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Archives and Records Management
Left: Print of me at Fox Glacier I really need to get framed
Right: Personal archive storage
As mentioned in my previous post, yesterday I started back at library school. Despite my lack of motivation, I was actually looking forward to starting a new module, Archives and Records Management. This module, along with my year-long management class makes up the three modules I am taking this year.
We started off the class with the lecturer going through the module outline (sigh – I hate it when they do this!) and talking a little bit about what we’d be learning. There are 11 classes and a couple of field trips for the module – it’s a lot to cram in since we’re covering everything from archival arrangement and description to digital preservation strategies to records management in organisations!
What I’m really interested in though are the assignments. The first is an essay, and there are seven interesting questions to choose from, ranging from the role of the archivist to how web 2.0 technologies can be utilised for archival purposes. At the moment I think the latter question is the one I may tackle since I have an interest in social media and it seems a more unusual question than the others.
The second assignment is even more interesting, as it asks us to do a research project using an archive, special collection or collection of records. Previous students have used The Walt Whitman Archive, The Advertising Archives, and The Working Class Movement Library, among others. The lecturer urged us to choose something we’re really interested in for this assignment, and my mind has been spinning with the possibilities! It would be amazing to do a project using the Stasi Archive, or the British Film Institute National Archive, or the Bauhaus Archives, or the Warhol Museum Archives, for example. Unfortunately I think my inability to speak German and lack of time and money to travel very far will influence which archive or collection I’m able to study. Tuesday is the only day I have free during the week so it’s impractical to travel too far. Perhaps an online archive is what I’m really looking for – suggestions?
By the end of the session we’d covered some of the basic concepts of archives and records management, including the differences between librarians and archivists. We talked a little about the concept of ‘original order’ where archivists keep a person’s personal archive in the order they were given it, as this tells a story and meaning can be derived from the way things are put together.
The session made me think about my own personal archive. I’ve moved three times in just over a year, each time transporting boxes of stuff from place to place. A few of these boxes are filled with memorabilia and photos from my overseas travels. They are in no particular order, just put in the boxes until I get around to organising them. It’s been nearly three years since I returned from my last big trip (a few years in Australia and New Zealand) and I think it’s probably about time I got to grips with this stuff; do some editing and put it in some meaningful order. At the moment bits of paper in boxes mean nothing and it would be great to have some kind of scrapbook I can look through that sparks off memories. I also want to make some photo books so my pictures can be on display rather than hidden on my hard drive and various CDs/memory cards. A friend recently made a coffee table book using a site like Photobox and it looks great.
So really, I have three assignments for this module – the essay, the research project and the creation of my personal archive! Now if only there was a way to get credit for the last project…
