I was honored to be asked to speak about Cultural Heritage Collaboration: A Manual for Community Documentation in Sydney Australia at the 2011 spring Auslib conference, "A Sense of Place.". Unfortunately, I was unable to make the trip overseas. Today, I received the conference proceedings in the mail and by all measures it look like I missed an interesting and noteworthy event. There are too few cultural heritage professionals focusing on this topic. It is encouraging to see a program with two days dedicated to the value of local studies that emphasized methods to collectively promote and preserve local history resources. It also bodes well for the future that the conference was run by and for librarians. It is imperative that we recognize the role of local librarians in helping to preserve archives. I hope that my American colleagues will take note and think further about the possibilities of collaboration across professions.
"The full proceedings of A Sense of Place contain all 20 papers by UK, Australian and New Zealand speakers plus transcripts of two panel sessions plus the targeted conference recommendations. If initiating or improving local studies is your special interest you'll find the pages of these proceedings an informative and inspirational resource." Email info@auslib.com.au or browse to www.auslib.com.au to order a copy of the publication.
Thank you to my Australian colleagues. I hope to join you at a future conference. Keep up the great work!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Online is More than Fine, but History is Still More Magical Hands-on
A recent article in the Guardian called "Online is Fine, but History is Best Hands On" seems to be generating a lot of controversy. Based on the article's comments, I think some of this is a reaction to the writer and not what was written. (I am unfamiliar with this gentleman, so I had no knee jerk reaction either way.) Or, perhaps he should have titled his article "Online is More Than Fine, but History is Still More Magical Hands-on"
The author acknowledges the value of the "ubiquity of history," but points out that there is nothing like the excitement of accessing original documents. I agree wholeheartedly with both views. Providing online access to the information contained in original sources builds bridges for Archives to larger audiences. This kind of access helps spread a wealth of knowledge to those who would not otherwise be able to see the resources containing this information. Yet, anyone who has had the good fortune to work with actual original resources can hardly disagree that the original does indeed offer us opportunities for a better understanding of the "mystery of history." I wouldn't shake with excitement when I saw a letter by Thomas Jefferson reproduced online (or in a book for that matter,) but I did shake with excitement when I held such a letter in my hand.
I think many of the people who have responded to the Guardian article have mistakenly assumed that this is an either or proposition. I don't think that is what the article author intended it to be. Maybe I am mistaken about that. There is a place for online research and there is a place for in-person research too when we can do it.
Here's a case in point: I am currently working on a project to find more information about a diary I found in a local antique shop. Yesterday, I intended to drive to Maine to do original research, but decided that I would check online first to make sure I wouldn't spend time accessing in person things that could be accessed satisfactorily online. I ended up spending the day at home because thanks to Google I had access to business directories and newspapers that had valuable information. In fact, the newspapers were very welcome because I had spent some time with them in a microfilm version in Maine a couple of weeks ago. The film was scratched and the machine was temperamental. The online version was much more comfortable on the eyes. Yet, not everything I need is online AND I am hoping to find some resources down the road that fall into the "mystery" category. My diary covers 6 months in a man's life. Maybe he wrote more diaries and I can find them somewhere. I would love to see that in person to compare handwriting, ink color and marginalia. I would just like to hold the other one so that I can feel more a part of this man's life.
And here's another case in point: A few weeks ago the love letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn were made available online. I was terribly excited to see a copy of one of these digital letters because of a lifelong interest I've had in this particular royal. My very next thought was, "I hope that I can see the original one day."
I am lucky that I live close to Maine so I can explore the original sources for my diary project. Letters from London, especially those held by elite institutions, would be harder for me to access for my research if there were not some remote way to do it.
The wonder of the original is not easily explained. I think Archives in general should do a better job of making the original sources more readily available so people can experience this wonder for themselves. There is no good reason why local history original resources can't be made more accessible to their communities. These resources should not just be important to people who are undergoing projects like mine. They should be important to local citizens. Children should be brought to Archives as many are brought to museums to experience the past. Show a kid the diary of someone who lived a hundred years ago. Show him the type of pen he used to write it. Show him the desk at which this person sat....these artifacts make a difference in making the past seem more real and tangible. An experience with an original would then make a remote experience more valuable too. Once someone sees, touches, and examines an original, they have a better context for their understanding of digital versions of historical documents.
