Welcome to the 3rd annual ArchivesInfo Top Ten Stories of the Year. Our list includes the stories that have impacted the cultural heritage professions -- more specifically archives, libraries, and museums - the most over the past year. These stories were greatly discussed, contributed to a change in our profession, and / or are on our radar as potential changers of the heritage we keep. They were garnered from the ArchivesInfo Twitter archives. I have evaluated my tweets based on my own personal outlook and welcome differing opinions. The list is admittedly biased toward the United States.
This year, the list has shifted again. We still have stories about how the economy influences our professions, but I think that the outlook is a little brighter. I am also enthusiastic about the forward looking direction we all seem to be taking, with new ideas about how best to reach our public. Just missing the cut this year is the story about the woman who aimed to "conserve" a Spanish fresco and botched it http://t.co/2ur8UeM0 ; the story of librarians versus publishers of ebooks (I want to wait and see how this plays out); the ongoing Boston College IRA tape story; Crowdsourcing (which seems to be becoming so commonplace that it is old news); The Alamo "victory of death" letter; and the release of RFK's papers.
So once again, without further ado, here is the ArchivesInfo top ten of 2012.
10. Highlighting our holdings
One of the most wonderful things about cultural heritage institutions are the collections themselves. [DUH?!] This year, it seems that we are pulling more of our materials out of the dark and showcasing them for all to see. New found discoveries related to timely topics seem to rise to the top and highlight why our materials are so wonderful, why what we do is important, and generate an excitement in the field for the possibilities of uncovering what still remains hidden among our collections.
2012-09-23 02:00:20
archivesinfo: More info. on possible Emily Dickinson #photo
2012-09-06 01:20:09
archivesinfo: RT @RAINbyte: Possible Emily Dickinson
Daguerreotype at
2012-12-06 18:01:00
archivesinfo: World's oldest dinosaur discovered hanging out
in London
2012-11-16 17:56:34
archivesinfo: RT @ddaruth: Reading -> Newly Discovered
Letters about Mary
2012-08-02 18:13:46
archivesinfo: Abraham Lincoln Scrawled This Astonishing Note
to Save a
2012-06-05 21:07:36
archivesinfo: RT @RAINbyte: Report of first doctor to reach
shot Lincoln
archivesinfo: Vivaldi's lost masterpiece is found in library archives -
9. Google
Google remains on my list for their innovative role in handling primary source material and for the controversy that surrounds some of their methods. It will be interesting to see how their hand in our field plays out -- if they will be strong partners or will be seen as adversaries in the end.
2012-10-12 01:24:32
archivesinfo: A Google Book Deal Is Good for Everyone—Except
Maybe Amazon
2012-10-12 01:08:20
archivesinfo: Court rules #book scanning is fair use,
suggesting #Google
2012-10-12 01:06:22
archivesinfo: Google launches online 'cultural institute' |
The Australian:
2012-08-07 11:19:55
archivesinfo: RT @Riparchivist: Authors Guild Seeks $2
Billion From Google
#copyright
archivesinfo: Google’s #Art Project grows larger with 151 museums online
8. The Obama Library
Presidential libraries are always in the news. Talk swirls about the Obama library and where it will be erected. In a presidential election year, this topic rises to our top ten.
2012-12-11 12:49:51
archivesinfo: Obama presidential library campaign begins -
Jennifer Epstein
2012-07-03 18:00:10
archivesinfo: How About Obama’s Presidential Library?
7. Anniversaries - National Archives 150th, JFK 50th and more
Last year, all anniversary attention seemed focused on the 150th of the Civil War. This year, many many institutions are focusing on anniversaries of their existence and special events (including the high school where I now work, which is preparing for the 50th anniversary of the construction of our building in 1965).
