What exactly is an archive and how is it different from a library? What does an archivist do that a records manager doesn’t? Do you have to be a historian to be an archivist? And perhaps most importantly, what does an archive, archive? These and other questions arose in this week’s readings and while many of the answers were as I expected, some were quite illuminating.
The Society of American Archivists provides a set of core values and a code of ethics for the archival profession and it is here that many of those answers can be found. Although some of these values and ethics pertain to many other jobs there are some that relate to archivists alone and I’ll discuss some of those in a moment. The first question of how does an archive differ from a library is quite interesting. Both can be public, private, governmental, historical, medical or religious for example, but an archive often contains only a narrow selection of documents and they are typically primary materials. Libraries might also have a narrow selection but for the most part those materials are not primary sources but books, journals (electronic or print,) and other tangible items that remain in the collection until they are either discarded, (weeded,) or replaced. An archive, after selecting which materials it will keep, continues to preserve and retain them because there are typically no other copies available. A public records archive, for example, has original birth, marriage and death certificates, court records, city, county, and state records and many other records that cannot be found elsewhere.
So what does an archivist do that a librarian or records manager doesn’t? Quite a lot actually. “Archivists exercise professional judgment in appraising, acquiring, and processing materials to ensure the preservation, authenticity, diversity, and lasting cultural and historical value of their collections.” A university archive might have the diaries and papers of a particular person or family but must adhere to the family’s wishes regarding what can be shared and with whom. In cases where the family has not given any direction, it might be a personal judgement call. Archivists also describe and catalog the collection in quite a different way than a library cataloger might. More important than subjects and MARC records are contents and description. Much of an archivist’s time is spent describing what is in a particular collection and creating a ‘finding aid’ to assist researchers. Other duties may include advocacy and outreach, conservation, and ongoing training.
So what about history? Does an archivist need to be a historian in order to be a caretaker of historic records? Not necessarily but it’s not a bad idea. Historians look at past events and facts and interpret them and connect them to a wider audience. An archivist, while trying to do the latter, makes sure never to interpret only to describe the collection and make it easy for the researcher to find what they need.
So I touched briefly on what an archive might contain and who it might serve but it’s worthwhile noting that archives can exist in many forms and serve many different communities. All try to preserve certain primary records for future consideration. This brings me to another important point – security of those preserved records. There will always be the possibility of damage whether from a flood or other disaster but another problem for archives is theft. Some archives contain extremely sensitive information, some contain records and documents of national security. One example is the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC. In 2003, Sandy Berger, (a national security advisor,) stole several documents that contained classified information. He literally walked out of the building with those documents in his suit and pants pockets (see House Report, Sandy Berger’s Theft of Classified Documents: Unanswered Questions) How was this possible? Bad security and oversight on the part of the archive and its staff. Although Berger was eventually caught and returned two of the documents, three had been destroyed forever. If you are the caretaker of one-of-a-kind documents and materials, security should be one of your biggest concerns.
A final word on the subject – in a world where many documents and materials are ‘born digital’, (created online or digitally such as emails, web-pages and other non-physical items,) how can we preserve these materials when many are so ephemeral in nature? The answer is, we’re still working on it. Aside from the short-lived nature of some of these items, some may also be incompatible with current technology and many of these items would either take too long to preserve or take too much space. This is a problem for both libraries and archives but especially for archivists who truly are the caretakers of often one-of-a-kind documents – as the archivist at the Eastern Regional Branch in Washington said recently, “Once you’ve lost it…it’s gone forever.”
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