We are living in an age where we can have the best of both worlds - remote access and access to originals. Don't water down the importance of either.
The author acknowledges the value of the "ubiquity of history," but points out that there is nothing like the excitement of accessing original documents. I agree wholeheartedly with both views. Providing online access to the information contained in original sources builds bridges for Archives to larger audiences. This kind of access helps spread a wealth of knowledge to those who would not otherwise be able to see the resources containing this information. Yet, anyone who has had the good fortune to work with actual original resources can hardly disagree that the original does indeed offer us opportunities for a better understanding of the "mystery of history." I wouldn't shake with excitement when I saw a letter by Thomas Jefferson reproduced online (or in a book for that matter,) but I did shake with excitement when I held such a letter in my hand.
I think many of the people who have responded to the Guardian article have mistakenly assumed that this is an either or proposition. I don't think that is what the article author intended it to be. Maybe I am mistaken about that. There is a place for online research and there is a place for in-person research too when we can do it.
Here's a case in point: I am currently working on a project to find more information about a diary I found in a local antique shop. Yesterday, I intended to drive to Maine to do original research, but decided that I would check online first to make sure I wouldn't spend time accessing in person things that could be accessed satisfactorily online. I ended up spending the day at home because thanks to Google I had access to business directories and newspapers that had valuable information. In fact, the newspapers were very welcome because I had spent some time with them in a microfilm version in Maine a couple of weeks ago. The film was scratched and the machine was temperamental. The online version was much more comfortable on the eyes. Yet, not everything I need is online AND I am hoping to find some resources down the road that fall into the "mystery" category. My diary covers 6 months in a man's life. Maybe he wrote more diaries and I can find them somewhere. I would love to see that in person to compare handwriting, ink color and marginalia. I would just like to hold the other one so that I can feel more a part of this man's life.
And here's another case in point: A few weeks ago the love letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn were made available online. I was terribly excited to see a copy of one of these digital letters because of a lifelong interest I've had in this particular royal. My very next thought was, "I hope that I can see the original one day."
I am lucky that I live close to Maine so I can explore the original sources for my diary project. Letters from London, especially those held by elite institutions, would be harder for me to access for my research if there were not some remote way to do it.
The wonder of the original is not easily explained. I think Archives in general should do a better job of making the original sources more readily available so people can experience this wonder for themselves. There is no good reason why local history original resources can't be made more accessible to their communities. These resources should not just be important to people who are undergoing projects like mine. They should be important to local citizens. Children should be brought to Archives as many are brought to museums to experience the past. Show a kid the diary of someone who lived a hundred years ago. Show him the type of pen he used to write it. Show him the desk at which this person sat....these artifacts make a difference in making the past seem more real and tangible. An experience with an original would then make a remote experience more valuable too. Once someone sees, touches, and examines an original, they have a better context for their understanding of digital versions of historical documents.
We are living in an age where we can have the best of both worlds - remote access and access to originals. Don't water down the importance of either.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
More Finds at the Local Antique Shop - More Romanticism of the Female Portrait Photograph
In general, I prefer the caught in the moment action image. I like the informal glimpse into the life of the photographed as if they don't know that they are being caught on film. I like the idea of catching "A Life in Context" and I think that this is generally best done in snapshot type photos. However, there is something about the image of a woman dressed in her finery that I find alluring. It pulls my imagination back into another time and place faster than most other types of images. Posed in sumptuous dress with attention given to her setting, whether a Victorian, flapper, or 40s belle, the subject of a formal portrait like the one to the left is highly feminine and nationalistic.
Dress, hairstyle, pose, and environment are staged by the photographer to make these women look their best. Soft focus and carefully crafted lighting also helps to create a mood based in a bygone era. The women of these portraits are an American (or Western) ideal that is perhaps best expressed through the art of photography. These portraits show a "feminine" quality that promotes an envisaged view of the perfect woman. The women of these portraits display a dreamy quality. They can be said to reflect what many women want to be and the qualities that many men want their partners to have. They display a comfortable lifestyle and contentedness that we wish for ourselves and our fellow citizens. The prevalence of these images reflects the role of the female experience in shaping society and in developing our sense of history. They provide both insight into a woman's sense of personal identity, while also showing the context and collective molding of a national identity. This picture is what it means to be a successful American to many, many people.
