Archives in the media – Blue moon edition – 8/31/2012
- In an article in central Utah’s daily newspaper, The Daily Herald, featuring a book about the history of filmmaking in Utah, author and Brigham Young University Film Archivist James V. D’Arc remembers his early days in the profession: “There wasn’t a film archive at the time…I suggested to the department chair who hired me…that the university branch out into that area.” Sounds like sound advice for graduates too, especially if you have an upcoming interview. Identify what’s missing and inform your prospective employer how you will fill said gap.
- My favorite passage from a Wall Street Journal article we (OCLC Research staff) shared this week about corporate archivists: “Other times, archivists have to get down into the trenches of eBay and fight for memorabilia. That is the case for Ruth Porter, who typically begins her days by sitting down at her computer, popping a peppermint candy and cruising the online auction site.” I should start doing that, it might do wonders for my concentration. Porter is the L.L. Bean archivist.
- You don’t have to be from a place in order to get charged with preserving its history. A 28-year-old from Wisconsin is the first archivist for the Indiana Room at the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library in New Albany, Ind., and he is excited to expand and improve services. A county historian in an article in the six-day News and Tribune says, “They have numerous original documents and having a professional there looking over them is a good move on their part…I think the Indiana Room is one of the best places around for research. I really appreciate the library’s administration seeing the importance of that room and hiring an archivist.”
- A roof over the Henry County Archive and Genealogy Library in Paris, Tenn., leaks because it’s flat and eight years past its life expectancy. The archive room housing the county’s historical documents is located in the lowest part of the building, exposing it to other roof leaks that will run there. Repairs will cost $250,000 and work on a new home for the archives promised in 2008 has not yet started. Good for The Paris Post-Intelligencer for reporting everything that’s wrong with this situation. Maybe in the meantime, archivists can use the new scanner the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Chattanooga purchased, and digitize documents before the tarps covering them right now can’t prevent further rain damage.
- Hallways in the New York statehouse once bare now display artifacts from the state’s collections. Associated Press’s article about it that re-ran in local media reminded me of when I raided my own attic and found childhood mementos to display as art, like a porcelain cat figurine collection. Not the same, but definitely a practical way to blend beauty, history, function, and pleasure.
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