Getting to Know Your Collection:
How to Identify Church Records

Zachary Bodnar and Billy McCarthy 
Wednesday, February 26, 2025  |  1-2 pm EST  |  Virtual

How do you know if the item you are looking at is a parish book or a church record book? Or how might you determine if a folder is full of building records or general financial records?

Sometimes, when looking at a church’s collection, it can be difficult to determine what exactly it is you hold. It is not uncommon to feel daunted or overwhelmed when looking at the full scope of a collection.

With years of experience looking at church records, CLA archivists Billy McCarthy and Zachary Bodnar will go through the processes they use to assess, identify, and label materials, whether they be a bound volume, a manilla folder full of papers, or a born-digital document stored on Google Drive.

Whether you're a church archives expert or just thinking about getting started on a project, join us for this next workshop in our Church Stewardship Initiative series. And before the event, catch up on previous CSI program videos on our YouTube channel.

This event is free and open to all, but registration is required via this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2217377125159/WN_J1nToPaSSn6MgVQZ73BDBA.

After registering, you will receive an email with information about attending the webinar.

Email any questions to programs@14beacon.org.

 

SPEAKER BIOS

Zachary Bodnar graduated with a Masters of Library and Information Science from Simmons University, with a concentration in archives management, in 2018. Prior to his work at the CLA, Zachary worked at the Bellamy-Ferriday House and Garden archive, the Vassar College Special Collections, the Harvard Law School Library, and the Harvard Botany Libraries. Zachary joined the CLA as an Archives Assistant in 2017, helping to prepare materials for digitization through the New England’s Hidden Histories program. In 2018, he took on the title of Archivist. His professional interests include metadata collection and management, digital archiving, audio/visual preservation, and archives management.

Billy McCarthy graduated with a Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS) at Simmons University with a concentration in Archival Management. He started working at the CLA through a graduate internship and was hired full-time as an Archivist in 2018. Billy is the Head of Reader Services, helping the CLA’s visitors with reference requests and facilitating in-person research. Billy also serves as the collection manager for the archives, working with CLA’s offsite vendor to protect and maintain the organization’s archival records. Some of his professional interests include increasing access, collection management, processing of complex materials, and facilitating research.