Yes, I realize this is a narrow and somewhat flawed view of our society, leaving big gaping holes for stereotypes, chauvinism and other negatives to leak through. I realize that there are many potential arguments against idealizing this kind of display of wealth and this sort of objectification of women. The allure of the idea that we might all be able to get closer to this world of "perfection" by identifying with a portrait is at least in part fantasy, but I think it hits a sentimental button much like the Disney princess phenomenon. There are good points and bad points to the stereotype, yet there is still an attraction to it.
Nonetheless, I love these images for their beauty and sentimentalism despite any negative connotations that can be conjured from them. In the context of American life, these images tell a lot about our values and our history as a community. They tie themselves to an American dream that is evident in other forms of visual arts from the late nineteenth, early twentieth century period and in our literature from those times. As "orphan" photographs, these posed images ground the unidentified woman in a culture that forms a large piece of the American narrative. As items from the world of archives, they document the lives our foremothers led and reflect an image toward which we have been taught to strive.
***
Looking for more about women in portraiture? please see
More Finds at the Local Antique Shop: The Profile Image in Context
Interested in more images of women? Here are a few great resources from archival repositories:
Harvard University Library Open Collections Program Women Working
Library of Congress Women's History Picture Pathfinder
Women's History Photos on Flickr from the Smithsonian
Brooklyn Public Library Women's History Photo Gallery
Saturday, July 2, 2011
The Value of Cultural Knowledge
On this blog in the past I have written about the value of archives to society, but to treasure archives we must first recognize the importance historical knowledge in general. We must also understand how accurate historical knowledge is upheld by cultural heritage repositories. Why are our cultural heritage repositories continually under attack for funding? What can we do about it? Part of the problem is a lack of appreciation for our heritage, which can cause a casual, but often highly charged, denial of the fundamental value of understanding our past.
A few weeks ago I read an editorial in a local paper. I wish that I saved it so that I can quote it, but I have seen the sentiment in other places so I think I can paraphrase. There is a particular view that cultural repositories are "fluff." (I was going to write that "museums, libraries, and archives are fluff," but I think that many of these writers do not know what "archives" are. How can they possibly value them?) During difficult economic times, those who hold this point of view think that museums and libraries (and possibly archives) are the first that should be denied funding. These things are nice to have, but we don't need them to function as a society. However, this view is sadly misinformed. These institutions ARE necessary for us to properly function as a society, because they hold the truths that make us a "society" in the first place.
I am currently reading "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" by E.D. Hirsch Jr. This book, originally published in the 1980s, argues that kids "are not mentally prepared to continue the society because they basically do not understand the society well enough to value it." We have reached a critical point where these children of the 1980s are the adults making decisions today and they are misunderstanding the value of cultural institutions and heritage resources because they do not understand history. According to "Cultural Literacy, "Only by accumulating shared symbols, and the shared information that the symbols represent, can we learn to communicate effectively with one another in our national community." In other words, American citizens are not all on the same page. Some of us know our history. Some of us do not. Some know some of our history and others know other parts of our history. Many cannot identify the historical knowledge they do have as valuable because they do not understand the full context of that history in terms of how it influences our behaviors and decisions today. They do not recognize that repositories support our understanding of history and without them, truth and fiction are muddled.
