Thursday, December 30, 2010

The Archives Year in Review

I recently read that it must somehow be ingrained in us to make top ten lists. So, along those lines, I have culled the ArchivesInfo tweets for the year and come up with the top news stories / trends for the year. (I have provided links to articles I cited in case you want to learn more about each top ten topic.) What didn't quite make the list?-  "Digital Dark Age," citizen archivists, crowdsourcing, digital curation, net neutrality, social media for cultural heritage institutions, human rights archives, and battles over the rights to personal papers such as the Kafka archives. (These didn't make it primarily because I've got a feeling that these stories will grow in the next year and may make it to the 2011 list)  Smaller stories of note, that also did not make it to the list include reports of the opening up of the Vatican's Archives, the finding of Rembrandts and other cultural heritage items in unusual places, Mark Twain's autobiography, the comeback of my beloved bookmobile, and the popularization of history through new programs such as "Pawn Stars," "American Pickers," and "Who Do You Think You Are?"...   With a nod to David Lettermen, here's the ArchivesInfo top ten of 2010.

Top ArchivesInfo identified news stories of 2010 (via ArchivesInfo on Twitter):

#10 Preparations for 150th anniversary of Civil War
2011 will bring the sesquicentennial of the Civil War and there has been a flurry of activity as cultural institutions (especially in the south) prepare to mark the historic event. A business with REALLY bad timing  joins the anniversary news.
Commemorating 150th ann. of Am. Civil War in TN. "Every Tennessean has a story. Share yours." http://bit.ly/dBXSUF
Archives exhibit explores little-known aspects of Civil War, marks 150th anniversary, legacy and strife live on  http://bit.ly/aEn85e
Groups gear up for state's 150th - Kansas get ready for sesquicentennial on a shoestring w Internet  http://bit.ly/aeZP5H
National Trust for Historic Preservation Have something to say about Walmart http://bit.ly/8ZPPnq
Residents share Civil War history. Local war items, documents recorded by state for 150th anniversary project http://bit.ly/aZanUg
How we teach lessons about the #CivilWar - 150th anniversary shows us looking at history through a new lens http://bit.ly/ahoZpB
Archivists want records of Civil War relics: Experts will photograph items for state exhibit http://bit.ly/boo5AO
NYT - Celebrating Secession Without the Slaves
Tennessee's Civil War 150 commemoration marches on despite little funding 

#9 World War II and Holocaust
Always an active topic, there seemed to be an exceptional flurry in archives / cultural heritage related WWII news this year. New documents were found or were made accessible, and battles over ownership of Nazi-looted materials made headlines. 
Holocaust Archives Go Online http://bit.ly/7Mt0qU
Documents from WWII digitized, provide info on fate of those rescued from camps. http://bit.ly/8w9nuC
recordings representing the earliest known oral histories of the Holocaust http://bit.ly/5CTTO6
Did Germany help Eichmann escape to Argentina? - court set to decide on release of docs. http://bit.ly/bR6S65
Museums are morally obligated to return Nazi-looted art, says expert http://bit.ly/cHY1ZT
Vatican puts historical documents, including some from WWII, online http://bit.ly/bdggID
Holocaust Survivor's Story Preserved Forever - oral histories of survivors through University of South Florida http://bit.ly/902q8k
Horrors of WWII captured in found photos http://bit.ly/cuXcHX
Devastation of War. Archival Discovery Revealsa Ruined Berlin  http://bit.ly/b1U31S
Vatican secret #archives for World War II will open within 6 years: Cardinal Kasper  http://bit.ly/cdbZy4
Archive project will digitize WWII Enigma messages http://bit.ly/bW8SZe 
U.S. Holocaust Museum: Auschwitz photos open window into Nazi psyche  http://bit.ly/cwOVZp
43 countries agree to return Jewish property taken by Nazis http://bit.ly/bBL69B
New documents surface on Hitler's jail time http://bit.ly/bNwtK9
Hitler's Prison Memoirs Up for Auction http://bit.ly/aErakd
Getty receives grant money for digital German art initiative. Archiving auction catalogs from Nazi regime http://bit.ly/dmZvdc
Could WWII have bn avoided? Memoirs uncover Irishman who saved Hitler from being kicked 2 death by mob http://bit.ly/cSGSHM
Huntington Library to transfer Germany's original Nuremberg Laws to National Archives http://bit.ly/b6ipJw
German WWII plan to invade Britain revealed in MI5 file http://bbc.in/9srpvB 
History throws us an interesting tidbit - info re Army counterintelligence officer who found original Nuremberg Laws http://bit.ly/c91UxM
AOTUS blog - Nuremberg Laws at National Archives http://blogs.archives.gov/aotus/?p=1618 
Hatikvah Holocaust Education Center at Springfield (MA) Jewish Community Center to close http://bit.ly/aWp6ck
Struggle in Poland over Jewish war diaries http://bit.ly/akr2fJ
Getty traces ownership of Nazi-era looted art http://bit.ly/blb3ZF
Mussolini’s secret diaries http://bit.ly/cKXcAi
Check out exhibit on NH's favorite monkey  [H.A. Rey archives used 2 interpret authors' WWII experience]
Millions of Jewish Holocaust victims named 
Kimura's photos of Hiroshima after bombing kept by Hiroshima Prefectural Archives and Library 
Log documenting Pearl Harbor attack given to Hawaii museum 
Dutch museum searching for relatives of Southport soldier killed in WWII 
Records detail use of Nazis 
The letter from Hitler that may have saved a woman from the Gestapo 
 believed destroyed by Nazis is found in Berlin: 
British archives make previously classified acct of Hitler provided by19-year-old Austrian public:

