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Re: Archives Fires (& Floods)



Moves are a very good explanation for missing material.  We will be moving
twice in the next 4 years, and I plan to lose a lot of stuff.

Nancy Boothe



On Thu, 2 Mar 2000, Beth S. Harris wrote:

> We had a big flood back in '85 and we've used that excuse for many years
> --Gee, that must have been lost in THE FLOOD.  At some point, however,
> we'll have to come up with something else.  Since we moved into a new
> building last year, maybe we can use that as our next excuse!!
>
> I've always held that every archives needs an occasional fire now and then
> to provide some plausible deniability for records someone doesn't wish to
> release to the public or that the records center just plain can't find.
> Something like:  "Oh, those records were probably destroyed in "the great
> fire of 2000"".  Anyone who has investigated the GI A-Bomb veterans, for
> example, knows what I'm talking about.  It isn't necessary that a lot of
> records are destroyed, just enough so that anything missing or troublesome
> that arises after that date can be said to have "probably been destroyed in
> the fire".
>
>
>
> ****************************************************************************
> Beth S. Harris          Special Collections Management Librarian
> Wyndham Robertson Library       POB 9000, 7950 E. Campus Drive
> Hollins University                      Roanoke, VA  24020
> Fax: (540) 362-6756             Ph.: (540) 362-6237
> Website:  http://www.hollins.edu
>
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>