I am reading another book with my young daughter. It is a children's book called "The Raucous Royals" and discusses historical rumors, exploring how rumors get started and if particular rumors that have pervaded historical knowledge have any basis in fact. The book begins, "Dear Reader, Once rumor is born, it never truly dies." I have used our reading together as a way to develop my daughter's critical thinking skills. One of the group of rumors examined relates to Richard III of England., It discusses how he is suspected of killing his nephews to get to the thrown. It also discusses how over time, Richard was portrayed as a hunchback with a withered arm. My daughter learned that Shakespeare wrote about Richard and based his writing on a biography by Thomas More, which was written after Richard's death. I asked my daughter if these writings were accurately portraying Richard. I asked if they were even trying to accurately portray Richard. Later in the book we learned about Henry VIII's eating habits. We learned that the king would often eat 4,500-5,000 calories for dinner. A menu of the foods he would serve for the meal was included for illustration. I asked my daughter if this was more accurate than the Richard III info. She said yes and I asked why. What is that menu? Where would they get that information? A small smile lit her face and she said, ARCHIVES!"
Today, it often seems to me that rumor is taken as fact without examining its context. Much of the information we believe and the growing amount of misinformation we see spread by media and politicians is not given an historical context. "I heard it so it must be true" is not good enough. Our cultural institutions, including the knowledge they hold and have the capacity to share, can level the playing field and give all of our citizens a common foundation of knowledge, cementing a national identity based in reality. Whether or not we agree on all issues is less vituperative when we know that we all have a common understanding of fact and hence of common cultural values. Cultural institutions hold the shared symbols to which E.D. Hirsch refers.They are part of the foundation that helps our citizens understand our society well enough to value it. Without the institutions, our sense of self is perverted and the glue that holds us together as a nation with a common identity falls apart.
A few weeks ago I read an editorial in a local paper. I wish that I saved it so that I can quote it, but I have seen the sentiment in other places so I think I can paraphrase. There is a particular view that cultural repositories are "fluff." (I was going to write that "museums, libraries, and archives are fluff," but I think that many of these writers do not know what "archives" are. How can they possibly value them?) During difficult economic times, those who hold this point of view think that museums and libraries (and possibly archives) are the first that should be denied funding. These things are nice to have, but we don't need them to function as a society. However, this view is sadly misinformed. These institutions ARE necessary for us to properly function as a society, because they hold the truths that make us a "society" in the first place.
I am currently reading "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" by E.D. Hirsch Jr. This book, originally published in the 1980s, argues that kids "are not mentally prepared to continue the society because they basically do not understand the society well enough to value it." We have reached a critical point where these children of the 1980s are the adults making decisions today and they are misunderstanding the value of cultural institutions and heritage resources because they do not understand history. According to "Cultural Literacy, "Only by accumulating shared symbols, and the shared information that the symbols represent, can we learn to communicate effectively with one another in our national community." In other words, American citizens are not all on the same page. Some of us know our history. Some of us do not. Some know some of our history and others know other parts of our history. Many cannot identify the historical knowledge they do have as valuable because they do not understand the full context of that history in terms of how it influences our behaviors and decisions today. They do not recognize that repositories support our understanding of history and without them, truth and fiction are muddled.
I am reading another book with my young daughter. It is a children's book called "The Raucous Royals" and discusses historical rumors, exploring how rumors get started and if particular rumors that have pervaded historical knowledge have any basis in fact. The book begins, "Dear Reader, Once rumor is born, it never truly dies." I have used our reading together as a way to develop my daughter's critical thinking skills. One of the group of rumors examined relates to Richard III of England., It discusses how he is suspected of killing his nephews to get to the thrown. It also discusses how over time, Richard was portrayed as a hunchback with a withered arm. My daughter learned that Shakespeare wrote about Richard and based his writing on a biography by Thomas More, which was written after Richard's death. I asked my daughter if these writings were accurately portraying Richard. I asked if they were even trying to accurately portray Richard. Later in the book we learned about Henry VIII's eating habits. We learned that the king would often eat 4,500-5,000 calories for dinner. A menu of the foods he would serve for the meal was included for illustration. I asked my daughter if this was more accurate than the Richard III info. She said yes and I asked why. What is that menu? Where would they get that information? A small smile lit her face and she said, ARCHIVES!"
