This summer I interned in the collections department of Ramsey County Historical Society in St. Paul, Minnesota.  They recently moved their collection to a new building and needed help sorting it and cataloguing.  It’s quite a project.  They are also in the process of overhauling their numbering system, because past systems have not been consistent.  So, most of my projects were related to helping fix those issues and cataloguing new items in the new system.  One of my main projects was archaeology, which consisted of cataloguing and inventorying all the artifacts obtained from a dig completed almost twenty years ago at RCHS’ main site, a pioneer house just outside of St. Paul.  Artifacts from this house included such general household items as pieces of pottery, brick, and glass.  I also helped inventory a portion of RCHS’ textile collection, including linens, clothing, quilts/blankets, and old flags.

A big part of this type of inventory is researching to find out everything possible about the item. This was particularly difficult with quilts because there are so many different styles.  However it was well worth it; RCHS is a small operation, so I got a lot of good experience working in a collections room and in a small historical society in general.  It was a great internship experience.