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fixed archival responsibility - reprise



I originally posted this query because I was concerned about the use of
archival terms for what were, to me, non-archival functions. All of us are
probably used to the technology industries doing this; they have stolen and
corrupted the archival vocabulary whole cloth. At this point there is
probably nothing we can do except grin and bear it when a computer
technician tries to explain to us how they are going to "archive" our data.

But what disturbed me about this document was that it was written not by
technology mavens but by librarians. To me, it represented the fact that we
have failed to explain even to compatriots in a related profession what
archives are and what archivists do (to make matters worse, it was written
by a university librarian at an ARL library, who should have known better
than most). If even ARL librarians do not know or care what archival work
is, what hope do we have of ever making the general public aware of the role
of archives in society?

Lee
==--00--==

Leon C. Miller, Manuscripts Librarian
Special Collections, Jones Hall, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118
Ph: 504-865-5685, Fx: 504-865-5761
Leon.Miller@tulane.edu
http://www.tulane.edu/~lmiller/SpecCollHomepage.html

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