2012-12-11 12:47:52
archivesinfo: National Archives to Launch 150th Anniversary
Celebration
2012-11-08 15:01:03
archivesinfo: Boston's JFK museum readies for 50th
anniversary of
2012-09-27 21:14:06
archivesinfo: Elementary School in MD Celebrates 150 years
2012-09-24 01:37:35
archivesinfo: The Jetsons Turns Fifty: How the Future Looked
in 1962
2012-09-09 23:16:29
archivesinfo: Scotland. A host of grateful writers and
artists will help
2012-09-03 00:54:28
archivesinfo: Chemists celebrating 100 years - one of the
oldest companies
2012-08-27 19:02:11
archivesinfo: Student Contest - 150th anniversary of
Emancipation
2012-08-13 00:38:37
archivesinfo: Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
Celebrates 50th
2012-04-19 13:33:20
archivesinfo: 100 year anniversary of Fenway Park in
pictures - Griffin
2012-04-10 18:12:19
archivesinfo: RT @nypl: 100 years ago today, the Titanic
departed
Southampton embarking on its maiden voyage. Rediscover the
journey
6. Disaster Preparedness
From natural disasters to neglect, to the ravaging effects of war on artifacts, 2012 once again shined a light on the need to better plan for the care of our collections. Hurricane Sandy in the United States really opened the eyes of some laypeople for the urgency of this kind of preparedness.
2012-11-03 23:36:04
archivesinfo: The Subways & Buses Are Back, and So Is
the Transit #Museum
2012-10-30 12:18:03
archivesinfo: RT @ActiveHist: New post by @DagomarDegroot
"Hurricane Sandy:
2012-09-29 15:09:01
archivesinfo: [Disheartening cultural news] Fire Sweeps
Through Ancient
2012-08-30 02:18:50
archivesinfo: Section of 200-year-old wall turns into rubble
at panoramic
2012-08-30 02:13:17
archivesinfo: Protecting Cultural Treasures: Lessons From
the Syrian
2012-07-30 02:17:41
archivesinfo: RT @Cinevoice: Newspaper Uses Photoshop To
Make Syria Look
2012-07-30 02:06:02
archivesinfo: Museum director warns of Syrian cultural
losses - The Local
2012-05-09 12:25:17
archivesinfo: Mali: Timbuktu. Uncertainty As Rebels Move
in. protection of
#archives
archivesinfo: U.N.: Cultural Treasures At Risk in Mali, Syria Conflicts
archivesinfo: Destroy this memory; #Digitization part of disaster plan |
history]
5. Underdocumented / Hidden Collections
Related to #10 on our list, #4 shows how archivists and historians are working to uncover hidden stories. But we don't just seek articles about the famous, we are finding out more and more about hidden populations. Our collections have the ability to help showcase previously untold stories and can help make people aware of the diversity and quiet communities around them.
2012-11-15 12:56:11
archivesinfo: RT @paige_roberts Hidden Collections Report
report?]
Her Story project -
2012-12-01 21:18:00
archivesinfo: Do you know about the #Herstory project? It was a lot of fun
to talk with @chickhistory abt a #suffragette I admire
2012-12-01 21:16:14
archivesinfo: RT @chickhistory: Learn about One of America's First Female
Architects, buried in her family papers! #HerStory 40 by @archivesinfo >
2012-11-03 23:21:06
archivesinfo: Radio Tanzania: A Disappearing History On Tape
2012-10-30 02:24:51
archivesinfo: Archivist tracks down Rocky Mountain fur trade’s untold
2012-10-14 04:09:56
archivesinfo: Stanford Scholars Search For Documents About Chinese Railroad
2012-08-25 01:29:54
archivesinfo: Archivist tracks down the 'lost babies' of Cyprus' Jewish
2012-08-16 02:34:58
archivesinfo: New York Raids its Attic and Finds US History | Long Island
2012-08-04 13:01:14
archivesinfo: UGA libraries receive oldest known film reels in state
2012-07-26 11:27:45
archivesinfo: ISU archivist always on the hunt for history:
2012-07-20 21:58:29
archivesinfo: RT @AASLH: Rare 16th century map found between pages of 19th
2012-07-16 09:29:47
archivesinfo: MT @genesreunited: long lost family momento discovered in
2012-07-16 09:28:10
2012-07-09 01:50:31
archivesinfo: Photo Exhibit Documents History of ‘Workers at Play’ |
2012-05-10 12:51:24
archivesinfo: New Holocaust tome reveals previously undocumented atrocities
2012-05-08 11:52:05
archivesinfo: [Documenting the underdocumented] The Visual South, Part I:
2012-05-03 12:42:10
#archives #oralhistory
4. Save Archives, libraries and museums
Much controversy has swirled over cutbacks in our professions once again. We are carefully watching Georgia, which tried to eliminate state Archives services.We are also watching deep cuts in Canada that mimic those we saw in Britain a year ago. Cuts continue around the globe, but Canada's stand out this year. Proposed renovations to the NYPL in the United States have caused quite a controversy in the United States and are included here.
