. Reading rooms can be hard to visit if they are in buildings that are not ADA compliant. Some repositories are only open for limited hours. Some of us are simply too busy to visit the archive! Whatever the researcher’s reason, Sourcerers do the work to retrieve the material. In doing so, we help to democratize information access.

What does a Sourcerer do?

Sourcerers review researcher requests through the Sourcery app and select jobs in their area. I completed two jobs at New York Public Library’s flagship 42nd Street branch and one at New York University’s Bobst Library. The Sourcery request provides citation information as well as details about the repository where the requested materials are held. Once a Sourcerer claims a request, fulfilling the job is up to them! For each of my requests, I set up an appointment, placed a request to consult the appropriate archival box or folder, went to the repository on my appointment day, and took reference scans in person. I used my smartphone to take photos and processed the scans before sending (cropping images, ensuring files were ordered and named correctly, etc.). After taking reference scans, I uploaded the file/s directly to Sourcery to complete the request and receive payment for my time and service.

Who might enjoy being a Sourcerer?

Do you like visiting archives? Libraries? Museums? Are you familiar with researching in archival and special collections, local historical societies, or anywhere else original sources or records might be? Can you take quality photos (without flash!) of documents and other materials? If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to these questions, you sound like a Sourcerer!

Being a Sourcerer is not the same as being a research assistant. The key is to take quality scans for other researchers’ use. It is not necessary to read the requested documents or make in-the-moment decisions about what the requestor may be interested in. When I visited NYPL to consult the letter correspondence of a U.S. naval officer from the early 1800s, I found myself struggling to read the material I was “sourcering” between its 19th-century script and my embarrassing lack of Spanish language knowledge. At first, I found it odd to be at an archive, consulting material, without any background knowledge or even personal interest in the documents before me. By the end of the visit, however, I was left appreciating small lessons from working with the materials: how the folds in each letter and addresses written on the back, for example, indicated how these sheets enclosed like their own envelopes for sending.

Archival research can tend toward the hyperspecific, given the oftentimes singular nature of records and manuscripts. You might be holding the only copy – anywhere! For those with research experience in a finite subject area, opportunities to consult a variety of collections on a range of topics may be rare. As a Sourcerer, though, you don’t have to be a specialist. You can be archivally curious, making reference scans but also enjoying the sometimes singular and many times unexpected contents of archival collections.

So, if you’ve made it this far and think that being a Sourcerer might be for you, here are some tips for successful sourcering:

Read the Request, Make a Plan

Sourcering always begins with a job, and each job is different. When selecting a job, make sure to read all details of the request. Sourcerers need to make our own arrangements to visit and consult archival collections, so it is key to ask the repository for the correct material. Once you are clear on what the request entails, plan your visit to the repository in advance! Check the hours, your schedule, and travel plans to and from the collections. Are you required to make an appointment in advance? Did you think about getting lunch after 2 hours at the archive? Make a plan that works for you. Adapt as needed.

Every Repository is Different, Every Request Unique

Review each repository’s policies: they are not all the same! A DSLR camera may be welcome in one reading room and forbidden in another. Expect the unexpected! In my experience, I had to be checked in and sign agreements before being allowed to view the items I requested. In terms of planning my visit, I needed to both request the sources I wished to consult and request an appointment date and time. Each institution had its own researcher account and platform to submit requests and appointments. Anticipate the need to create an account at the repository you will visit for your Sourcery job. Further, if you need to sign an agreement on arriving for your research visit, take photos of these documents for your records.

While Sourcerers anticipate that each repository is different, you can have preferences! Some may enjoy the wooden furniture and brass library lamps at a reading room like the Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room for Rare Books and Manuscripts. Others may be fond of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University for its pink painted walls or the authentic printing press on display. I was delighted to plop into an ergonomic office chair at NYU’s special collections space, which is now my most comfortable archival visit to date. The Interference Archive in Brooklyn is two blocks from one of the best jelly donuts.

