There are two parts to this week's discussion forum:
(1) Introduce yourself to me and your classmates, and give me an idea of your familiarity with archival work. Include your location, your stage in the MLS program, your experience with archives or libraries (including any experience with archival software programs), and your particular areas of interest related to our subject matter.
(2) Discussion topic: “Archivists have always maintained that they are interested first and foremost in the context of their records.” (O'Toole, “Symbolic Significance.”) If you work or have worked in an archive, how have you seen this principle in action (or not)? In the alternative, use the example of an archive you've visited, or an example you find online, and discuss how “context” is significant in terms of a specific archival collection.
Post responses by 5/28 (end of day).
Hi…I'm Brian Whitmer.
I live in the Northland of the KC Metro area, I've completed my first semester here at Emporia, and my undergraduate background includes English Lit, History, and Philosophy. I've worked in marketing communications, marketing strategy, graphic design and digital coloring.
I have not worked at an archive but I was involved in the digital archiving and metadata tagging of comic strips when I worked for a newspaper syndicate. I thought this class would be interesting as well as giving me a taste of the archival world.
I remember visiting the Truman Presidential Library when I was in high school and being given the tour of the museum and the archives. And most recently my 801 class visited the library in April, I toured the exhibits and watched the documentary film on Truman's life.
I chose to visit the archival section of the library online and searched through the pages. What strikes me in navigating the archival section is in the descriptions of the hundreds of sub-collections, there is no mention of context. The collections are described as being such and such documents, original or photocopy, and then listing of the individual records making up the collection. But descriptions of provenance and original order are not noted. How and why records were created and then deposited with the archives are not noted. If the collection was donated in its original order is unknown. Perhaps this information is recorded elsewhere in the archives - just not online.
Having not worked in archives, this prompted me to wonder if each archival collection and sub-collection records provenance, chain of custody and other salient data for each collection. Is there a standard form that all collections use? Is a write-up of the collection's history part of the collection? In a word, how much contextual metadata is actually recorded for collections?
I read through a transcript of a person who helped elect Truman to office in 1922 and I wondered what was actually known of this person. How trustworthy was his character? At the time of the interview, what was the state of his memory?
Again…information regarding the person is not noted on the website. This again prompted to me to wonder how contextual information is recorded and conveyed by archives to users of the archive and to its staff. Is there an oral line of transmission? Is material systematically recorded or is the process more haphazard? What is not recorded because of possible ethical or privacy concerns?
Good food for thought as I proceed through the class.
Cheers,
B
——- Links to Truman Library Resources ———–
https://www.trumanlibrary.org/library.htm
https://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/abbott.htm (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
https://www.trumanlibrary.org/photographs/view.php?id=33288 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.