2012-10-26 02:52:44
archivesinfo: After uproar, Georgia officials back off
#archives plan |
2012-10-21 00:30:58
archivesinfo: After uproar, #Georgia officials rework
archive budget
2012-10-05 23:34:04
archivesinfo: Advocates fight to keep archives open to
public
2012-09-15 10:22:50
archivesinfo: Georgia closes archives. Only state in nation
to cut historic
2012-09-14 17:23:11
archivesinfo: RT @ArchivalBiz: RT @archivists_org The State
Archives crisis
2012-08-02 02:30:13
archivesinfo: Imperilled #archive seeks new fearless
champion. U.K. Women's
#Library
http://t.co/ibsPzX4T via @timeshighered
archivesinfo: Halifax Central #Library to be demolished -
Local - Halifax
2012-11-12 19:06:47
archivesinfo: RT @RAINbyte: Freedom of information? B.C.
government
2012-08-28 09:41:16 [GREAT BRITAIN]
archivesinfo: BBC News - Museums Sheffield: After the cuts
2012-08-11 14:11:54
#archives #savelibraries
2012-08-07 14:02:34
archivesinfo: Library hours cut to balance books
http://t.co/dEh5uy5h…
South Tyneside #savelibraries [BRITAIN]
2012-08-07 11:23:10
archivesinfo: MT @ShirleyBurnham: Library prepares to be
community run
2012-08-04 12:58:02
archivesinfo: Massachusetts. BridgewaterTown Council rejects
library
2012-07-26 19:36:28
archivesinfo: BBC News - Elmbridge Museum disposes of 3,500
objects. UK
2012-07-26 11:00:02
archivesinfo: RT @UKpling: Communities set to lose libraries
- Wakefield
Express http://t.co/FjEfzNNG #savelibraries
2012-07-20 18:00:26
archivesinfo: Save Libraries Pinterest board - libraries in
trouble & what
2012-07-07 15:37:14
archivesinfo: The memory-keeper's dilemma. The state of
#archives in Canada
2012-06-30 03:12:46
#savelibraries
2012-06-28 03:00:28
archivesinfo: U.K. Surrey library volunteer plans 'will not
save money'
2012-06-25 01:17:19
archivesinfo: Canada: Budget squeeze on libraries impairs
national memory
2012-06-07 11:42:29
archivesinfo: The Wrecking of Canada's Library &
Archives
Canadian heritage?]
2012-06-04 13:28:12
archivesinfo: More on cuts to Canadian Archives and what
this means to the
2012-06-02 15:18:56
archivesinfo: Canada. MP Hiebert defends cuts to archive
program
2012-06-02 15:18:54
archivesinfo: Canada. Conservatives Must Stop Gutting Local
Libraries.
#savelibraries
2012-06-02 15:18:52
archivesinfo: Canada. Nanaimo archives in crisis after feds
cut grants
2012-05-31 15:42:10
archivesinfo: Ireland threatening collective memory?
'Bureaucrat
#savelibraries
2012-05-31 15:34:13
archivesinfo: The Smokescreen of ‘Modernization’ at Library
and
2012-05-29 18:00:56
archivesinfo: Our country's history is at risk. Canadian
government slowly
doing away with Canada's ability to access own history.
2012-05-29 15:27:41
archivesinfo: 150 attend "funeral" for archival
funding cuts:
2012-05-29 15:05:15
archivesinfo: Canada. Academic freedom could be limited by
cuts to Library
2012-05-29 14:52:59
archivesinfo: RT @ONLibraryAssoc: Archivists protest in
Ottawa over cuts.