#8 Say goodbye to the book as we know it?
Amazon.com has just announced that the Kindle has replaced "Harry Potter" as their number one seller. In 2010 we have seen a big jump away from "traditional" books and have had great debates about the future of reading and the future role of libraries.
Picture Books aren't in trouble just because NYT says so http://bit.ly/bqQiIu
Picture Books No Longer a Staple 4 Children http://nyti.ms/9SC0eT 
No more judging a book by its cover? what will happen to covers in a digital world? http://bit.ly/aUO3yB
 Libraries: stop doing it by the book - transformation from fusty institutes to hi-tech hubs creates schism in libraries http://bit.ly/bkvQsJ
The death of the library book - Cambridge has gleaming new building, but something's missing http://bit.ly/cIAvK0
Is your ebook/kindle lacking that fresh new book smell - here's the solution! http://bit.ly/aJ4d1F
THIS BOOK IS OVERDUE! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All http://bit.ly/cmKaXn
"Will the book survive?...Inquiring minds tend to use whatever means they can to get what they want." http://bit.ly/5Dmy51
Libraries: Not abt Books http://bit.ly/6LP79o 
Library Journal: New Plan Seeks a 'Big Tent' 4 National Digital Library  

#7 The BP Oil Spill
Reeking havoc on the Gulf Coast of the United States, the BP Oil spill has been called the largest accidental marine petroleum disaster in history. The affair raised obvious concerns about caring for the environment and just as obvious questions about a company's legal responsibilities in the event of such disaster, but it also brought up issues about documenting historical events, disseminating information about news in real time, and caring for documents that may provide insight into culpability.
BPs Photo Blockade of the Gulf Oil Spill http://bit.ly/b8l7Ku
BP’s protective ordr: reasonably refrain & resist from changing, alteration &/or destruction of documents http://bit.ly/cg4XBr
'79 Gulf Oil Spill Leaves Sobering Lessons for BP http://bit.ly/9zBtOE
Documents: BP cut corners in days before blowout http://bit.ly/cOCMav
Museum sends solemn message: http://bit.ly/9uuBiI

