Knowing How to Dust: Some Important Skills I Did (and Didn’t Learn) in Graduate School

by Zach Hottel

Not long after graduating from Appalachian State University’s public history program, I became the Shenandoah County (VA) Library System’s new archivist. As such, I am responsible for managing a large collection of local history resources including documents, photographs, maps, and manuscripts. I also handle all outreach programs, and as the only professionally trained, full time public history employee in the entire county, I serve as the area’s local history expert. Since the position had been unfilled for over five years, I’ve had to rebuild operations, develop management policies, and begin to process a large backlog of donated items. Now, just over a month later, I have begun to better understand the ways graduate school did, and didn’t prepare me, to complete these tasks.

I initially began to reflect on what skills I had and those I was learning on the fly, as I was processing a large collection of research books the library had recently acquired. Formally belong the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society’s Lending Library, this assortment of books and newsletters had been on long term loan for over ten years. During that time, it sat unused, untouched by the staff, and, in accordance with the terms of the loan agreement, unprocessed. After some effort, we were able to contact the society’s leadership and to take ownership of the collection. As we assumed control of the collection and began the ongoing task of cleaning, processing, and cataloging the books, I realized how many times at App my cohort and I had assumed that we could simply delegate simple tasks like dusting to some other staff member, so that we could focus on the more important and exciting aspects of public history. While I knew the profession would require me to be a jack of all trades, how to dust a book shelf was something we had never discussed during my time in graduate school.

Dusting is not the only skill I failed to master in graduate school. Volunteer management has also proved to be a skill I continue to develop. When you are the only employee at a small local archives, you have to rely on volunteers if you try to accomplish any major initiatives. Many of the classes I completed at Appalachian State focused on working with volunteers, especially when it came to managing and motivating them. However, my academic work and experience never prepared me to work with people with a wide array of personalities and skill levels that we contend with in the library.

Over the past several weeks I have developed a deep understanding of what volunteers want to do, what they think they can do, and what tasks they can actually accomplish. When one is surrounded by a cohort of students or professionally trained staffers, methods can be standardized, understandings can develop, ideas can germinate, and responsibilities can be transferred from one individual to the next with little difficulty. However, when you are the only staffer, and professionally trained historian, much of this is lost. Ideas I once took for granted, such as a focus on connecting history to the public, the use of social media, or a desire to interpret the history of minority groups, have never entered the minds of many of the individuals responsible for interpreting history on the area.

While I may not have left graduate school with an understanding of exactly what I would be doing, or how I would be working with volunteers, it did give me the tools I needed to overcome these obstacles. My work at Appalachian State taught me to be flexible enough to change my priorities when I needed to, to remember the basic mission of my site, and to manage my resources so that the work that needs to be done is finished. My program taught me how to think, how to ask questions, and where to find the answers when I need them. Prior to working at the archives, I found these useful to be added to  my tool belt, and since starting here, their importance has not diminished. They allow me to overcome the obstacles I face on a day to day basis and help me push the historic interpretation in Shenandoah County into new areas. In the end, App’s focus on developing these skills, remaining open minded, and on practical experience, prepared to begin my career as a public historian.

Blogger Bio:
Zach graduated from our History MA program with a concentration in public history in May, 2015. He is a proud Virginian from Woodstock and received his BA in History from Roanoke College. Zach currently works as an archivist in Shenandoah County Library in Virginia. His research interests include local history, Civil War memory, and how to help people interact with the past.