2012-05-28 17:38:31
archivesinfo: London. Despite funding cuts, library usage
increasing
2012-05-25 18:01:01
archivesinfo: Ireland. Merging of cultural institutions
criticised
2012-05-18 23:45:20
archivesinfo: RT @LibraryofCT: Is the New York Public
Library Seizing the
2012-05-16 21:04:37
archivesinfo: ‘Cultural vandalism’ claims as church breaks
up archive
2012-05-12 14:12:05
archivesinfo: Are Harvard’s Realignment Throes Unique—or a
Cautionary
2012-05-09 18:09:16
archivesinfo: New Brunswick Archives Funding Cuts via
@ArchivistsTrek:
2012-05-03 13:15:09
archivesinfo: RT @redgirl13: More bad news out of Library
& Archives CaA:
ILL service shutting down...Could be mortal wound to
resource sharing in
Canada
2012-05-03 13:02:03
archivesinfo: Canada. Government librarians vow to get loud
over federal
2012-05-02 18:01:18
archivesinfo: A room of one's own: why the Women's #Library
should not be
2012-05-02 13:01:14
archivesinfo: Canada. Federal libraries, archives shutting
down
2012-05-02 12:17:26
archivesinfo: RT @sue_oz: RT @DalLibraries: "We are
stunned." Dal Archives
#canada
2012-04-18 12:36:41
archivesinfo: Italian museum burns artworks in protest at
cuts
2012-04-10 16:08:36
archivesinfo: Campaign to Save Women's Library in London
3. Theft and vandalism
Perhaps it's a sign of the times, but stories of theft and vandalism in cultural heritage seemed to rise this year. On a good note, repatriation of stolen items from our past also continues.
2012-11-16 00:30:28
archivesinfo: Man who stole from NY archives loses #museum job
2012-11-14 02:37:06
archivesinfo: Stolen Letters From George Washington,
Napoleon, Coming Back
2012-11-12 19:01:39
archivesinfo: Felon who stole from NY State #Archives gets
second chance at
2012-11-08 04:00:34
archivesinfo: Poster Collection Seized By Nazis To Be Sold
2012-10-31 01:27:40
archivesinfo: Museum needs help...SF: Gay history museum,
home of one of
2012-10-29 12:36:56
archivesinfo: RT @RAINbyte: Theft At The National Archives:
How Relic
2012-10-17 17:26:45
archivesinfo: Picasso, Matisse, Monet works stolen from
Dutch museum
2012-09-29 19:01:12
archivesinfo: Flea market Renoir was stolen from Baltimore
Museum of Art,
2012-08-20 04:00:27
archivesinfo: The difficulty of insider #book theft.
wholesale looting of
2012-08-07 20:53:06
archivesinfo: RT @AASLH: Looted Afghan artefacts returned to
Kabul
2012-07-27 18:00:06
archivesinfo: Massachusetts How the State House’s cultural
treasures have
2012-07-11 13:36:30
archivesinfo: RT @lynnemthomas: Stolen Codex Calixtinus
recovered, arrests
2012-07-07 23:27:37
archivesinfo: RT @cortsims: Police seize Buddhist sculptures
worth millions
of dollars in Pakistan
2012-07-05 01:40:06
archivesinfo: Canadian facing jail for 'breathtaking' theft
of U.S.
2012-06-28 01:41:17
archivesinfo: Landau had his tailor stitch deep pockets into
a trench coat
2012-06-28 01:21:43
archivesinfo: Barry Landau, collector of historical
documents, gets 7-year
2012-06-03 21:21:43
archivesinfo: Photo albums related to Nazi art theft
unveiled:
2012-06-02 23:45:17
archivesinfo: no words for this! wRT @publichistorian:
Terrible news. All
2012-06-01 20:30:32
archivesinfo: Museums seen as soft target. There has been a
significant
2012-05-22 11:35:33
archivesinfo: Historic ads stolen from U of Illinois library
2012-05-21 18:00:21
archivesinfo: Will ‘Whitey’ Bulger’s testify about $500
million
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist?
