Name: Anthony “Tony” Barger
Undergraduate Major/Where: I have a B.S. in Deaf Education from Ball State University and a B.S. in History with a minor in Museum Studies from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Graduate Major: Library Science with a focus in Archives.
Title/Duties: I spend my time at the archives both as an intern and in a part time position of ‘scanner’. I am currently completing my internship under the guidance of Carrie Schwier. I have been processing the Philip Appleman papers and doing some following up on research questions for which I am currently 0 for 2! While the scanning project is relatively new, I believe that we currently have over 2 thousand documents that are being made available online for patrons’ research.
What are you working on right now? I am trying to finish up with the Philip Appleman collection. He is a retired Indiana University English professor and is best known for his poetry and his work regarding Darwin. In addition, he is also a novelist. Carrie already has my next collection to process. I will be working on the papers of T. James Crawford, who was a professor emeritus of both business and education. I am sincerely excited about getting that collection started.
Why Archives? It is a goal of mine to articulate why I think archives is so important and why I want to be a part of it. I hope that comes sooner rather than later. Recently I posed the same question to a peer and she shrugged and simply answered, “I like working with old things.” For now I am going to accept that as my answer, too, but in truth it has more to do with my interest in history and archives role in preserving that history.
Why I like my job/archives: My internship is allowing me to work in an archive, which is ultimately my professional objective. I am enjoying my time with the archives for this reason alone; still I have to say that the staff at the I.U. Archives has created a very positive environment when each person is encouraged to have a full experience and follow his/her interests.
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