Today, it often seems to me that rumor is taken as fact without examining its context. Much of the information we believe and the growing amount of misinformation we see spread by media and politicians is not given an historical context. "I heard it so it must be true" is not good enough. Our cultural institutions, including the knowledge they hold and have the capacity to share, can level the playing field and give all of our citizens a common foundation of knowledge, cementing a national identity based in reality. Whether or not we agree on all issues is less vituperative when we know that we all have a common understanding of fact and hence of common cultural values. Cultural institutions hold the shared symbols to which E.D. Hirsch refers.They are part of the foundation that helps our citizens understand our society well enough to value it. Without the institutions, our sense of self is perverted and the glue that holds us together as a nation with a common identity falls apart.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
The Diary Project - First Stop. Biddeford, Maine
Last week I posted about The Diary Project. After finding a very detailed diary covering 6 months in Maine during 1882, I decided to embark on a research adventure. Last week, my seven year old accompanied me to Biddeford, Maine. It is one of the towns mentioned in our diary. I have been unable to pinpoint exactly where the person who wrote the diary resided. I have never been to Biddeford and he mentions it a lot. so, we decided to start there. (I will refer to the diary writer as a man unless I discover otherwise. He talks of buying a suit and an overcoat, so I am banking that it is a guy.)
We began at the public library searching for names in the diary. There are many full names listed, so city directories seemed like a good bet. I explained to my daughter what a city directory is and how it lists people by names, addresses and occupations. We had a hit on the first person, George Grant. The excitement was palpable, but our bubble of enthusiasm began to dissipate as we struck out with the next ten names on the list. "Well honey," I said, "George Grant is a very common name. I think we've got the wrong George Grant."
So I quickly moved her to microfilm. At first glance, microfilm is exciting to a kid accustomed to a digital world. I held the film of an 1882 local newspaper up to the light to show her the image and showed her how to use the machine. She was uncomfortable with the streaks on the page and the inability to easily read the words, but when we found the first appropriate article there was excitement. Our diary mentions a train crash and there in The Union and Journal, 4 days after the accident (quite fitting for a weekly paper), was an article titled "Appalling Accident on the Boston and Maine Railroad in Wells." My research partner ran to her notebook to write the information while I printed the article.
It took about half an hour to find the next related article, but such a long time between "finds" caused my research partner to lose interest. She very much wanted to participate, but microfilm was not her bag. I sent her to look through books listing marriages in the town. We wanted the name of a particular minister who was mentioned as the person who married and buried a few people in our diary. When his name could not be found and the name of the people who were actually married couldn't be found, she was growing frustrated. While she searched, I continued to dig up articles related to some local deaths of people mentioned in the diary. Another exciting group of finds was articles about a court case related to a doctor being brought up on charges for a botched abortion. There were also more train crash articles.
After two hours of searching, we went for lunch. The enthusiasm did not return after some nourishment, so I took my daughter to the kids' room to find books, but my voracious reader didn't want them. "I want to help you mommy!" We tried for another half an hour to do some more research, but she was clearly done and I did not want to push it. I will see if the papers have been digitized and placed online (doubtful, but some towns are doing projects such as this). I will see if the next town in which we stop has the same paper, or I may need to return to Biddeford on my own one day to make my way through the rest of the microfilm.
I learned two things on this trip and they were things I set out to learn.
1. Our diary writer was not from Biddeford. Based on the articles and death notices, I now believe the gentleman is from Wells or Kennebunkport, Maine.
2. My daughter is not ready for exactly this type of research yet. I suspected that. Knowing her personality, I also suspect she will want to try again when I start finding directory information. She has an inbred librarian gene and will enjoy looking up names when they are easier to come by. In the meantime, I have devised a new path for her end of the project. We are going to research the B&M railroad. She is going to make a map of its route through Maine, identifying local towns and diary landmarks such as the bridge into which the train crashed. Then she will dig into her crayons to decorate it. When enthusiasm wanes, teach little kids with craft projects!
Thank you to Renee and Sharon at the McArthur Public Library in Biddeford, Maine for your help.
Next stop: Kennebunk! Woo Woo!
