This is a place where I will post python code used to do various tasks associated with archival work. While I recognize that there are many others out there contributing similar content, I think it's helpful to have a multitude of scripts to work with. Additionally, I will try to explain each bit of code within the script itself, but I will provide a written tutorial via blog posts over on my blog. I feel that I can provide more extensive instruction in a blog post than in the script itself.
Inspired by the work of archivists such as Gregory Wiedeman, Heidi Frank, Jacob L Nash, and Jonathan Wheeler, I decided to try my hand at using python to automate tasks, in hopes of making my work as an archivist more efficient.
However, with recent social and political unrest in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, I felt an increasing need to do something, anything to make a concrete change in our unjust world. Thus, I began looking for ways to use this new skill to address some of the concerns and issues we (as in those in the archive as a collective) face with the records we care for. Particularly in the language, we use (or those in the past have used) to describe certain communities and individuals. This has been an ongoing conversation, started long before the events of summer 2020, but sadly, it has taken me some time to realize how crucial this work is. So, in an attempt to join in the labor of many other information management specialists, I have decided not only to try and use python to find, and correct some of the failures in the archival description practice, but to also provide those scripts via Github. My hope is that by making these widely available, they can be used to create broader change.
With all that being said, I must also point out that the scripts shared here will not all be associated with this type of social justice work. Some will simply be straight forward and meant to help archivists and information specialists in their day to day tasks.
I am providing this information via Github in the hopes that it will be accessed by a wide variety of individuals, but also, in hopes of making my own scripts better. I am, and there is no shame when I say this as we all start somewhere, a python novice. I do not claim to speak "pythonic," although I would love to be able to say so one day. The beauty of Github is that it acts very similarly to an archival repository. Any changes can be made while maintaining older versions. So, if you have a way to improve these scripts, I implore you to submit a 'commit' and 'pull request.' Selfishly, this will make the script better when I use it in the future, but for others, this will ensure they are using a collectively developed tool.
To make things easier, I have provided all files related to archival redescription work in a folder titled Legacy_Description_Audit. Here you will find the python scripts created and used in the audit, as well as working files created to organize and record data associated with the project.
I have also included other directories for scripts used in my everyday work as an archivist. Many of these focus on manipultaing EAD or MODS data, or using the ArchivesSpace API for data manipulation/clean-up.