Learn by Fluting: Developing a Finding Aid for the Dayton C Miller Collection as a Library of Congress Music Division Intern

Abstract

The Library of Congress Music Division’s Dayton C. Miller Collection is commonly considered the largest archival collection pertaining to the flute and flute-related instruments in the world. The collection, which came to the Division in 1942 at the bequest of scientist, flutist, and collector Dayton Clarence Miller, contains thousands of items in a variety of formats, including instruments, books, sheet music, correspondence, photographs, artwork, and statuary – representing a combination of Miller’s carefully curated flute collection and his personal papers. This combination of size, age, and format variety has resulted in some parts of the collection being extremely well documented and fully digitized, while other parts of the collection remain entirely unprocessed. As a summer intern in the Music Division with the unique opportunity to define my own internship project, I set out to create the framework for a finding aid that could bring a consistent baseline level of access to the entire collection. Along the way, I also had the opportunity to complete the sheet music series of that finding aid. This presentation will discuss how the process of creating a finding aid framework for the collection unfolded, as well as how the unique idiosyncrasies of the Miller Collection and my own perspective as a graduate student affected the project. In addition to providing a unique insight into a fascinating Music Division Collection, this presentation will also provide archivists with ideas to bring home to their institution’s most unwieldy collections and students with some inspiration to bring to their next internship!