Washington DC-Baltimore Area
The Center for Legislative Archives, a part of the National Archives and Records Administration, preserves and makes available to researchers the historical records of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Through its public outreach programs, the Center uses these historical records to promote a better understanding of Congress and the history of American representative government. Located in the National Archives Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, the Center for Legislative Archives maintains a Research Room to provide on-site reference assistance to researchers ranging from Congressional scholars and historians to attorneys looking for legislative intent and genealogists searching for individual petitions and claims.
I work as part of a team to process and digitize historically significant federal government documents and volumes to facilitate an agency-wide goal of increasing availability and public access to government records. Current projects include Civil War widows' pension files and captured Confederate records. I am also participating in agency-wide technician development at Archives 1 in downtown Washington, DC and Archives 2 in College Park, MD in fields including research services, digitization, accessioning, archival reference, customer service, and metadata entry.
Served as a curatorial assistant to the US Capitol Curator helping to research, preserve, and interpret art, design, and architecture in the US Capitol.
Researched genealogical and historical queries at the foremost historical archive serving West Virginia and the central Appalachian region. Provided descriptions for backlogged accessions and processed historical documents for staff curators and archivists. Provided research services for patrons including academic historians, genealogists, and preservationists. Dealt with a variety of media including nitrate and acetate film, microfilm and microfiche, original paper documents, sound recordings, maps, and photos.