Back into the basement - Architectural drawings

Well, I'm back at it again! Did I ever imagine I would spend so much time exploring the basements and hidden corridors of DSU's buildings? No, I did not. But I must say that I'm having fun, and my inner-vampire is satisfied.

This summer I am partnering with the office of Capital Planning & Environment Sustainability to make sense of a room full of architectural drawings.  The story goes that for years (perhaps decades), after each construction or renovation project was completed, the project drawings were chucked into this room with no rhyme or reason. Today, the room is packed to the gills with battered and decaying drawings.

Each time the university needs to make physical changes to a building, it is nearly impossible to find the appropriate drawings.  That's where librarians can help. Using the paper handling skills and knowledge of records description or "cataloging" that I know as an archivist, I am able to jump in.

I've been working on this project for the past month. At first it seemed daunting, and I didn't know where to start. By picking one section of the room and focusing on just one box at a time, I have been able to make good headway. The room already looks drastically different from the picture above.  Check back at the end of the summer and hopefully I'll have an updated photo of the finished result.