Hi all,

As a minor collector and hobbyist, I'm a longtime reader of this board. The expertise and resources here are invaluable (especially the awesome gallery!!)

I work in the Prints & Photographs Division at the Library of Congress. I got into this hobby while working with the Benjamin K. Edwards collection of baseball cards here. Most of you know about it, I think: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/bbc/

When we processed and put the collection online, we had separated the baseball cards from the remainder of Edwards' collection. But I became hooked by all of the other series of cards that Edwards collected, so I started learning more, purchasing, researching the history of cards, etc. Great fun. I also hoped and lobbied for the day when we'd process the rest of Edwards' cards (approx. 13,000) and make them available. That time has come and we're starting to put together a processing plan. So....I'd love to tap into your collective knowledge to help guide the process and solve problems.

If I'm not presuming too much of the board and moderator - I'm hoping to post questions here on topics such as your thoughts on how the collection should be sorted and organized, what description elements we should include in our cataloging that would help you (and beginners) search through the collection, your desires for access (online and on site), identifying cards, etc.

Seem okay?

Thanks,
-Phil


My formal contact info, just this once
---------------------------------
Phil Michel
Digital Conversion Coordinator
Prints & Photographs Division
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540-4730
202.707.8917 [email protected]

You are ABSOLUTELY welcome here to quiz and challenge our collective group.....anything that furthers the hobby and gets more people interested in this is always welcomed. I've collected baseball and nonsports and have shifted from primarily baseball to primarily nonsports. The LOC collection site has been a fantastic resource for so many people. I know it is regularly visited from folks on the baseball side. Look forward to seeing the rest of the collection in its glory one day!

Awesome! Glad to help in any way possible.

Great news. Can't wait to see his collection.

and it's tobacco related - I'll help in any way I can - post it here or you can email me - [email protected] A little bored and I could use some "hobby revitalization" .........

Thanks all for the encouragement and for your blessing, Tom.

We'll plug away at our inventory and I'll send along updates and questions here and there. Very much a part-time task for me, so pardon if progress seems slow.

For now, I'm interested in hearing from all of you - if you were researching a collection like this,

What kind of search terms would you want to use?
ACC numbers?
Set names?
Product names?
Printer names?
Specific card names?
General topics (actresses, presidents, athletes)?


Would you care to see how the original collector organized their cards? Or would that only matter if this was a famous collector?

Think about how would you want your collection preserved if it were to be saved?


Have your say.

-Phil