#6 International Repatriation of Cultural Objects
Countries and cultural heritage institutions are seeking ways to "remedy" the removal of items from their original homes. War, treasure hunting, and other circumstances lead to the taking of items from the places where they were created. The cultures that identify with the materials are asking for them back with differing degrees of success.
Venezuela Demands Germany to Return Sacred Stone; more scuffling over cultural heritage resources http://bit.ly/5ozk1E
Iran cuts ties with British Museum in antiquity row http://bit.ly/9D3khR
Korea Asks France to Return Looted Ancient Books http://bit.ly/dj2I9v
Getty ordered to return priceless Greek bronze to Italy http://bit.ly/cFS8X5
Should Britain return Africa’s stolen treasures? http://bit.ly/cqBxR7
Antiques Roadshow highlights stolen artifacts. http://bit.ly/bTx1xR
More repatriated artifacts as US returns 'cultural treasures' to Iraq.  http://bit.ly/9F1XtT
Returning archives to their rightful owners - the Descartes lettre http://bit.ly/9SMIqQ
Iran’s Cultural Heritage Under Threat http://bit.ly/bAf8pw
Debate on repatriation of cultural heritage. NYT: Who draws the borders of culture? http://nyti.ms/dog6D6
Iraq-US begin talks to reclaim Jewish archive http://bit.ly/asqH0Y
'Bring Back the Act': Historian, archivist fight to reclaim one of Canada's founding documents from British archive http://bit.ly/dsuoVF
Iraq loses sleep after Torah finds its way into Israel http://bit.ly/dsJ0U
MFA returns stolen artwork to Italy 
Africa Urges Western Countries to Return Looted Treasuries 
 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Returns Historical Documents To Russian Federation 
South Korea's lost treasure. Officials trying to bring back plundered items around world. 
Yale set to return 4,000 Inca treasures to Peru 
Repatriated records: Missing parish records from England found in New Zealand 

#5 Battle to Save Haiti's Cultural Heritage:
The year began with a major earthquake striking Haiti. The fight to save lives began immediately and the fight to ensure the security of their cultural heritage was not far behind. News revealed that international efforts to try to secure Haiti's heritage resources was swift and has been ongoing throughout the year with the country continuing to live in a state of emergency due to catastrophic damage. 
Experts to assess damage in Haiti museums http://bit.ly/aEmhXf
UNESCO urges ban on trading Haitian artifacts http://bit.ly/9oXGXZ
Quake's toll on Haitian art, heritage and income http://bit.ly/arrenD
UNESCO fears Haiti cultural heritage might be pillaged http://bit.ly/9ZGiCy
Academics to begin search for Haiti's archives http://bit.ly/cBos7X
Workers struggle to save Haiti history buried in rubble of tax office http://bit.ly/bZTZC
Save Don't Bulldoze Haiti's Heritage http://bit.ly/dAUDE6
Gang members in Haiti return to streets after stealing guns & destroying all records of crimes. http://ow.ly/ZlBw
Haiti’s Founding Document Found in London - NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/doh1nw
Rescuing Art From the Rubble of the Quake: http://url4.eu/3J3g6
Smithsonian Develops Haitian Cultural Recovery Project http://bit.ly/c0AyNd
Smithsonian leads recovery of Haiti's art, culture http://bit.ly/aAoV7C
Conservator from Maryland State Archives helps salvage Haiti's cultural material  http://bit.ly/9QC1dR
A paper conservator’s trip to Haiti: University of Texas conservator and lecturer's experience representing AIC http://bit.ly/bn6SYP

#4 Google, Copyright, Orphaned Works and more:
Google is shaking up the world with innovation and controversy. This year has brought new means of organizing information and questionable practices for making information accessible via the Internet. Internationally, we are striving to sort out who "owns" information and who has the right to do what with it. 
Google, copyright, and our future http://bit.ly/c3SHR2
Stanford signs Google Book Search agreement,endorses court settlement http://bit.ly/dvlc8f
US Anti-Trust Reviewers Still Objecting To Google Books Deal http://lisnews.org/node/35853
Google book scanning: Cultural theft or freedom of information? http://bit.ly/dyCRAo
Google Fights Back Against Book Settlement Critics - Digits - WSJ http://bit.ly/dl9LZI
'Copyright deal is a cultural disaster' http://bit.ly/bFbYf7
China Counters Google Move by Partly Blocking Hong Kong Site http://nyti.ms/ceSp70
Development on copyright legislation for orphan works,will have implications for museums http://bit.ly/cteC9g
Digital economy bill rushed thru late nite session in U.K. http://bit.ly/a7PyEe
Court Says It's Okay to Remove Content From The Public Domain & Put It Back Under Copyright http://trunc.it/92xha
Canadian Archivist raises questions about copyright - weighs
in & discusses "orphan works" in Google agreement http://bit.ly/bA6AU1
Boston Globe quotes NEH’s director, office of digital humanities on new Google/Harvard text-mining study 
Google Editions Really Coming Soon 
Google seeks digital rights to Miramax films - report
Google to put Dead Sea Scrolls online 