2012-05-19 14:41:4
2012-05-04 12:55:42
archivesinfo: NARA Former Archivist Convicted In Recording
Thefts
2012-04-26 15:29:12
archivesinfo: RT @RAINbyte: Israel Police probing possible
theft of Kafka
2. Social Media
Cultural heritage professionals are jumping on board with social media as a way to garner a larger and stronger audiences. We are experimenting with sites such as Facebook and Pinterest to highlight collections, communicate basic information and seek feedback from patrons. This is a subject close to my heart and one that I think is vital to the continuation of our important work. However, in addition to helping us, social media presents both a preservation nightmare and requires us to reevaluate our purpose and methods of collecting and outreach.
2012-11-16 00:06:24
archivesinfo: RT @suddenlyjamie #Pinterest Launches Business
Pages to Get
2012-11-15 12:44:07
archivesinfo: RT @mia_out: It's your data 'but it belongs to
Facebook now,
and there's not much you can do about how they remix and
reuse it' http://t
2012-09-30 10:10:05
archivesinfo: RT How Twitter is Reinventing Collaboration
Among Educators
2012-09-29 16:15:46
archivesinfo: RT @IArtLibraries: A whole Pinterest board of
digital
2012-09-27 21:15:07
archivesinfo: Social media is an archivist’s nightmare;
2012-09-26 17:20:57
archivesinfo: RT @hootsuite: #Fminus: Why universities fail
at teaching
social media - HootSuite CEO talks to @FortuneMagazine:
2012-09-08 02:01:51
archivesinfo: RT @socialmedia2day: Culture Clash: Baby
Boomers Vie with
Millennials over the Future of Social Media by @chrshorton
2012-07-16 20:00:34
archivesinfo: #history #dilemma: Social media proving
difficult for
2012-07-09 23:29:28
archivesinfo: The #Museum at FIT Has Relaunched Its Online
Collections
2012-07-08 13:33:58
archivesinfo: RT @margotnote: Social media bringing National
Archives to
2012-06-19 12:17:23
archivesinfo: The networked consultant: Using social media,
Part II
Mannon
2012-04-25 20:07:00
archivesinfo: A (virtual) museum visit. Online social media
platforms are
#sm
2012-04-10 13:11:25
archivesinfo: RT @cdilly: 5 good Reasons for #Museums to get
on Pinterest
Museum Education & Social Media: What Can Our Audiences
2012-02-19 01:46:03
archivesinfo: RT @coachginny: 10 Reasons Pinterest Booked 10
Million
2012-02-14 20:08:28
archivesinfo: What is #Pinterest and Why should #Museums
Care? - Muse21
archivesinfo: RT @LibraryofCT: 5 More Ways to Use #Pinterest in Your
1. Digitization
Repeating its #1 ranking from 2010, this year digitization was a clear choice for the most important story of the year. Most cultural heritage institutions now fully realize the importance of getting their collections online. There are large organizations such as the DPLA partners who are working hard to help smaller institutions that can't afford to go online on their own. We are fully embedded in a digital world and there is no looking back. Our professions are changing. Our responsibilities are changing. We are deeply committed to keeping up with the times and reinventing ourselves to showcase our role as keepers of our heritage and cultural knowledge. Can we do it fast enough to remain a vital part of civilization? I think that these stories show that the answer is "yes!"
