Evan R. Spencer
M.A. in Public History
Projects
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Cemetery Community Tour
Following years of research by previous Public History Seminar classes, my group (Lane Tilner and Marie Walton) devised a cell phone tour that covers many aspects of life in Cemetery Community at Stones River National Battlefield. Our tour thematically follows the life of a community, beginning with the emancipation experience and continuing through the creation of community institutions. We ended the tour by recounting how the establishment of the National Battlefield displaced the community, but ultimately did not destroy it.
Microfilming County Tax Books
One of the main focuses of my internship at the Rutherford County Archives was to photograph, edit, and film county tax books. Using the Rutherford County Register of Deeds Office's scanning equipment, I created security backup copies of over eighty tax books. During this process, I developed a unique technical skillset. I learned how to capture and prepare images for microfilm printing, and I also learned how to print microfilm and process it for use.
Albert Gore Research Center Exhibits
While working as a Graduate Assistant at the Albert Gore Research Center (AGRC), I participated in the creation of two exhibits for the reading room. Working together with the other three Graduate Assistants at the AGRC (Brad Miller, Sarah Calise, and Casey Gymrek), I helped research, design, and ultimately create the two exhibits. As a senior Graduate Assistant at the AGRC, I helped manage the team and ensure that we completed each phase of the exhibit design within the alloted timeframe.
Century Farms Processing Project
In Essentials of Archival Management class, we were split into teams to process a collection at the Albert Gore Research Center. Each member of my group (Michael Bush, Ellen Harper, and Matt Norwood) processed one records box of manuscripts, multimedia, and photographs. Our collection was from the Center for Historic Preservation Papers, Century Farms series.
Shacklett's Historical Photographs Collection
As the summer intern at the Rutherford County Archives, I continued the processing, digitizing, and describing of the Shacklett's Historical Photographs Collection. Each day, I processed historic photographs and negatives, performing basic preservation tasks. I then digitized the images using scanning equipment and Adobe Photoshop. Finally, I created Dublin Core metadata and also utilized Library of Congress Subject Headings to categorize the images.
Digital Collection and Exhibit
As part of my Seminar in Archival Management course, I created a digital collection using the methodology of the Documentation Theory. My collection aimed to document the entirety of the 2014 tour of the Dave Matthews Band. This project allowed me to couple my love for music with my expanding knowledge of archival theory and practice. In addition to Documentation Theory, the project continued my training with the Dublin Core metadata schema and Library of Congress Subject Headings.