AC26 | Session 27
Project Development for Managing Congressional Records: Processing the Richard C. Shelby Collection
Target: Federal, State, Public Institutions of Higher Learning
Focus: Archives, Records Management
Levels: Intermediate
GARA: "Training, Advocacy & Outreach" OR "Archives & Long-Term Preservation" 
Overview

In 2022, The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections received a grant to process and preserve the archives of Senator Richard C. Shelby as part of the United States Senate Preservation Partnership Grants program. Participation in the grant program provides a unique opportunity to preserve Senate history and ensure long-term access to the Senator’s public service record.

This session shares an ongoing case study focused on the challenges and successes of stewarding a large congressional collection with significant research and civic value. Project planning has required new workflows to address unique formats and content, and ongoing collaboration with the Senate Historical Office has helped optimize processing, description, and preservation approaches.

Key Topics Include
  • Surveying collection contents (scope, significance, formats) and adjusting plans based on research value
  • Identifying and managing sensitive and restricted materials (including high volumes of PII)
  • Staffing and project management (roles, communications, cohesion, efficiency)
  • Reporting procedures and stakeholder communications
  • Quality control for rehousing, description, accuracy, and completeness
  • Born-digital and electronic records workflows (organization, description, preservation and access copies)
  • Web and social media archiving challenges (embedded and dynamic content)
  • Preservation and access strategies for legacy audiovisual media (specs and reformatting procedures)
  • Transcription workflows to improve discoverability and searchability

A major emphasis is born-digital processing. Special Collections did not have an established born-digital program prior to receiving the Shelby collection, and project staff developed sustainable strategies through testing and evaluation of tools and approaches. Tools discussed include FTK Imager, Autopsy, and CaseGuard (alongside format migration and reformatting workflows).

The session also highlights the benefits of building a community of practice among Senate Preservation Partnership grant recipients through ongoing check-ins and information sharing. Attendees will leave with practical takeaways for multi-year, grant-funded congressional processing projects and for strengthening born-digital capacity more broadly.

Presenters
Jessica Robertson
Head of Special Collections, The University of Alabama Libraries
Jessica Robertson serves as the Head of Special Collections at The University of Alabama Libraries. Her background is in digital special collections program development and grant management. She received her M.S.I.S. from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2018.
David Ferrara
David Ferrara
Congressional Processing Digital Archivist, The University of Alabama Libraries
David Ferrara is the Congressional Processing Digital Archivist at the University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections, where he processes born-digital and digitized materials within the Richard C. Shelby Papers. He holds a BA and MA in history from the University of New Hampshire and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Alabama.
Tyler Hendrix
Tyler Hendrix
Lead Congressional Processing Archivist, The University of Alabama Libraries
Tyler Hendrix is the Lead Congressional Processing Archivist working on the Richard C. Shelby Papers at the University of Alabama (since July 2023). He earned a BA in History (2019) and an MA in History with a Public History concentration (2022) from Georgia Southern University, and will complete his MLIS from the University of Southern Mississippi in December 2026.