2012-12-03 21:27:36
archivesinfo: N.H. Historical Society works to digitize
entire catalogue |
2012-12-02 21:12:02
archivesinfo: New Orleans 2 digitize 18thc papers. may give
1st accounts of
2012-12-02 21:04:06
archivesinfo: Continue Funding Archives Digital Project -
2012-11-12 18:39:26
archivesinfo: RT @RAINbyte: Digitising your collection blog
series (PDF)
2012-11-08 03:21:28
2012-10-13 02:31:25
archivesinfo: Carnegie Hall’s #Archives Begins Digitizing
2012-10-12 09:24:12
archivesinfo: RT @ddaruth: First digital resource explores
1918 flu
2012-10-11 15:26:02
archivesinfo: Madison Library, NH unveiled a new digital
historical
2012-10-06 14:00:38
archivesinfo: WNYC's Archives & Preservation Dept is
digitizing 660 hours
of recordings from NYC Municipal #Archives. See highlights
2012-09-27 21:24:55
archivesinfo: PERRIS: Historians digitizing school yearbooks
2012-08-29 20:26:09
archivesinfo: Detroit Historical #Museum hopes digital
collection will help
2012-08-16 01:52:15
archivesinfo: Efforts under way to make #Nixon tapes
accessible
2012-07-27 01:54:34
archivesinfo: Inside the Quest to Put the World's Libraries
Online - The
2012-07-23 01:33:37
#DPLA #library
2012-07-20 18:01:53
archivesinfo: New Report: “America’s Digital Future:
Advancing a Shared
2012-07-19 14:01:17
#archives #britishlibrary
2012-07-16 09:38:30
archivesinfo: Ellensburg Library's online photo archives
capture area’s
2012-07-02 10:33:25
archivesinfo: RT @margotnote: Port Jefferson Digital Archive
Hits Another
2012-06-22 21:30:13
archivesinfo: How the BBC can lead the way in creating
#digital public
2012-06-06 13:06:10
archivesinfo: Detroit Historical Society To Launch Online
Collection
2012-05-29 19:08:26
archivesinfo: BBC News - Warning over digital archive 'black
hole'
2012-05-28 17:41:18
archivesinfo: Queen Victoria’s Journals Revealing Personal
Details
2012-05-25 14:16:49
archivesinfo: RT @jgreen31: Librarians Helping Their
Communities with
2012-05-24 15:59:02
archivesinfo: Queen Victoria's personal journals published
online
day!] #archives
2012-05-15 12:11:45
archivesinfo: Amon Carter #Museum receives $75,000
#digitization grant from
2012-05-14 13:01:32
archivesinfo: Indianapolis Museum of Art to digitize Miller
House & Garden
archive http://t.co/Q3MeEVB7…
2012-05-14 12:10:23
archivesinfo: Chronical of Higher Ed: Projects Aims to Build
Online Hub for
article]
2012-05-12 20:39:13
archivesinfo: RT @Arquivistica: Albert Einstein's digital
#archives
2012-05-08 11:54:15
archivesinfo: Ghana Broadcasting Company Digitizes National
#Music
2012-05-04 13:00:55
archivesinfo: #BU. Mugar on a Microchip? As libraries go
digital, are books
2012-05-03 16:14:54
archivesinfo: Library of Congress Plans to Digitize Pre-1978
#Copyright
2012-05-01 15:16:19
archivesinfo: A universal digital library is within reach.
#Copyright law
2012-04-29 00:58:45
archivesinfo: Harvard. The Humanities, Digitized.
Reconceiving the study of
2012-04-29 00:49:49
archivesinfo: Vanderbilt digital archive recovers lost Civil
Rights voices
2012-04-25 14:55:09
archivesinfo: From stately bridges to grisly deaths, 870,000
New York
2day
2012-04-17 15:35:40
archivesinfo: RT @WebArchivist: @archivesinfo You know we
have an ongoing
project to digitize & transcribe #CivilWar diaries,
right?
2012-04-11 07:59:03
archivesinfo: The New York Public Library digitizes
thousands of early
2012-04-04 07:59:05
archivesinfo: Google’s #Art Project grows larger with 151
museums online
2012-02-14 18:36:03
archivesinfo: #Digitized #Diaries tell first-hand of
#CivilWar, #Lincoln
assassination http://t.co/Uyape0Vz via Peter K. on
Pinterest. #archives
2012-02-14 15:11:07
At Goffstown I've introduced a school archives. We are preparing for the 50th anniversary celebration of our school building in 2015. We have established a cooperative relationship with other local school libraries, the historical society, and the public library to most effectively bring information services and materials to our students. We have established a pen pal program with teens in Botswana. We have developed an internal school blog and information network to share ideas.We are introducing independent study classes so students can delve into aspects of information science that most interest them. I am working with the freshman class teachers to establish a standard for introducing research and information to their classes. We are preparing a long-range plan to establish the library as a "learning lab." There is so much going on and so much enthusiasm from our school community that I feel greatly energized, uplifted, and motivated. Looking at the information professions with a "Holistic" approach enables me to show young people that sharing information is more than randomly tweeting to one's friends. Information can be a very powerful tool.
Book - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot