On archival research

Archival research is a special case of the general messiness of life.
- Peter Novick, That Noble Dream: The "Objectivity Question" and the American Historical Profession (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988): 619

Ah, I like that.

This Saturday has been a long day of doing research and writing as well. I'm preparing a study proposal (not doing the actual study though - the proposal itself is an assignment) on studying users of archival search engines on the Web. I have managed to maintain my interest in the subject in face of the pressure of strict deadlines... It helps that I can also cheer myself up with the great summer archival position I was offered a few days ago.

Several interesting studies on archives

Over the past few weeks, I have been introduced to a variety of new studies that strike me as incredibly fascinating. The academic crunch that is late March does not permit me to list them all let alone comment.

I will try to mention a few very interesting items that I have recently discovered. Today, I learned about this fascinating forum done by the OCLC: Digitization matters: Breaking through the barriers—scaling up digitization of special collections (and the summary essay that goes with it). This forum and essay argue that digitization has to be done and in high VOLUME. If this means compromising on an obsession with standards, then so be it. I like this idea but archives especially (libraries, as usual, are way ahead of archives) need to heed the message. There are still quite a few Archives' websites that simply provide contact information and a photo or two may have been impressive for 1994.

There is also a British study that I should like to comment on. It does not directly concern archives but its analysis of information seeking behavior is of relevance to our field. Of the various sections, I thought the study on student information behavior to be of greatest interest.

The final item of today's post is something that I would love to see more of; research into users of archives. AX-SNet (Archival eXcellence in Information Seeking Studies Network) is a model that has good potential. It apparently grew out of a British project to understand users of archives better, particularly online users. The project's bibliography is a good starting point for anyone interested in pursuing research in this field.

A graduate degree to shelve books?

Some people misunderstand what information professionals do and that can be frustrating. For many people, "information professional" is an opaque term that quickly collapses into "librarian" which collapses into "item check-out clerk." A friend recently joked, partly seriously, that my university has rendered librarians obsolete by having automatic check-out machines and investing in tens of thousands e-resources. Part of the work of correcting this impression has to start with showing that research can be more complex than punching some text into Google or Wikipedia. Both of those resources are certainly very useful but they have certain limits one needs to be aware of (e.g. Google results can be manipulated for marketing reasons).

I have been thinking of ways to correct this impression. Allowing it to persist can have a definite impact on libraries and archives; why fund such lowly clerks well? Outreach needs to be seen as crucial. Reference services can always be better. The archival preoccupation with authenticity, preservation, and the like are certainly necessary but I think we have something to learn from the more user-centred approach that librarians often take.

March Madness and Biographer Archivists

The big crunch of getting assignments done of various kinds is well upon everybody at my Faculty. Happily, the stress of this is somewhat mitigated by the stress of job interviews for summer employment. I'm hoping to obtain work in Ottawa this summer and that is looking increasingly likely.

This morning's class raised an interesting possibility for me. The class was concerned with the subject of authority control. It was mentioned that there is a kind of archival work that essentially involves composing short biographies. That strikes me as highly appealing. It would be great if I could have a position where contributions to publications such as the Canadian Dictionary of Biography were encouraged.

How We Talk About Archives

When archivists are talking to each other, there is much delight in old documents, in history and the heritage they are trying to preserve. Or to paraphrase from one of my professors, we're interested in "the neat old stuff." This direct access to documents from a different time creates a special frission of excitement, of a type that maybe only historians can understand. This is part of the answer of why archivists archive, at least for me.

This excitement and passion is usually sublimated when archivsts are talking to other people. These other people could be a government agency (who fund archives) or perhaps somebody who politely asked about your profession. In this case, a whole different presentation is offered. There is much focus on democratic accountability (which is certainly a good thing), helping organizations become "litigation ready," and how archives (or records management) can generally improve the efficiency of an organization.

I get the sense that the reasons expressed in the first paragraph are what drive many archivists but there is a sense that we can't tell that to other people. Why? My guess would be that the history argument comes across as asking people to indulge us in our geeky interests whereas the latter clearly shows benefits to others.

Has anybody else encountered this?

Library and Archives Canada hopes

Two representatives from Library and Archives Canada (the merged National Library and Archives of Canada) came to visit my university today. It was the first time in quite a long while that I felt inspired by the possibilities of an archival career. They spoke about getting employed at LAC, the nature of the work (a bit) and some other interesting subjects. They were also kind enough to visit my one of my Archives classes and speak about LAC's Web digitization projects and some other subjects.

It was also very gratifying to actually have a chance to ask questions from somebody who works there. Thus far, my only interaction with the institution has been via its website.

Still plugging along, brief technological observations

It has been about a month since I posted here. I'm still alive and kicking, but now I'm enjoying the Christmas break. Next semester, I have two Archives courses so that should be interesting.

In my part time archival work, I recently came across a number of computer diskettes from the 1980s; that means 5 1/4" format. Recovering data from these was a dicey proposition but not impossible since the Archivist retained one computer with an old floppy drive for just this purpose. To that end, I have been wondering about the preservation characteristics of different media. How does magnetic storage (e.g. a hard drive) compare to optical media (CDs/DVDs) versus flash memory (USB sticks, SD cards etc). I think there is some research out there in the first two types but I'm not aware of anything on the last kind.

Oh, one more note before I wrap up for the day. Next month, there is going to be a book released on the archives of the Hudson Bay Company Archives. It is Keepers of the Record:
The History of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives by
Deidre Simmons (published by Queen's-McGill University Press). It looks promising.

Merry Christmas to all!