Things I Would Like To Point Out Pt. 5

This past week, NARA launched its Citizen Archivist Dashboard. The dashboard is NARA’s newest foray into the digital world. While this is a great way to do digital and engage the public at the same time, I’m a little concerned with the name. I get the whole Citizen Archivist thing, but it’s not the easiest thing for lay people to understand. But as far as the term “dashboard” is concerned, I don’t get it. It is a database that anyone can work on. Usually we find dashboards in cars. Not a lot of people can work on them. Just saying.

Archivists vs. Historians

Today I read “The Archive(s) Is a Foreign Country: Historians, Archivists and the Changing Archival Landscape” by Terry Cook. Cook, a Canadian archivist, sought to explain why there is so much distance between archivists and historians. He argued that historians do not understand how much archivists influence and control history. Obviously this can be applied to the National Archives in the United States and around the world. But Cook basically ignores the historian’s perspective.
For one thing, the two professions are separate professions for a reason. Without archival training, the historian has no knowledge of how archives evolve over time. This is very similar to how archivists do not need to know historiography. It is simply not part of their profession. Historians and archivists have different professions because they do different things.
Cook also failed to realize that historians’ time in the archive is often limited due to time and financial restraints. I consider myself lucky that I can spend so much time in the National Archives. But most researchers do not have this luxury. Last week, I overheard a researcher say she was a doctoral student doing research for her dissertation on Civil War camps. She only researched at the National Archives for two days. This researcher, like many others, did not have the time to explore all avenues of research. Reference archivists know what is often requested and only tell researchers about the most popular records related to their research. In this way, they continue to control what becomes history. Often, having a large amount of time to research, experience researching, and the willingness to look everywhere can yield results that are not controlled by an archivist. But few have this opportunity.
Cook needed to realize that archival work is not one-sided. While historians are not trained to understand the archivists’ craft, historians can choose to impact history by expanding their research.

Things I Would Like To Point Out Pt. 4

I would like to point out that 49 years ago today, the Constitution and the Declaration made it to the archives. Yes, that's right, it wasn't always in the rotunda.

Go Out and Listen

Today is the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It is also the day which the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association officially stated that it would cease to exist at the end of the month. I was saddened when i heard the news, but it makes sense. The dwindling amount of 80-something and 90-something year olds in the organization are quickly dying off and those who are not dead are often home bound or in a care facility. Its crazy to think that in my lifetime I am witnessing the death of the World War II veterans. I remember the 60th anniversary like it was yesterday. So I would just like to say this: listen to the World War II veterans! We as historians need to get as much information out of them as possible, before it is too late. The more records the better! The anniversary of Pearl Harbor is a great time to do this. So go out and listen!

I Should Probably Write Something About Purses

I've realized that I haven't written anything about purses for over a month. Since this blog is called The Purse Whisperer, I figured that I should write something about purses. This past week, I learned that certain kate spade bags are not made with leather. This is great for those of us who aren't always comfortable with leather. Most kate spade cloth bags have pvc trim. This was great news to me, however I should point out that the majority of kate spade bags are all leather.

Things I Would Like To Point Out Pt. 3

Yesterday, there was a user meeting at the National Archives in College Park. Although I didn’t attend, I still heard all of the terrible ideas that came up during the meeting. My primary concern is that they want researchers to mail in requests a few days before they come in to do research. Wow! I didn’t realize I live in the year 1940! There is no reason why it is necessary to further delay the pulling process unless they plan on getting rid of the pull staff. While this works for large agencies and possibly vets, it is not at all what any researcher wants. It’s hard enough to wait for pull times. I hate to reiterate the fact that the archives are supposed to be there for the researcher as a service. Now they want us to pay postage to pull records! Am I going to have to send a telegraph when staff gives me the wrong box? And wait a fortnight for the correct box to arrive?

The History of the Future of the National Archives and How Accurate Predictions Can Be

Recently, I read an article entitled “The Future of the Archival Profession” by T. R. Schellenberg, published in 1959. He wrote

“One of the future developments that I see is a more rational, a more orderly, and a more enlightened policy of accessioning and a freer interchange of copies of documents among documentary repositories. The function of an archival institution, I believe, is not one of collecting and hoarding research materials, but one of serving the needs of scholars and other users; and these needs can be best served by having documentary resources preserved in the places to which they pertain and where they are most likely to be used. It is not the function of an archivist to complicate the problems of research by dispersing research resources; it is his function to bring them together.”

As a researcher in the twenty first century, I have a few opinions on this matter. First off, I have a hard time saying that the working in the archives is anywhere near rational. The National Archives is a bureaucracy. I have seen plenty of archivists not chose the rational choice in matters because they did not want to get into trouble. They did not chose based on what is the current archival standard. The hoops that I have had to jump through in order to get a few documents are just proof that the National Archives can be a little irrational.

Secondly, the free interchange of copies of records is a great idea. That is what the citizen archivist dashboard will be all about. Unfortunately, I think that the National Archives may simultaneously be restricting this by charging for copies of material. I am aware that copiers and scanners cost a fortune and require a lot of money to keep them going. But putting costs on copies only restricts access to materials. In an open access age, charging for copies just should not happen. Archives need funding to survive, but charging for copies goes against the initiative of open access at the National Archives (and realistically, charging for copies cannot pay the bills of such a large institution.) There are not guarantees that we will be allowed to use our own scanners and cameras in the future, so this is something that every researcher should be worried about.

Third, the National Archives should be here to serve the researcher. But I wonder if archives employees hide behind preservation instead of supporting research. I know records need to be preserved. I know records are in danger of deterioration. The conservation department at the National Archives tries to preserve, but it is woefully understaffed and underfunded. Often times, the researcher is restricted for preservation reasons when realistically, preservation may never happen for a particular record. So what is the point? The researchers are not being paid to preserve. While researchers should not actively try to destroy records, we are not the ones who should be responsible for them. The National Archives is responsible for the preservation of records. In the end, the researcher is not supported in their endeavors because the massive hurdle of preservation may be in the way.

In conclusion, although Schellenberg had high hopes, not a whole lot has actually been achieved.