 #3 A new leader at the U.S. National Archives brings change, faces challenges:
With a mission to bring NARA into the 21st century, the new Archivist of the U.S. takes up issues of digitization, morale, government records management, and valuing archives.
Ferriero takes on NARA's culture, modernization challenges http://bit.ly/8u1C85
More potential victims of identity theft notified of hard-drive loss, NARA notifies affected individuals http://bit.ly/4X8v2Q
NPR Interview with US Archivist Ferriero http://bit.ly/4O2Wqp
U.S. Archivist Wants You to Have Access - awed by encounters with history  http://bit.ly/717xiP 
National Archives Releases New Datasets on Data.gov and Invites Public Comment on Open Government Plan http://bit.ly/b2oYpS
Archivist details challenges of massive declassification job http://bit.ly/cP8QMb
Federal Office Offers $50,000 Reward for Missing External Drive http://bit.ly/c54Cx9
Report criticizes archives on security of hard drive w info abt Clinton employees. allegedly mishandled by NARA http://bit.ly/bhQ636
The Archivist of the U.S. David S. Ferriero is Now a Blogger http://bit.ly/bs8EAe
Many [government] agencies earn failing grade for e-recordkeeping http://bit.ly/bzmDht
NARA hosts 1st social media scavenger hunt http://j.mp/9NBoak
National Archives Hunts Lost Documents on Facebook - WSJ http://bit.ly/aIS5Re
National Declassification Center Issues First Report http://bit.ly/dxjg0z
U.S. Archivist acknowledges morale problems at his agency http://bit.ly/8YtQ9L
Archivist David Ferriero works to improve employee morale after bad poll results http://bit.ly/aZQ4eX

