In honor of October being National Archives Month, we would like to share a reflection piece written by Kate Greenberg, an intern in the SJU Archives this past summer. Thank you Kate for your hard work and contributions to our Archives!
I came to Saint Joseph’s from the Rutgers School of Communication and Information, where I am currently a student in the Master of Information program on the Archives and Preservation track. When I heard about the Summer Archives Fellowship at the Drexel Library, I leapt at the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the field. One of the great things about archives work, and one of the key aspects that drew me to the field, is the variety. There is no “typical day in the life of an archivist.” Depending on what needs to be done, I might spend my time sorting newspaper clippings, moving and relabeling boxes, or conducting research on the creator or subject(s) of a collection, among many other tasks.
One big project I tackled this summer was the writing of a finding aid for the Cardinal John P. Foley papers. Foley (1935-2011), a Saint Joseph’s College alumnus, was created a cardinal in 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI. Before that, he served for over two decades as President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communications, arranging media coverage of major Church events, including papal trips overseas, and issuing official declarations on pressing moral and social issues. Foley was also a Columbia-educated journalist who served as the editor of The Catholic Standard and Times, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s official newspaper, from 1970 to 1984.
In order to complete the finding aid –a document that describes the contents of the collection, the background of its creator, and the subject matter addressed by the materials – I examined the contents of the fifteen boxes that comprise the Foley papers. The collection consists of a variety of materials, including correspondence, photographs, personal documents, newspaper articles, religious items including crucifixes and rosaries, honorary degrees, awards and citations from government officials, press credentials, event programs, and ephemera. Some of the notable items I came across include a letter to Foley from his parents describing their reaction to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, academic award medals, Foley’s press credentials from Pope John Paul II’s 1979 visit to the United States, and the red zucchetto hat that Foley wore as a cardinal. The collection provides a great deal of information on Foley’s life and career, and the finding aid will help researchers access that information. There is a lot going on in the archives right now, and with the merger of the University of the Sciences with Saint Joseph’s University, the collections expand even further. That’s another great thing about archives–there are always new materials to explore, and new stories to tell.
Learn more about the John P. Foley Papers and finding aid on the SJU Libraries Archives and Special Collections Guide
Foley's zucchetto (cardinal's hat)
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