Gain familiarity with the collections in your area. Get set up with research accounts in advance of taking Sourcery jobs at the particular institutions you are most likely to visit or are interested in. Most of all, if you have yet to experience a research appointment, schedule one for practice. They should be free!

If every repository is different, every request is even more unique. At New York University’s Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, I arrived at my appointment to find a collections librarian distraught over the documents’ condition in my requested box. She was greatly relieved when I relayed that I only needed to look at one folder. Still, that one folder was thick and contained several staple-bound pamphlets with a significant number of pages. Surprise! Among the other contents were numerous onion skin pages that required delicate handling as well as acidic newspaper clippings that threatened to crumble at the slightest touch. Fragile items, unanticipated formats, and folders brimming with materials are but a few ways a Sourcery request can surprise you during a visit.

Remember that Sourcery jobs are by folder. Because the requested materials have not been digitized or cataloged at the item or piece level, it is usually impossible to know in advance what exactly you will find in a folder. Thankfully, adapting to different amounts of materials and varying condition qualities comes with practice. Safe handling of original materials is not something to be ashamed of for not knowing. In fact, many repositories share their best practices to guide you in your work. When in doubt, ask a staffperson at the repository for assistance!

Come Prepared and Find Your Flow

Since there can be unknowable variables to any repository visit, coming prepared can help reduce any obstacles to completing your Sourcery job with quality and efficiency. In addition to having a plan for your visit, construct a plan for how you will record reference scans.

First, equipment is key. What devices are you going to use? Can you do everything on a smartphone? A tablet? Charge your devices and bring chargers with you. Another challenge can be WiFi connection. Connect to the WiFi when you arrive! Having a strong, functioning internet connection before you sit down to consult the folder for your job means being able to upload scans to Sourcery before you even leave the repository!

As for conducting the actual work of recording folder contents, find a workflow to follow (again, one that is adaptable to the unexpected!). Achieving a rhythm during an appointment can help you stay consistent in your reference scanning. When sourcering, I take an initial look through the folder to identify anything I need to be especially careful with or aware of, noting especially if I need a library or archives worker to assist. To record scans, I use a dedicated scanning app. This works well for me because I can process each photo, cropping and even reordering the images before saving a finalized file/s. Staying organized and developing a personal workflow ensures that you use your precious time at a repository efficiently.

Quality Control!

Checking your work and making necessary adjustments before submitting a job is the best approach to ensure timely completion and compensation! Again, Sourcerers do not have to provide specialized research assistance. Taking accurate and legible scans is key to ensuring that the researcher can fully engage the digitized material.

People Make the Magic Happen

“Being in the archive” is a topic of discussion in the research world. It involves the affectual, embodied experience of doing research in the spaces where collections are shared. Some voices in this conversation hold a near-sacred reverence for the connection between past and present that happens when you open a folder of original materials. Others raise critical points about the access barriers, social constructs, and surveillance that shape special collections and archival research. The experience of research may be departing from hallowed hours spent pouring over documents by reading room lamplight. With it, however, the romanticization of individual researchers in direct consultation with sources can be set aside in favor of a more collaborative vision of archival research today.

While at NYPL on a Saturday, I was scanning a Sourcery request when I heard, “Hey B!” I turned to find my mentor, who also happens to be a Special Collections librarian, walking up to my table. After finishing my Sourcery scans, we chatted at the reference desk, sharing about our latest projects and the collection I had been consulting. Despite the fact that I was there to provide a service to a remote researcher, I was also participating in my local research community. I was reminded of how invaluable the people at the libraries, archives, historical societies, and other repositories are to making the whole affair of research possible. It’s people, at the end of the day, who make it all happen. I might be biased, but it’s a pretty cool crowd to work with.

Brandon Harrington is a Queens College MLS graduate currently working as a Special Collections Assistant at Columbia University Libraries.