#2 "Poor economy" resulted in layoffs, closures and the selling off of collections: 
Cultural heritage institutions are fighting for their lives in a difficult economy, forcing many changes in the cultural heritage scene and in the way many of us need to run our programs. 2011 should be a turn-around point, allowing us to better see which institutions will survive. We have had a couple of years to work on changed strategies where warranted. Those of us left standing can view this economic crisis as a chance to revisit our missions and procedures for operation, perhaps making us stronger in the long run.
Should (art) museums sell objects in hard times...? http://bit.ly/8aI1hy [NY Times]
Will US Museums succeed in reinventing themselves? http://is.gd/66QJM 
Arts funding cuts proposed by Conservatives in U.K. http://bit.ly/51bfi2 
Greece shuts more than 40 museums to save money: http://bit.ly/7CpkSG
New survey shows U.S. public libraries in financial jeopardy http://ow.ly/WQMI
University museums among greatest in UK, yet their core funding is threatened: http://bit.ly/7g83ba
ash in the attic: Cash strapped governments consider selling art http://bit.ly/alTCuy
Canterbury's Roman Museum could fall victim to the credit crunch - Museum closures British cost cutting trend? http://bit.ly/99dvtT
Nation’s Libraries Get More Use, Less Funding http://bit.ly/cEsP0I
Good news -- and bad -- about museum [and archives] hiring - economy skews good prospects http://bit.ly/ciB4d0
Cut all librarians before any cop?: http://bit.ly/bQ7zKd
History at risk in PA http://bit.ly/9kVz2f
History has value beyond nostalgia - funding for historical society's in Oregon http://bit.ly/ckowDa
Western Reserve Historical Society Sells Its History to Save Institution http://bit.ly/du0ruP
Another consequence of a museum closing, unhappy donors. Ansel Adams' Son Sues Museum for Prints: http://bit.ly/blwmqM
Valuable lessons from Western Reserve Historical Society mess http://bit.ly/akGe5Y 
Cleveland historical society defends sale of items http://bit.ly/b5klmA
Why libraries are a good investment in any economy on "Word of Mouth" radio http://bit.ly/bJgODI
cultural institutions generate nearly 2x their budgets in local spending annually..." http://bit.ly/9DiB9g... http://bit.ly/cuVOwF
Museum professionals march on Washington today - lobbying for cultural heritage http://bit.ly/cvXIfG
Almost half of poor Americans go to the #library for Internet says report by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation http://bit.ly/bVqxZv
State history museum reopens in Massachusetts - some of earliest and most famous US docs housed there http://bit.ly/bIvbZA
AZ Historical Society & residents taking steps to secure historic sites closed by state budget crisis http://n.pr/9a6WQf
On the Posterity Project: This little piggy had none: Libraries and archives considered "pork" by CAGW
Librarians Protest Budget Cuts, Crowding Hollywood Intersection During Rush Hour;  library makes up 2% of city budget http://bit.ly/ceyzEv
California Budget Drought Threatens Water Archive http://bit.ly/9oewjw
11 Most Endangered Historic Places (in U.S.) http://bit.ly/aD1R1D
Queens Library is facing a potential funding cut of $16.9 million this year http://bit.ly/9CVpAJ
What Happened to Public Libraries During the Great Depression? an interesting look from MA Library Commissioners http://bit.ly/3chc0P
Devaluing America's culture: Gov Sanford cuts funding to South Carolina Dept of Archives and History http://bit.ly/aQN9o2
Sanford's veto overkill http://bit.ly/cFalKp 
Library closings temporarily averted in Boston  http://bit.ly/94swO2
Closing libraries "a terrible, terrible mistake" akin to "stealing from the future" according to a top children's author http://bit.ly/dvEBIb
Decline of Britain’s museums http://bit.ly/9U3FSJ
Can Historic Preservation Help Lead Us Out of the Recession? http://bit.ly/b4qHAf
Local Culture Cuts Are Biggest Threat To The Big Society Says MLA...  http://bit.ly/bRbO1j
Cultural impoverishment in the UK?! Hunt proposes closure of Museum, Libraries & Archives Council http://gu.com/p/2tj8v/tw
"Fisk Says It Must Sell O'Keeffe Art Collection to Survive" http://bit.ly/dy4UjQ
BBC News - How history can inform spending cuts http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/11452575
NY auction of rare photos aids Eastman museum http://bit.ly/bXA1cQ
Upstate NY small town library deaccessioning draws attention and library director resignation.
A Crumbling Heritage: Italy  
Manchester museums could face cash crisis 
Historic Teamster trucks could soon be homeless. Volunteers heartbroken as money woes threaten Vancouver area museum 

National  of Wales set to 'lose £1m' after draft budget 
Pompeii collapse forces Italy into heritage debate 
Help Zombies Shuffle Over Brooklyn Bridge, Save  
As budget cuts across Europe put heritage under pressure, some say should spur better mgmnt h
Note that YouCut is currently taking votes on cuts in funding for NHPRC & IMLS: 
Congress to put words like "games" "culture" "media" & "museums" on a federal funding watch list:
As more and more communities are cutting library funding, these wonderful web sites have come to my attention:...
U.K. - Urgent warning over cuts threat to libraries in unprecedented joint initiative 

#1 Digital Projects (collaborative and otherwise):
As the world gains momentum in placing information about its cultural heritage resources online, news came out regularly about newly available access to materials. Our accomplishments in this area will be long-lasting, inviting this news to take our number one slot and edging out the hopefully relatively short-lived economic woes. Kudos to my colleagues for embracing the digital revolution and striving to improve access to materials despite the rough economy. The links to your achievements are too numerous to include here.
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