We began at the public library searching for names in the diary. There are many full names listed, so city directories seemed like a good bet. I explained to my daughter what a city directory is and how it lists people by names, addresses and occupations. We had a hit on the first person, George Grant. The excitement was palpable, but our bubble of enthusiasm began to dissipate as we struck out with the next ten names on the list. "Well honey," I said, "George Grant is a very common name. I think we've got the wrong George Grant."
 |
| An Appalling Accident - B&M Railroad January 6, 1882 in Wells, Maine |
It took about half an hour to find the next related article, but such a long time between "finds" caused my research partner to lose interest. She very much wanted to participate, but microfilm was not her bag. I sent her to look through books listing marriages in the town. We wanted the name of a particular minister who was mentioned as the person who married and buried a few people in our diary. When his name could not be found and the name of the people who were actually married couldn't be found, she was growing frustrated. While she searched, I continued to dig up articles related to some local deaths of people mentioned in the diary. Another exciting group of finds was articles about a court case related to a doctor being brought up on charges for a botched abortion. There were also more train crash articles.
 |
| Kennebunkport Scandal - February 17, 1882 |
I learned two things on this trip and they were things I set out to learn.
1. Our diary writer was not from Biddeford. Based on the articles and death notices, I now believe the gentleman is from Wells or Kennebunkport, Maine.
2. My daughter is not ready for exactly this type of research yet. I suspected that. Knowing her personality, I also suspect she will want to try again when I start finding directory information. She has an inbred librarian gene and will enjoy looking up names when they are easier to come by. In the meantime, I have devised a new path for her end of the project. We are going to research the B&M railroad. She is going to make a map of its route through Maine, identifying local towns and diary landmarks such as the bridge into which the train crashed. Then she will dig into her crayons to decorate it. When enthusiasm wanes, teach little kids with craft projects!
Thank you to Renee and Sharon at the McArthur Public Library in Biddeford, Maine for your help.
Next stop: Kennebunk! Woo Woo!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The Diary Project Begins
On this blog on May 6th, I introduced a diary I found in a local antique shop. The diary covers a six month period in 1882 and includes the names of many people, places, and events in Southern Maine. My elementary school aged daughter and I are about to embark on a summer history project. We hope to uncover the name of the person who wrote the diary and to find out more about this person's life.
I spent a few weeks typing a transcript of the diary. My daughter's copy is to the left. She has spent some time highlighting the names of people, places, events and objects (important artifacts) mentioned. [She wanted to make sure I wrote "important artifacts" in this blog. She feels this conveys to the value of knowing items such as the instrument that our diary writer played.] This year my daughter learned how to make map keys in school. She locked onto the idea of making a key for the transcript. She has five highlighter colors. We just decided this morning that the fifth color would be for diseases she will identify in the diary. (It is very important for an eight year old girl to use all the colored markers at her disposal!)
I have triangulated our diary between the areas of Biddeford, Saco, and Portland. The writer speaks of townspeople traveling among these areas. We have done just a little bit of Internet research to get us a started. Our diarist mentions the newspaper "Eastern Star." I keyed in on that to see if the publication was produced for one of the towns the diarist mentions. A paper by that title was indeed produced in Biddeford (and three other unfamiliar locations.) So, we are going to start in Biddeford.
I contacted the reference desk at the MacArthur Public Library in Biddeford to plan our trip. It is a little strange being on the other end of an archives reference question. I introduced myself as an archivist and writer. I told one of the reference librarians about my project, asked questions about the hours that the local history collection / archives was available, and made sure that my proposed schedule would jive with them. The librarian seemed as excited about the diary as I. (It's so much fun to share a passion for information.)
I look forward to sharing these adventures with you too!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Professional Organizers and Archivists - Practicality, Longevity, and Understanding How People Handle Records
I love professional organizers with creative ideas to help people get clutter under control. I love how their work dovetails so nicely with that of archivists. Their expertise is under-appreciated. The potentials for cross-professional collaboration between organizers and archivists is generally overlooked. We each have important expertise to give to share with the other profession. We are missing out on alternate ways to accomplish our goal, and I would say that we are even making mistakes in how we do business and care for resources because we tend to ignore the other group. I recently read an organizing newsletter that made the mistakes quite clear. I don't want to put the onous just on the organizers, because both professions can learn from each other and I hope this blog post can show that.
