This year, as summer has turned to fall and the anniversary of 9/11 approached, I have found myself thinking about several ways in which the public memory of these events has unfolded and evolved over the past decade. How have we come to understand what happened on [...]]]>

This year, as summer has turned to fall and the anniversary of 9/11 approached, I have found myself thinking about several ways in which the public memory of these events has unfolded and evolved over the past decade. How have we come to understand what happened on that sunny morning in September? How have we reconciled our personal recollections and experiences with those that we learned about from television, friends, or other media? As archivists, how do we understand the threads, and provide context for documentation of events such as this one? How do we approach our own understanding and experiences, and can (or should) we separate those from what we collect?

Like thousands of others, I lost a friend on that terrible day. She was two years older than me, with a quiet smile and a wry sense of humor. Christina taught me how to hold a mellophone on my very first day of marching band, and made me feel as welcome as a tiny, wide-eyed new freshman could have been. We were in the same squad (of four) through countless hours of rehearsals, games, and post-game hilarity. After high school, I lost track of her, though I’d occasionally hear various updates through other band friends. While I’m not sure that I could (or would) have articulated it as a teenager, Christina was someone that I looked up to, someone that was humble and strong and kind, all at the same time. The world has been more gloomy these past ten years without her smile and strength.

As I watched the Facebook updates of my schoolmates scroll by this week with links to the article in the Plain Dealer and the seemingly annual Cleveland NewsNet5 story, I am reminded that we were all touched on that day in 2001. We all remember and commemorate and grieve in different ways. Christina’s parents and friends have set up a memorial foundation and scholarship fund, and have discussed their memories in many places, including her undergraduate student newspaper, a dedication to the children’s room at the local public library, a Congressional memoriam, and a StoryCorps interview. While I’m not sure that quiet Christina would have liked all of this attention, as another schoolmate posted back in 2005, I now think of this as Happy Christina Day. Make this a day to hold close your loved ones, and to tell them how much they mean to you. Especially the quiet ones, the strong ones, the humble ones. Do it now, and as often as you can.

Ten years after 9/11, we have a different, broader understanding of what happened than we did on that sunny Tuesday morning. Don’t we? As we move further from the events, do we gain a greater understanding, or just a different one? There are lots of conversations out there today about the nature of collecting public memory. Today I urge you to put on your archivist thinking cap, and consider the ways in which public and personal narratives collide to shape the story of a contemporary event. Evaluate some of the collecting initiatives that came out of 9/11, and think critically about how they serve their intended purpose. Think about 9/11 or another tragedy, or even some other event for which you have a collection in your archives. Think about future events which you will collect: what is your appraisal strategy? What is your process for building understanding and documentation? Use this day, this week, to revisit how you collect and maintain a body of documentation that has many layers and streams of content, emotion, understanding, and representation.  Think about how we can do this better. Make that your contribution.

There’s an article in today’s New York Times about David Ferriero, the archivist of the US. While the subtitle (“Collector in Chief Hoards Nation’s Irreplaceable Stuff”) betrays stereotypes about the ways that the work of archivists and the contents of archives are viewed, the article has some interesting [...]]]> The National Archivist keeps the Nation’s Heritage

There’s an article in today’s New York Times about David Ferriero, the archivist of the US. While the subtitle (“Collector in Chief Hoards Nation’s Irreplaceable Stuff”) betrays stereotypes about the ways that the work of archivists and the contents of archives are viewed, the article has some interesting tidbits for us to examine.

Several that jumped out at me:

• Digital record keeping has created new challenges: each agency has its own standards; since it consumes less space, the temptation is to avoid discretionary decisions and save more than is needed; electronic records are more subject to tampering; and emerging technology requires curatorial nimbleness. (The White House is hiring a social media archivist.)

The first part is something that has been discussed ad infinitum by NARA and others. Born-digital records come with built-in problems when we consider them using appraisal practices that are suited for a paper-based practice. That part isn’t news, and neither is the discussion of authenticity and migration, but I’m glad to see that it made the paper, anyway. The part that I found to be very interesting: the White House is hiring a social media archivist? I’m really curious to hear more about that.

• How many digitized records should be available online? “If I had my way,” he replied, “everything.”

OK, I like the idea of every digitized record being available online, in theory. What is the reality? In practice, NARA’s website (websites, if you include the presidential libraries, which also use the creaky ARC database) is woefully difficult to navigate, and even if much more content were made available, the infrastructure needs a significant boost. NARA holds some rich and magnificent resources, and like every repository out there, time, money, and backlog will always be issues. Ferreiro sidesteps the issue here (and for a general audience, perhaps he made the right choice), but I’d like to hear about the appraisal process for digitization at NARA and what the benchmarks and goals look like for improved research access to collection materials.

• The Obama administration has also given the National Archives responsibility for reviewing the declassification of 400 million pages of secret documents by the end of 2013. Mr. Ferriero’s goal, he said, is “to ensure that we have the user at the center of our thinking — historians, genealogists, open government folks. What can we do to make their lives easier?”

Obviously the newly established NARA declass center (NDC) will have something to do with this, but the last part of the paragraph was interesting to me. What is NARA doing to make research easier for users? I’m really looking forward to hearing more about this.

Full article here: The National Archivist keeps the Nation’s Heritage

Have you been reading the updates on the Haiti earthquake and wishing that you could help? Are you an archivist, conservator, preservation professional? Read on.

