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Hello! My name is Ava Botwin, and I was the UCF Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) Processing Intern for the Spring 2026 semester. Through my internship, I learned the ins and outs of working in an archive, processed multiple collections, and gained hands-on experience in the library.  

This semester, I processed four collections: the Mindy Colton collection, the UCF Police Department records, the Marilyn Crotty papers, and the Beatrice B. Ettinger papers. These collections were relatively small, but all rather different, so I was able to work with a wide variety of materials, including newspapers, photographs, posters, and more. For each collection, I surveyed the material and drafted a processing plan for how I would organize and arrange the content. Once I cleared my plan with my supervisor, Arielle Petrovich, I moved my materials in the order I had planned and rehoused them into new folders. At the end of rehousing, I made a container list, a spreadsheet that logs every folder within the collection, and a finding aid, a document that helps you navigate the collection. Arielle checked my work and answered any questions I had, but over time, as I worked on each subsequent collection, I learned from my prior experience to work more efficiently and independently. 

Arielle and I took a field trip to the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum in Winter Park to see their archives and library. As an art history major, I was curious about the differences and similarities between library archives and museum archives. It was fascinating to see how the Morse Museum catalogs and stores its artworks and papers, both physically and digitally. I also spoke with the museum’s registrar, who also manages the library and archives, about her career and experience in the field! 

I worked on two additional projects during the semester. In January, I used the archives as a researcher, investigating the history of UCF’s oldest buildings to revamp the historic building tour around campus.  I examined both digital and physical archival materials as part of my research. Later, I designed and drew a zine for SCUA, with the goal of spreading awareness of the department and its job here on campus. I made little organizational thumbnail sketches, developed a color palette, planned and wrote the text on each page, and spent about a week illustrating. I combined everything using Adobe InDesign. The entire zine fits on a single sheet of paper, which is then printed out and folded into eight pages of content. Both projects allowed me to learn more about the archives as a research tool, the types of collections we have, as well as how to use them.  

At the beginning of the semester, I didn’t know anything about archival practices or procedures. My internship in the SCUA department taught me about the care, effort, and research that goes into managing their collections. One of the most important things I learned was to take my time and be thorough with my notes. Good note-taking saves time later and creates a sturdy reference point, especially when it comes to a large project. Overall, my time in the archives has been really rewarding, both academically and personally, and I can’t wait to take this experience with me going forward into more archival work in the future!

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