Organizers have their fingers on the pulse of American society. They are brought into homes to look through personal belongings. They often establish close relationships with clients. They learn people's reasons for collecting what they collect. They help individuals organize thoughts and things to better ground them and to allow them to function more efficiently. Organizers know what people have and help them determine why they have it and if they can let it go. Many often come across historical records that deserve a place in a professional repository. They see documents that archivists never get to see. Organizers could help archives repositories fill gaps in collections by connecting their clients with cultural heritage institutions when appropriate. They can help archivists understand why people do the things they do with their records and how we can better reach individuals with unique historical items before the materials are lost or discarded. I often promote the need for archivists to more actively pursue community records. Professional organizers can play an important role in strengthening our community bonds.
For the benefit of organizers, archivists can play a vital role in helping organizing clients let go, while getting them grounded in thinking about their legacy and the importance of their materials for a larger community. We offer a place for people to comfortably donate their family papers. Furthermore, archivists have expertise in preservation that can help professional organizers give their clients proper information about the care of their materials.
This is where the newsletter that I recently read comes in. In a recent issue of Organized Assistant blog carnival, organizers talk about organizing memorabilia. I've picked just four examples of advice that could be more accurate to better help organizing clients.
Organizers have their fingers on the pulse of American society. They are brought into homes to look through personal belongings. They often establish close relationships with clients. They learn people's reasons for collecting what they collect. They help individuals organize thoughts and things to better ground them and to allow them to function more efficiently. Organizers know what people have and help them determine why they have it and if they can let it go. Many often come across historical records that deserve a place in a professional repository. They see documents that archivists never get to see. Organizers could help archives repositories fill gaps in collections by connecting their clients with cultural heritage institutions when appropriate. They can help archivists understand why people do the things they do with their records and how we can better reach individuals with unique historical items before the materials are lost or discarded. I often promote the need for archivists to more actively pursue community records. Professional organizers can play an important role in strengthening our community bonds.
For the benefit of organizers, archivists can play a vital role in helping organizing clients let go, while getting them grounded in thinking about their legacy and the importance of their materials for a larger community. We offer a place for people to comfortably donate their family papers. Furthermore, archivists have expertise in preservation that can help professional organizers give their clients proper information about the care of their materials.
This is where the newsletter that I recently read comes in. In a recent issue of Organized Assistant blog carnival, organizers talk about organizing memorabilia. I've picked just four examples of advice that could be more accurate to better help organizing clients.
- One writer talks about keeping things in stylish bins and important docs at the bank. I like the idea of stylish bins for material without historical value, but for something you want to keep permanently, preservation needs to take precedence over style. I love keeping my sewing in a beautiful basket. I keep mail in one too. In fact, I can find hundreds of things I keep in lovely containers I pick up at Home Goods and other stores to keep me ordered and to make me smile. I keep my memorabilia in archives boxes purchased through reputable archival suppliers. This is very important to emphasize with people who want and expect their items to last for a long time.
- Similarly, another writer talks about keeping memorabilia in plastic bins. While this is efficient, it is detrimental to the longevity of your memorabilia. I use plastic bins for carrying my presentation materials. I keep my swimming supplies stored in the basement in bins between seasons. Memorabilia can be greatly harmed by these items. The length of time it will take for items to deteriorate varies, but enclosed plastic bins will speed up the process of deterioration. Papers are organic and will deteriorate over time. It is our job to slow down this deterioration as much as possible for items with long term value.
- One author on the right track talks about avoiding acids, but mentions nothing about other harmful factors. We must also avoid lignin, PVCs and other harmful elements. Avoiding acid is just one piece of the puzzle.
- One writer mentions keeping things in a bank vault. However, there are not necessarily climate controls in such a space. In addition to the storage supplies we use, we must be aware of the environment in which we keep items. It should be stable. It should not heat up above around 65% and humidity should remain between 30 and 50 percent.
I hope that archivists and organizers can find ways to get together and share ideas. I hope that we talk more about our similarities and explore how our diverse specialized knowledge can benefit the other group. This post is just the tip of the iceberg for collaboration potential.
This blog includes more information on preservation. Search "preservation" in the sidebar. Or see the "Preservation" section on the ArchivesInfo web site.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)