Notizie da Irene: Part 2

Note from the Archivist: This is the second in a series of posts by Irene Ameglio, the Fondazione CRT Intern in the AFS Archives.  Throughout the course of the year, Irene will provide perspective on her internship, AFS and the archival collections of the organization through these "Notizie da Irene" ("News from Irene") posts.

My internship in the AFS Archives is going very well, and it brings great satisfaction with many new things to learn every day. Contrary to popular belief, working in archive does not only mean dealing with documents and objects but also with individual people, who in the case of AFS are often scattered in many different parts of the world! Every week the AFS Archives receives many research requests concerning very different topics. Former host families and returnees trying to get in touch with their AFS friends, or asking us about material from their program year; academics, filmmakers, and authors inquiring about AFS history in the World Wars, or some specific event or person related to the organization; and AFS Partners searching for useful material that they can use to promote and celebrate AFS around the world.

Handling research requests is an interesting activity for me, since it is like starting a new process of discovery each time. It leads me to know more and more about the collections, and it also reveals little-known stories and details about our past. I have to admit, however, that it is not always an easy discovery. The records of the AFS student programs are in the process of being preserved and organized – which is also an important objective of my internship – so accessing them requires a great deal of time. Sometimes it takes a while to determine which of the several hundred boxes would contain the most useful material, so that I can provide the best possible answer, photographs, or documents to the researcher. And it’s maybe because of these difficulties that the excitement of discovering a piece of history and the pleasure of helping people reconnect with their friends and past is always a great compensation.

One of the most interesting requests I have encountered so far concerned the boat trips that used to bring American students across the ocean to Europe during the 1950s. I had to determine when and in which harbors of northern Europe the boats landed after the crossing, so that the students could reach their final destinations inland. I spent many hours looking at black and white pictures and reading funny ship bulletins written by students while on board (such as the 1956 one from the Arosa Kulm ship, available as a downloadable PDF here), while also using contemporary AFS newsletters and correspondence for information. All this reminded me of how incredible the AFS experience has always been, even in a time when communication and travel were definitely more complicated than now! Then, as in every research “trip,” I found what I was looking for and put all those treasures back into their boxes. But only to leave for a new exploration the next time!

Photograph caption: Detail from a 1958 ship bulletin.  This image (and any others on the website) cannot be reproduced without permission from the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs.

Posted January 11, 2013 by Irene Ameglio