There has been a call for volunteers through the Blue Shield network, and according to the International Council of Archives, as of February 11, 2010, there have been over [...]]]>

Have you been reading the updates on the Haiti earthquake and wishing that you could help? Are you an archivist, conservator, preservation professional? Read on.

There has been a call for volunteers through the Blue Shield network, and according to the International Council of Archives, as of February 11, 2010, there have been over 500 volunteers.

From the Blue Shield press release:

The Blue Shield is the protective emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention which is the basic
international treaty formulating rules to protect cultural heritage during armed conflicts. The
Blue Shield network consists of organisations dealing with museums, archives, audiovisual
supports, libraries, monuments and sites.
The International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBS), founded in 1996, comprises
representatives of the five Non‐Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working in this field:
- The International Council on Archives (www.ica.org),
- The International Council of Museums (www.icom.museum),
- The International Council on Monuments and Sites (www.icomos.org), and
- The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (www.ifla.org)
- The Co‐ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (www.ccaaa.org)
National Blue Shield Committees have been founded in a number of countries (18
established and 18 under construction). The Association of National Committees of the Blue
Shield (ANCBS), founded in December 2008, will coordinate and strengthen international
efforts to protect cultural property at risk of destruction in armed conflicts or natural
disasters. The ANCBS has its headquarters in The Hague.

The Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield (ANCBS) wants to help the people of Haiti

The earthquake in Haiti of 12th January has caused an enormous devastation. The amount of people that lost their lives is beyond imagination. At the moment basic humanitarian aid and the rebuilding of a functioning infrastructure is crucial.

However, as soon as the situation in Haiti has become more stable, Blue Shield wants to help to enable experts from all over the world to support their Haitian colleagues in assessing the damage to the cultural heritage and therefore to the identity of their country. Subsequently, Blue Shield wants to support recovery, restoration and repair measures necessary to rebuild libraries, archives, museums, monuments and sites.

An important task of ANCBS is to coordinate information. ANCBS needs to know who and where the experts are. ANCBS therefore calls upon archivists, restorers, curators, librarians, architects and other experts to register online as a volunteer.

ANCBS wants to be able to bring experts in contact with those organizations that will send missions to Haiti, and make sure that volunteers will be informed about the situation in Haiti.

Please join Blue Shield to help your Haitian colleagues.

More information at the website.

Information from the ICA- first and second update on Haiti; list/statement of needs (download pdf at this link)

The International Council on Archives wants to publicize throughout the international community the efforts of our Haitian colleagues, who have formed a crisis cell “Heritage in danger”, on the fringes of the official commission for the evaluation of buildings and reconstruction. An initial statement of requirements has been issued and you will find a copy of it attached. The Secretariat has very recently been in touch with Jean-Wilfrid Bertrand, the National Archivist of Haiti, and Jérémy Lachal, Executive Director of Libraries Without Borders, currently on mission in Port-au-Prince. Jean-Wilfrid and others have confirmed that the items on the requirements list are really needed, and that, if anything, it is an under-statement. Jean-Wilfrid has in particular emphasized the urgent requirement for tarpaulins. These are needed to protect records that are at present lying on the ground, because the buildings that previously housed them have been destroyed. If nothing is done now, they will be completely exposed during the forthcoming rainy season. ICA is now working as a matter of urgency on ways of getting these and other materials to him at Port-au-Prince as quickly as possible.

… from the “equipment” section of the list:

2.2. Equipment
2.2.1. 60,000 acid-free archive storage boxes (350 x 350 x 350
mm)
2.2.2. 150,000 plastic gloves
2.2.3. 150,000 protective masks
2.2.4. 30,000 rolls of adhesive tape (neutral glue)
2.2.5. Pencils, felt-tips, labels, acid-free wrapping paper, glue,
string, zinc-coated paper clips, staplers, needles, 8½ x 11,
8 ½ x 14 size paper
2.2.6. 50 laptop computers
2.2.7. Three computer servers
2.2.8. 100 tents to act as temporary shelters for records and
salvage personnel
2.2.9. 20 two-way handheld radio transceivers
2.2.10. 20 mobile phones
2.2.11. 15 digital cameras of semi-professional specification
2.2.12. 8 GPS (global positioning system) devices
2.2.13. 200 safety helmets with lamps (miner’s helmet-style)
2.2.14. 30 heavy duty flashlights
2.2.15. 10 pick-up trucks
2.2.16. 5 lorries
2.2.17. Temporary storage facility measuring 10,000 square meters.
The managers of the Canne-à-Sucre historical park have
offered a storage facility, which is far too small
2.2.18. 2000 struts or props with hydraulic jacks
2.2.19. 2000 tubular scaffoldings with gaskets
2.2.20. 30 20 x 40 feet containers
2.2.21. 100 metal trunks (or durable plastic)
2.3. Financial Resources
We need money to:
2.3.1. Provide logistical support (fuel, food, transportation,
communication expenses, etc.
2.3.2. Rent storage facilities
2.3.3. Rent or buy second hand containers
2.3.4. Offer incentive pay for non volunteer workers
2.3.5. Purchase records, photographs, audio and video material
created prior to the earthquake
2.3.6. Write a damage report with photographic evidence
2.3.7. Purchase inventory software and set up a database

Full list of needs, requirements available in PDF at the bottom of this ICA announcement.

A few sources of information:

dLoc (Digital Library of the Caribbean)

IFLA- Haiti update

Cultural riches turn to rubble in Haiti quake- New York Times